Episode 74 with Ben Branam
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Rob- Introduction- I’m Rob Morse and welcome to episode 74 of Self-Defense Gun Stories. This podcast is for people who think they might want a firearm.. and those who already have one. We’re joined this week by self-defense instructor Ben Branam.
Hi, Ben. How have you been?
Ben- Hi, Rob. I’m getting ready to teach in Ohio with Bob Mayne and Paul Carlson.
Hi to our new listeners, and welcome back to our regular listeners. We report and analyze three examples of armed civilian defense. We hope you use these reports as part of your exercise program.. to use your imagination today so you can defend the people you care about tomorrow. Please leave us a message on our facebook page with your questions or comments.
Ben- Our first story took place last week in Blytheville, Arkansas.
Rob- First story- Are you armed at work?
You’re working at Domino’s pizza and it’s late at night. A middle aged man walks up to the counter and asks to speak with the manager. The manager arrives, and then you see the customer draw a gun and demand the money from the cash register. You’re armed. Your co-worker is being held at gunpoint, so you draw your own firearm and shoot the robber. The robber drops his gun and stumbles away. The rest of you run to the back room and call police.
Ben- Just an ordinary evening..until everything changes and your life is at risk. The armed defender saved his life and his co-workers life. Good for him.
Rob- How did that happen?
Ben- His head was up and out of his phone.
He was armed at work.
The gun was accessible, and not stuffed in his backpack in the trunk of his car.
He knew how to present a weapon when it is concealed under his clothing.
He saw an opportunity when the robber’s attention was focused on the manager.
He shot the robber until the threat stopped. Then, the victim stopped shooting.
He ran for safety and called the police, and remained on the scene.
No surprise, but the robber had a criminal record.
Rob- When do your students learn to do all that?
Ben- Our second story happened last week in Detroit, Michigan.
Rob- Second Story- Are you armed when you stop for coffee?
You’re a 61 year old man. You work as a musician. This morning you stop for coffee as you pass a gas station. You are standing in line when a 16 year old notices that you’re carrying a gun. The 16 year old draws his gun and pushes in into your back. He demands you hand over your gun and your wallet. You say, OK, and as you start to turn around you draw your gun and shoot your attacker in the stomach. The robber drops his gun and you escape to call police.
The robber picks up his gun and limps outside. He is arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent and a felony firearms violation.
Ben- Good that you had a gun.
Rob- Ben, I’ve heard you say we have to know our limitations. Some gun owners are so fast that they could out-draw an attacker. This victim waited until his gun was away from his attacker to draw and shoot immediately.
Ben- Old age and treachery beats youth and inexperience.
I don’t know why our gun owner was open carrying. Maybe he didn’t know how to draw from concealment. It would have even been better for the victim if his firearm was concealed. I teach that to my students every day.
Please get some training before you carry. Safely grabbing a loaded gun in a hurry takes practice. When you draw, you will have to get your clothes out of the way to get a good grip on your gun. Let us show you how to do it.
Rob- What would you ask your students to do in a situation like this?
Ben- Our third story happened last week in Puyallup, Washington.
Give Lloyd a listen at http://www.armedlutheran.us/
Rob- Third story- Are you armed when you’re at home?
It is late at night. You’re at home and you hear someone pounding your apartment door. You look through the window and you think you see that the stranger is armed. You go grab your gun and you don’t open the door. The robber breaks down the door and enters your apartment. You’re waiting and you shoot him. You call police.
The robber runs and is arrested at the hospital.
Ben- Good that you had a loaded gun at home. Our victim was also lucky.
Rob- How was he lucky?
Ben- Our intruder gave the victim time to respond. What if the first sound he’d heard had been the sound of the robber crashing through the door and entering the home. He would have been an unarmed man facing an armed attacker. What if you were on the other side of your house when the robber broke in. You’d have to fight your way past an armed attacker to get to your gun. See why you don’t want to be that guy?!
You bought a gun, now carry it. You’re carrying it, now get training. You’ve been trained, now practice at home and at the range.
Rob- Yes, dad. Anything else?
Ben- You get to buy a new front door. It would have been much cheaper to put an automatic light outside your front door so the light goes on and sounds a chime when someone walks onto your porch.
Rob- Cheap insurance.
Ben- And put long screws into your front door. That will buy you another 15 seconds to wake up and react.
Exit- Rob- That wraps up this episode. Ben, thank you for helping me today. Where can our listeners learn more about you?
Ben- Our listeners can find me at Modern Self Protection.com. I live in San Antonio, and most of my classes are in central Texas. Listeners can see my complete class schedule at my website, and they can also listen to my podcast.
Rob- Our listeners can share their thoughts with us by leaving a message on the podcast facebook page.
Ben- If you liked this show, then you’ll like the other podcasts on the Self-defense radio network.
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Rob- I’m Rob Morse. We’ll be back next week with more Self-Defense Gun Stories.
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http://crimeresearch.org/