Current Location: Home : Firearms : Juuhoukata Chap. 1-1
There are a couple of things anyone who desires to carry a handgun should consider before they ever enter a gun store. The first is probably the most important:
Think long and hard about that one. Part of you may shrug and say "Yeah, sure, so what?" But take out your soul and examine it carefully. The taking of another's life is not a thing to be considered lightly. If you decide that you are unwilling to kill another, even in the defense of your own or another's life, then the last thing you should do is carry a handgun. The old adage "If you pull it, you'd better be ready to use it" is quite appropriate. Just pointing a gun at someone and telling them to beat it isn't going to accomplish much with some assailants... and if you're not willing to follow through, they may well take the weapon from you and kill you with it.
You may also be entertaining the notion that you can just wound the assailant, rather than killing him. Go ahead and discard that notion altogether. Hollywood has popularized the myth of the dashing hero who's able to shoot the gun from his attacker's hand, leaving him with little more than a sore wrist and a chagrined expression. That is pure folly. We'll go ahead and present our first truism:
When you shoot another person, you are shooting them to stop their aggressive actions towards you or another- period. You may fancy yourself a very good shot- you may be a very good shot- but I don't care if you're Annie Oakley, you will not be able to purposely shoot the gun from another person's hand; under fire and under stress. The best shots in the world have trouble even hitting the target from close range under stressful combat situations. The way you will train is to hit the center of mass of your target; this area is the largest and easiest to hit, and contains vital organs such as the heart and lungs. Your shots may or may not kill the person; they may not stop immediately- our discussion of terminal ballistics later on will show that there are no "magic bullets"; no way to ensure a one-shot stop. But you must assume that every shot you fire will be a fatal one, and you must be willing, if necessary, to kill the person you are trying to stop. I, for one, do not relish the idea of ever having to shoot at another person. I have never had to shoot my handgun at another person. I hope that I never have to. But I have decided that if it becomes necessary to save my life or the life of another person, I will shoot without hesitation. Have you? There's no shame or dishonor if you decide that you can't- just seek out other methods of defense.
The other question that you should ask yourself before ever purchasing a handgun for defense is:
If you don't, then you won't act appropriately when the time comes. It has been proven again and again that you react the same way you train- the actions you practice over and over again become muscle memory; your body will react in the very same way every time without your ever having to think about it. Watch a baby learning to walk. At first, he's clumsy and uncoordinated- he has to think about what to do. But as he practices, it becomes second nature; he no longer has to think about balance and putting one foot in front of the other, he just does it unconsciously. If you took a toddler and told him he had to run a 100-yard dash properly or forfeit his life; well, then you've got a dead baby. Same principle applies here. If you practice, practice, practice; and then practice some more, when the time comes, you will react instinctively and quickly. If you have to think about what you need to do because you didn't practice, then the rubber zipper bag the coroner brings may be for you.
At the same time, it's important to practice correctly. There is a story about a police officer who was killed by an assailant whom he had shot. This officer was assiduous about his training and practiced at the range every month. His first shot was well placed and did result in the offender's eventual death. But the officer was shot because he trained improperly. His department's course of fire for qualification specified that they draw and fire one shot in a certain amount of time, and then decock their firearm and return it to the holster. The officer practiced this continuously... and when the time came for him to use it, he did exactly as he had trained- drew and fired one shot, then decocked and holstered his weapon. The first shot didn't kill the assailant immediately, and he was able to fire the shot that killed the officer. Make absolutely sure that the way you practice is practical; because you will react exactly the way you have trained. That leads to our second truism:
At this point, you should probably stop reading, and consider the two questions. Return to the text only after you have answered them to your satisfaction.