Will this save my life, or get me killed..?

Since 10-09-08

From: uscca-tipwk@aweber.com [mailto:uscca-tipwk@aweber.com] On Behalf Of ** Tim @ USCCA
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 2:33 PM
Subject: "Will this save my life, or get me killed..?"

"Will this save my life, or get me killed..?"

October 7th, 2008

Hello James!

The other day, I received the following question
anonymously, but I think it's a GREAT lesson for
everyone who carries concealed.

First, the question:

"I'm carrying a .357. I load two shot shells, 0ne
.38 round nose, one +P hollow point and then two
hollow point magnums. Am I being stupid trying to
give the attacker a light jolt so they will back off?"

In case you don't quite get the question, this
person has basically loaded their handgun with a
couple weak bullets, then a couple medium-power
bullets, then a couple powerful bullets.

The strategy here is to use a couple weak bullets
to "show an attacker that you mean business", and
give him a chance to back off or run away WITHOUT
getting hit by a high-powered slug.

Here are the problems with this strategy:

1) Gunfights happen REALLY fast.

It is extremely likely that during a gunfight,
you would fire all six rounds within just a couple
seconds. With your adrenaline pumping from having
been attacked, and with low visibility as a potential
factor, it's incredibly likely that you wouldn't be
able to tell if your attacker has backed off or is
just reloading.

The first reason why I think this is a BAD idea is
exactly that- you're probably not going to be able
to stick to the strategy- instead, you'll probably
be blazing as fast as you can before you get seriously
injured or killed.

2) Why draw in the first place?

The second thing that worries me about this strategy,
is if you are willing to just try to "scare" an
attacker, are you honestly in FEAR for your life?
Studies have shown that an attacker with a knife
within 21 feet of a victim with a gun, is just as
dangerous to the victim as if he were armed.

If he's that close, and he's threatened you enough
to make you draw your gun- are you really going to
want to mess around with trying to warn him? Won't
pulling a gun be warning enough?

That's my theory, anyway: If the attacker doesn't
IMMEDIATELY back off and run as soon as he sees my gun
coming out, he isn't afraid of getting shot.

3) You open yourself up for legal scrutiny.

A prosecutor could argue that if you could think
clearly enough to only want to WARN an attacker,
than you MUST not have been in fear for your life..
see what I mean?

Last of all- look at police officers. These men and
women know what they're doing when it comes to using
weapons to save lives. Do they use weak ammunition try
to "warn" an attacker to back off or else be shot? No
way- they know that if they need their gun, they want
it to be as effective as possible.

In conclusion, I say that always shoot the most
effective ammo your gun will use to try to stop a
violent attack that is threatening your life, or
the life of a loved one- because that's really the
ONLY time you should ever need to draw.

Tim Schmidt
USCCA - Founder


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