Backstops in the Real World

[waterhouse]

On the bright side, having a very good backstop can allow shots that you may want to take but otherwise could not take.

https://www.statesman.com/NEWS/2016...hot-last-year-put-a-stop-to-a-night-of-terror

Without the backstop of 35 feet high of highway concrete, I doubt Sgt. Johnson would have been comfortable taking the 104 yard pistol shot while holding two horses in his support hand.

 

[Kleanbore]

On the bright side, having a very good backstop can allow shots that you may want to take but otherwise could not take.

I would never take a shot at a person that I "may want to take" unless I reasonably believe that it is immediately necessary.

 

[waterhouse]

I would never take a shot at a person that I "may want to take" unless I reasonably believe that it is immediately necessary.

Of course. But without a good backstop you may not be able to take a shot that is immediately necessary.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

As far as HD goes everyone should really have all of this mapped out already.

Where it gets tricky is for those of us that carry out into public. Completely different dynamic.

I'm always thinking about this topic when out and about but the bottom line is that IF the time ever comes to defend yourself or a loved one that may very well be the last thing on your mind.

All the more reason to spend so much time thinking about it now and planning/training while you have the opportunity.

 

[George P]

One of the techniques taught to me by a prison guard was to bounce double aught off the pavement so it rises just under a foot above the pavement to take out the legs. Similar phenomena is seen off a wall.

Why not just shoot them in the legs then?

 

[Jeff White]

Skip firing is useful for situations where you can’t get a clear shot. It’s a way to shoot under a vehicle and hit someone on the other side, or skip it down a wall and hit someone who is up against the wall.

 

[RioShooter]

Skip firing is useful for situations where you can’t get a clear shot. It’s a way to shoot under a vehicle and hit someone on the other side, or skip it down a wall and hit someone who is up against the wall.

I took out a bowling pin at 100 yards with my 1911 that way; not intentionally. I had placed the pin on the ground at 100 yds. and my ranging was off. The bullet hit about 3 feet in front of the target, but still took it down. I won $10 on that shot. No one said the bullet couldn't bounce first.

 

[DT Guy]

There is training (somewhat arcane, but out there) about using alternative shooting positions to achieve a safe(er) backstop. Kneeling to shoot upwards (one scenario was a crowded subway, and the only way to get a safe(er) backstop was to drop and shoot upward at the aggressor's chin) and literally jumping to shoot downward directly into the top of the head (useful for suspects in a crowded vehicle during a traffic stop.)

It wouldn't be easy to make most of them work, but there are alternatives you can train toward and increase the range of circumstances you can safely engage in.

Larry

 

[PoPo22]

"In fact, the round, whether using shot or even an ordinary bullet does not rebound off the surface the way a cue ball does on a pool table - it tends to slide along that secondary surface depending on how hard it is and your actual angle to it as the shooter."
^^^ This is why (when I was in SWAT) we would emphasize "staying off the walls and corners" when making entries. A good habit. When shooting from behind a vehicle, stand back several feet in case of ricochet off the top of a hood.

 

[Kleanbore]

Good input!