l****z 发帖数: 29846 | 1 Most times, the short barrel is going to have to answer the call
by Richard Johnson
07/12/2011
Handguns are very popular for self-defense in the United States. There are a
variety of reasons for this, many of which have to do with convenience.
While we all recognize that a 12-gauge shotgun is probably better at
stopping an assailant, how easy is it to tote one around all day?
In 2009 alone, more than 4.5 million handguns were manufactured and imported
into the US. While many of these firearms were sold to collectors and
shooters for various sports, I would argue that many, if not most, were sold
to people for defensive use.
There is a problem with handguns that many people don’t know about: they
stink on ice for actually stopping an attacker.
Stopping Power
Hold on, before you tar and feather me, I am not saying that handguns aren’
t used thousands of times every year to successfully stop an attack. They
are.
What I am saying is when shooting a determined attacker, pistols aren’t
very good when compared with other firearms. Pistols lack the fabled “
stopping power” to instantly drop a would-be felon in his tracks.
There are a lot of different theories on stopping power out there. I’ve
read through the arguments for most of them. Some of the authors viciously
attack the authors of differing theories, while others present reasonable
arguments for their beliefs. However, there is one thing that they all
uniformly agree on: long guns, shotguns and rifles, are vastly superior to
handguns when it comes to stopping an attacker.
Why is a long gun better than a handgun? A lot of things go into the
possible answer, but fundamentally, the long gun just does more damage to
the attacker’s body. The more damage that is done, the less likely the
attacker will have the ability to harm you.
Ok…so what?
It should be obvious that handguns are inferior tools for stopping a violent
attack when compared to a rifle or shotgun. I think most people would
readily agree.
Removing the long gun from the comparison, some people suddenly believe the
handgun is the magic tool that will stop all attackers in a single shot or
two.
Ever hear the old line that shooting someone in the pinky with a (insert
favorite load/caliber here) will instantly drop an attacker? It is total
bovine fecal matter, yet I hear it all too frequently on Internet gun forums
and in local gun shops.
Consider these cases involving various handgun calibers, all considered good
for self defense by most people:
- Officers from my department respond to a reported suicide. A man took a
popular-brand pistol, put it to his head and pulled the trigger. Fortunately
, the gun did not kill the man. In fact, the man’s only complaint while
riding to the hospital was of a headache.
- In another Florida incident, an elderly man and his wife were returning
to their home after grocery shopping. As they started to enter the home, an
armed robber attacked them. The elderly man was able to get his handgun and
shoot the attacker.
When shot, the robber went down. The victim then set down his handgun to
call 911. Unfortunately, the handgun bullet had not been effective, and the
robber grabbed the victim’s gun and killed the elderly man with it.
- A South Carolina trooper stopped a man for a traffic violation along the
Interstate one night. Unknown to the trooper, the man was transporting
drugs and was armed.
In an ensuing confrontation, the trooper shot the man with his service
revolver five times, striking center mass with each bullet. Not only did the
man survive, but all five bullets failed to incapacitate him. The felon
drew his own pistol and killed the trooper.
In all of these cases, I have no doubt the results would have been different
if a long gun was used instead of a handgun.
What’s a Pistol Owner to Do?
This article is not intended to dissuade anyone from buy and and using a
handgun or self-defense. I encourage every responsible American to own and
learn how to use a handgun. Part of what you should learn, however, is that
the gun is neither a magic talisman nor a Star Trek phaser. You need to
learn its limitations, and how to mitigate those limits.
Shot placement - There are no guarantees that a bullet will work, but
putting them into vital areas increases your likelihood of success. Most
instructors will tell you to aim for center mass, which is the area of the
chest where the heart and lungs reside.
Shots to center mass are unlikely to immediately drop an attacker, but they
will cause massive bleeding. Other than a shot to the brain or spinal cord,
bleeding and the resultant drop in blood pressure is what will incapacitate
an attacker. Shots to the extremities are unlikely to produce enough
bleeding to quickly render someone unable to hurt you.
Volume of fire - Ever see the movie Zombieland? Rule #2 is “Double Taps.”
The same thought about zombies applies to self-defense: when your life is
endangered, don’t get stingy with the bullets.
If one shot to center mass is likely to generate enough bleeding to stop an
attack, it should be clear that two shots are even more likely. Three, four
and 15 shots to center mass all increase the likelihood the attacker will
not be able to hurt you and your family.
Firearms trainers used to teach police officers two rapid shots to center
mass of an assailant, and then assess if you should resume shooting. I don’
t think this is the best way to defend yourself, and prefer the advice
retired Detroit Police Department cop Evan Marshal once gave: “Continue
shooting until your sight picture is degraded by a lack of target.”
Buy a Handgun
The intent of this article is to get you to think more realistically about
your pistol or revolver. It can be an effective self-defense weapon, but it
has limitations. Learn to work around those limitations and you will be
much more likely able to survive a violent encounter.
However, when given the choice between a long gun and a pistol, consider the
paraphrased advice of trainer Clint Smith: The handgun is what you use to
fight your way back to the shotgun or rifle you shouldn’t have left behind
in the first place.
Richard Johnson is a veteran police officer and trainer who publishes
BlueSheepdog.com, a police training community. | t**x 发帖数: 20965 | 2 stupid. 如果有两个入室的子弹用完了才是找死。 | l****z 发帖数: 29846 | 3 那也比没枪的好阿.没抢的一个就顶不住了.
【在 t**x 的大作中提到】 : stupid. 如果有两个入室的子弹用完了才是找死。
| T**********1 发帖数: 2406 | 4 that is why we need multiple guns.
【在 t**x 的大作中提到】 : stupid. 如果有两个入室的子弹用完了才是找死。
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