Posted by couldbeanyone: ....I clearly stated "two blocks" in post 156. It could happen, and you can't see everything in that type of a situation, can you?
One more time: think BACKSTOP.
You may not always be a able to do that, but you have to understand that bullets do not run out of lethal energy in a short distance, and one cannot rely on a hit in lung tissue to stop one, either.
When one moves after recognizing a threat, one objective is to try to keep from being where the threat is heading; another should be to try to reduce the risk of collateral damage due to either misses or pass-through hits.
Your training should address that. Standing seven yards in front of a target you have been thinking about and shooting as fast as you can will not.
Try this: as you walk from the store or the restaurant toward your car, stay off the cell-phone and
look around. Look not only at other people and what they seem to be doing, but look for cars, corners, alley openings, dumpsters, and other things that could conceal a surprise assailant.
Also try to be aware of who may be behind you.
Adjust your direction as indicated.
Does that sound extreme? Two years a go when I had a problem with mobility as I left a no-gun location, I noticed four or five rough looking people observing me intently and spreading out to different locations in the parking lot. Had my car not been in a handicapped spot right outside the building, I would have gone back inside.
I would not have done anything differently had I been armed. I do not like "gunfights".
But I digress. You are walking to your car. You are looking at people, places, and things. While you are looking around for a possible threat,
consider what you would do should one present itself. That should include where and how you would move, and in what direction you might be able to fire
if you have to, while exposing bystanders,
seen and unseen, to minimum risk.
That might extend
beyond five blocks--think
backstop.