“He goes ‘Nobody’s getting out of here alive. I got 24 rounds for my shotgun, I plan using them all.'” That’s Doug Snarski recounting for kxly.com what Sean Parsons shouted after breaking into his house in Honeymoon Bay, Washington. Parsons’ ex is Snarski’s current and she was there with him early Sunday morning. In fact Parsons had recently received a no-contact restraining order but somehow that didn’t make much of an impression on him . . .
Parsons had decided they both needed killing and wasn’t going to be dissuaded. Snarski tried to defuse the situation, but Parsons was having none of it.
“I’m trying to talk him down, just leave, don’t worry about it, it’ll be OK but he was on a mission to kill,” he said.
After sending a couple of loads of buckshot up toward Snarski on the second floor, Parsons started climbing the stairs.
“I just laid on the ground around the corner and watched his shadow come up with the lights and as soon as I knew he had hit that last step I just pointed up and let him have it,” he said.
It was the first time Snarski ever fired his revolver.
Parsons dropped like a bag of bricks and assumed room temperature shortly thereafter.
Familiarizing yourself with your gun and regular practice are certainly good things. Who wouldn’t want to know their means of self defense will go bang and they can hit what they’re aiming at when they really need to? But the Second Amendment doesn’t mention anything about range qualification. And it doesn’t mandate that gun owners demonstrate basic competency. Who knows if Doug Snarski could have even qualified to own a gun in a less gun-friendly state than Washington.
But Snarski and his girlfriend are alive today because he was able to have a revolver in his home – one he’d never even fired before. As Snarski said, “I mean nobody wants to kill anybody but it came down to either me or him.”
[h/t thegunwire.com]
Never fired the gun before? He got lucky in my opinion.
…”lucky” he doesn’t live in D.C., where self-defense is a felony.
Better to be lucky, than dead.
Can’t beat blind luck.
“…it came down to either me or him.”
In the end, I believe, this is %90 of the fight. Training and cool toys are a distant second and third to mindest.
I like the way Snarski waited for the bad guy to come to him. Not only that, sounds like Snarski made use of cover and was patient.
Snarski seems like he’s a cool customer under pressure.
for the inexperienced , you can’t beat a double action revolver.
I’d revise your comment to say “for anyone, you can’t beat a double action revolver.” Dead bang reliable.
add sig and glocks and i agree with you.
Notice the advantage Snarski had by being able to surprise the intruder.
Nice ambush. Get low, use cover and surprise.
While Snarski’s lack of prior curiosity as to whether his gun would actually work is odd, this shooting is much the most common type. A shot or three in defense against one person at very close range is the probable event, if any. What did the guy expect when he hit the top stair, a welcome drink? I can hear Snarski now: “hey, waddaya know, the gun actually works!”
He didn’t expect anybody in the house to be armed. Remember, this is Washington, so the odds are that Parsons is/was a liberal. And as all liberals know, law-abiding people don’t have guns.
Yes, but he was still able to get a gun without much hassle and the self defense laws are very favorable. Man I love Washington.
Judinging from the fact that this took place in eastern WA (near Spokane), the odds of him being a liberal are much less than if this took place near Seattle. Outside the Seattle area, much of Washington is quite rural and much more libertarian/conservative.
Prior to moving to Portland, Oregon people described the city culture as ‘liberals with guns’. I’ve found that somewhat amusingly true. We’re talking moderate liberals and not ObamaComs though they are here too.
There is a reason they call it “point and shoot” technology.
“It was the first time Snarski ever fired his revolver.”
Wait. You mean that someone was actually able to use, to stop an attacker, one of them dated ancient revolvers that don’t come with an 18-round magazine, lasers, lights, high decibel cannons, grenade launchers, flame throwers, etc?
At home everyday I bet my life on a revolver.
When out and about, no problem for a change leaving the 1911 at home in favor of the .38 snubby.
I keep .38+p in my .357 revolver. I bought the 357 frame for the extra beefiness and strength, and all along intended to (primarily) load it with 38.
Yeah, once he ran out of ammo due to missing with the horrendous double action only trigger, he was able to beat the guy to death with the small boat anchor
#1
“You don’t rise to the occasion, you default to the level of your training” the saying goes.
What if your training is “zero?” – Snarski sure did a heck of a lot better than that, and did a heck of a job of rectifying Parsons’ lead deficiency.
I’m not saying ‘don’t get training’ but every now and then you hear about a very experienced shooter prevailing in an armed encounter.
BTW,
>Who knows if Doug Snarski could have even qualified to own a gun in a less gun-friendly state than Washington.
Interesting factoid about one of those states – For New York State pistol permits, The only “training” you need is a basic course that covers gun safety and the very basics of marksmanship (demonstrated with illustrations, not with live fire) In NYS, you can’t even handle a handgun without first having a permit, so acquiring the handgun is largely a matter of paperwork. Whether your county issues “target” only or “full carry” right away, the only real hurdles are fees, stacks of forms, and a long wait while your background is being thoroughly scrutinized.
Sorry, meant to say “inexperienced shooter”
MikeB ????
Crikets.
Dead crim = happy ending.
Well done! Some people just need to be deaded.
Wow. He also used his weak hand to fire with. He is right handed and shot using his left hand. One cool character.
Snarski is one cool customer indeed: without any apparent training or experience, he made use of cover, concealment, and the advantage of height. He drew his attacker into the ‘fatal funnel’ of the stairwell and shot him from ambush.
This episode emphasizes the point that Washington State is a bad place for home invaders. They keep getting shot and bleeding out on other people’s floors, and none of the homeowners are getting charged with crimes for defending themselves.
Works for me.
A friend has a 38 snub nose he last fired 10 years ago. I encouraged him to shoot it regularly and he now does. He needs to get a feel for how it operates and jumps. Forget target shooting, it’s not an aiming tool.
I would like to point out an overlooked, but important part of this story: “In fact Parsons had recently received a no-contact restraining order but somehow that didn’t make much of an impression on him . . .”
The fact that Parsons’ ex-girlfriend had gotten a no-contact restraining order on Parsons gave Snarski an excellent presumption of self-defense in this DGU. If you or a family member or friend have been threatened by a low-life, get a restraining order. At the very least, file a formal complaint. The paper will not protect you from the lowlife (that’s why you need the gun), but it will certainly help with the legal aftermath of a defensive shooting.