Exibition shooters may have an edge in a S.D. senario

[1911Tuner]

A couple of other points that aren't often considered.

If we include the successful use of a gun in self-defense the instances where there were no shots fired...and the presence of the gun caused all hostilities to halt...and consider that many times, these aren't reported. Possibly most of them aren't. Are these not examples of successfully using a gun to defend oneself?

And...

In the instances that the private citizen does fire and connect...How many are very much beyond powder burn or even contact distance? Most fall within those ranges.

The Rule of Threes:

Three shots at Three feet in Three seconds.

After studying this question for several years, it appears that in the preponderance of cases, most justified shootings involving private citizens involve firing after the attack has begun, and very often the criminal attacker is using a blunt or edged weapon. In these, it seems that the problem isn't as much hitting the attacker as it is getting the gun into play in time to keep from being killed. Due to the attacker using a contact weapon, the distance of the shot will usually be within contact range.

How much skill is needed to press the muzzle of a snub-nosed .38 against an attacker's belly and pull the trigger?

Finally...How do we define success? If the shot came too late to keep the defender from being killed or crippled...even though the attacker was also killed...is it still successful? Or do we only count the ones in which the bad guy was stopped...whether he lived or died...and the defender escaped injury?

I've always felt that killing an attacker after he's dealt a fatal or crippling blow is a failure. While it's true that his crime career has ended, and nobody else will ever be his victim again...that will offer very little comfort to the defender's family when they're called to the morgue to identify him. It will also mean little to him if you spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

 

[Kleanbore]

Posted by 1911Tuner: If we include the successful use of a gun in self-defense the instances where there were no shots fired...and the presence of the gun caused all hostilities to halt...and consider that many times, these aren't reported. Possibly most of them aren't. Are these not examples of successfully using a gun to defend oneself?

Excellent point.

As a matter of fact, I have successfully defended myself without firing three times, and for differing reasons, not necessarily very good ones, none of these incidents was reported.

In the instances that the private citizen does fire and connect...How many are very much beyond powder burn or even contact distance? Most fall within those ranges.

The only data I know of come from the experiences of the Rangemaster graduates, and as I recall, few if any of the encounters occurred at contact distance.

Three shots at Three feet in Three seconds.

I keep hearing that, but when I consider how far a person can run in a second and a half, I think this is a little more realistic.

Posted by Sam1911: In practical scenarios, your shots may be anywhere from contact distance, fired from a gun-retention position, out to 15-25 yds. You have to know instinctively how to take any shot that presents itself.

Defensive shooting means that someone is shooting at (or otherwise attempting to harm) YOU. So, defensive shooting is, by necessity, a balance of accuracy -vs.- time.

You need to practice how to take the quickest accurate shot you can, or said more precisely, the fastest shot you can take and still make an effective hit -- at whatever distance a shot presents itself.

That means you should be practicing hammering multiple good hits on 3-5 yd. targets at a rate of about 4-5 shots a second, requiring the very briefest flash sight picture for each shot. [Emphasis added]

And also practicing how/when to take a slightly better sight picture and make the same good hits at 7-10 yds. with a slight reduction in that speed.

After studying this question for several years, it appears that in the preponderance of cases, most justified shootings involving private citizens involve firing after the attack has begun, ... In these, it seems that the problem isn't as much hitting the attacker as it is getting the gun into play in time to keep from being killed.

For attacks that occur out of doors, getting the firearm into play timely is critical, but one still has to be able to hit the attacker without hitting anyone else.

Due to the attacker using a contact weapon, the distance of the shot will usually be within contact range.

How much skill is needed to press the muzzle of a snub-nosed .38 against an attacker's belly and pull the trigger?

If the attacker is using a contact weapon, the distance will certainly be very close, but I sure do not want to be pressing a .38 against the belly of someone who is wielding a knife if I can avoid it.

 

[1911Tuner]

If the attacker is using a contact weapon, the distance will certainly be very close, but I sure do not want to be pressing a .38 against the belly of someone who is wielding a knife if I can avoid it.

That's just my point. If we're lucky, we draw the macho man who telegraphs his intentions and gives us time to start formulating a plan. The ones that don't...the seasoned street fighters...are the ones that present the real threat.

The ones that work in close, either with a pre-staged diversion, or by giving the impression that they're not a threat until they're too close to stop without grappling with them.

The guy who asks for a light...or asks for the time...or points at something over our shoulder and excitedly asks: "Do you see that??" With these, our first indication that we're in a fight comes about the time our head hits the pavement or the knife parts skin.

 

[Ankeny]

Allow me to paraphrase a little analogy that comes up from time to time on this topic. All other factors being equal, who would you rather have come to your aide if you were drowning? A lifeguard who swims just well enough to pass his lifeguard qualifications coming in last in his class, or an Olympic class swimmer? Just some food for thought.