hypothetical gun usage question

[mrvaudo]

in the neighborhood last night some guy went outside to find three teenagers in his car. he approached them and one of them pulled a knife. if there was a gun how would it change things? legally? do you take gun outside with you concealed... do you take gun and show (seems like that's brandishing) how would the calguns community approach this situation? looking forward to hearing responses

[SkyHawk]

Hypothetically, does 'some guy' have a CCW permit?

[gaberaynes]

To many unknowns
1.car on street or on his property
2.if on property is in or out of a garage
3.how lit is the area
4.is he with or without a flashlight
5.is this rural or city
Just for starters
But aside from all that behind back but ready

[Librarian]

The way CA laws are weighted, unless you have CCW, (ETA in urban areas, such as Los Angeles that you supply) you don't take a gun outside - you call the cops.

Take pictures from your porch or a convenient window, if you can.

[mrvaudo]

i figured without the ccw its a not your property no gun. the story sounds like the car was out on the street. its los angeles so lets say no ccw. i think librarian gave the answer i was figuring legally is the way to go...

[Blownmotor]

in the neighborhood last night some guy went outside to find three teenagers in his car. he approached them and one of them pulled a knife. if there was a gun how would it change things? legally? do you take gun outside with you concealed... do you take gun and show (seems like that's brandishing) how would the calguns community approach this situation? looking forward to hearing responses

The only thing that a gun changes is the fact the knife wielding teenager brought a knife to a gun fight.Also there was an incident in Oakland I believe where a man tried to shoot another man on the street and the man defended himself with a gun (mind you this is Oakland). No charges were filed because of the self defense law in California. I wouldn't pull out the gun unless the teenager attacked me.

[SILENT GUNMAN]

I live in a rural area. If I caught some teens in my car, and one pulled a knife in me, I'm going to defend myself. I always have a pistol in me when I'm at home, even in my yard. Neighbors see me carrying all the time. Nobody bats an eye. One of the perks of not living in the city.

[CouchOperator]

Luckily one must generally be within arms reach to harm another individual with a knife. If you are 15 yards back, with a ccw, i dont think that would be a good shoot. Firm and short verbal commands when prudent. It also tells any possible witnesses around you whats happening instead of them not hearing anything but suddenly seeing you put a few rounds into a kid, as well as telling the kid what the consequence will be if he doesnt comply.

[tileguy]

i hope that was a type-o silent gunman. if not i would hate to see how you get it out.

[brianm767]

You call the cops, permit or not, it's property.

[Custom ii]

You call the cops, permit or not, it's property.

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner. There is nothing I own that is worth someone else's life and I legally carry every day. I would call police and prepare to give as much information as possible to identify the knuckleheads.

[71MUSTY]

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner. There is nothing I own that is worth someone else's life and I legally carry every day. I would call police and prepare to give as much information as possible to identify the knuckleheads.

I have CCW so Gun always goes with me.

If I notice the guys in the car from a safe distance I retreat and call the cops as you suggested. However if I am close enough for the guy to pull an knife. Not so much. If I am too close to safely retreat and my lizard brain now recognizes I am in danger of great bodily harm (bad guy pointing a knife at me, studies show a bad guy with a knife can close over 7 yards in less time then it takes me to draw). Gun goes to the fire position. Finger off the trigger.

If the bad guy wets himself and runs away, Danger of great bodily harm has diminished but not completely abated as there are two more bad guys. Gun is lowered to ready position.
If the bad guys leave or I am able to retreat to a safe location, gun can return to holster and I dial 911.

Notice I did not draw my weapon to protect property. I don't care about my car, it's insured. Whole story changes when the bad guy pulls a knife, bat or gun. Only when there was a direct threat to my personal safety. I worry more about surviving the knife attack to see a trial then I do about defending my actions in the trial.

[WMG]

I have CCW so Gun always goes with me.

Not to cause an argument , but more recent updated studies have now concluded the older Tueller Drill of 7yds should be more like 10yds.
Perhaps not too much of a diff , but in an effort to show where one may find himself facing an edged weapon......

It's been said a good way to judge when to shoot a fella' ..... is when the option of not shooting is worse than spending the next 20 yrs behind bars...
because that is where you may find yourself....

Now my car certainly isn't worth that nor my truck ..... or my Jeep for that matter....
But as been said .....in an example I had one day involving a deer I harvested ... it was a slight variation of the old story of a fella stealing anothers deer .....at the end of it all , I had been asked why I was willing to shoot a fella for attempting to take a deer....
I was never willing to shoot the fella for trying to steal a deer ..... that's just dumb .....
However when knuckle heads introduce gun play into the matter ....it became a matter of shooting a fella to stay alive.
Best to avoid that all together and that can be hard esp when they come to
you.
So be careful out there , it's a gun , not a giant pecker we yank out to impress our friends with

[fiddletown]

Luckily one must generally be within arms reach to harm another individual with a knife. If you are 15 yards back, with a ccw, i dont think that would be a good shoot. ....

A fallacy thoroughly debunked by Sergeant Dennis Tueller, of the Salt Lake City, Utah Police Department.

A person armed with a knife or other contact weapon and 20 feet away can be on top of you in about 1.5 seconds. Can you draw your gun and make a good hit in 1.5 seconds? How do you know? (BTW, I have done it in classes at Gunsite.)

More on the "Tueller Drill" here, here, and here.

With the assailant armed with a knife attacking you from 15 feet away, if your gun is in your holster, there's an excellent chance that you're going to get cut.

[Thepug99]

If you can you can run away