Tyler Texas Shooting

[southernshooter]

I know it ain't got much to do with the post but my defense shot's usually consist of a three shot pattern staring at waist moving to center mass and then the head, but that is only if I and the police percive it as a life or death situation.

[armedandsafe]

Navyvet, I thought you might have been speaking figuratively. However, I'm anal enough to step in there anyway, doncha know?

Actually, whenever I see that type of statement on these forums, I like to put the appropriate disclaimer in. There are many browsing these boards who don't have our experience and training, so I try to dispell any Hollywood myths I can, any chance I get. Have you ever seen just how it is they get that .22 pistol to blow the guy through the picture window? Great fun. For everybody but the stuntman.

Pops

[navyvet]

Originally Posted by armedandsafe

Navyvet, I thought you might have been speaking figuratively. However, I'm anal enough to step in there anyway, doncha know?

Actually, whenever I see that type of statement on these forums, I like to put the appropriate disclaimer in. There are many browsing these boards who don't have our experience and training, so I try to dispell any Hollywood myths I can, any chance I get. Have you ever seen just how it is they get that .22 pistol to blow the guy through the picture window? Great fun. For everybody but the stuntman.

Pops

Kudos sir, there are those who have a hollywood view of a shootout, and i hope they never face one for real. it is why we train to react to whatever happens keep a cool head and know when and where to shoot and move. not like on T.V. shoot and stand trading shot for shot. Get off first and use awesome power when you do.

[JohnK3]

My wife, Stephannie, always practices head shots. She's not bad, either. She doesn't believe in "center of mass" shots. Her philosophy is that putting one in his face at the very least makes it harder for him to see her.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by JohnK3

Her philosophy is that putting one in his face at the very least makes it harder for him to see her.

Or anything else . . . ever again! Sounds like Stephanie has her head on straight, John, so to speak There's always been a lot of argument over whether a head shot is tactically a good choice, but generally, I think I agree with your wife, at least under some circumstances. Obviously, a head shot is more difficult to make accurately every time since heads tend to move far more radically and far more often than a target's center-of-mass. The only rounds that truly count in a gunfight, after all, are the ones that hit the target. On the other hand, the average "Joe Sixpack" thinks a handgun round--any handgun round--acts similarly to an RPG or artillery shell hit to the body: one good hit and the danger's over! Television and the movies tend to exacerbate that idiotic view. As any knowledgable shooter knows well, even the more powerful handgun rounds like the .44 Mag and .45 ACP or LC are mere wimps when compared to a rifle or shotgun round. Essentially, handguns are useful only because they are relatively light, easy to carry and conceal, and because--fortunately or unfortunately--a human being is not a terribly difficult animal to incapacitate or kill. A good hit to the center-of-mass with any reasonable caliber handgun will probably kill . . . eventually. That's little comfort, however, if before the target dies he manages to get to you.

In the final analysis, I think it comes down to a (very fast!) judgment call after due consideration had been given to the particular circumstances one faces at the time. For myself, I know I would be far more likely to go for the more uncertain head shot if the attacker appeared to be hopped up on drugs or I had the suspicion he was wearing any sort of body armor.

[Marlin]

I agree with pistol. Under most close up circumstances, the head shot will get the job done. I have always been concerned about body protection since it has become readily available.

[JohnK3]

Just a small point, Pistol: Notice how I spelled her name. It really DOES have two "N"s in it!

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by JohnK3

Just a small point, Pistol: Notice how I spelled her name. It really DOES have two "N"s in it!

Oops! Sorry 'bout that John (and Stephannie), my mistake, though a totally inadvertent one, I assure you! Once "n" a while, we all make mistakes, right John?

Marlin, you are quite correct. Body armor has become pretty effective and very unobtrusive in recent years, unlike those useless POS flak jackets they issued us in Vietnam. I used to sit on mine when we rode in the slicks in the hope it might save something important someday! Fortunately, I never had occasion to find out for sure, but to this day, I seriously doubt it. I've seen AK rounds go through them like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Anyway, those new Kevlar jackets are pretty good at stopping at least common handgun rounds. That's a good thing for our police officers, but alas, the bad guys have taken to wearing them too.