Share your Combat Pistol Experiences!

[Badger Arms]

While I realize the sharing of combat experience might be difficult, those who frequent the board might learn something from them. It is my belief tht these stories need to be told. I'm not asking for deep personal revalations. Commentary on the utility of handguns or situations where a pistol or revolver might or might not be useful are of interest.

Please share any combat experience you have had with a pistols.

 

[1911Tuner]

War Stories

Not tryin' to give ya a short answer or anything like that, but it ain't likely
that many will respond to this one, or the responses will be monosyllabic at
best, unless:
A...Somethin' funny happened, and
B...Nobody got shot.

Merry Christmas!

Tuner

 

[clubsoda22]

Yeah, If i ever had a defensive scenario where i ended up having to shoot someone i don't think i'd say anything more than "I don't want to talk about it." The possible exception being analyzing what happened with an expert.

 

[Iggy]

clubsoda22

"Yeah, If i ever had a defensive scenario where i ended up having to shoot someone i don't think i'd say anything more than "I don't want to talk about it." The possible exception being analyzing what happened with an expert."


I have been there and your statement is exactly on target.

 

[Sean Smith]

I'd also suggest that people who would brag about that sort of thing probably don't have much to brag about, if you get my drift.

 

[1911Tuner]

Braggin' Rights

Sean said:

I'd also suggest that people who would brag about that sort of thing probably don't have much to brag about, if you get my drift.

Oh yeah. There's an old sayin':

"Them that's done it don't tell it. Them that tells it, probably ain't done it."

Try asking a veteran of Iwo Jima, Omaha Beach, Anzio, Tarawa, Inchon,
Khe Sahn or Hue City during the Tet Offensive to provide details...then watch how deftly he changes the subject. Fail to take the hint, and he
may leave the room. Follow him, and like as not, you'll get told in no
uncertain terms that you've crossed a line.

There's another one...

"You can ask them how they feel, but don't ask them where they've been."

I'm gonna bow outta this one...Nuff said.

Tuner

 

[coltjeeper]

One of my best friends was in Iraqi Freedom. He and I talk about everything and he told me alot about what happened over there. But one thing he didn't talk about was any killing he was involved in or saw. He said he is sooo sick and tired, as are all the guys that came back, of being asked...."So, did you shoot anyone?" DON'T be asking us vets this! It REALLY pisses us off!

I got lucky, my unit was activated and stayed CONUS. He's been back for awhile now. I'm still deployed till summer.

 

[FitchHall]

Oeration Iraqi Freedom

THR,

I've got to concur with the advice and opinions listed above regarding the experiences of veterans.

As an OIF vet, I'll share one observation on the use of a pistol.... it doesn't belong in a gun fight. I might as well have had a starter's pistol when going through Nasiriyah. My 9mm issue weapon was only effective when we began to clear houses and buildings in Baghdad.

Our officers weren't issued rifles. We began carrying captured AKs until some Americans were caught on film by the media carrying foreign weapons. Standing back and looking at the situation from the outside, it probably makes sense, but at the time it was a necessity. While a pistol was good to go indoors, the minute we left the building, rifles were the necessary weapons.

 

[Badger Arms]

There is a culture of pistols in America which I feel has a negative impact on the lives and effectiveness of police and our military memebers. Understanding the limitations of the handgun is my primary aim with this thread. It would seem from the popularity of 'combat shooting' games and competitions that many 'in the know' feel pistols are a viable alternative to other forms of guns.

Historically, our military units have issued handguns on a far greater scale and for a much different purpose than foreign military units. Cops in America almost exclusively carry handguns.

 

[45R]

ONE TIME AT THE RANGE I WAS SWEPT BY A BLIND MAN WITH HIS FINGER ON THE TRIGGER. SO WAS DR. JONES AND 45BOO. Does that count. NO SHOTS WERE FIRED and EVERYONE LIVED.

 

[1911Tuner]

Pistols in Combat

Badger Arms said:

It would seem from the popularity of 'combat shooting' games and competitions that many 'in the know' feel pistols are a viable alternative to other forms of guns.

Ahhh...Now, that's a different issue altogether.

I'll respond by saying that nobody in his right mind would choose a pistol
to go into a fight with if there was a rifle or shotgun available. The
pistol is viable mainly because of its portability, (i.e. You don't have to
go get it. It's right there on your belt.) and not because it's deadly,
powerful, accurate, effective, or because it's chic. The pistol is a weapon
that is carried when more effective weaponry is unavailable or is a
problem to carry around. Anybody who tells you that he would purposely
carry ANY pistol into a gunfight has either never been in one...hasn't thought it through carefully, or has been watching too many movies.

Fitch nailed it. A pistol has no place in a gunfight unless there is no
other choice, or you are using it to fight your way to a rifle.

Christmas is upon us! God rest us merry gentlemen.

Tuner

 

[cidirkona]

The first time my fiance shot a pistol at a pistol range, she closed her eyes and promptly shot the wall. Although a bit scary at the time, I only let her have one round so that such mistakes couldn't be made more than once at a time...

-Colin

 

[12 Volt Man]

Somebody on this board or TFL said once that "your pistol is what you use on the way to your rifle".
I would assume this to be the case in most combat situations. Most of us keep our pistols for CCW and they will serve us well for most situations we might encounter in the civillian world.

 

[buzz_knox]

That quote is from Clint Smith.

 

[Dave R]

Somewhere on TFL is the thread describing Tamara's defensive use. Something about "the day I discovered that HCI would rather have me dead" or something like that.

There's also a thread either on TFL or THR where Quarterbore Gunner described his defensive use.

I hope its OK to refer folks to these threads. I assume that, since they posted them before, they intended the stories for public consumption.

 

[Blackhawk]

How about my sharing my combat revolver experiences?

Carried a S&W .38 in Vietnam in '68-'70. It was totally reliable by staying in its holster the whole time except for unloading, inspection, and loading.

Never did find out if it would fire a cartridge 'cause its purpose was to keep information from getting into enemy hands, if you get my drift....

The others are right, don't ask 'cause the ones who know are not going to tell.

 

[Zundfolge]

There's an excellent account of Pistol Self Defense over on GlockTalk by some guy named RoadRep

I have it bookmarked at home (but I'm at work)

I think the thread was titled something like "Criminals always pick the wrong victims" (it was started by someone else)


Edit
found it ... I had it bookmarked at work too
http://www.glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=126319

 

[RWK]

I will only say this, I carried an issued 1911A1 -- first in Southeast Asia and then in the US and overseas -- daily, in official assignments, for 20+ years. Early in my career, I substituted a personally owned Smith 27 for the combat aircrew-issued S&W M&P/Model 10 (an unauthorized, but very common practice).

 

[zen_grasshopper]

My father-in-law saw my Kimber and stated that he carried a 1911 in Vietnam. He was a guard at a base and they had one 1911 that they handed shift to shift. One night one of the soldiers wore it on the outside of his parka while it was raining and then gave it to the next shift without oiling it. Within a week it was a rusty paperweight, he said that they had to put the slide in a vise and hit the grip with a hammer to get the action to cycle.

I know that it is not a combat story but I thought it was funny.

Jon

 

[VG]

Oeration Iraqi Freedom

THR,

I've got to concur with the advice and opinions listed above regarding the experiences of veterans.

As an OIF vet, I'll share one observation on the use of a pistol.... it doesn't belong in a gun fight. I might as well have had a starter's pistol when going through Nasiriyah. My 9mm issue weapon was only effective when we began to clear houses and buildings in Baghdad.

Our officers weren't issued rifles. We began carrying captured AKs until some Americans were caught on film by the media carrying foreign weapons. Standing back and looking at the situation from the outside, it probably makes sense, but at the time it was a necessity. While a pistol was good to go indoors, the minute we left the building, rifles were the necessary weapons.

__________________
Semper Fidelis,
Captain Howard F. Hall

What he said.
More and more officers are being issued M4 Carbines in lieu of (or in addition to) pistols.

 

[mattk]

I agree with others have said about sharine Combat experiences.
My father was in the Army for 32 years served in very theater and conflict from Vietnam(twice) to the first Gulf War. The only war story I have ever heard that wasnt a something funny happen one involved a pistol.

A few months ago we were cleaning out a filing cabinet and ran across some old pictures. One was my father in Vietnam circa 1966. On his table or desk maybe was a pistol that looked nothing like a 1911. So I said "Hey dad what's this piece you have in this picture?"
"Oh thats my Luger"
"Where did you get a Luger in Vietnam?"
"Took it off a VC I killed"

And that was the end of that discussion.
Later I asked what happened to it. Turns out it stolen out of his gear while being shipped back to the States.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Uhm....

No.

 

[G27]

I don't have one but here is one that is sobering

Packing.org self defense story.

This could happen to anyone.

 

[Harold Mayo]

You also tend to find people who want to hint like they've been in combat of some sort but don't want to tell because "you wouldn't understand" or something along those lines...

 

[1911Tuner]

Wouldn't Understand

Harold said:

You also tend to find people who want to hint like they've been in combat of some sort but don't want to tell because "you wouldn't understand" or something along those lines...
--------------------------------------------
Yeah, those types are around...but when the ones who really have been there answer like that, it's likely because after telling the story, it doesn't
end when the story is told. It keeps replaying over and over. Sometimes,
just asking them to relate the experience triggers a sleepless night.

When I came home from Vietnam, my standard response to people who
wanted me to provide details on how many that I killed was a deadpan look, and: "What kind of a jackass question is that anyway?"

Cheers all!

Tuner