carry with blanks instead of real bullets?

[newbieshooter]

hi folks - I have been lurking here for a while and this is my first post. I'm sure that this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find it on the forums.

I was reading over on this thread:

http://www.pafoa.org/forum/concealed...r-stories.html

and it seems like many situations occur where people show their weapon and exit the situation WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT.

after reading this, I have a question: how effective is carrying a gun loaded with BLANKS at deterring attackers?

Here is the reason for my question:

-consensus here seems to be that you should NOT carry a loaded weapon in your day-to-day life unless you are prepared to have a lawyer ready if you kill someone with your weapon, face the consequences in terms of civil/criminal penalties/fines/going to jail and losing friends. in the end, a big price to pay for protecting yourself with deadly force.

-consensus here is also that if you are disarmed while being attacked, your weapon can easily be used against you, and if the attacked previously only had a knife to threaten you with, they now have a gun. the presence of a gun could also 'pump up' an attacker to do something (ie. hurt or kill you) that they would not have necessarily done had you not pulled a gun.

it seems to me that for all but the most serious attackers, having a gun loaded with blanks is preferable to one with real ammo.

Why?

1) you could still pull out a very realistic looking weapon and point it at the criminal (at which point, most criminals would run away I would hope)
2) you could still fire at the attacker (again, most attackers would be running now)
3) if there are any penalties for shooting blanks at someone, I'm sure that they are FAR FAR lower than hurting or killing somone.
4) if you were disarmed, you have not given the criminal much of a weapon to use against you (other than a blunt object and some loud bangs).

of course, if the criminal truly wants to kill or hurt you and won't be deterred or frightened away at all, then blanks don't work.

that said, I'm wondering if the situation of the 'truly motivated attacker' is relatively rare, and whether most attackers are much more casual and will run at the sign of a realistic gun that fires blanks.

another possibility: for the attackers who really are motivated, does anyone think about loading two blanks in their real gun's magazine above the real stuff? that would give you two chances to convince the attacker that your gun is for real before throwing metal at them.

I'm sure it sounds crazy - I just thought that perhaps those two shots would be enough to convince 95% of attackers that you aren't the person to pick on, and result in little or no penalties or dead bodies once the cops and the lawyers show up (and for the attackers who aren't scared away, you have the other rounds to use on them).
.
any thoughts?

[Lucas]

If you discharge a weapon at someone, even if it is loaded with blanks, expect a lawsuit to come knocking at your door. Sounds like bad ju-ju to me.

[Jay5oh]

If I'm ever at the point of pulling the trigger I'm pretty sure I want bullets coming out of the barrel.

[danp]

I think I can safely say there is no reason to carry blanks.

[aubie515]

Please lurk elsewhere. A question like yours doesn't even warrant a reply.

[MiniDevil]

I concur with aubie

[JustinM]

Please lurk elsewhere. A question like yours doesn't even warrant a reply.

+1000

My brain hurts after reading that.

[avizpls]

Please lurk elsewhere. A question like yours doesn't even warrant a reply.

And yet you gave it one.

His question is valid, just as is the answer: There is not enough reason for carrying blanks to out weigh the benefits of carrying real rounds. Its risky at best, and dangerous at worse.

[scoutjoe]

If I have to pull my gun, its going to go off. That is what it is there for

[axmdr40]

If I'm ever at the point of pulling the trigger I'm pretty sure I want bullets coming out of the barrel.

+1
All you would be carrying is one expensive cap gun that is really goin to piss someone off someday and get you killed. If you're carrying a semi-auto I'm pretty sure you're only going to be firing one round anyways...In which case you've pretty much let the BG know he now has the advantage. As for getting disarmed by a BG, you should never let that happen. Someone tries to take your weapon, you shoot them.