Defensive Gun Use of the Day: Vance West

March 12, 2012

Vance West is a 92-year-old cattle rancher who lives alone on a 100 acre spread outside Bois D’Arc, Missouri in the southwest corner of the state. The area’s had some trouble lately with a number of thefts and break-ins. West himself has lost $3,000 in equipment to thieves recently. And you don’t get to be a 92-year-old rancher by being a shrinking violet. So when he caught three of dudes with larceny in their hearts jumping his fence again last week, he was armed . . .

From dailymail.co.uk:

‘He started climbing over the gate, and I told him not to climb over. He climbed over anyway, so I pulled a gun on him,’ West told a reporter from petoskeynews.com.

I told him, “Do you see where it’s cocked?” He says, “I can see,”‘ West said. ‘He was sassy. He told me he wasn’t going to do it.’

‘See, there’s where they left,’ he told a reporter, pointing out tire tracks. ‘They will be back. I think they will be back.’

They may have gotten away this time, but Mr. West figures three’s the charm. He wants another crack at them.

‘I hope I could catch them one more time – one! I have no respect for a thief. I have no respect for them. They work harder at that than they would a job,’ the farmer said.

Now, what was that about old guys and their guns?

9 COMMENTS

bontai Joe March 12, 2012 At 16:11

Mr. West sounds like a guy I’d like to meet and chat with.
- spymyeyes March 12, 2012 At 16:21
  
  It goes like this:
  
  “Never pick a fight with an old guy because he will just pull a gun and kill you rather than fight you”.
  - Joel March 12, 2012 At 16:25
    
    isn’t that the saying “don’t run from fat cops”?
sdog March 12, 2012 At 16:15

GET OFF MY LAWN!
GS650G March 12, 2012 At 21:32

Next time wait until they are in the house or barn. Then quietly close the door and clear your throat. Don’t forget to take out the earplugs when the law shows up.
Ralph March 12, 2012 At 22:37

Never try to steal an old guy’s social security check. He’ll shoot you dead. Are you feeling me, Congress?
pjriot March 13, 2012 At 14:24

I strongly recommend finding a second (local) source to verify this article. The Daily Mail are notoriously unreliable.
- Mike in NC March 13, 2012 At 17:11
  
  The Blaze had this story too but sourced it to a local TV station: KY3.com. So the story isn’t dodgy, but the Daily Mail stills taken from the KY3.com video and modified with a “Petoskey News” copyright mark looks questionable to me. The original story on KY3.com is marked “Copyright © 2012, KY3-TV”
allthelivelongday March 14, 2012 At 09:45

Picking on an infirmed old man. Somebody ought to solve this problem for him. It’s quite obviously out of control of law enforcement. (they need more money…. etc.)