reality of using a gun in self defense

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
I found this posted else ware but its well worth reading thru

"I'm putting this up as a bit of a public service, in response to some of the nonsense that's been posted on the 24HCF and elsewhere regarding use of deadly force in the past few months. A lot of people seem to have formed their opinions from a mishmash of TV and movie dramas, the news media, and conversation with their friends. The internet has done us all a disservice in that anyone, no matter how ignorant, can post his faulty opinions and expect them to be read and believed by other ignorant people.
having concealed carry legal cost insurance may be a huge financial life saver
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/concealed-carry-liability-insurance.14222/
I've been dealing with the realities of the use of force and the use of deadly force for close to 20 years now, as a physician, as a police officer, and as an armed citizen. I have taken basic and advanced training in the legalities, ethics, and practice of using deadly force. Over the years I've seen the consequences of these realities up close and personal... fortunately, not in a way that has destroyed my life.

But I've seen a lot of people's lives destroyed by their ignorance of the realities of use of deadly force. Unfortunately, much of what is written about the use of deadly force on the Internet and apparently believed by many people is utter garbage.

If you don't believe me, dig out the last 5 years of American Handgunner and read The Ayoob Files in each issue. Ayoob doesn't dwell on it, but the life-destruction suffered by the people he writes about is horrific.

So here's the short version of what I know to be true about the use of a handgun (or any firearm, for that matter) in an act of self-defense:

1. If you carry or even own a firearm for purposes of self-defense, you are an idiot if you don't spend the money and time to get training. I'm not talking basic handgun training. I'm talking about training in the use of deadly force.

2. There are 3 people in America who conduct this training at the highest level. Their names are Massad Ayoob, John Farnam, and Clint Smith. Massad Ayoob's class is probably the most accessible. After I took his LFI-I class in 1998, I went home and registered my entire family for the class. I have since come to realize that John and Clint teach much the same material. And I state without equivocation that if you don't take one of these guys' classes but you still intend to use your firearm for self-defense, you're just asking to have your life destroyed.

3. You can get Ayoob's and Farnam's training for about the price of a good handgun and a holster and a year's supply of ammunition (if you ever bother to practice with that fancy gun, which most handgun owners don't, of course). Smith will run you a bit more, but what he teaches is worth the extra dough. If you have a safe full of guns and you haven't taken training in the use of deadly force, you're lying about being serious about armed self-defense.

4. If you shoot somebody, even if you did so in what you think was self-defense, have realistic expectations about what is likely to happen.
a. EXPECT to be arrested and charged.
b. Expect to be handcuffed and taken to jail.
c. Expect a very nasty series of interrogations.
d. Expect to have to hire a good lawyer, and expect to spend the next 1-2 years defending yourself.
e. Expect to have to mortgage your house and liquidate all your assets to pay your legal costs.
f. Expect to lose your guns.
Start with these expectations, because they are far more likely than the chances you are going to be allowed to go home and sleep in your own bed for a while. (But if you've taken appropriate deadly force training, your chances of making it through this horror relatively unscathed is much better than if you follow all the advice you've been reading on the internet.)

5. If you live in a place like rural Texas or Montana, most of what I've described in #4 probably won't happen. If you live in a major city or in a Blue state, most of #4 is likely. But much of it will happen, even if you did everything right.

6. Life isn't fair. Deal with it.

7. The police are not going to be your friends if you shoot somebody. It's their job to arrest and charge people who shoot other people, and then let the legal system sort it out. They don't care if you think you're a good guy.

8. The prosecutors are not going to be your friends if you shoot somebody. It's their job to put you in prison for the rest of your life, whether you deserve to be there or not. They don't care if you think you're a good guy.

9. Your friends and family--most of them--are not going to be friendly to you if you shoot somebody. People regard killers of other people as pariahs. They don't care that you think you're a good guy, and that you did everything right.

10. All of the above assertions apply equally to all citizens, including police and military personnel. When you kill another person, no matter what your station in life, you're in for a rough ride. Life is no kinder to cops that pull the trigger than it is to private citizens.


11. If you haven't realized by now that you need some training in the use of deadly force and how to deal with the aftermath, I don't think there's any hope for you.


RELATED INFO

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7866

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national ... too/50226/

http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_carry ... _maps.html

http://tekel.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/c ... state-map/

http://www.thecastledoctrine.com/id68.html

http://www.infoplease.com/us/statistics ... state.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
you can read through the details in the studies but the results of dozens of studies on the subject, show, accurate shot placement, and a knowledge of anatomy, is by far the most critical factor, fail to break major structural bones or cut major arteries or cut the central nervous system (BRAIN/SPINE) and your unlikely to cause rapid impairment to an opponent.
larger more powerful projectiles have some advantage but having a large magazine capacity helps those that can,t shoot as accurately, under high stress, and constant repeat training COUNTS

http://www.policemag.com/channel/we...opping-power-myths-legends-and-realities.aspx

http://www.policemag.com/channel/weapons/articles/2016/01/9mm-vs-40-caliber.aspx

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2012/8/29/handgun-stopping-power-sizing-up-your-options/

http://www.chuckhawks.com/handgun_power_chart.htm

http://www.policemag.com/channel/weapons/articles/2003/01/understanding-stopping-power/page/2.aspx

http://www.hendonpub.com/resources/article_archive/results/details?id=4593
 
Back
Top