Self Defence Distance ???

[Cuda66]

AH, yes.

Once again, many posts by people who think that should they ever have to use their weapon, it'll be at someone who'll be standing about 20 feet away, squarely facing them, and not moving...and that they'll be able to get a perfect grip, go into a perfect stance, and take their time on shots, just like at the range...and refuse to even comprehend that it might not necessarily be that way come the real thing.

Good luck with that, guys.

[austex58]

One thing that I have read is when the SHTF and you drop into flight or fight mode, your brain will want all the stimulus it can process. You most likely will not be able to close your weak eye to sight with your dominant. Part of your “muscle memory” practice should be to bring your gun up, sight with both eyes on the front site and fire. The “memory muscle” part is every time you bring up the gun, it should be level and pointing straight in front. Remember guys, LE types train for this stuff and they miss 83% of the time at 3 yards in real life gun fights (statistics from my CHL class and a FBI article on stress and fire fights).

[1EYEJACK]

What does a sight picture with a 9mm pistol at 100 yards look like?

How high does one hold over the target?

Is it possible to even see the target while aiming?

What if the target moves or is moved right or left, backwards or forwards, just a couple of feet?

What is the energy of a 9mm pistol round at 100 yards?

How much penetration is achieved by a 9MM pistol round at 100 yards?

What is the difference in aiming at a target 10 yards away versus 100 yards away?

Is there any advantage to moving off the "X"?

How would you know somebody 100 yards away was shooting at you?

No, a 9mm pistol is not a weapon for SD at 100 yards.

1EyeJack

[jj79]

Originally Posted by Joeywhat

At longer distances small nuances like trigger finger placement and such actually mean something. At 10 yards you can have a real awful grip and have your entire finger inside the guard mashing the trigger and you'll make OK hits...but those errors that look extremely small at close range open WAY up at long range.

this is true... but in reality, one is in fact getting "good" hits at 10 yards, thought they'll probably miss @ 100.

I totally agree with your premise on this, but I disagree that short range hits are no good just because one might have missed at longer ranges.

a hit is still a hit...doesn't matter what would've happened at a different range.



-JJ

[Bluto]

One other thing is to be aware of is that just because you hit somebody,even if the shot is fatal it will more that likely take a few seconds for the body to realize it has taken a hit. Some police officers have shot people three times thinking that the first two missed when in fact they were direct hits. I read it somewhere it can take as long as 8 seconds for the body to react. This stuff you see in movies about guys being blow through doors is cinamatic B/S. How many times have you seen a deer get hit with a fatal shot yet run like hell for a couple seconds. That's why snipers go for head shot in hostage situations. Good head shots = instant death, body shots don't. If I was ever to have to shoot someone in SD I'd shoot twice or maybe even more. A miss or a hit may not be as apparent as it might seem according to some of the articals I've read.

[snakeyes]

Im gonna chime in here because I honestly believe that some of you are going to end up in jail. Be very careful from some of the advice your getting here. I just finished my ccw class about a week ago. Now I don't know what the law is where you guys live. Maybe its ok to shoot at someone who's 100 yards away but I wouldn't think so. In Missouri there are 3 things that must be present for you to be allowed to use deadly force.

Intent to harm
Access to victim
Means to do harm

If someone is 100 yards away from you I would bet your missing at least 2 of these. You had better be able to prove that someone that far away was shooting at you. In an urban enviroment good luck with that one. Access to victim, absolutely not at 100 yards away.
Now home invasion, blow them away no question.

[1852legend]

Originally Posted by snakeyes

Im gonna chime in here because I honestly believe that some of you are going to end up in jail. Be very careful from some of the advice your getting here. I just finished my ccw class about a week ago. Now I don't know what the law is where you guys live. Maybe its ok to shoot at someone who's 100 yards away but I wouldn't think so. In Missouri there are 3 things that must be present for you to be allowed to use deadly force.

Intent to harm
Access to victim
Means to do harm

If someone is 100 yards away from you I would bet your missing at least 2 of these. You had better be able to prove that someone that far away was shooting at you. In an urban enviroment good luck with that one. Access to victim, absolutely not at 100 yards away.
Now home invasion, blow them away no question.

I could see someone with a high power rifle that shot at you and missed but that is the only scenario I can come up with that meets the criteria. And if that happened Im not going to take pop shots at them with my pistol, I will be looking/running for cover.

[Renshai]

If you are returning fire on someone 100 yards away, you're a moron. A 9mm, 40 or 45 at that distance has about enough energy to piss someone off. If they are shooting at you from 100 yards away, and all you have is a handgun, you ahve plenty of time to #1 find cover, or #2 get the hell out of there. Having been in combat, even with a "high-quality assault weapon with state of the art optics" a 100 yard hit on someone actively thowing fire at you and moving is not easy, and with a handgun, all but impossible and certainly impractical and certainly legally questionable.

[Renshai]

If you can it reliably with both hands, both eyes open from a variety of positions at 25' (FEET NOT YARDS) you will do just fine in a SD situation. Period.

[ericc40]

Originally Posted by tcox4freedom

Most self defense scenarios happen at distances less than 25ft. So practicing at distances less than that are a good idea. Practice "Center Mass" shots from various distances. It's important to shoot with both hands, strong hand and your weak hand.

I can tell you that in a "real life" situation you are probably not going to have time to get into a "Isosceles" or any other stance typically used at a target range.

Things can get real nasty; REAL FAST! That's why I think training the brain to be more "Aware" is the best way to "Avoid" conflict. I honestly think shooting, h2h and weapons training should be a secondary focus in self-defense.

With the above in mind, I would strongly suggest some more advanced training. There are good training classes in most areas. If you can't find one near you, it's worth traveling for a good training program.


Remember to focus most on: "Train the Brain".


Any "Instructor" worth is salt will tell you:

"Self defense is more about "Awareness" and "Avoidance" than anything else."

Our brain is the "one" weapon that we use to "avoid" trouble.

(Firearms, combat skills and other weapons are mainly used to get us OUT of trouble once trouble has found us.)

Firearms, knives and other weapons, along with some h2h skills should a be a part of a "Self-defense" repertoire; but our primary focus should be on "How To" avoid or at least minimize our exposure to circumstances that invite BG's to see us as easy targets.

I hope this has been helpful.
Good Luck with your training!

really helpful!