I wouldn't be able to shoot him either if he blindsided me or caught me off guard. Duh.
Well with your gun all stuffed down in your pocket and you thinking you can whup anybody your size that comes along, no, I don't suppose you could. So "duh" right back at ya.
Now, for those of us that realize all assaults, robberies, or other violent crimes are by definition unexpected or "blind-sides" ( If they weren't, and we knew they were coming, we
would just stay home and skip the whole affair ), and more or less prepare for being "behind the curve" and to possibly (probably?) be out-matched either physically, or at least in the mind of the assailant, "out-gunned"... well, we might just get a shot or two off before we get our skull caved in or our neck broken.
But then that does take being able and willing to shoot an unarmed attacker if required.
But if you can testify that the unarmed guy your size had you so scared you had to shoot him, more power to ya.
You seem to be all hung up on the word "fear".... Try substituting "reasonably believe" or possibly even "know" and you'll probably be closer to what both the law means/intends and what must of us that have commented here think.
I am not a "fearful" person, who's afraid every person I meet is going to want to kill or rob me. I do, however, know that someone my size... or possibly even smaller.... is quite capable of killing or seriously injuring me or someone else in a bare-handed fight.
I've seen it too many times over the years, and I believe I can easily explain or demonstrate it to a judge, jury, or prosecutor.
And once again, the laws here and in other places agree with me.
David vs Goliath is one thing, but in my experience Goliath-sized guys don't cause problems. It's always the regular-size guys with the Goliath-size attitudes.
And what exactly is your experience? How old are you, and what have you been involved in?
Me, I've been a soldier, cop, bouncer, security guard, and a few other things that require physical conflict. I've spent more than 25 years involved in various martial arts, and have both military and LE training.
I also realize that I'm almost 45 years old, and not as physically capable as I was when I was 25 or 30, and that no one is going to attack me unless they believe, either correctly or incorrectly, that they have a high likelihood of success.
In short, I have sufficient experience to know what one unarmed person can do to another, especially when they have the element of surprise.
I also know that advantage can be nullified to some degree or the other by the victim of the attack having a weapon they are
prepared to use.
So again... tell us a bit about yourself, and what leads you to the conclusions you've voiced here.
( For the record, you sound pretty young and inexperienced to me. Possibly someone with a martial arts background but little or no "real world" encounters.)
And by the way, a person that's 5 ft 10 inches tall and weighs 165lbs, but has made a career of violence and maybe even has spent time in prison, probably is a "Goliath" when compared to someone the same size, who works a 40-60 hour a week desk job, and only occasionally gets out to the gym and/or shooting range.
Again "same size" doesn't mean "same abilities or skill sets".
J.C.