scary situation happened to wife.

[mark77418]

Last night my wife was driving home with our 5 year old daughter and there was a truck tailgating her. She came to a stop sign and she was waiting for the cross traffic to go by and the guy in the truck hops out and starts yelling and using foul language and trys to open her door. She took off and the guy got back in his truck and started following her. She called 911 and the guy followed her for a while untill she turned and he continued going straight. This happened out in the country where there are very few houses and noone around to help.

I can't beging to tell you how it feels to know that there are some crazy people out there that would hurt you're family and you may not always be around to protect them. My wife was very shooken up and she expressed interest in getting a gun. I have glocks but I think it would be better for her to have a small revolver since it would be simpler for her to operate. Can anyone make any suggestions on a good handgun for a woman to carry?

we live in sacramento right now and from what I understand it is very difficult to get a CCW. We will be moving to amador county in the next few weeks and I understand it is easier to get one. If anyone has any experience with getting a ccw in amador county I would be interested in talking to you. Please send me a private message if you can.

This happened up by the lake camanche area. I wanted to move up here because it seemed a lot safer to raise a family than in south sacramento but after this I don't think you are really safe anywhere. You have to be responsible for you're safety and that of you're family because the police cannot always respond in time to help you.

[Bobotheclown]

Sorry to hear about the incident. Why not take your wife to the range and have her test a range of firearms and see what she is comfortable shooting?

[Turbinator]

Nothing justifies the other driver's actions, but did your wife happen to cut this guy off or otherwise do something that would aggravate him? I find that most of us go through daily life in condition white, no clue about what is going on around us.

Sorry to hear it happened - hope the best for you and your family.

Turby

[Greg-Dawg]

Go apply for a CCW anyways for both you and your wife. Make sure you contact a CCW instructor for more details on how to effectively apply.

Good luck.

[Beelzy]

Pepper spray, don't leave home without it.

[SCMA-1]

Sorry to hear about what your family went through. I think the first thing you need to do is take your wife to a good indoor range that has a wide selection of handguns to rent. Let her try a good cross section of handguns; don't limit your selection to revolvers as the common myth about female shooters needing revolvers for simplicity is just that, it's a myth:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=204540

The personal defense handgun that is best for her is the one she can shoot the best with, proper operation and handling comes with instruction and practice. Just remember, she must fire revolvers in double action mode only when comparing against other types of handguns. Although most modern double action revolvers have the capability to be fired in single action mode also (manually cocking the hammer and then squeezing the trigger), they should never be used or trained with in this mode for defensive purposes because the single action pull is very light and you risk an inadvertent/negligent discharge particularly when under the affects of stress and adrenaline.

Once you have chosen and purchased the handgun she is most comfortable with and shoots well with, establish regular trips to the range for developing skills and familiarity. I can't stress this enough; mere possession of a weapon kept for self defense without competency in it's use defeats it's purpose and in fact can be more dangerous to the owner.

SCMA-1

[ptdog]

This is the reason why my wife harps on me for not automatically locking the doors when we are in the car.

[mark77418]

Nothing justifies the other driver's actions, but did your wife happen to cut this guy off or otherwise do something that would aggravate him? I find that most of us go through daily life in condition white, no clue about what is going on around us.

Sorry to hear it happened - hope the best for you and your family.

Turby

The only thing she could think of was that she was driving a little slower than the guy liked, but she was driving slow because deer always run across the road. If it was the case that she was driving to slow the guy could have went around her. I get angry sometimes at the way some people drive but I do not over react. There is no excuse for what this person did.

[SanSacto]

Pepper spray, don't leave home without it.

.40S&W, don't leave home without it.

[EDIT: At the least carry an unloaded pistol/revolver in a locked container with magazines/speedloaders readily accessible. That way if she is put in this situation again she could unlock the container, load the firearm, and do work. It would take some time under pressure, but it is something that we can all do if necessary.]

[audiophil2]

Your wife did a great job. She was smart enough to stay in the locked car. If things escalated she only had to press the gas pedal and leave. Her 3000+ car is much better as a self defense weapon that any gun. What would she do if she had a gun and confronted the guy? I think much worse would have happened. It's always so much better to run that to fight.

About a year ago there was a kidnapping and rape out of the Safeway in a nice part of Santa Rosa in broad daylight. Rapists are targeting moms in minivans. The mom buckles the toddler into the carseat, loads the groceries, and then the rapist gets in the back with the toddler since all the doors are unlocked at that time. Since minivans have heavily tinted windows no one sees anything strange. Since that occurred a few miles from my house my wife must have a bagger take her to her car and load her groceries day or night and she is not allowed to gas up the car. I do that when it's needed.

[RANGER295]

I could not agree with you more. I think that more important than having a weapon, is being aware of your surroundings. This drives me crazy about my GF. Her situational awareness really leaves something to be desired. I am trying to help her improve it. Some examples, she was working out on a ranch and I came out to see her. You can only access this area by foot and as I was walking over, I had her in sight for about half an hour before she noticed me when I was about 20 feet from her. Or yesterday, we were hiking, and I noticed a person up on the mountain we were climbing about half to three quarters of a mile before we reached the person who was just sitting there. The same thing happens when we are walking in town. Most people, if they walk down a street, will be able to tell you nothing about anyone they passed or any of the activities that were going on unless there is someone that had neon colored hair or something. You need to be aware of what is going on around you and you can avoid most situations that way. It took two incidents, both avoidable had I been alert to realize this. One, I almost had to shoot someone to defend myself (he backed down when I presented my weapon). The other, I actually got shot (my weapon was in my truck which was about 200 yards away). Both of these situations happened out in the country away from population. Just because you move out to the country, does not mean you are safe.

[GrayWolf09]

Lock the doors. Stop the car. Wait for the guy to get out and come over to you and then run him over repeatedly. (just joking mods)

[stich]

Mark, I live in Amador Co and yes it's a simple process to get your CCW here. My wife also just completed her course and is in the process of getting hers too. Nice to have you up here. I'm sure it will be better for you and your family than in Sac area. You can PM me anytime your'e up here and will be glad to take you and wife out to the range with us.

[dwtt]

I don't know if I can add anything to help, but you may want to take your wife to a range that rents guns and let her try a few different types to see which one she is comfortable shooting and carrying.
At least your wife locks the doors, my wife didn't lock the door of her car ever, until I kept harping about it when I was riding in the car with her. This just annoyed her and she didn't believe anything bad can happen until one of her friends told her about an assault and robbery in Fremont where the badguy opened an unlocked door when a woman was getting into her car at a shopping mall. Your wife did the right thing and is trying to be safe, which is good.

[norcal77]

The only thing she could think of was that she was driving a little slower than the guy liked, but she was driving slow because deer always run across the road. If it was the case that she was driving to slow the guy could have went around her. I get angry sometimes at the way some people drive but I do not over react. There is no excuse for what this person did.

I don't condone the guys actions but you didn't mention what caused this guy to go into rage mode...she could have pulled to the side like slower traffic is supposed to do if she was driving slow??? She did do the right thing and take off...even if she had a gun I don't think she can just smoke the guy for trying to open her door, especially if he was unarmed.