see your target and whats beyond

[sparelink]

so i was driving home today thinking about about what i would do if i saw someone getting beat up along the street, actually happened when i was a kid driving with my parents. anyways, i figured that i would stop and confront them knowing that i am carrying, i would do my best not to use my weapon, but if the attackers came after me and i felt i could not get away that i would defend my self with my weapon.

well this got me thinking about what would happen if i had to shoot. i take a shot and it misses and flies into a house in the background.

this lead me to think about what i would do anywhere where i did not have a safe back ground, which would me most cases that i can think of.

so what would you guys do? do you just worry about the attacker in any situation or do you have to worry about stray shots?

[TonyNE]

In my CCW Class they said that every bullet has a lawyer attached to it and you are responsible for it both criminally and civilly.

Now that being said, if a situation arose it would happen so quickly that I'm sure it would be challenging to have that level of awareness. You will likely be in tunnel vision mode and have no idea what is behind or around the BG in a real situation.

[OKcherokee]

Stop, call the cops, and take some pictures/video with your phone.
Carrying doesn't make me feel like I am empowered in any way. I'm not a cop, it is not my job, its theirs. Just try to be a good witness.
Besides, the list of folks I can use deadly force to protect is very short in the eyes of the law. Seems like if it was a situation you had no involvement with until you made the decision to intervene, you might find yourself in some gray areas of the law if you pulled your gun.

[JaydenH]

If you put a bullet in a bad guy and it goes through him, or if you miss you are going to be in trouble. Its called negligence. Like the title of this thread says: Know your target and what is beyond it.

[JaydenH]

Originally Posted by OKcherokee

Stop, call the cops, and take some pictures/video with your phone.
Carrying doesn't make me feel like I am empowered in any way. I'm not a cop, it is not my job, its theirs. Just try to be a good witness.
Besides, the list of folks I can use deadly force to protect is very short in the eyes of the law. Seems like if it was a situation you had no involvement with until you made the decision to intervene, you might find yourself in some gray areas of the law if you pulled your gun.

North Dakota's laws are pretty easy. I can protect someone, if I would be protecting myslef in the same situation.

http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t12-1c05.pdf

[SubcompactXDMan]

AIM SMALL, MISS SMALL...I would call the police...I would also attempt to stop the crime from happening...If I was attacked I would use my weapon as a last result...I trained Army Ranges, and Air Force Ravens in hand to hand combat when I was in the Air Force so I wouldn't be to worried about them...So unless they pull a gun mine would stay holstered, and handle it like 20's style boxing...LOL

[sparelink]

Originally Posted by OKcherokee

Carrying doesn't make me feel like I am empowered in any way.

I dont feel empowered either, but i am not only thinking about the above situation but any situation that might arise.

[Budman76]

I would sit tight and call the cops. If you didn't see the beginning of the incident there is no way to know the whole story. Maybe its an undercover cop beating down a drug dealer. My job is to make sure that me and my family make it home every night and this includes me not going to jail.

[Obscura]

In my CHL class the instructor told us a story of a guy who heard a ruckus, looked out his window, and saw a guy standing over a woman with an AK-47, about to kill her.

Guy grabs his 1911, runs out the door, and shoots the dude in the back. Dude is wearing body armor, turns around, and kills him before shooting the woman. (ex wife)

1911 guy widowed his wife and kids. Did he do the right thing?

According to our instructor, NO. He should have called the police from inside his apartment.

[FullyArmed]

Originally Posted by sparelink

so i was driving home today thinking about about what i would do if i saw someone getting beat up along the street, actually happened when i was a kid driving with my parents. anyways, i figured that i would stop and confront them knowing that i am carrying, i would do my best not to use my weapon, but if the attackers came after me and i felt i could not get away that i would defend my self with my weapon.

well this got me thinking about what would happen if i had to shoot. i take a shot and it misses and flies into a house in the background.

this lead me to think about what i would do anywhere where i did not have a safe back ground, which would me most cases that i can think of.

so what would you guys do? do you just worry about the attacker in any situation or do you have to worry about stray shots?

The only way to aleviate this problem is to practice, compete in shooting sports, take weapon training classes, ... become the best and most confident you can be with your weapon and at the end of the day if you do miss their better be a very good reason why.