The Armed Citizen® May 8, 2012

by
posted on May 8, 2012
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
ac2009_fs.jpg (1)

Between 2 and 3 p.m. a woman was stopped along the highway when a man approached her car door. He pulled out a knife that appeared to already have a bloody blade and demanded that she go with him. He threatened her, telling her that if she did not comply she would “end up like that woman on TV.” The woman believed he was referring to a missing teacher confirmed dead just days before. She told the man to wait while she got her cigarettes, then reached down and pulled out a gun. The man quickly fled. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Bozeman, Mont., 1/14/12)

The Armed Citizen Extra

(The following account did not appear in the print version of American Rifleman)

A man in Illinois entered a convenience store with less than noble ideas on the night of March 15, and wound up getting more than he bargained for. The suspect in question brandished a gun barrel from beneath his white t-shirt and demanded that the store employees give him all of their money. One clerk sprung into action, retrieving a legally owned pistol and firing it upward at a 45-degree angle. The shot sent the would-be robber scrambling for the door and into an alley. Police are still investigating. (The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ill., 3/17/12)

From The Armed Citizen Archives

May 1981: When he saw three robbers speeding away from a grocery store near his El Paso, Ark., service station, Jim Smith grabbed a .44 Mag. Revolver and a 12-ga. Shotgun and gave chase. He pursued the trio for several miles, eventually catching one stickup man and holding him for police. “I’m a Christian and I go to church,” Smith said, “but I don’t want people running over us.” (The Arkansas Gazette, Little Rock, Ark.)

Latest

Ruger Beretta Agreement F Updated
Ruger Beretta Agreement F Updated

Beretta Holding and Ruger Agree to Partnership

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. and Beretta Holding S.A. have announced that both companies are entering into a strategic cooperation agreement.

Return of the Encore: T/C Arms Brings Back Its Iconic Single-Shot

In 2024, former owner Gregg Ritz purchased Thompson/Center Arms. Now the company has introduced a modern take on its classic Contender/Encore concept: the ENCORE PROHunter.

7 New ARs for 2026

While it's certainly a saturated marketplace these days, the AR-15 has never been more popular with American firearm enthusiasts, and many manufacturers are continuing to feed the need with new options loaded with new features.

The Armed Citizen® May 4, 2026

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

The Drawbacks of Being a Numbers-Oriented Gun Guy

Like any hobby or pastime that is in any way even vaguely related to machines or technology, firearms attract a (possibly) disproportionate number of “right-brained,” STEM-oriented personalities who like numbers.

First Look: MDT Hand Cannon Slingshot

Slingshots are fun, but they can also be a legitimate backup defensive tool—in 2023, a 13-year-old Michigan boy saved his 8-year-old sister from being kidnapped by using a $3 slingshot to fire a marble and a rock at the assailant, striking him in the chest and head.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.