Strelnikov
4th Level Red Feather
- Joined
- May 7, 2001
- Messages
- 1,812
- Points
- 0
I have a personal connection to the Virginia massacre. Jamie Bishop, the German teacher who was murdered, was the son of an acquaintance. From what I’ve been able to learn, Jamie never had a chance. Cho just walked into his classroom and shot him without warning.
But some of the others didn’t have to die. People get killed in mass shootings because they freeze. Duck-and-cover is not an effective strategy – it's hard for the shooter to miss when he has you by the hair. If you keep your wits about you and respond proactively, you can improve your survival odds substantially.
I’ve been collecting and shooting handguns for more than 30 yrs. I’ve been trained to use a handgun for self defense, though fortunately I’ve never had to do so. I’ve done armed security work, I have law enforcement connections, and I've studied real world gunfights, both present day and historic. Here’s what that experience has taught me.
First, most people who buy handguns are not “serious” shooters. They don’t join gun clubs, compete in matches, train, etc. Instead, if they practice at all, they go to a public range and rent a shooting lane for an hour or so. Their usual choice of guns is an auto pistol, in 9mm caliber like Cho used, or the closely related .380 caliber. Both of those are less lethal than many other calibers. Their two advantages are that they don’t kick much, and they’re available in guns that hold lots of bullets, which many people think compensates for lack of skill and practice.
I've watched lots of these people shoot at public ranges. Most of them put up a life-size human-silhouette target at close range – average 5 yards, hardly ever over 10 yards. Then they empty the magazine at it. Out of 15 shots, they might get 2 or 3 potentially lethal hits and 7 or 8 that would cause wounds of varying severity, from “pretty bad” to “just a scratch.” The rest of their shots will miss the target area, maybe miss the paper completely. This is under perfect stress-free conditions, with a close, well lighted target that isn't moving.
Second, everything changes in a real world shooting situation. Forget everything you’ve seen on TV or in movies – in the usual sort of gunfight, two guys unload on each other at close range, 10 yards or less. They shoot up the dumpster and a bunch of parked cars, but it seldom results in a fatal shooting. Often, the result is only minor wounds, then both of them run away when they hear the police sirens. Sometimes they miss each other completely, because stress is NOT an aid to accuracy.
Bottom line: if somebody like Cho is shooting at you, chances are that he’s a poor shot using a relatively weak caliber. Unless you freeze, any single shot he fires at you may miss, and if it hits you, it’s more likely to wound than kill.
Now let’s put it all together.
If you run away from a gunman, your odds of surviving are pretty good. That’s your best strategy if you’re 10 yards or more away from him AND you have an escape route. In a wide open space, it’s best to turn to your right (toward a right handed shooter's weak hand) and run diagonally away. That will force him to turn his body to line you up, and buy you a fraction of a second and a few more feet of distance. A moving target is much more difficult to hit, and every additional foot improves your chance that he will miss – most people don't practice shooting, so they can't hit anything that's more than 10 yards away anyway. KEEP RUNNING. Don’t look back – if he’s running after you, you can’t do anything about it anyway. If he’s running and shooting, that’s actually good. Moving target plus moving shooter usually equals a clean miss.
If the shooter is less than 10 yards away, or if you’re cornered, or responsible for another person, you can still survive. Deny him the initiative. Yell and scream, throw things, pull the fire alarm, KEEP MOVING. If you’re close enough, charge him. You have nothing to lose, and the aggressive move may rattle him enough to make him miss his first shot. At under 10 yards, he won't have time to get off a second shot before you're on him. Grab his gun arm, try to sink your teeth into it, try to bite off a chunk of meat, DON’T TURN LOOSE. Your jaws are stronger than you think, and he can't shoot you that way.
With a little luck, somebody else will help you once you’ve immobilized the gun. A few years ago, an attempted robbery of a bar in my city was foiled when a patron jumped the guy. The other patrons mobbed the gunman and killed him. No charges were filed – deadly force is always justified in self defense or to protect innocent life.
Even small, weak people can kill a strong man if there are enough of them. And make no mistake, that’s exactly what you need to do. Do your best to put the guy on the ground. Then STOMP HIM TO DEATH. Jump on him with both feet, kick his adam's apple or temple, and DON’T STOP until he stops moving. Then kick and stomp him some more to make sure.
Above all, NEVER GIVE UP. You may not survive, but at least you’ll have a chance. Give up, and you’ll have no chance at all.
Strelnikov
But some of the others didn’t have to die. People get killed in mass shootings because they freeze. Duck-and-cover is not an effective strategy – it's hard for the shooter to miss when he has you by the hair. If you keep your wits about you and respond proactively, you can improve your survival odds substantially.
I’ve been collecting and shooting handguns for more than 30 yrs. I’ve been trained to use a handgun for self defense, though fortunately I’ve never had to do so. I’ve done armed security work, I have law enforcement connections, and I've studied real world gunfights, both present day and historic. Here’s what that experience has taught me.
First, most people who buy handguns are not “serious” shooters. They don’t join gun clubs, compete in matches, train, etc. Instead, if they practice at all, they go to a public range and rent a shooting lane for an hour or so. Their usual choice of guns is an auto pistol, in 9mm caliber like Cho used, or the closely related .380 caliber. Both of those are less lethal than many other calibers. Their two advantages are that they don’t kick much, and they’re available in guns that hold lots of bullets, which many people think compensates for lack of skill and practice.
I've watched lots of these people shoot at public ranges. Most of them put up a life-size human-silhouette target at close range – average 5 yards, hardly ever over 10 yards. Then they empty the magazine at it. Out of 15 shots, they might get 2 or 3 potentially lethal hits and 7 or 8 that would cause wounds of varying severity, from “pretty bad” to “just a scratch.” The rest of their shots will miss the target area, maybe miss the paper completely. This is under perfect stress-free conditions, with a close, well lighted target that isn't moving.
Second, everything changes in a real world shooting situation. Forget everything you’ve seen on TV or in movies – in the usual sort of gunfight, two guys unload on each other at close range, 10 yards or less. They shoot up the dumpster and a bunch of parked cars, but it seldom results in a fatal shooting. Often, the result is only minor wounds, then both of them run away when they hear the police sirens. Sometimes they miss each other completely, because stress is NOT an aid to accuracy.
Bottom line: if somebody like Cho is shooting at you, chances are that he’s a poor shot using a relatively weak caliber. Unless you freeze, any single shot he fires at you may miss, and if it hits you, it’s more likely to wound than kill.
Now let’s put it all together.
If you run away from a gunman, your odds of surviving are pretty good. That’s your best strategy if you’re 10 yards or more away from him AND you have an escape route. In a wide open space, it’s best to turn to your right (toward a right handed shooter's weak hand) and run diagonally away. That will force him to turn his body to line you up, and buy you a fraction of a second and a few more feet of distance. A moving target is much more difficult to hit, and every additional foot improves your chance that he will miss – most people don't practice shooting, so they can't hit anything that's more than 10 yards away anyway. KEEP RUNNING. Don’t look back – if he’s running after you, you can’t do anything about it anyway. If he’s running and shooting, that’s actually good. Moving target plus moving shooter usually equals a clean miss.
If the shooter is less than 10 yards away, or if you’re cornered, or responsible for another person, you can still survive. Deny him the initiative. Yell and scream, throw things, pull the fire alarm, KEEP MOVING. If you’re close enough, charge him. You have nothing to lose, and the aggressive move may rattle him enough to make him miss his first shot. At under 10 yards, he won't have time to get off a second shot before you're on him. Grab his gun arm, try to sink your teeth into it, try to bite off a chunk of meat, DON’T TURN LOOSE. Your jaws are stronger than you think, and he can't shoot you that way.
With a little luck, somebody else will help you once you’ve immobilized the gun. A few years ago, an attempted robbery of a bar in my city was foiled when a patron jumped the guy. The other patrons mobbed the gunman and killed him. No charges were filed – deadly force is always justified in self defense or to protect innocent life.
Even small, weak people can kill a strong man if there are enough of them. And make no mistake, that’s exactly what you need to do. Do your best to put the guy on the ground. Then STOMP HIM TO DEATH. Jump on him with both feet, kick his adam's apple or temple, and DON’T STOP until he stops moving. Then kick and stomp him some more to make sure.
Above all, NEVER GIVE UP. You may not survive, but at least you’ll have a chance. Give up, and you’ll have no chance at all.
Strelnikov
