A Personal PM9 Self Defense Story

[Amacro]

Another example of why it's important to practice practice etc.
This an example of how things can go wrong suddenly
Al

[Riverbend]

Good Job, handled like a pro,

[kwh]

Thanks for the info. Real world experience is the best. It is my humble opinion that a large breed 80-100 pound dog charging would be every bit as difficult to stop as a crack -head/Special-K 300 lb. person. Fortunately, no experience with either for me. Good info when I can OWB carry and have a choice.

This was some years ago so keep that in mind. Loads I used that did not perform well, .38 lead swc, .45 acp hardball, 158 grain jhp .357, are those that come to mind.

The .357 125 jhp and the 9mm BPLE pretty much stopped them in their tracks. The .357 seemed a bit more dramatic upon impact.

[lee1000]

Outstanding sir, you'll forever be a hero in the eyes of your daughter and wife.

[KCAutoBob]

knkali, good comment. Anymore I generally carry a 9mm (PM9 or a Shield) for whatever threat.
In the one case of an aggressive animal charging me, I went to a kneeling position just for that angular advantage, but fortunately I didn't have to fire a shot. The dog stopped as if he sensed that I, or my own dog who I'd called to me, was neither threat, nor victim, and went away. Sometimes, your intuitive response can interfere with the ol' OODA loop. Better to stay aware of surroundings and situations, I say, so you CAN have time. Timing, like they say, can be everything, especially in standup comedy.
2nd thought- remembering back, I think my threat animal was a pitbull or pitbull mix- you see a lot of those (or Chihuahuas) running loose where I live. Another time we had a pitbull in our neighborhood that had made the mistake of trying to attack a PD officer as he was getting out of his patrol car, and got shot.
Just remember, Chihuahuas are much smaller and more difficult targets....

[Bawanna]

I was getting my mail back in the early 80's when the German Shepard that lived across the street decided to try and eat me. I was standing at the mail box, looking at the mail when I just got a bad feeling.
I turned around and he was coming on, ears down, just didn't look like he was coming to play.
I drew my Colt Cobra which I carried at the time and cocked it, yeah I'm a thumb buster, even double action, if it has a hammer I'll cock it and was going for the squeeze when about 10 ft away or so he suddenly stopped. Turned around and walked away. Had about 3 gallons of adrenaline flowing through me.

A few days later the lady, called her the crazy German, accent and spit when she spoke told me her dog would never hurt anybody, so I assume that she must have called him and I didn't hear it. It was a very close thing and I played with it several times after that. Glad I didn't have to shoot it.

Another quick dog story. I worked for a fence company for my first job, had worked there 6 or 7 years. Boss had a German Shepard that I got along great with, good dog. One day for the first time I arrived at work riding my new motorcycle, I won't say what it was since it was a rice grinder and not a Harley.

That dog went into attack mode. I saw him coming, stopped got the kickstand down before he launched and took me off the bike and to the ground. Fortunately I was wearing a leather jacket and helmet. I was talking to him and calling his name and he must have recognized the voice plus the boss came a running too and he let me live.
Don't blame the dog, with helmet and stuff, he didn't know it was me, just doing what he was supposed to do I reckon.
Rode the bike several times after than and he never bothered me again.

[berettabone]

Before conceal carry was passed in my state, and our Lab was still alive, the wifey and I were confronted in the neighborhood by a Pitbull and a Rottie. Did a lot of yelling and screaming at the wifey to keep moving and head home to call LE. The dogs were honed in to our dog, and I kicked the rottie in the head twice to get him off of our dog. I thought that it could be my day of being chewed up. The pitbull was a bystander, just waiting for the action to start. I managed to get the wife away, and got the dogs to go towards their property. LE arrived with 3 cars, and the first officer immediately drew his weapon and asked where that pos rottie was. He said that they were the most useless animal on the planet, and actually it should be the owners who get shot for their lack of training skills and stupidity. As we were talking, the rottie came across the street, and started sniffing the officers leg. He had his firearm pointed at the rotties head, and was just waiting/hoping for the first ***. He came to the house and made sure my wifey and dog were ok. We found out later on, that the owners had been ticketed over 100 times for loose/vicious dogs. I told the officer that had I had a firearm, they would have been taking a report on two dead dogs. He said that I should make sure to drag one of them on to my property, for my own legal protection. I give you much credit for how you handled the situation. I can say, that if I would have been carrying at the time, the owner would have been carting two dead dogs away. Where my wifey and a pet are concerned, I don't play nice, and would have dealt with the consequences. I'm glad your family was unharmed. You did the right thing in my book, and the dog got lucky, and the owner should have had a swift kick in the arse.