Episode 65 with Tony Simon

Rob- Introduction- I’m Rob Morse and welcome to episode 65 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 Tony Simon.

Hi, Tony.  How have you been?

Tony- Hi, Rob.  How have I been? I had ‘The Second is for Everyone’ diversity shoot a few days ago.  About 50 people came.

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.

Tony- Our first story took place last week in Selma, Alabama.

Rob- First story-  Are you armed as you arrive home?  You and your wife arrive home just before midnight.  You park in your driveway and start to get out of your car.  A man runs out of the darkness and says, “give it up.”  He has a gun pointed at you.  You’re on the driver’s side and you reach for your gun.  The attacker shoots you, and then he runs toward the passenger side of the car.  You shoot him as he grabs your wife’s purse.  Then you call police.

You’re released from the hospital in a few hours.  Your attacker was a convicted felon.

Tony- Felons don’t obey gun laws so this guy got a gun and committed another armed robbery. You don’t know when you will become a victim of violent crime so follow the “Pants on-Gun on” motto

Rob- so what should we do?

Tony- Let’s put motion sensor lights on the house so the driveway lights up when you come home. Cut back bushes and shrubs from your house. If the bad guy doesn’t have the cover of darkness or a hiding place he has no location from which to launch an ambush. Bad guys won’t likely stand in the middle of a empty, well lit lawn.

Rob- I see.  It is better to avoid the fight than win one.

Tony- You can’t lose a fight that you never showed up to be in.  Also, if you and your spouse are armed the two of you being armed is 10 times more effective than one of you being armed. Two sets of eyes scanning for bad guys is more effective than one set.

Rob- My wife and I took training together.  But we have to practice.

Tony- You have to practice together.  You can do it as you’re walking down the street together, or walking at the mall. During this year’s NRA annual meeting in Atlanta my wife and I stayed alert and kept our heads on a swivel. We were effective because we do this no matter where we are going. Being aware of your surroundings  at all times should become a goal.

Rob- OK, so now I’ve got homework.

Tony- We all have homework.  The next thing is to have your gun on you.  This victim had to reach for his gun as if it were not on his body.  It could have been located in a bag or in a compartment inside the car.

Rob-  Getting a gun from his bag took time he didn’t have.

Tony-  He might have had the time later, but he didn’t have it right then.  What if the robber took whatever his gun was in or saw it inside of the car before the victim could reach it?

Rob- Yikes.  What do you mean he didn’t have time right then?

Tony- The robber had moved on to the other side of the car and his attention was elsewhere when the driver got his gun into the fight. Using a term that I learned from Ben Branum, the driver used “tactical patience” and attacked when the situation favored him. The victim was justified in going for his gun, but it is still our decision when we do it.  

Tony- Our second story happened last week in Wichita, Kansas.

Rob- Second Story-  Are you armed as you drive for Lyft?  You’re driving for Lyft.  It’s late at night on memorial day, and you think you’ll just take some people home after they have been partying too hard and too late.  You pick up two passengers who say they want to go to the zoo..in the middle of the night.  That sets off some alarm bells.  You drive them back to where you picked them up and a third man, one of their friends gets in the car as well.  That is when they start asking inappropriate questions.

You’re a married mom, and it sounds like they are looking for something else entirely.  One of the men grabs your breast.  You yell for him to stop and get out of the car.  He doesn’t move fast enough so you draw your firearm.  Now he moves.

You call police.

Being a stay at home mom seems like a better idea than driving for Lyft.

Tony- Could she have avoided the problem by letting her passengers out in front of a police station, or a major well-lit motel that has porters standing outside.  The staff will walk up to your window and ask if you want them to park your car.  That means you have a witness, and that alone will stop a lot of criminals.

Rob- she was in the driver’s seat..in more ways than one.

Tony- Right, but she didn’t have a plan of what to do if she had aggressive passengers.  Most gun owners don’t carry.  Most of the carriers only took enough training to get their license.  Thinking these things through helps you make better choices.

Rob-  Do you have students who drive a cab, or work for Lyft or Uber?

Tony- I have not had any students but both my Father-in Law and Mother-in- law drive and drove cabs for years. You should never take on fares by yourself.  Have a plan to get police to you or to get yourself to the police.

Our third story happened last week in Burlington, North Carolina.

Please support Buckeye Firearms Foundation at https://www.buckeyefirearmsfoundation.org/

Rob- Third story- Are you armed when you wash your car?  You’re washing your car early in the morning.  You see another car cruise by, and then it parks a few stalls away from you.  It’s an old car with lots of patches and half painted repairs.  Odd that they want to wash their car in the middle of the night.  You’re worried, so you grab your gun from your car.

A man steps around the concrete barriers between stalls.  He has a bandana over his face and he points his gun at you.  He says to give him your money.  You raise your gun and fire.  Your attacker runs away.  You’re not injured.  You call police.

Tony, what did the victim do right?

Tony- Rob, the victim was aware of his surroundings, he wasn’t distracted by having his earphones on and his head down.

Rob- He would have been disarmed if he hadn’t seen them coming.

Tony- And please have your gun on your body.  What if you were washing the passenger side of your car while the gun was over on the drivers side.  When you need a gun, you really need a gun. If it isn’t on you, you may spend the rest of your life trying to reach your defensive firearm.

Rob- again, that was time the victim didn’t have.

Tony- you know you said that before.

Rob- Well we make the same mistakes over and over.  Next week I’ll try and find new mistakes.

Tony- Most gun owners don’t have carry permits.  Lots of people with their permit don’t carry.  They would do so much better with just a little bit of training and a little thought. Training gives you things to think about that may never have crossed your mind.

Rob- In this example, what would your students learn

Tony- here are two obvious things.  First lesson is to move to keep the car between you and your attacker.  The second is to know how well you shoot.  Practice lets you know what you’re capable of doing.  It looks like the victim’s shot missed his attacker.  This was a psychological stop.  Please practice shooting quickly.  Not every range will let you do that.

Rob- Drawing quickly can be dangerous for new students, so you’d probably want to practice with and empty gun at first.

Tony- Please start with a class so you’re not practicing mistakes.  

Rob- better yet.

Tony- Don’t do what you see people do in the movies or on TV or Youtube.  We can show you how to do it safely and quickly.

We also tell everyone to win the race to the phone.  Be the first one to call the police.

Rob- You know that is three things you’d tell your students.  You said there were only two.

Tony- basic gun safety

How to shoot safely

How to defend yourself with a gun.

Exit-  Rob- That wraps up this episode. Tony, thank you for helping me today.  Where can our listeners learn more about you?

Tony-  I teach firearms safety and armed-self defense courses in New Jersey.  Our listeners can contact me on Facebook at Simon Says Train or at The Second is for Everyone. I’m also at SimonSaysTrain on Instagram.  My classes are listed at BlackBagResources.com

Rob- Our listeners can share their thoughts with us by leaving a message on the podcast facebook page.  

Tony-  If you liked this show, then you’ll like the other podcasts on the Self-defense radio network.  We create this podcast under a creative commons license, so please share it with a friend, and give us a rating on I-Tunes.

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

Give Lloyd a listen at http://www.armedlutheran.us/


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