defensive situations - possible reactions/responses?

[bripro]

IMO and again I start with IMO and the way I interperat the law, my ccw is there to legally protect mysely and my familys life from iminent harm. If ypor in my house and dont leave as soon as I anounce my presence and that I have a gun I will assume you are there to harm me. If you are robbing a store and Im not on the receiving end of your gun I will stay hidden. Thats why we have cops. CCW does not make me a cop. Of course I can not predict exactly what will happen if these situations ever present themself but sitting at my computer this is how I feel. Like we said when I was in the Navy......"train for war in order to maintain peace".

[msquaredserver]

interesting observations.

"sweep safety, acquire target" should have been "acquire target, sweep safety," i hastily mixed the order while typing my response to the one where a criminal is turning a gun in my direction, with what intent i can only imagine would be to shoot me. i think we can all agree that would be self defense, should the situation magically happen like that.

related question, and this may conflict with many views regarding when a gun should be unholstered, but is "threat of lethal force" the same thing as "lethal force?"

[msquaredserver]

also, this has been bugging me.

is taking your weapon out before you are ready to use it, sort of a preemptive strike on immediate danger, a bad thing? like in a mall scenario, would you not unholster your weapon just in case the lunatic starts heading your way, and there was a distinct chance he would turn the corner and start shooting your way?

[synergy]

Originally Posted by msquaredserver

interesting observations.

"sweep safety, acquire target" should have been "acquire target, sweep safety," i hastily mixed the order while typing my response to the one where a criminal is turning a gun in my direction, with what intent i can only imagine would be to shoot me. i think we can all agree that would be self defense, should the situation magically happen like that.

related question, and this may conflict with many views regarding when a gun should be unholstered, but is "threat of lethal force" the same thing as "lethal force?"

Don't get too bent around the axle on the thumb safety thing...you still have 4 rules to follow, and they work just fine on guns without manual safeties.

Do what you gotta do.

[TonyF]

Originally Posted by msquaredserver

related question, and this may conflict with many views regarding when a gun should be unholstered, but is "threat of lethal force" the same thing as "lethal force?"

The yardstick is whether you reasonably believe you are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.

If the threat meets the criteria set forth in the principle of AOJ then it is in fact a "lethal threat" and countering with lethal force is permitted.

[TonyF]

Originally Posted by msquaredserver

also, this has been bugging me.

is taking your weapon out before you are ready to use it, sort of a preemptive strike on immediate danger, a bad thing? like in a mall scenario, would you not unholster your weapon just in case the lunatic starts heading your way, and there was a distinct chance he would turn the corner and start shooting your way?

Same answer.

Originally Posted by TonyF

The yardstick is whether you reasonably believe you are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.

If the threat meets the criteria set forth in the principle of AOJ then it is in fact a "lethal threat" and countering with lethal force is permitted.

[LastManOut]

Safety, what safety? Does your gun has an on-off switch?

[msquaredserver]

Originally Posted by LastManOut

Safety, what safety? Does your gun has an on-off switch?

haha yes my firearm does have an on/off switch. i actually picked it (among many other reasons) because it has a manual safety. i practice unholstering, sweeping and shooting at the range, and it takes no more than a fraction of a second to sweep the safety, and the added safety (literally) is something i like.

on top of that, should someone grab my gun, i have maybe an extra second to retrieve it before he gets it off. at least i think.

[LastManOut]

I'm old school (what's old is new again). I prefer my snubby in thirty-eight.

I did have an encounter many moons ago, when I carried my first CCW a Walther PPK/S, I delibertly checked after the uneventful event and I had thought to turn the switch to ON.

Good for you for diligence in your training.

[skycop]

To add my 2 cents. I am a big believer in being vigilant enough to avoid confrontation, rather than using force to end a confrontation.

That is not to say that one should not train and be ready, but don't go looking for trouble. It is also impossible, or at least very difficult to be completely proactive when we are dealing with self defense, or a deadly force scenario. Often times we are forced to be reactive, and that is where training comes in.

However, when I was on the street I would run through scenarios in my head of situations I might be involved in, and it does help. Also try not to get caught up in the mindset of believing that every situation will have a square peg in a square hole solution.

Practice the basics, operate in condition yellow at all times, and never be a hero.