DMK
Member
Some interesting comments by Massad Ayoob concerning how to handle a confrontation as an armed citzen.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob97.html
I thought these comments were especially interesting:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob97.html
I thought these comments were especially interesting:
You can’t jump in your car and respond to an emergency in time if you first have to open the hood and hook up its battery, and you can’t unlock two cabinets and bring gun and ammo together before an intruder kicking down your door is upon you.
For me, it has boiled down to two modes. During waking hours, I simply carry the gun. On my person, it is at once always immediately accessible to me, and always inaccessible to unauthorized hands. If the lifestyle doesn’t allow the handgun to be worn visibly, a compact, powerful handgun like the Ruger SP101 .357 Magnum snub-nose revolver can be worn comfortably and discreetly concealed, “24/7.”
When asleep, I keep the weapon at bedside. If there are children (or adults, for that matter) in the home who are not at the level of development where they can be trusted around firearms 100%, the handgun should be in a locked security box in the bedroom, preferably a design like the Gun Vault, which can be released by feel in the dark by punching a simple combination into an ergonomic and easily palpable keypad. I currently live alone, so I just leave the pistol on the floor beside the bed, concealed from any intruder’s view by what appears to be a casually dropped magazine.
I’ll address one point right here, though. If I find a kid stealing a bike out of my back yard, no, I’m not going to pull a gun on him. However, if I find a burglar in my home, he’s definitely going to be at gunpoint. Convicted burglars I interviewed after their arrests told me that most of the time they either carried a weapon of their own, or armed themselves with something once they entered the home. Breaking and entering is a serious felony, and you have every right to take such a felon at gunpoint. You don’t shoot him for breaking in or stealing, but you prepare to shoot him if he attacks you.
You will often hear the figure quoted that only about 7% of burglars commit their crimes armed. That’s probably because only about 7% of burglars are caught red-handed at the scene. Most are arrested later when an investigation leads police to them. Their confession will typically include a statement like, “Gosh, officer, I wouldn’t carry a gun when I break into a house because I’m afraid of a higher penalty if I’m caught.” Yeah, right.
It’s not enough to rest the finger on the edge of the trigger guard. The tight muscles of your hand will hold the finger taut there, and if you are startled, the finger can snap straight back to the trigger, unintentionally firing the gun. The trigger finger should be up on the frame of the firearm, handgun, or long gun.
At the classes we teach around the country for Lethal Force Institute (www.ayoob.com), we urge that the fingertip be in contact with the frame, pointed inward toward the gun, with the trigger finger flexed. That way, if the strong flexor muscles of the hand convulse, the finger comes across the trigger instead of straight into it, and is thus much less likely to cause an accidental discharge. It’s also faster to get to the trigger if you do have to fire, if you start with the finger flexed on the frame.
For many years, I’ve made a point of leveling the gun at the pelvis of everyone I took at gunpoint. The main reason is that this point of aim allows you to see the suspect’s hands. If you aim at his head or chest or belly, your gun and your hands block your view of his hands. Man is the tool-bearing mammal, and therefore by definition the weapon-bearing mammal. A man will kill you with his hands. Thus, the Golden Rule of law enforcement: “Watch their hands!” With the gun leveled groin high, you’ll be able to see in time if the suspect reaches for a weapon in his belt or in his pocket. If your gun is blocking your view of his hands, your first indication that you need to shoot will be when his bullet punches into your body. Talk about being behind the curve.
When a man perceives a firearm aimed at his private parts, a tremendous psychological effect is also engendered. A lot of bad guys have been shot or stabbed before, and have a lot of ego invested in having survived it. More of them have role models they met on the street or in prison who showed off the bullet scars on their torsos. This can reduce their fear of being shot in the trunk of the body. But NOTHING reduces a man’s fear of being shot in the genitals. This point of aim seems to definitely get their attention, in my experience.
Some advocate aiming the gun at the ground or floor ahead of the offender. One theory for this is that it reduces the crime of Aggravated Assault to that of Brandishing a Firearm. I say that’s rubbish: it is no crime to point a gun at a felon you have caught in your home, or an armed criminal about to attack you on the street. A more reasonable argument for aiming at the ground ahead of the subject is that if your gun accidentally discharges, the shot hits the ground and not a human being who has not yet done anything to warrant his being killed or injured.
That’s a good argument as far as it goes. My concern with it, however, is that criminals are predators, and predators are seasoned observers of body language. Pointing the gun at the ground instead of at him can lead him to believe, “This person doesn’t dare even point the gun at me! Why should I worry that he might dare to pull the trigger?” If that happens, the critical deterrent effect of the gun can be lost. If he is emboldened sufficiently to attack, either you’ll have to blow him away or you might be hurt or killed yourself, and these are not mutually exclusive outcomes. Some I have taken at gunpoint with my weapon leveled at their pelvis have fled; as a cop, I must pursue, and as a civilian you do not have the right to shoot a fleeing criminal. Most criminals taken at gunpoint have surrendered; none have yet attacked. I want to keep it that way. This is why I will personally continue to index the weapon on the opponent’s pelvis when I take a person at gunpoint. The choice is yours.
