At 3/5/06 01:13 PM, Tsuchiya wrote:
im personally not to big a fan of guns. other people can use them to defend themselves if they like, but i guess guns kind of intimidate me.
A lot of people are intimidated by guns. But there's a few key things to keep in mind:
1) Unlike the movies, most self defense situations where a defender uses a firearm typically take place at only 21 feet away or less. (And by less, 7 feet away is very common)! From those distances, you're pretty much guaranteed that the bullet will hit your attacker, once it leaves the barrel.
2) Shakey aim can be fixed with training & practice. (Guns like the S&W model 36 are a bit difficult to shoot well because of their small size and light weight. But even they can be mastered, with time & effort).
3) The intention is never to kill your attacker, but to stop him. If you're dealing with a particularly ruthless or demented attacker, HIS actions are why the firearm comes out of a defender's holster. Although you should never bluff with a gun, it's actually quite common for an attacker to stop; once he sees that his victim is armed and prepared to shoot. Sure, you might end up killing your attacker. But, you'd be legally, and in my opinion, morally justified in doing so! No one forced him to attack you. You never did anything to him to cause the attack, against you. He decided to keep trying to murder you, even after you took out your gun. HIS actions lead directly to HIS death.
4) There are different bullet types that you can use to reduce the likelyhood of a ricochet. One type was even specialy developed for use by Sky-Marshals onboard airplanes. It's also available to civilians. Although incredibly expensive, usually sold in packs of 6 instead of boxes of 50 rounds, they are guaranteed to NOT ricochet! The bullets are pre-fragmented. They're called Glaser Safety Slugs. Here's a short article that explains things a bit more==> http://mysite.elixir..=12665&page=1979
I can understand wanting to use your hands to stop an attacker, instead of a gun; or any other weapon at all. Unfortunately, your attacker decides how serious the situation is going to be. It's not like a tournament match with rules that you both agree on. (I wish it was! .......... Make my training a Hell of a lot easier).......... I understand that some people shy away from firearms. But it's important to keep in mind that a gun is just an inamimate object that can't hurt you without a person behind it. Let me put it this way, a .38 Special, with a bullet weighing 158 grains travels at about 890 feet per second......... An SUV can weigh over 2 tons (over 4000 pounds) and can be driven at over 70 miles per hour........... By themselves, both are harmless. Put a person in control of each, and BOTH are capable of doing some damage.
