Misconceptions of a gunfight commonly thought accurate by the public
By Steven Holmes
It’s a shame we live in such a world, that we are hesitant, to
assist others, for fear their true pursuit is to do us harm. But,
that’s the times we live in; we did not make them that way and I
fear that in the near future it will even be worse.
Because
crime is on the rise, and gangs are cruising our streets, some of us
have obtained a concealed weapons permit, and started carrying a gun
so we can at least have a chance to protect loved ones.
But in doing so, we
civilians who are unfamiliar with weapons, and only know what we see
on TV are mostly ignorant of the truth.
The other day I received and email news letter from Dr. Ignatius Piazza, Founder and Director, of Front Sight training school. In this emailed he outlined many misconceptions, and misunderstanding of what really happens in an attack and shooting and I thought it important to share it with Southern Outdoors Readers.
Misconceptions
By Dr. Ignatius Piazza
Misconception #1: If I stab my attacker with a
knife he will immediately collapse. This misconception has been
created and propagated by the movie industry. We have all seen the
action adventure hero, throw a knife, sticking it into the stomach
or chest or neck of the bad guy, and as the bad guy lets out a
groan, he falls to the floor. In reality, a single knife stab is
very unlikely to cause immediate collapse simply because the knife
stab does not create enough immediate damage to the nerves,
arteries, or organs to cause a massive spike and then equally
massive and immediate drop in blood pressure. Even multiple stab
wounds will not necessarily stop an aggressive dedicated opponent.
All the while, your attacker is continuing his assault on you. A
knife is better than no weapon at all, but is never a match for a
gun in well trained hands.
Misconception #2: If I shoot my attacker with a handgun, he will
stop and drop. This is another misconception created and propagated
by the movie industry. The reality is that handguns are woefully
inadequate in their stopping power as compared to a shotgun or
rifle. The proliferation of street drugs that numb reaction to pain,
access to body armor, and an overall increase in the number of
hardened criminals victimizing Americans, makes the chance of a
one-shot stop less likely than ever before. Even the handgun of
Dirty Harry (Model 29 in .44 Magnums) will not guarantee a one
shot-stop.
Since handguns are inherently not good fight stoppers, you must rely
on your skill and ability to deliver TWO, well placed shots,
delivered quickly to your opponent’s thoracic cavity to create the
greatest amount of damage you can. Then be ready— and mentally
prepared— to fire a cranio-ocular shot (between eye-brows and
mustache) if he continues his attack. This requires training.
Without such training, you can be tragically surprised when your
opponent is hit but does not go down. The good news is that after a
course at Front Sight, You Will Be Able to perform this drill on
demand to a level that exceeds the vast majority of people who carry
a gun for a living!
Misconception #3: All you have to do with a short-barreled shotgun
is point it at your attacker and shoot because the WIDE pattern will
knock him down. This misconception comes from Grandpa! In reality,
most lethal encounters will occur at a distance of three to five
yards, be done in three to five seconds, with three to five shots
fired between the combatants. At the distance of three to five
yards, the pattern on your shotgun is not much bigger than the size
of the bore and rarely larger than a couple of inches! It is real
easy to miss if you don’t see a flash of the sights on your shotgun
before pressing the trigger—especially under the stress of a lethal
encounter, when you must shoot first and fast to save your life. We
prove this in every course when we place our students into the
live-fire tactical simulators. They can’t believe how easy it is to
miss at such close distances. Once they understand the concept of a
flash sight picture, they are just as fast (sometimes faster) and
can guarantee their hits. After all it is not how fast you shoot
that counts in a gun fight, it is how fast you hit that counts!
Misconception #4: Give a woman a small, lightweight revolver because
all she has to do is grab it out of her nightstand, point and shoot.
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this in gun shops, at
trade shows, and from husbands explaining why their wives are
burdened with a gun that has minimal sights and a long, heavy
trigger pull! I could literally write a book on the subject of
Misconceptions on Gun Selection. Let me just say that a woman or a
man, when confronted with a situation requiring them to pull a gun
from their nightstand needs a gun that they can quickly HIT with on
the first and second shot and then be able to deliver a precision
shot if needed. (See Misconception #2). If you miss, the only reason
you will survive is because your opponent is sloppy.
In order to be able to HIT with a handgun, you need high visibility sights and a trigger that provides a clean, crisp trigger break. The small revolver or small pistol is a weapon that satisfies a specific tactical niche and requires advanced training to use it effectively for general self defense.
Misconception #5: When you point a gun at a bad
guy, the bad guy will immediately become a docile kitten completely
subject to your will, and will do whatever you tell him.
Misconception #6: You can be a frail li'l thing and the bad guy be a
trained 240 lb 6'4" killer, but if you've got a gun and he doesn't,
you can get as close to him as you like, and even put the gun to his
head, and he'll have to stand there and take it, rather than disarm
you and kill you with it.
Misconception #7: When you chamber a round in any gun, making a
recognizable noise, the bad guy will exclaim, "J'ai peur dans mes
culottes!" and run away, rather than dropping to the ground and
start shooting in the direction the sound came from.
If you would like more information I encourage you can subscribe to Dr. Ignatius Piazza new letter at Front Sight training school website http://www.frontsight.com