Is Your Gun a Weapon or a Talisman?

[dennishoddy]

Whether a fire or firefight in the hood, remember to sweep at the base.

Fire, yes, firefight with weapons, center mass.

 

[BillM]

Whether a fire or firefight in the hood, remember to sweep at the base.

Shooting people in the ankles is very likely to seriously irrigate them. I think that would be contraindicated. As another poster commented, center of mass is probably a better option. It is, in any case, what I was trained to do. Lucky for me, I've never had to shoot a human. Helped others to do so, at a couple of removes, but not myself.
Hope it can stay that way, but not willing to bet on it.

 

[mtngunr]

Shooting people in the ankles is very likely to seriously irrigate them. I think that would be contraindicated. As another poster commented, center of mass is probably a better option. It is, in any case, what I was trained to do. Lucky for me, I've never had to shoot a human. Helped others to do so, at a couple of removes, but not myself.
Hope it can stay that way, but not willing to bet on it.

You guys definitely missed the humor of spray and pray hood shooting.

 

[BillM]

You guys definitely missed the humor of spray and pray hood shooting.

I guess I'm old. I was taught you should put bullets into your target, not the background. If the Guardsmen at Kent State had a body, or at least a wound, for every shot fired, I'd have given them a pass. Ain't a subject for fun.

Now, if you want to "spray and pray" at paper targets or cans, I've done a bit of that. It can be fun, but expensive. I prefer to save my time and practice for things that will do me good. Naturally, YMMV. It's your money, if you want to just burn it, that is your right. So far...

 

[mtngunr]

I guess I'm old. I was taught you should put bullets into your target, not the background. If the Guardsmen at Kent State had a body, or at least a wound, for every shot fired, I'd have given them a pass. Ain't a subject for fun.

Now, if you want to "spray and pray" at paper targets or cans, I've done a bit of that. It can be fun, but expensive. I prefer to save my time and practice for things that will do me good. Naturally, YMMV. It's your money, if you want to just burn it, that is your right. So far...

Again, you ARE allowed to have gun humor, and even fun....really.

 

[Dr. HK]

It is my belief that 99% of people who carry guns are not prepared to survive a violent assault (including police officers). While this may offend a lot of carriers, I feel its important to address.

So I ask, is your gun truly a weapon to you or a talisman that will hopefully ward off those who will bring you harm?

To answer this question properly, I propose a series of ten questions with sub-questions. They are not all-encompassing but should give you some ideas to ponder if you are really interested in self-defense and not just busting caps (as fun as that is). There are other issues such as first aid and other issues, but I think this list does a pretty good job questioning the basics of your plan.

1) Do you train realistically with the gun and gear you actually carry with the clothes you actually wear? What does "realistic" mean to you?

2) Will your gear hold up under the stress of a physical encounter? How do you know?

3) Do you regularly train against a live, resisting opponent?

4) Could you physically hold up against an all-out assault from a determined adversary? How do you know?

5) Do you actively train your mind for violent conflict? How?

6) Do you carry less-lethal options when you carry your gun? Have you practiced regularly with them?

7) Do you EVER go anywhere unarmed where you are not legally prohibited from doing so?

8) Have you assessed how long it would take you to access your weapons from any point in your home? Have you checked it against entry from various points in your home?

9) If you have spouses/significant others or children, have you trained them in how to respond if it all goes down? Would they replicate this behavior if you asked them to do it RIGHT THIS MINUTE?

10) Do you become task-fixated in public places? Balancing the check book in the parking lot? Talking on the cell phone while walking across the parking lot? Be honest with yourself.

It doesn't matter if you do all of these things or none of these things. What is important is that you understand where you stand and decide what you want to be.

Nothing we write on a keyboard will save us, but we do want people to start thinking.

Michael Brown

I agree with this for the most part. In reality, unless you are a soldier or at least train like one daily, the honest answer to all is no.

 

[TedKennedy]

I guess I'm old. I was taught you should put bullets into your target, not the background. If the Guardsmen at Kent State had a body, or at least a wound, for every shot fired, I'd have given them a pass. Ain't a subject for fun.

Now, if you want to "spray and pray" at paper targets or cans, I've done a bit of that. It can be fun, but expensive. I prefer to save my time and practice for things that will do me good. Naturally, YMMV. It's your money, if you want to just burn it, that is your right. So far...

Well, you are obviously insensitive to the scumbag hippies that were shot. (doesn't matter to me if they were killed on campus or died yesterday, dead hippies are nothing to fret about)

As for the Guardsmen - they were wearing gas masks which undoubtedly made target acquisition difficult. More training using masks should have been ordered after the incident. (IIRC 58 shots were fired)

This shooting is more egregious, yet unsurprising.

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow...very-women-dorner-manhunt-20160127-story.html