I drew and fired my carry gun

I had to draw and use my concealed carry firearm. Thankfully, it wasn't against a person.A few weeks back, I went for a trail ride on my horse, Sunny. There's a large public trail system in the space behind the barn where I keep my horse, and I frequently like to go out there and explore the trails. Generally, I prefer to ride without a saddle. Usually, I carry a 1911, but that day, I was carrying my Glock 42. When I ride, I usually don't keep a round chambered.About 10 minutes in to my ride, a dog came out of the bushes growling and barking at Sunny. Before I could do anything, she bolted and I ended up coming off and landing on a nice soft pile of rocks. I bounced up immediately and assessed the situation. The dog looked at me for a moment and growled again as it started to approach. Having dealt with aggressive dogs before, I shouted at it. It ran by me and started chasing Sunny. I drew my pistol, chambered a round, and fired.I missed, and the dog ran off back to its owner, who was about a hundred yards away from me. I shouted at the owner, "Your dog almost fucking killed me." She didn't reply. This was also the first time I've fired my .380 without ear protection. It was loud, but not deafening. My ears rang for about half a second and then stopped. So, some hearing damage, but not a huge amount.I left the scene and walked my horse back home (my safety helmet cracked when my head hit a rock). As I got back home, I saw a sheriff's deputy pull in to the trail head. I briefly explained the situation to my mother, who happened to be at the barn with her horse. I left Sunny with my mother and drove back to the trail head. At this point, I noticed my hand was really bloody. I put my gun in the center console of my vehicle, flagged down the deputy, and stupidly asked, "Are you here about the gunshot?"He looked confused and said, "Uh, no."With a question like that and a literally bloody hand, you can't really say, "Whoops, never mind." Apparently, he was just there doing rounds at the trail heads.I explained the situation to the deputy, who was really understanding and professional. He told me that I was 100% within my rights to shoot at a dog at large who is attacking my livestock. I gave him my information, and as we were doing that, I saw the woman and her dog drive my. I pointed them out and he flagged them down. He talked to her and explained to her why having a loose dog on the trails is a bad idea. He also got her to agree to replace my riding helmet.I later called his shift commander and told the shift commander about how professional and competent his deputy was during the situation.Anyway. I learned a few lessons here.Keep a round chambered. If you are in a compromised situation, you might not be able to successfully chamber a round in time. A modern drop safe gun will not fire unless the trigger is pulled.If a loose dog comes at you and is acting aggressive, don't wait to react- it can get you hurt. Do something, even if it isn't shooting.Don't talk to the police if you don't have to. Don't potentially incriminate yourself. Don't do what I did here. It worked out well for me, but there's a possibility that I could have been detained. I got lucky with my stupidity. Don't say a fucking word until you have a lawyer and they have a warrant.I had a thumb break holster. The thumb break holster did it's job and kept the pistol exactly where it needed to be when fell and hit the ground hard. If you are attacked and end up on the ground, you want your pistol to be immediately available. With snap caps, practice falling with your gun. See what happens and where it goes. When picking a holster, ask yourself, "What will happen if I fall over? Will be gun stay where I need it to stay?"Dogs move really fast. They are hard to hit.Also, when I fell, something happened and tore up the plastic sight on my G42. I think it's misaligned now. I might as well use this opportunity to get better sights than the stock Glock sights. What should I get for it? via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/2xe3C7b