No offense Stretch, but I've already quoted you yourself saying

"A handgun for self-defense is meant to kill"

"For years (24 now) I've been taught the purpose is to "stop the threat". As a firearms and use of force instructor, that is the wording I must use when teaching. It's politically correct BS, of course"

And I pointed out when the compensation lawyer is in court he'll be saying:

"you never intended to disarm this poor widows husband, you didn't want to hold him at gun point till the police arrived. If he was wounded and no longer a threat, you'd keep shooting. We know this because you wrote yourself that you intended to kill".

The Sock

No Sock, I think you're missing my point. Courtroom matters are another issue. I addressed those too - briefly.

The point is, know what a firearm is designed for and what it can do. Don't mix its purpose and deadly potential with flowery praise and dreamy, whimsical politi-speech. Don't assume that it will kill everything its projectile hits, but do assume that it is designed to do precisely that. Worrying about the lawyers is something we shouldn;t do IF we know what is right, just, and legal. I know, I deal daily with them and their graspings.

Many policeman have been killed, it is theorized, by the fear of the courtroom and liability consequences. It causes doubt and hesitation. When deadly force is required, it is authorized. When it is authorized, death is expected - hence the term "deadly force". Dress it up as we may, the cold hard truth remains.

If I may be so bold: The truth is not dependant on belief.

This is true, Sock, but it is supposition that because I said a firearm is a deadly weapon, that it kills, that I would keep shooting at a person that was incapacitated. Put in that light, you're exactly right. Put in the light in which I was speaking, then....you wouldn;t be right.

In every case, a bad guy's widow, children, etc will be brought in when it suits them. It sure beats the good guy's widow being in those shoes though, now doesn't it?

Please re-read the posts and keep in check any speculative scenarios.

I stand by the meaning of deadly weapon. Its sole purpose is to kill. Know it and know where you stand before using it. Save your life and the lives of other innocent persons and worry about the lawyers later. If your life, your very existence, your very right to protect and provide for your family, is threatened, then defend it, with every and any means possible.

I believe this is true also. However, I'm more of the opinion that .22 has "stopping power A", .32 has stopping power B, .380 has stopping power C, and 9mm, .40s&w, 357sig, 10mm, and 45acp have stopping power D+/-. Yes, there is some difference in their raw stopping powers, but it's relatively small, and once you've hit this category other factors like controllability and shot placement begin to dominate over raw stopping power.

Shoot the most powerful that you can easily control, but don't shoot more powerful than you can easily control. Controlled shot placement trumps raw power, not the other way around.

Just my opinion, of course.

No one could reasonably argue against that point, and I surely wouldn;t.

Yup. I hit with a .22 is a lot better than a miss with a .44 mag...

The old rule is: Don't worry about being fast, worry about making sure that your 1st shot hits the mark!

Decide Fast, Draw Fast, Present Fast, Give Commands Fast, Reload Fast ..... Shoot Slow (to be accurate).

Mike

Smooth is fast still rings true.

Here, here! This is one point where I think I disagree with Ayoob. (It's just a personal preference, as he knows worlds more than I do about law and self defense.) It worked for me NOT to warn the perp. He ended up in cuffs.

We on this board make these assumptions that the perp will behave like a "good little burglar", or that he's not coming in with four of his armed friends. Do you really want to yell out to four drug-hyped nuts that you have a gun and you're right down the hallway? They may not behave rationally. Do you want to try to gun down five armed assailants? You've got more balls than me.