Episode 163 with Ben Branam

Rob- Introduction-

I’m glad you found us. Welcome to episode 163 of Self-Defense Gun Stories. This podcast is for people who are curious about self-defense, and for those who are already trained. I’m your host, Rob Morse. We’re joined this week by self-defense instructor Ben Branam.

Ben- Hi, Rob.  I’ve been working and instructing, and competing.

Rob- I know a lot of people went to the range to practice after the mall attack in south west texas. Have you seen growing interest in your courses after that attack?

Ben- I’ve had to schedule more classes. I hope these new armed citizens follow thorough and carry.

Rob- We received eight more ratings and two more reviews on iTunes this week (91/53). Please go to the iTunes store where you subscribe to podcasts and give us a rating and leave a comment.

Ben- Your reviews tell new listeners that this podcast is worth their time.

In this episode, we’ll look at recent examples where gun owners were in a life threatening situation. Were these armed civilians lucky, or were they trained? What should we do if we were in their place? The links back to the original news article are in our show notes. Our first story took place last week in Liberty, Texas.

Rob- First story-  Are you armed at home?  

A knock on your front door wakes you up. You throw on some clothes and slip your small handgun into your pocket. You answer the door, but keep the outside screen closed. A teenage boy said he was caught at his girlfriend’s house and is running from her dad.He asks you to call his grandma. You say you will. You also notice a pair of rubber gloves in your visitor’s back pocket. You call the police. You also get your shotgun and don’t go near the doorway.

You tell the stranger that his grandmother is on the way..until police arrive and arrest him. He had broken into a trailer this morning and running from the police.

Tag- no shots fired

Ben- This homeowner did a great job. She was armed. She kept a barrier between herself and the criminal. She contacted the police and then improved her position by getting a long gun for her defense and staying out of sight. She kept talking to the guy, but she wasn’t standing in the doorway.

Rob- What should we do in a similar situation? 

Ben- Please maintain your distance so you’re out of reach. Tell them you’ll make a call for them.

Rob- You teach a lot of different courses. You’ll help someone who is brand new to firearms learn to handle guns safely. When do you talk about personal safety and how to go armed at home?

Ben- Notice that the homeowner was able to defend herself but she didn’t have to press the trigger or even display her gun. Her firearm was there if she needed it. That is what usually happens even though it seldom makes the news if she had to shoot.

Rob- Anything else?

Ben- That is enough for now. Our second story happened last week on the west side of Houston, Texas.

Rob- Second Story-  Are you armed on the street?   

You’re driving down the street. It is a little after noon and the traffic is moving slowly through a construction zone. Something strange is going on across the street. You hear shouts and the traffic stops. You see a guy picking a woman up off the ground. She is kicking and screaming. Other drivers are shouting too. You get out of your car to be a good witness.

You move toward the fight. You’re armed. The attacker sees that he’s drawn a crowd. He puts the girl down and runs. The woman is looking for her dog that she was walking on a leash when she was attacked. Police arrive a few minutes later. You can only tell them what you saw.

Tag- no shots fired

Rob- Ben, should we stay at a distance and be a good witness?

Ben- This is hard because you don’t have all the information. The witnesses started shouting and that was good. It drew everyone’s attention to the attack. We don’t know if this was an abduction, a sexual assault, or a robbery, but lots of armed witnesses kept if from happening..and again, the good guys were able to stop the crime without pressing the trigger.

Rob- The news stories are always incomplete. What should we do it we saw an abduction as we walk down the street.  

Ben- As soon as you can, call the police. That 911 call makes a permanent record that you were there. That call means you were responding to an attack rather than brandishing your firearm in public.

Rob- Do ordinary citizens get charged with displaying a firearm?

Ben- It happens, but not very often. Study self-defense so you stay inside the law. Our third story happened last week in Middleburg, Florida.

Rob- First this message from FASTER CO

Please support FASTER Colorado at Coloradans for Civil Liberties

Rob- Third story- Are you armed when you’re driving?

You’re driving for a ride sharing company and you’ve just dropped off a passenger. It is 5:30 in the morning. You see an injured dog on the side of the road. You stop so you can help. You’re searching on your phone for the number of animal-rescue when a stranger starts climbing in through the passenger window. You yell for him to stop. You start to drive away and the passenger starts kicking you.

You’re armed. You draw your firearm and shoot your attacker. Now he stops kicking you and jumps off your car. You drive a short distance way away and then call police. The police find your attacker and take him to the hospital. He’s described as “uncooperative” even though he has a bullet wound in his leg.

Ben- Drugs. People do crazy things.

Rob- Drugs. What did our defender do correctly.

Ben- He tried to get away and establish distance between himself and the crazy person. First, he tried to drive away. Then, after his attacker got out of the car, our devender drove down the block until he was safe.

Rob- You drove for a ride share company. What should drivers do to stay safe? 

Ben- Lock your doors and windows. That lets us avoid the problem.

Ben- Our forth story took place last week in Espanola, New Mexico.

Rob- Fourth story- Do you have a firearm nearby at night?

Someone is banging on your door. They are shouting that they are the FBI and on a drug raid. You don’t do drugs. You don’t open your door and your roommate calls the police.

Two men dressed in street clothes kick down your door. The man in front is carrying a gun. The intruder points his gun at you. You’re armed. You shoot him. Now the attacker drops his gun and both intruders run away. The gun was a pellet gun. Police take your attacker to the hospital.

Ben- Drugs. I bet the intruders thought there were drugs in this apartment and they wanted to steal the drugs using a fake gun and pretending to be FBI agents.

Rob- Ben, this is my nightmare. Law enforcement bangs on my door..or is it someone pretending to be law enforcement? 

Exit- Rob- That wraps up this episode. Ben, thank you for helping us again. Where can we learn more about you?

Ben- Look for me at Modern Self Protection.com.  I live in San Antonio, and most of my classes are in central Texas. I teach armed self-defense and church security. Listeners can see my class schedule at my website, and they can also listen to my weekly podcast Modern Self-Protection.

Rob- After you look at Ben articles and listen to his podcast, then leave us a message on the podcast facebook page or on the self defense gun stories web page.

Ben- We share this podcast with you for free.  Please share the podcast with a friend and give us a rating on I-Tunes and Stitcher. We’re also available on Google Play Music,Tunein, Spotify, and on iHeart Radio.

Rob- This podcast, like Ben’s podcast, Modern Self Protection, is part of the Self-defense radio network. Find great podcasts at sdrn.us

I’m Rob Morse.  We’ll be back next week with more Self-Defense Gun Stories.


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