Personal Defense?

[ZVP]

I'd NEVER want to get on the wrong end of a Cap and Ball Sixgun, They're very deadly!
Back on topic a Single six and a 12 Gauge had ya well covered!
ZVP

 

[Richbaker]

Re: head shots . . .

At my current personal level of capability, I would go for the largest target presented, which would most likely be center-of-mass.

Yes, a relatively well-centered head shot might be a better quick-stopper, but in the heat of the moment I believe I'd chose the biggest thing I could see . . . COM.

Comes the day I'm a much better shot than I currently am, I might revise my position on the matter.

Until then . . . COM.

JMHO


Edited for spelling.

Every "expert" I've ever read says the head shot is a bad call because it moves around a lot, and quickly..... Center of Mass is a much better target due to size and less movement.
Naturally, "if" you can hit the head shot, the shootee will drop instantly, but good luck making the shot...

 

[Spike]

You like a .22 WMR because of ...exactly why? .

OP's admission that "I know it's not optimal" led me to believe that that's all he--or someone he's interested in--has available at this time.

That's kind of what I read into it, myself.
Like Bucks says, better'n a pointy stick.

...She was in the PD to make a written complaint against the shooter, her husband...

Reminds me of the old joke about a .25AP...
"You shoot somebody with that thing, and they find out about it, they're going to be really mad..." :wink:

Not to overstate the obvious (this topic has certainly been done to death), but a round's killing power vs. stopping power are two very different things.

I'm just trying to point out the irony in the above statement. Sure, the woman died. Eventually. But had the man been defending himself against a determined attacker (and perhaps she was just that), she would have had ample time to have long since beat him to death before her leisurely sojurn to the police officer's station!

Shot placement is a wonderful idea -- and by no means am I arguing against consistent, sustained practice! Developing muscle memory and placement is important -- but, under high stress (as when we are in fear for our very lives), aren't motor skills severely degraded?

Under these conditions, an eye shot with a .25 or a rimfire of some sort, seems a pretty shaky plan to me. And head shots? Really? For someone highly schooled in advanced technique maybe... But for the average shooter, the average gun owner, the average, everyday defense-minded citizen, I think it's extremely dangerous to condone the notion of "Why I'll just take the perp out with a head shot!" What if they find, at the moment of truth, that their terror-laced, adrenaline-charged motor skills aren't up to the task? What next? Now their magazine has been emptied into the wall just above, and to the right (or left if they're left-handed) of the badguy's bobbing head (since defenders under stress tend to shoot high and jerk the trigger), and still the attacker charges on... Now what?

I think much better, several major caliber centerfire rounds (discuss amongst yourselves what constitutes "major caliber") directed to Center Mass; that critical triangle betwixt shoulderblades and navel. Not stressing whether to "shoot to kill" or to not, but, rather shooting to live, to stop an oncoming danger and halt the threat.

In the context of firearms enthusiasts discussing firearms, a handgun is a rather pathetic defense tool; much better a shotgun or rifle. I'd say to the person who has a Single Six alone, and is defense minded, to load the Magnum cylinder for evening wear, but you're not done. Take a look at Mossberg's economical Maveric line, or save for an affordable Ruger in the .38/9mm family, or even a .40SW or .45ACP. If you seriously want to defend your person, family and home, let's have a serious discussion.

-S

 

[ZVP]

I posted the topic of .22WMR because the Single Six I usually carry afield has both cylinders (.22LR/.22WMR) and for the percieved threats I might encounter, I was wondering about your opnions just how viable it is to depend on the .22 Magnum for defensive purposes?
I didn't plan on wearing the Single Six 24/7, just afield when out for a walk or out airgunning.
I also have a Vaquero .357 that I stoke with .357's when I wear it. Yes it's better. It is just not as convienent to carry as the lighter Single Six.
I appreciate all your inputs and guarentee I shoot Solids and shootat the COM.
ZVP

 

[Bucks Owin]

The true fallacy is believing the myth of the one-shot stop. Or the corollary: If you insist on a one-shot stop, figure out how to carry a 12 gauge.

Carry what you're comfortable with. Even 10 .22LRs to the face as fast as you can pull the trigger would be awfully discouraging to just about anyone, regardless of substances they might have consumed.

-- Sam

Didn't mean to sound like one can expect a "one shot stop", only that from data collected from some agency years ago, (FBI?) the 125 gr .357 had the most of them. (And ZVP had mentioned the 158 gr) I'll bet that if the data could go back to the 1870's, the .45 LC (or even .44 WCF) might hold that "all time record"... :wink: But yeah, shoot what ya got, even if it's a .22 LR...It's better than nothing. (And if you can fight your way to a shotgun or rifle, better yet! :wink: )
BTW, that's some alley sweeper in the photo!
PS: Good post Spike! :wink:

 

[tomiswho]

For many years after I bought my Ruger Standard in 1968, it was my only handgun. I wasn't in the position to get anything else. I felt I knew it's shortcomings, but I certainly felt more secure because of it. Now my smallest caliber CCW is my KelTec P3AT.

 

[Calthrop]

In Arizona a knife is considered by law enforcement a offensive weapon. Here a handgun is a defensive weapon. I can be aggressive with a defensive weapon say a concealed ,22 mag while working around my property, I do not want to get a reputation around the neighborhood that I carry a gun. That I have guns for that matter.
Every training class I have attended stressed that the hand gun carried is just a means to get to a rifle or shotgun. These ideas are mostly due to poor ammo quality of the day, wide spread training and continuing education. However the above cannot overcome the handguns intrinsic problems: short sight radius, low magazine capacity[relative factor not everyone carries a Glock], most folks practice at short range with their guns which limits the performance of already limited preforming ammunition.
So why should I not carry a collectable convertible 27oz Ruger BearCat [if I had one] concealed about my property with the .22mag cylinder loaded? Compared to a Glock 26 9x19 holding eleven rounds at just over 27oz? The answer is I shoot a BearCat better first shot and follow up shot better than I do the sub compact Glock. I an shoot and move I am more likely shoot if I half to check the area and get on the phone.
However this is not an inverse thing I am not a quick draw artist or pistolero. In fact I do not shoot single actions well at all. It is that I have practiced with the BC .22lr because it is a hard gun to shoot. If I had the money to purchase a G26 and lots of mags and ammo I guess I would get good with it to.

Where I live there are folks that will take your life and liberty because you out at the wrong time of day in the wrong area. We have Jaguars. bobcats, mountain lion and everyone has coyotes[both kinds mentioned above]. We have feral dogs that are possibly the most immediate menace for those who walk their dogs off lead. Farther West are the Feral Hogs in the farm country, they do tremendous damage. There is no limit and no season on these critters I here. They are the only reason I can think of I could own a hi-cap thirty caliber rifle hunting rifle. However I have seen stories that folks are shooting he piglets with .17HMR's and .22mag rifles. For the farmers that is stopping a kind of home invasion. Calthrop

 

[mohavesam]

Really pretty simple principle:

Carry whatever you envision aiming at a face, and firing repeatedly.

BTDT.

As calthrop stated, all threats are not two-legged.
.

 

[raw6464]

A 22 works great if your a Casa Nostra hit man from the back seat of a car :twisted:

I carry a 45 because they don't make a 46