Warning Shot Works for Open Carrier

By Dean Weingarten

Buncombe County, NC Sheriff
Buncombe County, NC Sheriff
Dean Weingarten
Dean Weingarten

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- Warning shots are always controversial.   I generally caution against them, but I keep finding instances where they are used to good effect.  Here is one that was related on the opencarry.org North Carolina forum by tiggy1190.  It occurred in Buncombe County, NC:

Forced to pull, and discharge outside of Asheville.

I wont go into all the details, but long story short. Drunk, and drugged up moron threatens me with a knife, then a gun, and advances towards me. I never saw the weapon, but his hands were behind his back the whole time. I knew I was just in taking a shot, but there were at least 30-50 onlookers standing behind him. I have a .40 Storm, and had 180g FMJ’s in it that day due to working in the woods around bears. I had an overwhelming fear of over penetration, so I gave a warning shot to the ground just in front of him. He retreated like a scalded cat. So far the BCSD has been extremely positive, and supportive through all this. They said I made the right choice. I feel the same. Sadly, some of my chest pounding family seems to think I should have shot him irregardless.

(snip)

Just waiting on the SD to finish analyzing my weapon before they return it. All, but one officer that night supported me when the asked if I had a CCHP, and I stated “no, I OC”.

Not only was the warning shot effective, but the Sheriff Deputies reinforced the decision.   It took 18 days for tiggy1190 to have his firearm returned.  That may seem long, given Sheriff Clarke of Milwaukee County’s advice, but it is positively speedy compared to most places.   It is not unusual for the return of a firearm to take months or years, and to be fought over in the courts.

Chock one up for the good guy!

Met with the BCSD yesterday morning, and was given back my weapon, magazine, bullets, the spent shell casing, and a thank you. I was asked if I wanted to carry it out in the bag, or holster it. So I put the magazine in, racked one, and walked out holstered. Now I gotta go to court soon to testify.

Police attitudes are becoming even more favorable toward armed citizens.  Tiggy1190 did not have a permission slip from the state in order to carry his personal defense firearm.  Notice that the Sheriff Department had no problem with him loading his firearm and holstering it before he left.   It is, after all, normal for them.

If you are involved in a shooting, it is going to take up some of your  time, even if everything works out pretty well, as it did in this case.   Using a firearm in self defense is a serious business.

c2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch

About Dean Weingarten;

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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RDNK

@Erik,thats a really great point ! I dont know what the answer is to that but I will research it. There might not be a duty to report but man could things go bad real fast if it came back to you and you didn’t !

Eric

If there is no duty to inform of self defense , why not walk away.

ONTIME

In Ca, expect to have charges filed against you and the perp will sue you later…….

John Robert Mallernee

In Salt Lake City, Utah, when the city police or the sheriff’s departments return your weapon(s) to you, they keep all ammunition, and do not allow you to load your weapon(s) until you are inside your residence.

Of course, my own personal experience was many years ago, so maybe some things might have changed.

TEX

I don’t know about the rest of the country but in Texas you can expect a blood draw to be done immediately after a shooting.Even if you are involved in a good shooting from a legal perspective your problems are only about to begin if toxology shows illegal substances in your system. (unless you have a prescription for a drug that would otherwise be illegal) This man was potentially leaving himself open for a number of charges and problems associated with that warning shot. For the police to tell this man he made the right choice is irresponsible at best.… Read more »

RDNK

I have plenty of spares ! In most jurisdictions there would be no reason to temp.confiscate this mans weapon for the ‘investigation process’ in this incident. What are the going to investigate the hole in the ground ? Temporary firearm confiscation is normally only done when someone is shot,not warning shots ! (in my opinion a warning shot should ‘never’ be fired)

Jon

I think it is real important people understand they will have their weapon taken after a shooting incident. It is part of the investigation process. It works the same for officers who are involved in a shooting, their weapons are taken as part of the investigation as well. If it is a justified use of force than the weapon is returned upon completion of the investigation. Always have a spare!!!