Episode 179 with Ben Branam

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Rob- Introduction-

Welcome to episode 179 of Self-Defense Gun Stories.  I’m Rob Morse. Perhaps you’re well trained, or maybe you’re curious about self defense. Either way, I’m glad you found us. We’re joined by self-defense instructor Ben Branam.

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

Physical fitness?

Church security?

Rob- We received one more rating and two comments on iTunes this week (123/75). Please go to the iTunes store where you subscribe to podcasts and let new listeners know this show is worth their time.

Ben- We’ll talk about recent examples where gun owners were in a life threatening situation. Were they lucky, or did they have a plan? What should we do if we were in their place? We give you the links back to the original news article in our show notes. Our first story took place last week in Dublin, California.

Rob- Can you defend yourself in the middle of the night?

You’re asleep. You’re woken up by someone pounding on your front door a few minutes before midnight. You get up to see who it is. You also bring your firearm with you. You see your ex-girlfriend outside. She says she has something to say. You open your front door, and she and another man push the door open. The male intruder has a gun and it’s pointed at you.

You back away and shoot your attackers. You run out the back door and your attackers shoot at you as you run. The news story doesn’t say how, but you contact the police. You meet the police when they arrive at your home. They take the male attacker to the hospital. The female attacker was declared dead at the scene

Ben- Outnumbered.

They were armed

He had a gun

He retreated

He called 

Rob- What do you want us to do?

Ben- Don’t open the door. Make them break into your house.

Security cameras so you can see who else is outside.

Have a cell phone and a holster.

Talk to them from inside  your home and away from the door.

Rob- Why do you need a holster in the middle of the night?

Ben- You don’t want to point a gun at innocent people. What if it was your neighbor saying there was a problem in your neighborhood. They don’t deserve to have a gun pointed at them. Also, it is great to have a place to put your gun when you’re done using it.

Rob- This attack depended on surprising the homeowner. How do we learn to defend ourselves from a surprise we don’t expect?

Ben- Practice and plan.

Rob- Anything else?

Ben- That is enough for now. Our second story happened in Elkmont, Alabama.

Rob- Are you armed as you go about in public?

You’re in an argument with your boyfriend. He starts pushing you and hitting you. You drive away.You’re on the highway when you notice that crazy man is following you. He tries to run your car off the road. You pull over at an exit. Crazy man stops in front of you and runs up to your car. You’re armed. You present your firearm. Now your attacker runs away. 

You drive down the exit and go to a nearby police station. The police find your attacker. They also find methamphetamine when they search his car. He is arrested and charged with domestic violence, reckless endangerment, and possession of a controlled substance. 

constitutional carry in your state. In Alabama, you need a permit to carry

On body carry or car carry?

Present inside your car

Rob- What would you like us to do? 

Ben- Take crazy seriously

Plan for your own protection.

Don’t go stupid places with…

Rob- Why was it important that she contacted the police rather than just driving down the road?

Ben- Our third story happened in Tampa, Florida.

Rob- First this message from Doctors for responsible gun ownership, DRGO.us

Rob- Are you armed at home?

You and your fiance are home on a Saturday night. You hear something going on in the back of your apartment. You see two young men smashing their way into your screened porch. You shout to your fiance and then run to your bedroom. You grab your firearm. The intruders enter your home. One of them is armed. He tells you to put your hands up. You shoot both robbers. Now they run away, and you call the police.

Police find two more accomplices in a getaway car parked nearby. EMTs take your two attackers to the hospital.  Your attackers are 16 and 17 years old.

Ben- Armed

Retreated

Defended

Didn’t chase

called 

Rob- You talk to your students about self defense. What do you tell them to do?

Ben- Both of you armed

A bedroom or safe room door that locks.

Make them work to get to you.

Call the police when you hear the noise.

That is what it means to have a plan.

Practice the plan.

Have a lawyer, you never know if the mayor’s kid is a thug, and you get to stop him in the middle of the night.

Holster 

Rob- How do couples train together?

Ben- Talk through scenarios. Walk through scenarios. Do that one a month at first, and then once every six months.

Ben- Our forth story took place in Canton, Florida.

Rob- Can you defend yourself early in the morning?

It is 2am on new years day. The party is winding down, but not on the happy note you’d hoped for. One of the visitors has already picked a fight with one couple, and the couple left the party. The hosts ask the angry visitor to leave. Instead, the angry guest takes offense and says he is going to go get his gun from his car.

This is where you live. You go to your bedroom and get your gun. The armed attacker comes back into the house and points his gun at the people in the party. You shoot him until he drops his firearm. Now you call the police.

Ben- Yikes. Who expects a man with a gun at a party.

Multiple innocent people at risk of lethal injury.

They had asked him to leave, so they started with verbal requests

Glad he was armed.

Shot until the threat went away.

(run away, drop the gun)

Ben- Get all the guests to call 911. Really important, because there were a bunch of drunk guests and their stories will conflict. 

Rob- Do I need to call my lawyer?

Rob- Talk to me about guns and alcohol. 

Rob- Holster 

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’s articles, then leave us a message on the podcast facebook 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, Podbean and iHeart Radio.

Rob- This podcast is part of the Self-defense radio network. Find more great shows at sdrn.us

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