I was almost Forced to PULL THE TRIGGER....

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Target1911
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I was almost Forced to PULL THE TRIGGER....

#1

Post by Target1911 »

tonight as I left for Turkey dinner.
I had walked out to the truck, opened the passenger door, placed my pistol in the door pocket. As usual I made one more scan of the area around me before I get in the truck. ALL CLEAR. I get in and with one foot still on the ground I reach to close the door. As I reach for the door I scan again..... I grab my pistol from the door...take aim....and yell STOP>>>>GET AWAY....he runs to the end of my drive and turns, just stands there and looks at me with this dumb look on his face.....wagging his tail. There stood a rather large PIT BULL. Turns out he was nice. My GF is freakin out wandering what the heck just happened and why did I pull my gun. But I hate PITS and that is one dog that sacres the Pooo outta me.

There is a blind spot at the rear of the truck. When I am on my porch, that is the only spot I cant see. That is where he had to be because my GF never saw him either..while walking up the other side of the truck..although she has never been complimented on her situational awareness.

One thing I noticed about me during all of this was everything going thru my mind. First thing (after I took aim) was where will my bullets go if I miss. Even if I did miss they would hit the ground but there is house just across the street behind the dog....ok now I gotta worry about a ricochet....well....I better have darn good reason to shoot...what his the temperment of the dog.....YELL AT EM....now he is running...THANK GOD...


My BIGGEST concern was the saftey of ppl around or in that house and that is why questioned the temperment of the dog before shooting it.
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G.A. Heath
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#2

Post by G.A. Heath »

I've been in a similar situation recently, also with a pit bull. I nearly shot the animal three different times. Each time I have called the S/O and had them dispatch the animal control officer. The first time the animal approached me inside a moving truck (my sister was moving from my house). The second time I got into the bed of my truck to avoid getting bit. The most recent event happened last month. Myself and one of the Sheriff deputies had a discussion after the last encounter regarding the new dangerous dog law. As to why animal control has not done anything regarding this animal, rumor has it he is somehow related to its owners (Our suspected local bootleggers/drug dealers).
How do you explain a dog named Sauer without first telling the story of a Puppy named Sig?
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#3

Post by AFJailor »

I've never had to much fear of pit bulls, to me, unless animal exhibits some kind of agressive behavior then I dont believe there is really anything to fear.
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#4

Post by AEA »

There is a pit bull terrorizing the neighborhood where I live. I am out in the country, unincorporated, and everyone has at least 1/2 acre lots with Mobile Homes.

There were several dogs running around loose awhile back. A couple of pit bulls got into fights with other dogs and small children were nearby. One smaller dog was actually killed by the pit's. Enough people complained that the County Animal Control and S.O. came out to have a look. Then a notice was given out to all residences that all dogs must be on a chain or contained inside a fence so that they cannot run free.

Well that solved my immediate problem as the one across the road from me liked to come over and leave me a surprise near my doorstep almost daily!

All was good for a few Months. Just last week, I was informed by a neighbor that a white pit bull is again roaming the neighborhood and is a very aggressive dog. He is one of the two that killed a smaller dog before as mentioned above.

The S.O. was back out as apparently others have complained again. The S.O. knows that a lot of us out here are well armed. He actually does business with one neighbor who does custom gun stocks. He said that if any of us see this dog loose and running around (especially on our property) for us to go ahead and shoot it and there will be no charges filed.

I do not think I would attempt to shoot it with a handgun unless it was actually attacking me. But, I have the Rem 870 Marine Magnum out of the safe and loaded up with 00 Buck in case I see him on my property.
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#5

Post by Target1911 »

AFJ....

I could only wish I didnt have the fear for larger dogs I dont know.
I have been attacked/bitten 3 times.....

1st was our family pet..a mut..just went crazy one day and got me in the face..(sneak attack)

2nd was a neighbors dog...German Shepherd...not provoked...now have a nice reminder (scar) on my arm from that one...(walked right up to me then lunged)

3rd was a customers dog...a little mut...bit me on the leg...(sneak attack)...owner said dog had never bitten anyone before...then got super mad when I demanded shot records....had to call Animal controle...dog was quarentined.

I have been chaced by many other dogs that were dead set on gettin my hide. I have been forced to jump fences, in trees, on the back of my work truck (many times) and many other things to avoid an attack. That was before I was armed.

Had another family pet...full blood Chow...went crazy and attacked another kid...(sneak attack)...my dad shot that one too

Had a friend whos lil girl was attacked by thier dog...family pet (Akita) and was nearly killed. The child was 6yo

If that Pit would have showed the least little bit of aggression to me...he would now be DEAD. The ONLY reason I didnt shoot him then was because of the house somewhat in my line of fire.

Oh Yeah....This Pit walked around the from behind my SUV and was only 3ft from me. Not to mention...when a Pit bites they dont let go.
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Re: I was almost Forced to PULL THE TRIGGER....

#6

Post by KBCraig »

Target1911 wrote:As I reach for the door I scan again..... I grab my pistol from the door...take aim....and yell STOP>>>>GET AWAY....he runs to the end of my drive and turns, just stands there and looks at me with this dumb look on his face.....wagging his tail.
He was doing exactly what 99.9% of pits will do: wag their tails at you. If he had a dumb look on his face, it was because he couldn't understand being yelled at when he was being friendly.

But I hate PITS and that is one dog that sacres the Pooo outta me.


While you're thinking through shots, backstop, etc., you might want to work on this unjustified phobia before it causes you to take an unjustified shot. Your subject line says "almost forced to pull the trigger"... it wasn't the dog that almost "forced" it, but your irrational fear of it.

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#7

Post by AFJailor »

One day at work a buddy and myself responded to a call of a "angry pitbull" wandering around base housing. We arrived on scene to find this little 6 month old puppy wandering around starving and digging through peoples trash. We bought it a whopper from burger king and then drove him to the SPCA. Now, the SPCA kills strays off after 4 days if no one picks them up and since pitbulls suffer under the "angry dog" stereotype they are illegal within city limits.(the AirBase isnt within city limits.) So on the third day my buddy went and adopted the Pit and it has been the most loyal and protective dog you could ever want. Oh and he still chows down on whoppers.
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Re: I was almost Forced to PULL THE TRIGGER....

#8

Post by KC5AV »

KBCraig wrote:
Target1911 wrote:As I reach for the door I scan again..... I grab my pistol from the door...take aim....and yell STOP>>>>GET AWAY....he runs to the end of my drive and turns, just stands there and looks at me with this dumb look on his face.....wagging his tail.
He was doing exactly what 99.9% of pits will do: wag their tails at you. If he had a dumb look on his face, it was because he couldn't understand being yelled at when he was being friendly.
But I hate PITS and that is one dog that sacres the Pooo outta me.

While you're thinking through shots, backstop, etc., you might want to work on this unjustified phobia before it causes you to take an unjustified shot. Your subject line says "almost forced to pull the trigger"... it wasn't the dog that almost "forced" it, but your irrational fear of it.
Sadly, it isn't an irrational fear. The OP stated that he has been bitten a number of times. My wife was attacked by a German Shepherd as a child. To this day, she has a problem with them.

You are right that probably 99.9% of pits are not going to be aggressive, but it's that .1% that can cause problems.

It's usually a pretty good idea to be cautious of unknown dogs, and this one seemed to fit the bill.
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Re: I was almost Forced to PULL THE TRIGGER....

#9

Post by GrillKing »

KC5AV wrote:You are right that probably 99.9% of pits are not going to be aggressive, but it's that .1% that can cause problems.
The same is true for people, that's why we carry.

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Re: I was almost Forced to PULL THE TRIGGER....

#10

Post by KBCraig »

KC5AV wrote:Sadly, it isn't an irrational fear. The OP stated that he has been bitten a number of times.
Pulling a pistol and preparing to shoot an unknown dog on sight, without any aggressive behavior on the dog's part, cannot be called a rational response regardless of one's past experience with dogs in general.

Bad experiences with dogs can justify fear or wariness. It doesn't justify shooting them on sight.

People who are afraid of dogs are more likely to be bitten than those who are calm and assertive with dogs (in dog-think, fear is weakness, and weakness deserves to be dominated). That alone is a good reason to get help with fear of dogs.
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#11

Post by HighVelocity »

I'm glad you didn't have to shoot. That would've been a mess.

A stray pitbull charged me and the kid a year or so ago. I grabbed it by the collar and spiked it on the ground like a football. I did not draw my gun.

The kid asked me later why I didn't just shoot it. I explained to him that with all the kids playing in the street and folks out in their yards, it just wasn't guaranteed to be a safe shot. If I missed, it could turn out real bad.
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#12

Post by Target1911 »

KBC
Pulling a pistol and preparing to shoot an unknown dog on sight, without any aggressive behavior on the dog's part, cannot be called a rational response regardless of one's past experience with dogs in general.
AS I SAID>>>>when I first spotted the PIT he was 3ft from me. When he is that close to me....I WILL draw BEFORE I ask the dog if he is having a bad day or not. I would rather be preprared for what may not but very well could happen. Isnt that why we carry anyway?
If I would have seen him walkin across the yard/street I would not have drawn but I can assure you that I would have a firm grip.

We have many dogs that run loose in this area and 98% are PITS.....Many of which are aggressive.
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#13

Post by age_ranger »

At what point (assuming you have a clear shot) would you engage a animal charging at your child? I've had some dogs running loose run at my kids and luckily, they turned out to be friendly as I didn't have time to react. However, when would it be justifiable to draw a weapon in this case and where's that point where you need to pull the trigger? Granted, there's a public ordinance that all dogs must be on a leash no longer than 6', but would it be more of a case of the animal "appearing" to be agressive?
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#14

Post by AEA »

If he's charging, you better be capable of leading a moving target correctly or face the consequences. :cry:
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#15

Post by KBCraig »

Target1911 wrote:
KBC
Pulling a pistol and preparing to shoot an unknown dog on sight, without any aggressive behavior on the dog's part, cannot be called a rational response regardless of one's past experience with dogs in general.
AS I SAID>>>>when I first spotted the PIT he was 3ft from me. When he is that close to me....I WILL draw BEFORE I ask the dog if he is having a bad day or not. I would rather be preprared for what may not but very well could happen. Isnt that why we carry anyway?
Do you respond the same way to people?

I'm sorry you've had bad experiences with dogs, but you need to examine what you're doing. Lots of people have had repeated bad experiences with people who are (white/black/brown/male/female... fill in the blank), and I would hope you agree that they wouldn't be justified in "getting a firm grip", much less drawing, just because they encountered a person of similar appearance.

Even if you are faced with a dog who is actually vicious, a handgun is a poor choice. If you don't believe it, try Longtooth's "charging dog" target sometime.

In the meantime, in the absence of an actual threat, please keep it holstered.
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