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Self-Defense Tip: Don’t Draw on a Drawn Gun. Unless You Have To.

Robert Farago - comments No comments

 Café Chieu Tim killers flee the scene (courtesy guidrynews.com)

“Two men went inside the Café Chieu Tim in the 8200 block of Antoine, north of West Gulf Bank, about 3 p.m., staying there for 30 to 40 minutes. They spoke with the owner and other patrons,” chron.com reports. “As they began to leave, one pulled a handgun and demanded cash from the owner. The owner, who was in his late 40s, instead drew his own pistol and began firing, but was struck by gunfire and fell dead.” Oh dear. In case you hadn’t figured it out, bringing your weapon to bear on someone pointing a gun at you is strategically inadvisable . . .

It takes a fraction of an instant for a bad guy to squeeze the trigger. It takes a lot more than a fraction of a second to get your gun out of its holster and bring it to bear on your target and squeeze the trigger. That’s best case. Worse case, you’ll fumble while entire seconds expire. And then, you.

There’s not a lot you can do in this situation. If you feel you have to do something—other than just stand there, hand over the money and get shot—MOVE! Get off the X and then draw your weapon. Better yet, if possible, depending on the situation and your moral code, continue moving and leave.

Some gun gurus suggest throwing the money (or whatever) at the bad guy and then moving and drawing. I’m not so sure. A bad guy holding a gun will instantly perceive any object moving towards him as an immediate threat and respond accordingly.

All that said, there are times when an armed self-defender has no choice. For example, if one of the two robbers had begun assassinating customers, well, what would the owner have to lose? By the same token, if the bad guys are about to assassinate people (e.g., herding people into a back room), it’s chocks away.

By the way, this tragic event is not an argument against armed self-defense. The unnamed cafe owner had the right to keep and bear arms and the right to decide when, where and how to use his firearm to defend his life, the lives of innocent bystanders and (in some states) his property—within the confines of the law.

As did the cafe’s other patrons. OMG! A Wild West shootout! Yes, well, robberies can and do lead to summary executions. It’s better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it. Yes, even if you can’t use it. Because you may have to, anyway. If you know what I mean.

 

0 thoughts on “Self-Defense Tip: Don’t Draw on a Drawn Gun. Unless You Have To.”

  1. I don’t have a problem with open carry. I have a problem with morons open carrying obnoxiously and being jerks about it so that they can post a video on youtube of themselves doing it and being jerks about it to law enforcement.

    Reply
  2. Not all Blacks are gun grabbers like not all blacks support Socialist ideals. problem many do. This is a point to be a ambassador for the @A for blacks we know. Teach them can bring them to our side.

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  3. Chris Dorner probably passed a psychological examination to go to work for LAPD. That says so much about psychological examinations.

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  4. Ugh. These posts are so sad. Every time some terrorist nutcase arms himself to the teeth and eludes police for a few months, TTAG starts posting serenades. “Look, an armed fanatic can force a tyrannical government to its knees.”

    Then, when the cops finally hunt him down and toss him in jail for a few decades, you secretly cheer for him to escape so he can live out your “Red Dawn” fantasy.

    Listen: One lone gunman does not change the argument. Just because he has a dozen guns does not mean everyone needs them. If he meets up with the average gun owner, Dorner is just going to kill them and take their guns.

    I am sure everyone who reads this has super powers, and you would out-draw him, or out-shoot him, or show him the secret NRA handshake, or whatever. But the average gun owner shoots about as well as the average driver drives. Maybe worse. The average gun owner is just another victim to people like Dorner, and just another potential Dorner to everyone else.

    If you (in general) are sitting around cheering for this guy because he is showing how easy it is to use guerrilla tactics against the cops, then you (in general) need to get some psychological help.

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  5. If a bad guy already has a gun drawn, you are in an extremely dangerous situation. The best course of action in that scenario is if another armed citizen, who the bad guy cannot see, can draw and shoot the bad guy with total and complete surprise.

    Otherwise, the best an armed citizen can do is practice ahead of time. And they need to practice: while moving, drawing and shooting. This is not easy. But it increases your chances of survival immensely.

    Aside from practice, in practical application, an armed citizen would also have to choose the time carefully to move, draw, and shoot. Waiting for a moment when the bad guy looks away is ideal. If you believe you cannot wait until the bad guy looks away, then try to wait until something diverts the bad guy’s concentration. For example place an item of value in as awkward a position for the bad guy as possible. When the bad guy focuses on retrieving the item of value and reaches for it, that would be the time to move.

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  6. The NRA should take a cue from the SAF and create some messages with this substance and tone. A lot of the NRA stuff is good for preaching to the choir but not in getting traction with those who are capable of being influenced.

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