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I'm not usually one to plug products, but this one really hit close to home this past week.

My wife got a call from her sister, and in this very long conversation, she told Jo that she'd had, what I would classify as, a near-miss with a possible mugger or worse. She said she was walking her dog well after dark in the upscale neighborhood she lives in, in Alexandria VA, when she passed a man walking the oppiset direction. She bearly looked at him as he passed and mumbled a quick \"Hi\" and they both continued on their way. A few moments later, she heard footsteps behind her. After a bit, they began to get closer and closer and sped up slightly. She said she thought about turning around, but didn't want to be rude. Go figure. A moment later the footsteps turned and fled as another woman approached from across the street and asked if my SIL knew she was being followed. Had that woman not approached, this could be a very different post. My SIL had no weapon, nothing in her hand other than a leash to a dog with not a single aggressive bone in her body, and no light or even a cell phone. She was walking along with the belief that she was in a Safe neighborhood, and that nothing could go wrong. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and to a Wolf like that, she looked like FOOD. An easy target on a dark night. Head down and not in the game.

I sent her an email, recomending 2 things. 1. Keep your eye's moving and looking for possible hazards. \"Check your 6 from time to time.\" 2. don't go out, night or day, with out a 3 or 4 Dcell Maglite flashlight. The Maglite is a great tool. It doesn't draw attention. It's really bright and can temporarily blind a would be attacker, and when held by the head of the light, with the beam pointed down when you extend your hand straight out from the body and your index finger over the push button switch, can make a heavy, solid club that is faster to engage than a rattlesnake can strike.

I also just picked up a copy of American Handgunner's Personal Defence for Fall/Winter of 2011. In there is an outstanding artical by Roy Huntington, titled \"Your Personal Safety.\" This piece does not advocate the use of guns, believe it or not, but instead has tips on how to Avoid, Deter, and De-escalate possible situations. In short, how NOT to look like FOOD to a Hungry Predator.

I strongly urge any and all of you who take your personal safety seriously, to give this article a long hard read. I did, and even with the training I've had from the military and several police agencies, I still learned a few things. Granted to some of us, most of what was written is common since, things we don't consiously think about, but it really spells out why we do them. Again, this is not about what to do if you are in a Life or Death situation, it's about how to keep from getting there in the first place.

I have a CCW, (Concealed Carry Weapon) permit, and I carry almost all of the time. It is, however, my primary goal to never ever need that weapon.

American Handgunner Personal Defence 2011
http://www.americanhandgunner.com/defense/

Lets be safe out there.

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Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

Didn't want to be rude eh?

Definitely not how i would have handled that one. Glad she's ok, but man...some people are victims for a reason i guess.

There are a lot of very compact \"tactical\" lights out nowadays that are much, much brighter than any maglight, even a 5 d cell, and which have a very agrresive \"compliance/strike\" bezel on them. Also referred to as a \"skull crusher.\"

Here's the one i carry with me at all times. It fits right in the watch pocket of my jeans:



You can see in that pic how crazy sharp the strike bezel is. If you slam that into someone's face, they're going to be in for a huge world of hurt. It's about 60 lumens, and costs about $10.

When i'm working repossessions, i carry my Surefire 6PX LED. 200 lumens= totally disorienting blindness.

Great light Snipe. I've looked at some of these myself, and I know their use. However, my SIL is not exactly an aggressive person. She won't carry a weapon like a knife, and wouldn't know what to do with one if she had it. I feel her best bet is to have something in her hand heavy enough and long enough, that she can use to keep them from getting too close. The sharp bezels are fine, but the bad guy has to be close enough to touch with your hand. The Maglite is no where near as bright, but it's reasonably priced, heavy and long enough to, perhaps, negate the longer reach of the bad guy.

I have a couple of surefire lights, and really happy with the brightness, but I don't even want to be that close to the bad guy, that's why I carry a gun.

_________________
Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

oh wow, she has to be so careful. Why is she out alone that late at night anyway?

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\"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives\"

She us not married nor dating, walking her dog, and as she put it, doesn't think these kinds of things can happen in her neighborhood nor to her. That is typical "Sheeple" thinking.

_________________
Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

That it is....those are always the victims. She has to learn that this world is a scary scary place.

_________________
\"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives\"