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By Talmadge

Like most first time concealed carriers, I was still getting used to the idea of having a piece of metal strapped to my hip. At the time I was rocking a M&P compact with 180 grain HST. I still wasn’t quite used to the idea of having a gun on me, and I felt like a pariah in civilized society. Of course, every day without fail, I would put my gun faithfully following the rules of Ayoob Massad to carry all the time. Of course I began to think I was paranoid, but one day changed all that . . .

I lived in Philadelphia at the time, and was going out for my regular afternoon walk with my dog. My fiancé decided to keep me company for the hell of it, so it was nice to have her along. On our way back to our apartment, I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

I looked across the street and saw the biggest dude I’ve ever seen in my life. He honestly must of been 6’5” and damn near 300 lbs. of pure muscle. Like some NFL player on steroids. Now, I’m a pretty big dude myself at 6 feet and 210 lbs. and solid. This guy, however, made me look like an anorexic cheerleader. And he made it very obvious that he was specifically looking at us. In fact his head turned as we crossed the street and kept looking straight at us before deciding to cross the street and follow us.

At that point, my fiancé and I started walking very fast, trying to get to our apartment which was only about 40 feet away. The psychotic mutant stalker was right behind us and closing. My fiancé and I live in an apartment where you need to walk down an alley to get to the door. We knew things were really going FUBAR when he followed us down that alley.

At that point, our apartment door was only about 10 feet away so I had my fiancé go to the door and let herself in. I stayed to cover her, I turned around in the alley and looked the stalker dead in his eyes. He was about 15 feet away from me, stopped in his tracks and looked me back, straight in the eye. I could feel time stop as I was careful not to let tunnel vision take over.

I adjusted my stance so I would be able to reach my weapon quickly and deliver two shots to his chest if he attacked me or drew a gun. I never stopped looking at him. In those few moments you could hear the gears turning in his head. Then there was that moment in his eyes where he realized he was about to make an acute failure in the victim selection process.

My 6’5 tall, 300 lb. problem looked at me a few seconds more, then turned around and walked back out the alley. I could feel my heart racing and it became quite clear at that moment why I carry a gun. For you race baiters out there, yes he was black. And guess what…I’m black too. It didn’t make a difference to him, there was no “brotherly love”. My being black didn’t magically exempt me or prevent him from him wanting to makee victims of my fiancé and me.

This man had evil in his heart and he was ready to hurt us. So for all you noobs out there in the gun world who keep hearing “there is no need for a gun” or “you are just paranoid,” The people who say that live in a la-la land world of make believe. They have no clue how fast things can go bad, or just don’t care.

Keep carrying and stay safe.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

103 COMMENTS

  1. Unrelated to this particular article, but wow TTAG is getting a lot of publicity from the Charlie Hebdo shooting reenactment. I was listening to my local so cal radio station talk about my online family (TTAG). However this publicity isn’t all good. It is making it sound like because the reenactments were a fail for the good guys, we are conceding that having a gun does not help. I wish it would be emphasized how only ONE citizen is probably not enough to stop DETERMINED AND TRAINED TERRORISTS, but is totally possible with more armed civilians.

    Also a big point we failed to make is how armed civilians may not be successful at stopping trained Al Qaeda terrorists but that doesn’t apply to stopping domestic nut job school shooters.

    • Jeez. S. Crock. Congrats on going completely OT on the very first reply. A guy would almost think you had an agenda, waiting to jump in and being so rude as to opine on something already addressed, in two lengthy past posts.

      I am not seeing or hearing that allegation about the media going on about TTAG and Charlie, except in persistent trolls here on TTAG. But I’d be interested in your links, just in case I am wrong.

      One last point- if you think you are going to get truth about guns, out of most of the mass media, let me help you out. The answer is no. In fact, right now, theres pretty much a very obvious coordinated campaign among the Reliable Party Organs, the Journalistas, and the various .orgs, PBS to Everytown, to float the memes of SCARY GUNS, BACKGROUND CHECKS, common sense and so on,
      including the paid progtard echo chambers like Vox, Politico, and Media Matters, to play on the anti-gun theme.

      You have to wonder why…

  2. One nitpick: if your fiancee had already let herself in, why wouldn’t you just scoot in behind her and close the door? Still, result: nobody got hurt, and it’s most likely because you had a gun and were ready to use it if you had to.

    This is a great example of the problem (well, one of many) with the anti-gun claim that armed self-defense is a myth: it’s impossible to quantify assaults that don’t happen.

    • I’m not even close to convinced shutting the door would have stopped this possible assault.

      And this action could actually encourage someone, “my target is running scared”…and then you end up having to shoot them INSIDE your place. And your door is broken, to boot.

      I’m hoping the author underestimated the distance…15ft is CLOSE!

    • No, ing, I don’t agree. I saw what the author did as appropriate. If you live in a neighborhood where this particular predator also lives; then establishing ones boundaries are imperative if one does not want to targeted in the future. Especially since the predator knew where he and his fiancee lives.

      Once he got his fiancee out of harms way; facing down the threat and allowing the predator to decide how far to take it was perfect.

      Word will now get out, (because predators gossip among their own kind)that this man is not one to be trifled with.

      • Plus by waiting till the ogre left to move again, he left it unclear whether they both live there, he lives there, the gal lives there, or what.

        When I lived in Miami, a kid from out church got followed by an ogre one night. Still a handful of blocks from home, he picked the first house with a well-lit porch and walked up and knocked on the door. The guy who answered it listened to the explanation and invited the kid in, then went and got his shotgun. They waited until a minute after the guy had disappeared, then the guy came out and shook the kid’s hand like they were friends, and stood on the porch watching until the kid disappeared into his own house. After the kid talked to a cop (also a church member), that maneuver was passed on as advice to all the kids in the area, the point being to make it so the ogres couldn’t tell where you lived.

    • Exactly. No shots fired, the guy walked away. I doubt Talmadge called the police, either. I wouldn’t have. The minute you mention “gun”, even if no shots were fired, the cops usually turn less-friendly.

      So, no record was made.

      Day in and day out, firearms are used by people to defend themselves, often without a shot being fired. Even if your assailant has a gun, they usually don’t expect their intended victim to have one, so when faced with one, they reconsider their course of action.

      • Um…how did the author use a gun, in this situation, to defend himself? He didn’t brandish, aim or fire the weapon. He used situation awareness and physical/psychological intimidation to ‘put out the vibe’ that he had fight in him. You don’t need a gun to do this. In fact, if you need a gun to act in such a manner you probably shouldn’t be armed. You shouldn’t do anything with a gun you wouldn’t do without one. If you wouldn’t stare down a leviathan un-armed, you shouldn’t do it armed. That 15 feed can be closed before the gun leaves the holster. If you can’t handle yourself, the big man will handle you, take your gun, kill you and who knows who else later on down the road with your gun. Just like you must learn to crawl before you walk you must learn to handle yourself before you arm yourself. That said the author did a wonderful job of ‘putting out the right vibe’ and reacting to the actions of the predator and not provoking them.

        • …And your advice to men of smaller stature is what exactly? Or those of us who are not genetically wired to grow muscle mass from thinking about the molecular structure of protein? Stare the big dude down anyways? Put a little fire in my eyes and hope that a bull human won’t call my bluff? If I felt myself becoming the target of some thug that is on the scale of almost two of me, I am NOT going to try and stand my ground unarmed. I would be completely incapable of not becoming ground beef in the alleyway.

          Knowing these truths is why I made the decision to arm myself in the first place. I have more of a right to be alive than any man who tries to make me a victim, I’m sure you feel the same of yourself. I will not attempt to stand toe to toe with anyone, it is a foolish decision. My job when it comes to my safety is to keep as much distance between us as possible, and be ready to put a ton of lead center mass if push comes to shove.

        • This comment is ignorant from Tim. He had a gun to back up his resolve. It was his leverage tool against a stronger and bigger threat. Duh.

        • What is your advice for a 4’11” 105 lb woman like me? Do I need to learn to intimidate a 6’5″ 300lb dude before I can carry a gun?

          • Anna, to be honest, you are never going to be able to intimidate a guy that size, few if any women could, and that goes for most other men, too. I’m that height but a little lighter on my feet and the only way I’m intimidated is by someone else with a firearm who knows how to use it, and even then, hey, I’ve got one, too! “Let’s dance!”

            My initial advice, FWIW, as a former cop and soldier, is to run like hell; I would if the guy was, say, eight or nine feet tall, like Achilles is described in the “Iliad”. Failing that, or cornered, you need to learn how to use a lethal weapon effectively enough to defend your life and limb.

    • Totally disagree with the nitpick.

      Talmadge did the right thing for the situation and for himself.

      Well done all around.

    • Because 1. the guy knows you ran from him and 2. he also knows where you live. That makes you a renewable resource in his mind.

      Not to put too fine a point on it, but I’m always a bit surprised at how easily people place middle-class values on these kinds of encounters. This was a violent encounter that hadn’t quite taken place. Running inside just means the thug will wait around until he gets another chance. And why shouldn’t he? You’ve already showed fear by running. Staring down a threat like that and being damn well ready to back it up communicated a very specific message to the thug. You just made it not worth his while to come back. Talmadge did the exact right thing.

      • Good point GH.

        For most of us with “middle class values” really can’t comprehend a world where there is no appeal to reason, to logic. To being nice. The only appeal is to violence, the potential for as well as the unhesitating willingness of immediate violence, to the death.

        Talmadge communicated in the only language, the only rationale, the only logic that the predator could accept and respect.

      • This is something I considered after posting my comment — that there is some value in not running, even if doing so would put a barrier between you and the threat and very likely get you out of harm’s way. First, if it means the people you’re protecting are safer, then that’s worthwhile. Second, the urban cave troll knows you’re not an easy target now (and his friends probably do too), and that’s a result with future benefits.

        Reminds me of a time when I worked with a couple of guys — obnoxious former high-school jocks — who liked to take little things from people and make them beg to get them back. They’d walk up and swipe a guy’s pen or tape measure, and the game would commence. They left me alone for quite a while, but one day there were no other targets, and suddenly my pen was in this guy’s hand, and he was taunting me about how he was going to throw it someplace where I’d never be able to get it. I asked him to give it back. He didn’t. But I’d had more than enough of that kind of humiliation back in high school. So instead of pleading or trying to make a futile grab for my pen like everyone else always did, I grabbed him. One fist twisted into his shirt collar to pull him off balance, another cocked back to strike, face-to-face, I said it once more: “hand it over.” And that was it. He handed over my pen posthaste, and though other people suffered from his attention, neither he nor his friend ever bothered me again.

        Not that the situation is equivalent, but I think the thought process is similar. Was my response out of proportion? Maybe. But there were definite benefits to letting them know I wouldn’t play their game.

  3. Talmadge: Good for you. Thanks for the article. I hope it was cathartic to write it.

    S. Crock: You’re right, your post is unrelated. Talmadge wrote a great, heartfelt article here and you are hijacking the comments.

  4. the issue of is this a good thing or a bad thing, ref. to weather or not this was handled properly. First I would say that to monday morning quarterback this is a good thing, allows food for thought for a future similar incident that could arise. As stated, why didnt he just follow his finance into the house. This would have been the one reason a “by the book” prosecuter would have brought charges against the armed citizen. He put himself into harms way, one might even argue that he went looking for the fight, knowing that he was armed and wanted a confrontation. All I teach is that if you go out armed you should always go thru every possible issue that may arise and think how that will be looked at from both sides.

    • Depends on what state you live in. In Indiana we have a curettage law and Castle Doctrine. My home and the outside space around my home are my domain and I have every right to protect myself within that space, and that includes my car.
      I think Mr Talmadge acted properly, what other choice did Mr Talmadge have? Except to maybe scurry through his door to have it broken down and have to shoot someone inside to protect his self and his fiancee. I don’t think most people are really concerned about what the law is when/if their life may be on the line. There are really only two choices “fight, or flee.”

    • It depends on the state. Any state with a good stand your ground law and he could’ve faced him down in the street and it would be fully legal. And even preferable.

    • So, Talmadge rushes to his front door only to find that the thug, no amateur, seizes his tactical advantage and attacks while his targets are desperately trying to unlock their front door. Talmadge now finds himself in a close space occupied by himself, his girlfriend, his dog and very large, very threatening assailant. His ability to respond is now so sharply limited that he may not even have time to dray his weapon to defend himself.

  5. All right, I’ll be that guy. If you are engaged to be married to a man, you have a fiancé. If you are engaged to be married to a woman, you have a fiancée.

    Otherwise, good story and bravo.

    • I’ll cop to noticing it, too, and considering pointing out the difference, but deciding against it and electing instead to Ctrl-F the comments on “fiancée” to see whether anyone else had.

  6. Yep. No surprise a black predator was targeting another black. At least if one keeps up with the realities of FBI crime stats.

    The attempt by a Hispanic predator to mug me is what got me to start carrying a weapon.

    And as you found out, a human predatoe has a flashing light on their head, (predator on the hunt), if you have situational awareness.

    What is really fantastic is that once a person crosses into the realm of reality and has situational awareness combined with a carry weapon, ( and the willingness to use it) predators, both animal and human; can tell that you are not weak, helpless or defenseless, and will generally leave you alone without needing to fire a shot.

  7. Great article Talmadge! I always enjoy write ups like this one as they are the un-sung DGUs that need to be more reported.

    • Wow thats harsh. This guy wrote a totally plausible story of a life experience. I happen to believe him and I am grateful he shared it. If someone says that something someone else said/did is bs, it should be based off of some likely evidence.

    • What , that this event didn’t happen?

      It”s called transference. Just because you wouldn’t have the gumption to carry a gun or the nerve to face down a threat as described by the author doesn’t mean others are so handicapped.

      • Not sure what orifice you’re pulling those assumptions out of ThomasR…I see my comment got under your skin. Oh well. Cheers.

    • Yeah, ok. No disrespect meant but I just am not feeling the story. I’m 6’3″, 240lbs and not fat, so I’m not typically getting guys coming at me. Similarly, I did however once (while in Paris by myself in the “wrong” area looking very touristy) have some similarly large black dude casing/following me on the opposite side of the street. Very unnerving as he looked like a predator, seemed bigger/more ominous than me and I wasn’t armed. What I wasn’t going to do is “run” like a wimp – that only invites it. Instead, I turned (channeled my inner Ivan Drago LOL), looked him straight in the eyes and walked straight towards him. He turned abruptly and went the other direction. I do know how to handle myself and dumb or not (because I wasn’t armed), it worked. If I WERE armed and with my lady and the situation in this story happened to me, I sure the hell wouldn’t have run back to my own residence, inviting the perp to visit later for God’s sake. That’s a terrible plan. I don’t know any mindful man that would think that was a good tactic/strategy. I wouldn’t invite him to case my place and rape/kill my wife and daughters when I wasn’t home. That’s smart. I would have stood my ground on the spot, telling my lady to keep on walking to a slightly safer distance. This would have been no different than the potential deadly confrontation the OP had on his porch (so to speak), although the perp would have left without knowing where I lived. I dunno, I normally believe people and their stories but this story just smells fishy to me. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. No biggie and no one needs to feel all disrespected over/about it. Cheers.

  9. Good call Talmadge.
    I’ll do some arm chairing here too.
    First thing I thought was if you would have ran inside, he would have been more emboldened. A- you ran. B- he can take his plundering and pillaging inside. Away from eyes and ears.

    You won. You weren’t in a fight.

  10. The frustrating part about this story is the same thing that makes it such a success… its a perfect example of where the presence of a firearm neutralized a massive strength advantage and saved two potential victims without the need to take a life, but since there was no gun drawn, no police report, no dead guy stinking up the alley it is lost in the wind as an example of why we do (or should) all carry.

    • Exactly. A DGU that won’t get counted.

      This is why the low estimates on DGU’s are nuts easily discounted.

  11. He was walking his dog.
    Apparently it wasn’t a rottweiler.
    Anyway, thanks for sharing.

    Cue the usual idiots who will say you should just up’n move out of Philadelphia. Feel free to post your selfish, unrealistic suggestions below.

    • Why couldn’t it be? Large dogs are popular targets for theft for fighting or sale. Small dogs are sometimes taken to be used to train fighting dogs to be mean. A former coworker had a similar incident walking his pit. Five large black men approached tried to surround him and started demanding the dog. That incident was also cleared up with the mere hint of the gun he carried.

  12. I love when the anti-gunner biddies go on and on about us being “paranoid”. What they call “paranoid”, we call a sense of self preservation.

    • I’ve had that discussion many times.

      “Who do you think is out to get you?”
      “I don’t think anyone is out to get me.”
      “Then why do you need a gun?”
      “That will be decided by someone else at a later time.”
      “But you don’t NEED a gun!”
      “That can change in an instant. Once your house is on fire, it’s too late to go get a fire extinguisher.” etc…

      • I’ve had someone try this wanna be, pseudo, psychology “Who do you think is out to get you?” crap on me… I said,” No one, if I thought someone was after me, I would’ve brought a big ass rifle.”

        Throws them off.

    • If I hadn’t been “paranoid” . . . .

      some kids in a youth group I was responsible for would have been molested.
      I and a friend would have been badly beaten up.
      I’d be dead.

      So I ask people, “Are you really saying you’d rather those kids got molested, my friend and I got beat up, and I got killed?” Because in their fantasy world, that’s how things would have turned out.

  13. My first thought about all this is… “You see a dangerous dude, and walk to your house/apartment anyway.” Why would you let this guy know where you lived? I wouldn’t want him to have any IDEA of where I lived. Just because a confrontation doesn’t happen now doesn’t mean it can’t happen later. And I also don’t buy the comment up above that somehow magically this guy is immune from being targeted and that “word will get around that this guy is not to be trifled with”. Everybody sleeps sometime. And I don’t think it’s necessarily wise to assume you can psychoanalyze every predator that comes your way. Being armed and ready to defend yourself? Good. Going to your house with some crazy person following you? Not good.

    • “Why would you let this guy know where you lived? … Just because a confrontation doesn’t happen now doesn’t mean it can’t happen later.”

      I agree 1000%.

      Also, never let a predator get that close to you. If you cross the street and the predator crosses the street, if you pick up the pace and the predator picks up the pace, if you turn a corner and the predator turns the corner, you turn and tell the predator in the most assertive voice that you have to “Back off!”. And you do that while the predator is still 40+ feet away. If a predator kept advancing on me at that point, I would draw my firearm and tell them to get lost.

      • Exactly. Which brings up another point. Outside of a combat situation, most predators give a LOT of tells if you are situationally aware. It’s not that it can’t happen, but it’s pretty uncommon for the bad guy to run up behind you full tilt without there being ANY clue that there was a BG nearby. They circle prey like sharks. And being aware of them minimizes your odds for victim selection in the first place.

        It always makes me laugh when people poo poo all over Israeli Carry Method because of the half a second extra it ads to your draw time (ignoring all the OTHER ways in which you can lose half a second… like IWB/OWB or where you are carrying on your body, etc.) And I really think that if that half a second makes a difference, you’re either in an extremely rare circumstance you probably wouldn’t have won anyway no matter what you were packing or how… or you are too situationally unaware to even be carrying a firearm in the first place. Guns aren’t magic.

      • Oh and agreed. I would absolutely draw down on someone who was doing the shark circling thing and mirroring my movements. I don’t think it’s credible to say such a person (particularly if you are alone) is not posing a legitimate threat. The good thing about drawing a little earlier than you are “officially supposed to” in a situation like that is… they have the option to choose not to engage with you. Last minute drawing almost always means shooting. I’m willing to shoot someone if I have to, but I would prefer not to.

        • I believe most incidents play out like that and that the legal ambiguity is most of the reason they are not reported. A belief that no good will come from reporting covers the rest.

        • Probably so. In cases where you draw the gun but never have to fire, almost nobody reports that because strictly speaking “nothing happened”.

    • hell, i take many turns in my vehicle to get home from work and if any car, that i don’t recognize, takes the same turns with me i drive right by my house and see how long they’ll follow to determine if they are following. never take em to the homestead. we all have to sleep sometime.

      • Yep. I’m always baffled by the people who seem super comfortable with random strangers knowing exactly where they live.

    • Well Summer; have you ever been targeted by a human predator? I have.

      Hind sight is twenty/twenty. But if this was the first time that the author had been targeted, then accepting the reality versus the theory of being looked at as prey by a predator is a big one. So as he is walking home there is the hope that maybe he’s wrong, until as he’s going down the alley, “oh sh-t, he’s following us!” Reality confirmed.

      As for the psychology of a predator? I lived for a number of years as in what was called “the war zone” primarily Hispanic with three violent Hispanic drug gangs in an eight block area. ( I was relatively young and with no family and rent was cheap)

      So I carried a concealed weapon while out walking my dog. I heard that the other lone non-gang affiliated guys living in the hood would be verbally bullied by the gangs. But when I walked by not one word would be said to me. It probably helped that my dog was a Chow.

      I heard later from people in the area that the gossip was that they figured I was in the military or an off duty cop and wasn’t someone to be F’d with. Nor with my dog. Like I said, predators can smell defenseless.

      I figure that human nature being what it is, that the same psychology and gossip will apply pretty much any where.

      • Yes, Thomas, I have. I’ve been stalked.

        But it’s not just hindsight. It’s really common sense. Maybe women are socialized differently from men so most of us would never lead random probable predators right up to our front door.

        And also… even if hindsight is 20/20 do you not feel it’s beneficial for us to point this stuff out so other readers here don’t have to live their life through hindsight? Sometimes hindsight means you’re raped or murdered. So, I’d rather hear somebody pontificate before a situation arises than after. And the person writing the story obviously even with hindsight didn’t get that he made a potentially fatal error.

        Also, the problem with your theory about “oh maybe he just now realized it” is that it’s not until after he seems to realize some dude is following them that he STILL leads the guy right to his front door. Ummm huh???

        Even if you just suspect it, why lead them to your door? Unless you plan on killing this dude right here, right now, probably not great for him or his buddies to know where you live. I know some people seem to think presenting a gun makes BG’s pee their pants. For some it does. Others are OFFENDED that you would dare to defend yourself and will come back later, armed, with friends.

        And in your story… it was figured that you were “military or an off duty cop”. I would argue that you maybe having a gun was not the primary reason nobody wanted to F with you. It was because they thought YOU had friends with guns AND training.

        • Sorry Summer, you seem really offended that Talmadge led the predator back to His house.

          It’s the point you made. I would also put it down to the fact that men normally don’t think about being targeted by a stalker, so most men aren’t going to think about this type of scenario ahead of time and figure out in the heat of battle that going back to ones house showing where you live to a predator isn’t the best thing to do.

          This is why thinking of “what if” scenarios ahead of time before an emergency happens is a very good idea. And then critiquing such scenarios like we are doing now.

          The last point you made Summer was interesting. So I wasn’t harassed not because I might be a cop or or soldier with weapons and training but because I might have friends that are cops and soldiers with weapons and training.

          Harsh Summer, very harsh. You used a big caliber hand gun on that one.

          Remember, you only use lethal force when your life is in danger, the rest of the time, being nice is what civilized people do among each other.

        • I’m not “offended” that he led the predator to his house. I think it was F’ing stupid. And I’m not going to apologize for that opinion. You are free to disagree with me, and we’ll simply disagree on that point.

          That’s fair enough re: most men aren’t going to think about this type of scenario up front. Most women do, though. And you can bet the woman in the story probably worried about him coming back another time.

          Re: “So I wasn’t harassed because…”

          Well you said it was gang territory. And these dudes run in packs. Why would a whole pack of gang guys care that much about one guy having a gun? If they wanted to, they could gang up on you and overpower you. But if they thought you were LEO or military they assume you have your own gang and that you are all trained. Look, I’m not saying that it couldn’t be solely you packing heat or the way you carry yourself or whatever, but the fact that it was going around that you might be LEO or military tells me they assumed you had your own gang. That’s just common sense.

          LMAO @ “you used a big caliber handgun on that one.” Sorry I don’t think I’m being harsh. If you want to believe it was your own personal individual manliness in play and only that, feel free. I wasn’t there. Maybe it was just that you all by yourself are just that scary/threatening/intimidating.

    • “My first thought about all this is… “You see a dangerous dude, and walk to your house/apartment anyway.” Why would you let this guy know where you lived? ”

      His first thought was to get her behind a locked door. His door apparently was the closest.

      The best choice? Dunno. AT THAT MOMENT he had to get her to safety.

      Looks to me he’s a sheepdog. (In the protective sense.)

      I won’t criticize his choice here. He was there, we weren’t…

      • Fair enough, but I’m about sick to death of the “damsel in distress” routine. She should have been armed herself. If my husband EVER tried to shove me behind a door instead of letting me defend my own damn self, we would not remain a couple long thereafter.

        • No doubt you are not eager to live on regretting your husband dying to protect you if you could have defended your self. To many people are willing to abdicate their safety to others without considering the consequences to those others.

        • Drew, our policy is… I have his back, he has mine. We’d probably both jump in front of a bullet for the other. We are a team, and that’s what being a team means. IMO.

  14. Speaking as a 60 yo 125lb cancer patient — I think it is worth pointing out that a gun is a MINIMUM weapon in most threatening incidents — for reasons of disparity of force or number.

    Also: This event will not be counted as a DGU — but carrying played a role.

  15. All’s well that ends well; the potential vics both got home safe and sound and apparently the giant dude never bothered them again. I guess I’m a giant dude, too; 6’5″ and now down to 250 from 275. No one has ever followed me like that, accosted me on the street or attempted an assault, at least not in my civilian attire. Size probably has something to do with it; but also attitude. If you act like you can walk the walk and stare the buggers down, it often works; they prefer easy prey, just as the cops prefer the low-hanging fruit and concentrate on busting small fry rather than the big hitters all the time.

    I don’t feel much like a giant dude anymore, though; more like the anorexic cheerleader that the writer describes as himself facing that guy; not after seeing the current crop of NFL players. Holy crap, I feel like a midget next to them boyz.

    As for allowing the potential perp to see where they live? Well, they’ve been alerted to him now; they know what he looks like real well and can give a decent description to the police if need be. The writer is also armed and was prepared to use lethal force, what more can we ask for here? As I said, all’s well that ends well, nobody hurt, just a couple of people, maybe three people, made a little nervous for a few minutes. Bear in mind that dude could have got across the 15 feet lickety-split but discretion proved the better part of “valor.”

  17. All good, except as mentioned, you brought him right to your home. Predators will stake you out, they will learn your schedule. I hope your partner is armed as well, because now big boy knows what time you go to work and when you return.

      • I also don’t advertise my firearms status to my neighbors, considering A) I don’t trust pretty much all of them (really looking forward to moving) and B) I have no idea about any of their company

        • So true. Someone a few comments up said that now you know what the BG looks like and can give his description to the cops. Ummm? Most people have insanely bad memories when it comes to describing someone well enough for a sketch artist. This people remembering exactly what the BG looks like is movie-reality, not real-reality for most people.

          Police forces are overworked anyway. If they can’t get to your house in time to stop really bad stuff from going down, what makes someone think they’re going to catch your dude with the “vague description” before he comes back to your house with his friends. And you don’t know what his friends look like.

          Most BG’s are cowards at root. And cowards have packs.

  18. …..the rest of the story (from the Predators perspective)

    Hey, that looks like the people that just moved in next door. I think I’m going to go introduce myself to them. Boy they sure are walking fast. I want to catch them before they get inside to introduce myself and politely ask if they can pick up after their dog when he defecates outside the apartment. Wow he’s looking at me kind of crazy, maybe they are fighting. This probably isn’t a good time. I’ll just go back to my apartment and bring it up later when he doesn’t look like he’s in such a foul mood.

    ……..Just then Rod Serling steps out to begin the epilogue…….

    • Bull.

      In your scenario, a simple, “Hey man, I live across the street. Can we have a chat?” would have set the tone of the encounter.

      BG in the author’s scenario didn’t say anything at all…not very “neighborly.”

      • In the liberal scenario he was just a mutated ugly man who couldn’t talk and didn’t have any friends and was just looking for friends, but they shunned him and he cried and couldn’t take his friendless life anymore so he went and through himself off a bridge… Tragic… And then they wrote an asinine story about it on cnn

    • So T-Bob, I’ll ask you as well. Have you ever been targeted by a human predator?

      I would have to assume that you have not. Because once you have, there is no doubt as to their intent and being able to recognize another predator on the hunt versus some friendly neighbor wanting to say hi.

      It’s the difference that you feel when you are at the zoo and watch a zebra eating some grass and then watching a lion examining you through the bars with an intent stare. The chill you get is the chill you would feel when a human predator in the wild is on the hunt and you are the target.

      There is no mistaking that gut feel, the hair going up on the back of your neck and the sense of impending danger.

      But most people have never experienced this. Yet. It’s like trying to describe a rainbow to a blind person from birth, they have no comprehension of what you are describing.

      • +1. And the advice from William Aprill, the expert cited in the interview JR in NC linked, was the same-
        you know if something isnt right. And the thing to do is honor that and get out of there, right now.

        And if confronted- to provide the attacker with enough of a threat, for him to make the No, of the Go, No Go decision. Tigers dont fight tigers. Its not safe. Apex predators get very good at making many assessments of potential prey and passing up on all but the weak- the go.

        Mr Talmadge made the predator assess him as a No- Go. A win for Talmadge, possibly saving his life.

  19. Amen. The people who tell us that we don’t need firearms have never found themselves in a situation where they themselves needed one. Nor have they ever at one point in time thought they should own one just in case. All it takes is one instance to turn a person into a convert or a statistic.

  21. Re all the comments about the unwisdom of showing the punk where you live; you’ve got your girl with you. The only thing, well the first thing that counts is her safety. Get her to safety. Then worry about the fine points. I’d say good job. If the bad guy knows you’re carrying, he may look for easier pickings. You’ll know to be watching for him, too.

    • No, arm her. Teach her to defend herself. Women should not be helpless victims sitting around waiting to stroke your ego as you “defend us”. It’s far too unsafe in this world for women not to be armed.

  22. Inluding the ‘for all you race baiters out there, the guy was black. And I am too.” at the end was alittle weird and unnecessary. Their was never any implication of race until you brought it up. Honestly, I pictured a white guy while reading the story. Consideringthe number of robbery by whites are not very far below the number for blacks and whites greatly outnumer blacks for burglaries. A little tip, don’t bring race into something where it isn’t required. If the so called ‘race baiters’ do then so be it.

    • I respectfully disagree. We don’t do the problems of race in our society justice without being open and honest about it. His bringing up the race angle added another dimension to the story for me. In a perfect world, it wouldn’t. But that is not the world we live in.

    • I pictured a big white guy with tattoos. It didn’t even occur to me until he mentioned it that the criminal was black.

  23. Then there is the reason with him tactic. My situation is very different. I live about 50 miles west of Downtown Houston. It still has a country flavor out here. Long story short, I moved in about 5 years ago. Neighbor across the street, old Nam Vet as well. He asked me once, “why do you wave at everybody that goes by”? I told him, “So they know I am aware of them”. There are a few that I am very aware of. My closest neighbors, fortunately, have proven to be some of the best. We are a diverse bunch but we do watch out as best we can for each other. I have been in and out of Houston over the years, it has it’s “war zones” and it’s fringes. “Bad guys” are universal.

  24. Good post. Hey I’m in my 60’s and a lifelong weightlifter/powerlifter/bodybuilder. At one time 250pounds of muscle at 6ft. And I still got attacked by more than one black man. There’s a lot of lunatics and a##holes out there people. And yeah I’m a white man married to a black woman. None of the lowlifes asked…all this happened in and around Chicago. And I didn’t carry any weapons of any kind then either. Shite happens…

  25. 1. Kudos for handling a difficult situation very, very well.

    2. More kudos for sharing the story…and for telling the story well!

  27. That adjustment of stance for improved access to your self-defense firearm telegraphed, in the right way, the gravity of the situation the follower had created for himself. It’s so powerful, that it can work to deter an attack or even reverse one just as it’s about to start.

    Think of it as a warning shot that’s never fired, from a firearm that’s never presented. In an impromptu cost/benefit analysis, those gears turning in his head contemplated their own imminent transformation into a red chunky stew. Contrary to gun grabbers’ claims, it’s the presence of a self-defense firearm that provided for a peaceful outcome.

  28. You should not have identified the location of your home since he can now attack you at HIS convenience. Walking to another location, lit and with witnesses such as an open business, would have been safer. Either way, congrats and stay safe. ALWAYS CARRY.

  29. Mr. Talmadge, thanks for taking the time to write and share your story. You wrote it so well, that I was captivated and felt that it was me in your story. I’m glad that you had a happy ending.

    P.S. – You were not really dressed as a cheerleader were you? j/k

  30. Or maybe he thought he knew you guys, and then realized he didn’t. I carry, but I don’t consider every nonviolent interaction a potential DGU.

    • When you get in one of those situations you will know. I remember a year ago I had 3 punks walk up on the other side of a gas pump discussion which one of them was going to jump me. The ended up walking over to the door of the store for a while and then walked off the property. I am glad they walked away, but I pumped gas with my hand in place just in case and kept track of them. 2 of them were arrested for armed robbery 2 nights later about 10 blocks away.

    • There is more than one way to hold one’s head in the sand.

      He’s not talking about EVERY interaction…he’s talking about ONE. No where in his story does he say he reacts like this every time someone makes eye contact or walks near.

      His instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong. Survivors learn to listen to that signal.

  31. Unfortunately I live in a place where carrying weapons is forbidden. I mention this as it may (partially) explain why I have been mugged 3 times, none in a dangerous neighborhood. On all 3 occasions the hair on my neck stood at the sight of the perpetrators. On none of the occasions did I do what instinct was yelling (“several bad guys!! RUN!!”) when on all 3 occasions I was sufficiently far away to escape. The moral of the story: listen to your instincts. They exist for a reason. Millions of years of evolution have hard wired into you the ability to know a threat when you see one.

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