Get FREE Instant Access
To your online Video Fighting Course.
Click Here For FREE Instant Access.

Trust your instincts – A True Story

You Won’t Believe This…

Just heard a harrowing story from some close family members that I need to share. I’ve changed the names for the privacy of those involved in the incident. While enjoying a nice Easter Sunday barbecue with family, two relatives (we’ll call them Joe and Sarah) proceeded to tell me about a very scary encounter they had at a local shooting range a few days back.

This story gave me chills thinking about what might have happened if these two street savvy relatives hadn’t been there.

A Day At The Range

Their trip to the range started out normal. They showed up, picked an empty lane, put up a target—you know the drill. On this particular day, Sarah decided not to shoot (a life changing decision, although she didn’t know it yet). She normally enjoys shooting, but just wasn’t feeling too well and was just going to stand back and watch Joe shoot.

Being the observant and alert person she is, Sarah noticed something weird about the guy two lanes over. First off, after they’d been there 20 minutes (this other guys was there before them), he’d only fired 2 rounds. Very strange since he was standing right up at the bench and didn’t seam to be dealing with any sort of malfunction.

Sarah took notice of this and continued to watch Joe shoot, but her instincts told her to keep an eye on the other guy, something wasn’t quite right.

A few minutes later the guy picked his pistol up off the bench (this immediately grabbed Sarah’s attention). As he held the pistol he was visibly shaking. Sarah thought “Hmm… maybe he is disabled or something”. She certainly didn’t want to be rude or embarrass him by asking if everything was okay, but at this point she was on edge. She discretely brought it up to Joe and they both went to the range master.

After voicing their concern, the range master pointed out that he too had noticed the guy’s behavior as odd, but went on to say that “his shots are very on target” as if this somehow made up for all the odd behavior!!!

Shocked at this response, Joe and Sarah went back to their lane, still concerned, but wondering if they were just being paranoid. Paranoid or not, both Joe and Sarah kept a very close eye on the suspicious man 2 lanes down.

The Disturbing Behavior Worsens

Minutes later, after having not fired a single additional round, the suspicious individual (gun in hand) turned his head around to look at Sarah.

It was the kind of look someone gives when they know they are being watched. As his face came into full view, Sarah described him as looking right through her with cold piercing eyes. It gave her chills. This was too much. She could no longer explain away this guy’s suspicious behavior. Way too many red flags at this point.

As the guy turned back around, Sarah grabbed Joe and signaled to him that they needed to talk to the staff again immediately.

Once again confronted with a reluctant and not very pro-active staff, they explained that the staff needed to intervene and talk to this man immediately. This time the staff could tell from their tone and sense of urgency that something was clearly going on.

Joe and Sarah decided to keep a safe distance while the staff casually but cautiously approached the man and engaged him in a distracting conversation to assess any issues.

A Frightening Discovery

At this point one staff member was able to see an odd looking hand-written note on the shooter’s bench, while another staff member was talking with the man.

After a closer look, the note revealed a list of emergency contacts and an ominous line that changed the whole situation. The line read, “I’ve left a note at home explaining why I did this.”

The range staff finally realized what Sarah and Joe had picked up on. This guy was going through a suicidal crisis and was an extreme danger to himself and everyone around him.

The Resolution

Joe and Sarah were happy to say that from this point on, the staff’s actions were professional. The authorities were called and the man did not put up a fight, but most importantly – the situation ended with nobody getting hurt.

An event that could have ended with a traumatic suicide (no doubt leaving everyone at the range and the man’s family with some serious sh*t to work through), or worse, an active shooter or murder suicide, was averted by the observations and actions of two regular people.

Joe and Sarah aren’t former special ops soldiers and they aren’t psychologists or mental health professionals either. They are regular folks who were simply smart enough to pay attention to their surroundings and who weren’t afraid to act preemptively when they noticed something suspicious. Sarah especially listened to her gut.

She saved that man’s life and potentially the lives of several others that day all because she had the courage to listen to her gut instincts, even when it went against what others thought.

What I found most shocking in this encounter was the range staff’s willingness to rationalize suspicious behavior (something that is all-too-common in the imagined cocoon of safety many people live in).

A range master’s job is to keep everyone on the firing line and any others in the area safe. To see something that looks suspicious and explain it away is gross negligence when it’s your job to keep people safe.

World's Fastest Drawing Knife.

You wanna try out the fastest drawing knife on the planet? Good. Because here's your chance to get it for FREE.

It even comes with a video showing you exactly how to draw this folder from your pocket (one-handed) so that it snaps open and is ready for action in the blink of an eye. (Your buddies are going to be sooo freaked out when they see this).

>> Your Lightning Fast “Striker” Here. <<

Trust Your Gut!

Gut instincts exist for a reason. Have you ever had a gut instinct about something like this and been wrong? I know I haven’t.

When something bad is about to happen you almost always get that uneasy feeling. There is a lot of communication that goes on between the lines (body language, eye movements, and other non-verbal cues) that our subconscious mind is extremely good at identifying as “DANGEROUS.”

In polite society and the comfort of a relatively safe first world country (depending on where you live in the US), there is a strong tendency to explain away strange behavior. We’ve been trained to suppress our instincts by rationalizing strange things we notice. Sometimes this is good, but often it can be really bad. For example, it’s politically incorrect to cross to the other side of the street when you see a guy walking toward you who “looks a bit off“.

But having that uneasy feeling about an individual is almost always based on the body’s intuitive ability to pick up on non-verbal communication, signals the worrisome individual probably doesn’t even know he or she is sending. You may not even be able to describe what was worrisome. You just know that you’ve got an uneasy feeling.

You Aren’t Always Just Being Paranoid

Listening to those feelings is not paranoia, it’s street smarts. Ignore these feelings at your own peril.

Talk to people who’ve been mugged, attacked, beaten, robbed, raped, or kidnapped and I bet 9 out of 10 (if they weren’t taken completely by surprise) had some uneasy feeling right before the SHTF. It’s universal. I’ve certainly had that feeling before every dangerous situation I’ve been in.

Paying attention to those primal instincts is something you can’t afford to learn the hard way. In fact, tapping into those instincts is something you should actively cultivate.

Final Thoughts

I hope this story can be a reminder that gut instincts are there for a reason, and maybe someone out there reading this can avoid a dangerous situation because of it.

And I hope it also serves as a reminder that even in places where there are designated safety personnel, you can’t afford to totally let your guard down or ignore a gut feeling because “nobody else seems worried.” Our safety and the safety of those around us is our responsibility.

Let me know your thoughts…

Twitter
Google+
Facebook

Leave A Reply:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

327 thoughts on “Trust your instincts – A True Story”

  1. good article, I’m pleased it all turned out okay..thank goodness for ‘Sarah’s’ situational awareness. I’m quite intuitive and can not ignore that queasy sore feeling in my gut..it serves me well too.

    Reply

  2. Thank you for sharing this information. All too often, people hesitate to be involved for the wrong reasons. It was wise in this instance that they involved the staff who was responsible for safety issues.

    Reply

  4. This is so true. I watch everything and every person around me at all times. People just can’t be trusted these days. So it’s best to stay alert and be on guard at all times.
    Great story Joe it can and will educate people.
    Thanks
    Mike

    Reply

  6. Yes a great call and saved a life. We need to watch and protect. I hope the man gets help. Many of us suffer PTSD and some cope, some not. Seek help and if a vet there is help. You are not weak or cowardly just traumatized . Uncle Sam needs to help and build up not cause more issues. For non vets do not use a permanent solution for a temporary problem. There is loving, understanding help available.

    Reply

  7. Suicide by single men at firing ranges is unfortunately common enough so that many ranges in SW Florida no longer allow unaccompanied males to shoot. The people in your story are to be commended for saving at least one life, who hopefully will get the treatment he needs. Our takeaway is that vigilance is not only for our own protection, but also for the protection of others. We should also be reminded that the correct response to many shooting incidents is to advocate for better mental health resources rather than curtailment of our 2nd amendment rights.

    Reply

  8. As a military veteran and retired firefighter, I can attest to the value of gut level instincts and situational awareness. If something doesn’t seem right do not ignore what your “gut” is telling you.

    Reply

  10. Tottaly agree with that lady. There are tons of sick people out there. I cannot forget the death of that vietnam ex sniper that was gunned down on the range buy a nut bag. people supervising a gun range need to be more aware of the sick society that we have to live with every day and get serious or get another job. Earl Weimer

    Reply

  11. I think you are absolutely right. In every situation I can remember, something alerted me in time to avert the trouble or take action. I recall one incident, my wife and I were visiting New York City, we were walking back to our Hotel from having dinner and I noticed a man leaning against a wall in the direction we were walking. He straightened up, then leaned back against the wall. I looked him directly in the eyes and moved my wife to the outside so I would be next to him as we passed. I kept looking directly at him as we passed and he did nothing. I believe he knew that I was aware and ready to take action that prevented him from doing anything.

    Reply

  12. Joe and Sarah are to be complimented for their insistence that the staff do something. You are correct that someone should have acted the first time. Only luck was present that the note was seen.
    I wasn’t born with the type of instinct referred to by you but, due to trauma, it developed, honed by observation. Instinct was present as a police officer, a paramedic and as a psychologist/therapist.
    I still have it, many moons later.

    Reply

  13. This is quite a story, I commend the people that were involved. I learned a long time ago to listen to my gut (6th sense if you will) it has saved my butt more times than I care to think about.

    Reply

  14. I was called in as a “talker” when a potential jumper was perched on a roof of a hospital. Praise the Lord that after a period of time I convinced him to not jump and to get him down safely. No one interfered or for that matter seemed to care except my own squad.

    It could have ended tragically but for the fact that we were able to subdue him quickly
    down on a hospital ward floor when he suddenly exploded into violence.r

    Reply

  15. I can recall being *that guy* at a place one New Year’s Eve. People kept approaching me asking me if I was ok and saying they know the look.

    I listened.

    I decided I’d go some place else.

    Reply

  17. This was a great article!!!
    I have been robbed at gun point before and it was completely by surprise. I was on the phone where I was working at the time (a restaurant) and the scum came through the door before o knew what was going on. Because I stayed calm it saved my life and my employee’s life.
    Always go with your gut feelings. They saved that mans life and probably more people’s life’s.

    Reply

  19. You are so right on with this! I’ve been in more than one incident to where if I hadn’t listened to my gut instinct I probably wouldn’t be here today.
    Listen to that inner voice and be safe!!!!

    Reply

  20. what You say is all too true, it has saved my life several times, I call it ‘something watching over me RD

    Reply

  22. I have had that feeling before in my life and paid attention. Ihave been wrong a couple of times but I would rather be wrong then in a dangerous place or situation. Thanks for the story of your friends.

    Reply

  24. I work in a homeless shelter and that is one of the saving graces, that has to be employed each and every day. You never know when an individual may snap, sometimes ones that have been in the facility for a month or more. OBSERVATION —-OBSERVATION is the only way we can survive. thanks for the message.

    Reply

  25. I am with you I have had my own life saved by listening to my instincts, most of us will argue with ourself that’s it’s just our imagination or we are getting paranoid but if you don’t take it serious you might not live long enough to tell anyone about it. Thank God he gave us this warning ability to use for our sefety

    Reply

  26. This “gut feeling” happens more than we care to acknowledge as we have through our own devises or through others influences turned a blind eye to the speechless form of communication we have all been gifted with. We need to remain dilligigent to our inner voice, our gut feeling, our premonitions of what we feel is about to take place or at the very least, what might obviously be wrong with this picture. We ARE our brothers keeper and the first line of security and defense in most all situations. Being aware is easy and beneficial as well as inexpensive if we pay before or during rather than wait till after.
    Thank you Sarah and Joe for not letting it go.

    Reply

  27. I was at a range 3 weeks ago. A woman had trolled Craig’s list for someone to take her to a range to see if she liked guns.
    She was a room away from me when she killed herself in front of the guy who brought her to the range. Be ready, be alert,
    and don’t take strangers to the range.

    Reply

  29. We all need to be aware of what is going on around us all the time. It should be “second nature”. You will not have a second chance to get it right when something goes wrong. This needs to be on a 24/7/365 basis.

    If you notice things like:
    a car that continues to drive in your blind spot
    a person that keeps showing up at the same store and in the same department
    someone that walks up to you and asks what time it is & you notice they wear a wrist watch
    if you are out for a walk and notice that a person stops when you do and speeds up when you do
    These are just some examples that should set off your alert system that something may be wrong and require more investigation.

    If it doesn’t feel right it must likely is not right. I will not cost anything to check it out and may well save you and/or others from being hurt.

    Reply

  30. The Right to Bear Arms is only necessary when in a democracy the voters are too lazy to fulfill their obligations.
    The arms manufacturers provide jobs and probably keep as many people alive as they kill which is a bad way to run a business.

    Reply

  31. In my 20 years as a civilian, I have intervened (pull my sidearm) 3 times in situations. A man beating his 8 month girlfriend half to death. A man charging g a woman from across the street. She ran to me and I was forced to pull my sidearm as he was now charging me, as well as, her. A man and woman who forced my car to a dead stop with their vehicle (a fit of road rage) and exited their car and began running at me in mine. Glad to say, I never had to shoot any of them. I was subpoenaed to court to testify against the man who beat his pregnant girlfriend half to death. Point is, there are many unstable people in this world. You must be aware of your surroundings at all times. During my years in the SF, you learn early on, to take nothing for granted. The same concept can be of great benifit as a civilian. Good judgement, staying as calm as is possible, given the particular situation you may find yourself in, will decide whether you survive or not and also whether you end up in jail or not. I am happy that the story you posted, ended well. People with suicidal tendencies are never a fun thing to have to deal with. Neither are domestic violence situations. We, as human beings can only live a clean life, as best we can. In doing so, it can help to guide us as to making choices when confronted with unwanted problems. You are what you eat, so to speak. De oppresso liber.

    Reply

  32. The bank robbers who led up to the infamous 1986 FBI shootout in Miami were murderers who liked to get weapons and guns by ambushing target shooters who could be snuck up on from behind. That is a historic happening, and now with terrorists getting more active we have to be alert to similar criminals trying to get weapons by sneak attacks from the rear as well. We increasingly need to watch out not only for nut case suicides, but nut cases that would be interested in surveillance on a shooting range, and then coming back later to catch people from behind, since it’s hard to focus on your target and have eyes in the back of your head at the same time. If any shooting range has an open gate or none at all, any target practice shooter can be killed for his guns, ammo, and/or getaway car. If shooting ranges have gates, gate guards, and surveillance cameras then such precautions can keep civilized people alive a little better.

    Reply

  33. Totally on the mark, mate. Years ago I realized it doesn’t necessarily matter that I don’t understand what my gut is telling me at the moment as long as I realize something is not right and become immediately vigilant. That spidey sense has saved me arse many times.

    Reply

  34. Suicide is not an option for me–but I’ve learned that it is a loss of faith and hope. That is what turned my way of thinking around and to pass this along. It is a cowardly act and a selfish one–not thinking of others that will be hurt in this action.

    Reply

  35. Hello Bob!
    Bravo!! Very good point that you make, I’ve worked with the public for 30+ years and have always listened to my core perceptions. Obviously I’ve been able to pick up on subtle mannerisms and have diffused quite a few altercations before something or someone got hurt.
    Most people think that nothing will happen to them, that it will happen to other people. They are dead wrong!! Anything could happen to anyone without any notice!!
    If you have a feeling about anything, pay attention to what it is and be prepared to make quick decisions and actions, it could save your life and others around you!! The more that people do this, the safer this world would be!!
    I Commend You!! Be Safe!!

    Reply

  36. Cu Chi South Vietnam. The Monsoon rains were in full force. There were torrential rains all day. The compound was laced with numerous mud puddles that smelled of water buffalo dung. Our two man radio team was assigned to supply communications for the 25th Infantry Division headquarters. Our troupe ship, the USS Gordon was taken out of moth balls, and used by the Merchant Marines to transport our battalion from San Francisco to its port in Cam Rahn bay Vietnam. All of our Signal battalion’s radio equipment was sent a couple weeks later by a cargo ship. Our radio operators were in camp for two weeks doing meaningless busy work while waiting for our equipment to arrive. Finally, an officer stopped by our tent, asking for volunteers to travel to Cameron Bay, and drive our radio trucks back to our home base. I really wanted to volunteer, but a voice told me (gut instinct) not to volunteer. I was all set to volunteer anyway, but the voice a little louder insisted I not volunteer. So finally, I remained quiet, letting others volunteer. The next morning, an officer came into our tent and gave us the sad news that the 2 ½ truck that was hauling the volunteer drivers ran off a mountain side, rolling over and killing 39 of the 45 radio operators, and critically injuring the remainder. Our signal company lost half of our radio operators that day. Had I ignored my gut instinct that said “don’t volunteer” I would likely have died in the accident. My gut instinct may have been the Big Guy upstairs .

    Reply

  37. Bob: This article is the best ,that I’ve recently read on personal awareness. Most people ignore these these feelings because they are afraid of what other people might think! Now that I’ve aged to the point that my physical ability won’t get me out of slow reactions to situations. I listen to all these little voices That are trying too warn me about things. Thank You again Bob.

    Steve Chambers

    Reply

  38. Joe and Sarah helped save the man’s soul from an early eternal destiny too….. not to mention others at the range with possible wounds and ptsd from the shooting which could take years to work through. The Holy Spirit is the one that speaks to people in a small voice, alerting them to dangers.

    We can all thank the Lord for the way He helped the man through all involved and saved all from the heartache.

    Reply

  41. Great and timely artcile. I know we all seem to get too attached to our smartphones so that we are not observing our surroundngs. With the recent news on College campuses this article brings out the fact that we should never let our guard down.

    Enjoy being a Hotlist member great videos and tips enjoy doing business with your company.

    Reply

  42. Your instinct to publish this story in and of itself will probably save a life or a serious crisis by giving other the confidence to speak up or act upon a uncomfortable feeling. At sixty five years old and one who has Hunted, Skiied, Hiked, River Rafted, and worked in dangerous circumstances around the world trusting, training and developing good instincts can be a life saver. I am not talking of fear but respect for your circumstances. Thanks for a sharing this story I will post it at my gun range.

    Reply

  43. I find the Catch phrase, rather unusual. To me, it appeared someone HAD ACTUALLY COMMITTED SUICIDE AT THE RANGE. This can be a little leading per se’. Could it not have been “Possibly suicide intentions at firing range”?

    Reply

  44. I have said this before to others and on the Internet…it is valuable to follow your instincts since most often they are right on target. And at the same time it is best to let the professionals handle the situation unless there is not an alternative. The same with the concealed carry crap. Ask almost any big city cop who has had to deal with situations, like in Ohio, where people are allowed to carry cancealed weapons in a bar, and they are adamant about letting the pros deal with the individual out of control or possibly soon to be out of control. The rookie gun carrier, no matter how much s/he thinks they know- are just that…rookies and dangerous. The police in Ohio are against the crazy concealed carry laws since no cop wants to enter a bar where inebriated individuals might have firearms. Same in Vietnam, the newbies were dangerous until they got some battle experience under their belts. One of my best buddies was killed by a newbie as he returned to base.

    Reply

  45. If one doesn’t listen to that small voice inside that is sending up warning signals, you may find yourself on the wrong end of something that is going horribly wrong. Every time I have tried to ignore that uneasy feeling I’ve come away realizing that God must have been watching out for me, because I sure wasn’t. Situational awareness is a hard thing to quantify, but when your gut says WHOA! ya better listen to it. I can recall barging into a jiffy store being run by a completely oblivious clerk who had all the windows covered over with sales flyers so nobody on the outside could see in. There were two guy in that store that I suddenly became aware of AFTER I walked past them! They were between me and the door! Although I was unarmed and had nowhere to go, I gave them the Evil Eye as I stared at them intently as if I were trying to memorize what they looked like. It must have worked. As I backed toward the clerk, they took off. I told him what was going to happen if I hadn’t have stupidly just walked in without surveying the room first. He looked at me, completely oblivious to the two men with a look that said, “So?” I had a short conversation with him about taking down all the stuff he had on the windows so people outside could see what was going on. I don’t know if he ever did anything about it, but I never again ignored that little voice in the back of my head that was screaming LOOK OUT!”

    Reply

  47. Great article, this really reflects today’s society. All to often we are worried about being politically correct and doing the wrong thing, when just taking a simple action as was the case here made all the difference in the world. Good article, keep up the good work.

    Reply

  48. As always from fight fast this is completely relevant and essential understanding. I think this instinct is even more important than any technique that you could possibly learn. There is no technique that can possibly be better than taking action before something happens. Well done to the people mentioned above. I absolutely believe their story because I have had little examples like that myself nothing to compare with what those two went through.

    I think that training helps this gut feeling in that you get better at observing body language, again well done to those two.

    If you don’t mind I will show this example to my Aikido class.

    Grant McGuinnesz

    Reply

  49. A very timely and helpful article for what we face in our world today – thank you for reminding us to pay attention to our God given instincts.

    Reply

  50. That was the Lord Who gave those 2 people the wisdom to know what was going on & I’m glad they did something. I had a friend where I worked & he came in everyday & would talk to me but I don’t remember him telling me any of his family life problems. Anyway, he walked into a gun stall & committed suicide because his parents wouldn’t help him financially. He wanted to attend a
    special school & because of their actions, he shot himself. I’m sure his parents had a lot of regrets
    after this happened because he was only like 18. He was very well-liked & missed.

    Reply
1 2 3 … 7