Was I profled?

mappow

mappow

New member
Long story short, I was OC'ing at a local C store I usually frequent after work buying cigs. Two persons of interest got in their vehicle and followed me for the next 4-5 miles. I turned on a side road to see if they would follow and sure as heck they did. My senses went to full alert. Pulling off to a local gas station and watching them go by was a relief. Although they speed away at a full speed past what was posted or actually safe in the area of back roads on NC. I kept watch of all side roads to ensure they would not come up behind me.
I was truly troubled by the thought that they knew I was packing (OC'ing) and would follow me home. With past training I was able to shake the tail. Might of been my paranoia but felt real to me.
I may have to rethink my OC'ing. If I'm targeted by one , I might have a chance. IF targeted by a gang I'll die with lead flying.
-
Don't really care to die today. Will have to reconsider OC'ing in places.
 
Sounds a bit spooky. Hard to tell what they were thinking. Would be kinda stupid to try something with someone you KNOW carries a gun on their person.
 
Unless they had guns also.

I CC, don't like bringing attention to myself. Just way too many whack jobs out there pushing an agenda of stupid.
 
So, if the exact same situation happened if you were concealed carrying would you say, "I may have to rethink my CC'ing. If I'm targeted by one , I might have a chance. IF targeted by a gang I'll die with lead flying."? What difference does it make if your gun is hidden or openly carried? How do you know they saw your gun? How do you know the reason they picked you as a target was because they saw your gun? If they were going to target you in spite of the fact that you were armed, how would concealing the firearm help, would they not target you anyway?

You have no evidence of anything. Maybe you were targeted, maybe not. Maybe they saw your gun, maybe not. Maybe the chose to target you because of your gun, or maybe the presence of the gun just didn't matter to them. You have no evidence of anything specific happening or any reason for anything that might have been happening.

You may think that this one group targeted you in spite of the fact that you were carrying a gun, but here's a question: how many times have you been passed up as a potential target because of your visible gun? You will never know. But if you have been passed up as a potential target, say 10 times, and targeted only once...isn't that advantageous to you? Of course you will never know how many times the visible gun has deterred a criminal because they aren't exactly going to come up to you and say, "Wow, good thing you are packing heat there, buddy, othewise I would have jumped you!"
 
I recall reading an article or thread some time ago which discussed a tactic used by gangs and criminals to steal guns. In that article, they would 'mark' cars at gun ranges or clubs, then follow cars into their neighborhoods so they could find out where the gun owners lived. They would cruise the neighborhood and could see by the mark or sticker that went un-noticed by the owner, but now they knew which house has guns. Once the owner leaves the house for work or other activities, they break in and try to steal any guns they can.

In this case, they saw the gun and may or may not have followed for that purpose. I'm not sure they would have had an armed confrontation....but then again, nobody ever said criminals were smart... but they may have simply seen an opportunity to find out where he lived. And we all know, most gun owners don't have just one gun.

Good situational awareness!
 
mappow said:
Long story short, I was OC'ing at a local C store I usually frequent after work buying cigs. Two persons of interest got in their vehicle and followed me for the next 4-5 miles. I turned on a side road to see if they would follow and sure as heck they did. My senses went to full alert. Pulling off to a local gas station and watching them go by was a relief. Although they speed away at a full speed past what was posted or actually safe in the area of back roads on NC. I kept watch of all side roads to ensure they would not come up behind me.
I was truly troubled by the thought that they knew I was packing (OC'ing) and would follow me home. With past training I was able to shake the tail. Might of been my paranoia but felt real to me.
I may have to rethink my OC'ing. If I'm targeted by one , I might have a chance. IF targeted by a gang I'll die with lead flying.
-
Don't really care to die today. Will have to reconsider OC'ing in places.
Click to expand...
Let me present a different possibility...

Two people got in their car at the same time you did... but you got out on the road first. And, just out of co incidence, they were going the same way you were. You, exercising due caution and excellent situational awareness (that is NOT sarcasm but intended seriously!), decided to see if you were being followed so you made a turn you normally wouldn't have and didn't like it when they made the turn also. But you only made ONE odd turn and immediately assumed they were still following you when that turn could easily have been the very same one they normally make to get home but you don't know that. So you turned into a gas station and they sped away for, to you, no apparent reason.

From the perspective of the two people:

"Let's get on home before the game starts or the beer gets cold."

"Crap! Who is this slow ass in front of us? Geeze... wasn't he carrying a gun in the store?... He keeps looking in his rear view mirror".

"Crap again! He turned the same way we are going!... Oh wait! He turned into that gas station. About time he got the hell out of our way. Let's get the hell out of here and leave that weird guy with a gun behind!"

I'm not saying you weren't profiled... and I'm not saying you were. You were there and I wasn't. All I'm saying is both are possibilities.

But I will offer this food for thought.....

While situational awareness is paramount whether carrying openly or concealed (and carrying concealed doesn't mean someone didn't notice you are carrying a gun since some bad people do notice printing/clothing riding up/bottom of holsters peeking from under a shirt/jacket) being followed isn't really being "followed" until the follower stays with you for several different random turns and/or pulling into and right back out of a parking lot and back tracking. One turn doesn't prove being followed..... especially where "back roads" only offer limited opportunities to make a turn.

Personally, just for me and me alone, I will gladly take the deterrent effect of open carry preventing many attacks that I didn't even know never happened against the extremely rare chance that my open carry will cause one attack because anyone who would intentionally attack an open carrier would be such a horrible bad ass that concealed carry wouldn't help against him either.
 
I have a similar story to share...last fall I was making a snack stop at wally world on my way to public hunting grounds and I normally OC, so I had my handgun in a hip holster with my BDUs and blaze (because I was going hunting) and thought nothing of it. While checking out, an older gentleman (I use the term just to be polite) behind me kinda pulled on my tags and told me that I was a disgusting person and that it wasn't "sport" to hunt "defenseless" animals. He babbled something about banning hunting and a few things about "legal representation for wildlife" that I ignored...the only things I said to him were "mmmhhmmm" and "okay" as I didn't care and don't make conversation with confrontational morons. I get in my truck and drive about halfway to my spot when I realize that a little car has been behind me for the entire trip. I make a few turns just to show myself that I'm being rediculous and the car follows. I pull into a farm's driveway and the car follows. When I knocked on the door, an older gentleman (for real this time) opened the door and I told him I was being followed and asked him if he would pretend to know me and have someone call 911. I guess the creeper heard me and he took off. I've learned two things, it's good to be armed as I'm sure he may have tried something had I not been, and to keep the backtags off until I'm going into the woods, which was the deputies' suggestion. It had my address on it and my wife and kids were home alone and I had all the guns with me.

my 2 cents on the matter: you noticed him a heck of a lot quicker than I did and you were able to lose him which means that you were ahead the whole time. Why change what you do just because of one isolated incident? They may not even have noticed that you were carrying and thought you were an easy target.
 
[QUOTE=mappow;483391]Might of been my paranoia but felt real to me.
QUOTE]
I'm not saying anything other then my feel for the situation. LCDR, I'm not asking for your approval. I have always OC'd and am happy to do it. BUT this incident has realigned my thinking to the possibility of being targeted for a follow up to my home. There is that possibility.
Bikenut....I have worked in the Armored Car Industry for a few years and understand evasion and control. Not a new concept. BUT this made me extremely concerned by their actions.
 
unintentionalracist said:
I have a similar story to share...last fall I was making a snack stop at wally world on my way to public hunting grounds and I normally OC, so I had my handgun in a hip holster with my BDUs and blaze (because I was going hunting) and thought nothing of it. While checking out, an older gentleman (I use the term just to be polite) behind me kinda pulled on my tags and told me that I was a disgusting person and that it wasn't "sport" to hunt "defenseless" animals. He babbled something about banning hunting and a few things about "legal representation for wildlife" that I ignored...the only things I said to him were "mmmhhmmm" and "okay" as I didn't care and don't make conversation with confrontational morons. I get in my truck and drive about halfway to my spot when I realize that a little car has been behind me for the entire trip. I make a few turns just to show myself that I'm being rediculous and the car follows. I pull into a farm's driveway and the car follows. When I knocked on the door, an older gentleman (for real this time) opened the door and I told him I was being followed and asked him if he would pretend to know me and have someone call 911. I guess the creeper heard me and he took off. I've learned two things, it's good to be armed as I'm sure he may have tried something had I not been, and to keep the backtags off until I'm going into the woods, which was the deputies' suggestion. It had my address on it and my wife and kids were home alone and I had all the guns with me.

my 2 cents on the matter: you noticed him a heck of a lot quicker than I did and you were able to lose him which means that you were ahead the whole time. Why change what you do just because of one isolated incident? They may not even have noticed that you were carrying and thought you were an easy target.
Click to expand...


Don't you just love tree huggers? Did you ask him if he ate meat at all? They don't grow Big Mac's in a dish.... yet.
.
We have issues around here with them from time to time. Little bands of 'Justice for Bambi' vegans and PETA lovers will follow you around the woods and scare off the critters. I've never heard of them getting violent, but your vehicle may not be the same when you get back to it.
 
My story of a "tail":

In Maryland I was being followed after I picked-up my wife from work (1:30AM), and she knew the guy and car as he was a worker at Sam's club where she worked. A scumbag, she said. I made a several mile maze of turns which he followed, and I finally had enough. Pulled into a completely empty Sears parking lot with him on my tail and performed a perfect power donut which landed me square on his 6:00, still moving.

I followed this moron for miles and made every turn he did. The predator was now the prey. Probably not a wise thing to do, with adrenaline and testosterone coursing. My wife didn't want to dial 911 on this guy, so I did what I did, until I felt he had enough and peeled-off. She never had another problem out of him at work or with him following her. He asked her who was driving her car later and she said my husband, and he never asks questions first, before he acts.

I didn't have a carry permit then, in the early '90s. Today, I wouldn't do what I did then, as old age and a permit guide my senses to avoid confrontation.

I'm not trying to justify my action, as I was just as guilty as he was, but sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do.
 
r1derbike said:
My story of a "tail":

In Maryland I was being followed after I picked-up my wife from work (1:30AM), and she knew the guy and car as he was a worker at Sam's club where she worked. A scumbag, she said. I made a several mile maze of turns which he followed, and I finally had enough. Pulled into a completely empty Sears parking lot with him on my tail and performed a perfect power donut which landed me square on his 6:00, still moving.

I followed this moron for miles and made every turn he did. The predator was now the prey. Probably not a wise thing to do, with adrenaline and testosterone coursing. My wife didn't want to dial 911 on this guy, so I did what I did, until I felt he had enough and peeled-off. She never had another problem out of him at work or with him following her. He asked her who was driving her car later and she said my husband, and he never asks questions first, before he acts.

I didn't have a carry permit then, in the early '90s. Today, I wouldn't do what I did then, as old age and a permit guide my senses to avoid confrontation.

I'm not trying to justify my action, as I was just as guilty as he was, but sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do.
Click to expand...

Hehe I had a surplus interceptor that would have been great for maneuvers like that
 
Rich M said:
Don't you just love tree huggers? Did you ask him if he ate meat at all? They don't grow Big Mac's in a dish.... yet.
.
We have issues around here with them from time to time. Little bands of 'Justice for Bambi' vegans and PETA lovers will follow you around the woods and scare off the critters. I've never heard of them getting violent, but your vehicle may not be the same when you get back to it.
Click to expand...

Never had them follow me in the woods...yet. No I just said mmmhhhmmm and ok lol
 
NavyLCDR said:
So, if the exact same situation happened if you were concealed carrying would you say, "I may have to rethink my CC'ing. If I'm targeted by one , I might have a chance. IF targeted by a gang I'll die with lead flying."? What difference does it make if your gun is hidden or openly carried? How do you know they saw your gun? How do you know the reason they picked you as a target was because they saw your gun? If they were going to target you in spite of the fact that you were armed, how would concealing the firearm help, would they not target you anyway?

You have no evidence of anything. Maybe you were targeted, maybe not. Maybe they saw your gun, maybe not. Maybe the chose to target you because of your gun, or maybe the presence of the gun just didn't matter to them. You have no evidence of anything specific happening or any reason for anything that might have been happening.

You may think that this one group targeted you in spite of the fact that you were carrying a gun, but here's a question: how many times have you been passed up as a potential target because of your visible gun? You will never know. But if you have been passed up as a potential target, say 10 times, and targeted only once...isn't that advantageous to you? Of course you will never know how many times the visible gun has deterred a criminal because they aren't exactly going to come up to you and say, "Wow, good thing you are packing heat there, buddy, othewise I would have jumped you!"
Click to expand...

The open carry vs concealed debate will never go away, but I do like the part about how many times has trouble passed you by because your gun was on your hip
 
unintentionalracist said:
I have a similar story to share...last fall I was making a snack stop at wally world on my way to public hunting grounds and I normally OC, so I had my handgun in a hip holster with my BDUs and blaze (because I was going hunting) and thought nothing of it. While checking out, an older gentleman (I use the term just to be polite) behind me kinda pulled on my tags and told me that I was a disgusting person and that it wasn't "sport" to hunt "defenseless" animals. He babbled something about banning hunting and a few things about "legal representation for wildlife" that I ignored...the only things I said to him were "mmmhhmmm" and "okay" as I didn't care and don't make conversation with confrontational morons. I get in my truck and drive about halfway to my spot when I realize that a little car has been behind me for the entire trip. I make a few turns just to show myself that I'm being rediculous and the car follows. I pull into a farm's driveway and the car follows. When I knocked on the door, an older gentleman (for real this time) opened the door and I told him I was being followed and asked him if he would pretend to know me and have someone call 911. I guess the creeper heard me and he took off. I've learned two things, it's good to be armed as I'm sure he may have tried something had I not been, and to keep the backtags off until I'm going into the woods, which was the deputies' suggestion. It had my address on it and my wife and kids were home alone and I had all the guns with me.

my 2 cents on the matter: you noticed him a heck of a lot quicker than I did and you were able to lose him which means that you were ahead the whole time. Why change what you do just because of one isolated incident? They may not even have noticed that you were carrying and thought you were an easy target.
Click to expand...

You're welcome to your opinion and I'll even let you share it but as soon as you put your hands on me even if it's just to "tug my tags" we're on.
 
mappow said:
[QUOTE=mappow;483391]Might of been my paranoia but felt real to me.
QUOTE]
I'm not saying anything other then my feel for the situation. LCDR, I'm not asking for your approval. I have always OC'd and am happy to do it. BUT this incident has realigned my thinking to the possibility of being targeted for a follow up to my home. There is that possibility.
Bikenut....I have worked in the Armored Car Industry for a few years and understand evasion and control. Not a new concept. BUT this made me extremely concerned by their actions.
Click to expand...

Careful there buddy you're going against the party line. Don't you knw that no one anywhere ever targets anyone because they're openly carrying a firearm.
 
jrs said:
I recall reading an article or thread some time ago which discussed a tactic used by gangs and criminals to steal guns. In that article, they would 'mark' cars at gun ranges or clubs, then follow cars into their neighborhoods so they could find out where the gun owners lived. They would cruise the neighborhood and could see by the mark or sticker that went un-noticed by the owner, but now they knew which house has guns. Once the owner leaves the house for work or other activities, they break in and try to steal any guns they can.

In this case, they saw the gun and may or may not have followed for that purpose. I'm not sure they would have had an armed confrontation....but then again, nobody ever said criminals were smart... but they may have simply seen an opportunity to find out where he lived. And we all know, most gun owners don't have just one gun.

Good situational awareness!
Click to expand...
A good reason for alarms, secure entry doors and a dog as part of your home defense plan. I've often thought that I could be targeted by being an instructor so I took the precautions to harden the house.
 
mappow said:
Long story short, I was OC'ing at a local C store I usually frequent after work buying cigs. Two persons of interest got in their vehicle and followed me for the next 4-5 miles. I turned on a side road to see if they would follow and sure as heck they did. My senses went to full alert. Pulling off to a local gas station and watching them go by was a relief. Although they speed away at a full speed past what was posted or actually safe in the area of back roads on NC. I kept watch of all side roads to ensure they would not come up behind me.
I was truly troubled by the thought that they knew I was packing (OC'ing) and would follow me home. With past training I was able to shake the tail. Might of been my paranoia but felt real to me.
I may have to rethink my OC'ing. If I'm targeted by one , I might have a chance. IF targeted by a gang I'll die with lead flying.
-
Don't really care to die today. Will have to reconsider OC'ing in places.
Click to expand...
Definitely sounds like you raised their interest. Perhaps you were profiled for another reason though. Maybe they didn't even see the gun. For example people are getting shot for their winter coat. Marmot Mammoth?s ?Biggie? coat linked to city shooting violence | New York Post
 
BC1 said:
Exactly. I said the same thing when I heard it on the news. :laugh:
Click to expand...

It may sound like I'm being a smart ass but really, if the point of the robbery is to get the coat why shoot holes in it or shoot the person in the head and get blood all over the coat?

You're going to wear it like that?
 
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