I was attacked and wondering if i could have shot.?

I am glad you were able to diffuse the situation peacefully. that must have been a harrowing experience.
The short answer is that in your particular case, if all the facts you provided are correct and could be proven correct in a court of law, you would have been lawfully justified in using lethal force. That will not save you from a trial, it just means that you would have almost certainly been acquitted of whatever homicide you were charged with (unless you accidentally killed an innocent bystander, in which case you may still be charged and convicted of a separate crime).
In the event that something like this happens to you again, you should be fully aware of your state's laws concerning the judicious use of lethal force, and the basic principles that guide defense and prosecution of homicide cases nationwide. This won't be comprehensive by any means, but lets talk law (I am not an attorney, just an informed citizen):

A widely accepted definition of 'judicious use of deadly force':
You may legally use deadly force only when there is an immediate and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm to the innocent.

In the event of a homicide where the defendant has claimed self-defense, the jury will discern whether the claimant acted in a manner that a reasonable person would have acted under the same circumstances.
ABILITY: Did the assailants have the ability to cause death or crippling injury to you?
Yes. In your case we have a clear example of what is called 'disparity of force.' In a very brief explanation, this means that they had more power to cripple or kill you than you had to do the same to them.
JEOPARDY: Did you have a reasonable expectation that they would attempt to cripple or kill you?
If someone says "I'm going to kill you," and then starts moving toward you with a weapon drawn, you have reason to believe that your life is in jeopardy. This can be extended to waving, pointing, or possibly even openly displaying a gun while making verbal threats.
Yes, you were in jeopardy.
OPPORTUNITY: Having the ability, did they have the opportunity to use lethal force against you?
If a man waves a knife at you and screams, "I'm going to kill you!" and he's at the other side of a football stadium, he may have the ability and the intent to kill you, but he doesn't very well have the opportunity.
In your case, being blocked in and in close proximity to several men armed with pistols, they probably had the opportunity to cause death or crippling injury to you.

Any jury, given those criteria, would have found that you had acted reasonably in the use of deadly force.

In South Carolina, there is a law called the Castle Doctrine, which governs in part the lawful possession of a concealed firearm in any place where you lawfully have a right to be and are expected to be, and have no expectation nor duty to retreat from that place in the event of a lethal force scenario. These places include your home, your place of business, and your car. In some instances, this may be extended to camp sites or other special circumstances (I am not aware if these exceptions are ever made in South Carolina, but they are not explicitly stated to my knowledge).
You had the right to be there, in your car, and were in lawful possession of a handgun. According to South Carolina law, you are not required to retreat or attempt to retreat from your car before using lethal force if you are in danger of death or grave bodily harm.
If you have the means to retreat *with* your car, however, that may be a different story.

As far as I can tell, you had in your power the summary right and command to take the life of another citizen without prior authorization or review.

I live in another state, and if they were indeed coming after you claiming they would shoot you'd be we'll within your rights to defend yourself.

However, you did the wise thing. Don't get out of the car and provoke.

Don't know what the laws are in SC - but you may want to make yourself familiar with them.

It relies upon on the attacker, the commonly used of weapon, the attitude of attack, the area of the value, or maybe whether that is gentle out. easily a experienced canine will keep going even whilst injured, yet a canine can't bodily keep going upon getting a around to the suggestions or dropping too plenty blood. If the "attacker" has 5 seconds, a funky head, and knows the place to place a bullet, the canine is ineffective and so are you. there's no protection that works one hundred% of the time - a experienced human protection safeguard could nicely be gunned down only like a canine could nicely be gunned down. A canine it quite is charging a undesirable guy is working in a straight away line, straight away in direction of the attacker, head first. No canine is invincible. A experienced PPD against your usual burglar, mugger, or gang-banger will in all probability a minimum of purchase you the time to flee, yet against a team of attackers or somebody with self-protection, police, or protection stress education i bypass to call it a draw at terrific, if for no different reason the incontrovertible fact that a smart "undesirable guy" will examine the area and placed a bullet interior the canine's head long previously you even understand they are there.

"couldnt drive off, i was parked with 2 cars on my sides, and they had a suv of some sort parked behind me, i would have had to run them over to get out."

And you did not call the cops? What in the Hell were you waiting for?
A mistake many make is not calling the PD - at the least they write reports that may support your story.

You answered your own question in your statement "I found it was smarter to just sit in the car than get out and start a gun fight". If you can reasonably avoid the use of deadly force you are required to do so.
Shooting and killing another would certainly be a "life changing" event

I think that you did the right thing. You kept your wits about you.Did you report it to the police?

All you would have had to do is start the car and drive off

So no, you could not shot anybody because you were not in immediate danger with way to get away from it

You were in a vehicle with a means to get away

Don't get out of the car when 3 drunks start shaking it. Drive off and call the police.

You should have just called the police from the first instant that they were harassing you and had the cops be there in a couple of minutes, and then it wouldn't have escalated that way.