Can you really pull the trigger?

Yes.

You make the decision long before presented with the problem. This works for most moral issues. Black and white issues that is.

When I was growing up my folks taught me to never use drugs. I decided not to use drugs. When offered drugs I turned them down. I didn't have to think about it because the decision had already been made.

I have made a committment to be faithfull to my wife. So if ever tempted, I don't have to stop and think about it. The decision has already been made.

This doesn't tend to work for the small things in life, like "should I have another cookie?" But for those major things that we should all expect to face, make your decision now.

Pulling the trigger is one of those decisions. If you are not sure that you can do it. Don't carry. I don't buy into the argument that you never know 100% until you do it. For some things you decide, commit, and that is it.
 
I hope I never need to know. All I can say is that I've defended myself and others aggressively when required to, but never yet in a life-threatening situation.

This is one of the best and most thoughtful threads I've ever read. Thanks to all.
 
Originally Posted by Boris
First off I've never shot anyone. Could I?
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Even if you have pulled it before on someone. Each time is different.
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:rolleyes: So, never having pulled the trigger, you are still able to pontificate for a whole paragraph on the effects of doing so, not once, but multiple times.

And even not being sure if I could actually shoot someone.
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If you are not prepared to use that weapon in time of need, you are just another victim with a gun.

This is not an issue with shades of gray. It is cut & dry, Black & white. If you carry a gun, be prepared to use it. If you can't get it straight in your mind, don't carry.
 
Gentlemen we all seem to agree,but boris it still comes down to either knowning you can or cann't, Like most combat Vets will tell you,the first time was a reaponce to auto pilot training,mostly you don't see them face to face.I was that scared Newbie in 68 until the first patrol across the wire, when I went into law enforcement I knew it was a face to face ,reality, you can not second quess your self and that sound like what your doing,you have to have the mind set,or gut check that carrys you from day to day knowning if all else fails I'm going home the way i left it.
That is another reason to practice like you mean it.
Sierra1, you just recieved the best training you well ever have,you were mad couldn't believe it,in real time you would have fought back,take this with you for you know now you can.
please excuse the rambling on and the spelling.I have been an LEO for 29 years now,not counting two tours in Nam ,have seen a lot of fine people die because they hesitated
 
Sorry lead. But I'm not second guessing myself. I being totally honest. I'm pretty much as confident as everyone else who has posted. I'm 99.99% sure that I would/could pull the trigger. But until the trigger is pulled and the gun goes pop, there is that .01% that it might not happen. I'm sure that no one on this board is psychic or has been blessed with the gift of prophesy. Too many things could be the variable in the equation. You can prepare yourself as much as you can. But listen to what I'm saying here.......Nothing is ever definite, 100% for sure. With the exception of the word of God. I'm 99.99% sure that my truck will make it down to the corner store, but until it pulls into the parking lot there is that .01% that it will not make it. I'm a eternal skeptic about a lot of the posts here. I hang out at gunstores and a local range. And I know that there is a lot more BS that goes around than actual experience. And from my experience as a dog trainer, the dogs that bark louder and the most are the dogs who are least likely to actually bite. In a military combat situation it is different than a street defense situation. In a military combat situation you know and are alert and expect to defend yourself. There is someone out there who intends to kill you. In a street defense situation you are most likely going to be caught off guard. You will have your mind on something else and in a split second you will have to assess the situation and what action to take. Does this situation warrant or constitute the use of deadly force? Is it safe to others and or is anybody in the line of fire? Will the law see it my way? And if you are a Christian, will God see it my way? Is there another way out of the situation? I'm not second guessing myself. I'm just wondering will these things impede my actions. Will they go through my mind? HONESTLY I don't know. I've never been in the situation. You can condition yourself as much as possible for the fact that it could happen, but to totally believe that you WILL WITHOUT A DOUBT,100% pull the trigger in ANY situation, is to give yourself a false sense of security. Sure I agree. Train and condition yourself for the chance of the situation. 99.99% is really good odds that you will pull the trigger.
 
Boris_01, with all due respect, I must agree with the previous poster that said if you hesitate you're just another victim with a gun.

There is undeniable truth to your questions about legality, safety, morality, religion, etc. Many of these questions cannot be answered until the circumstance actually presents itself. Some, however, can be answered beforehand. Actually, they need to be answered beforehand. Most importantly, The Plainsman's original "Can you pull the trigger?" question.

It's a question about conviction, not clairvoyance or epistemology. To know that you can pull the trigger means that you have the conviction that you will, if necessary, take a life to save a life. That you can know. You just have to ask yourself.

Get that one out of the way, because it's a big one. Like you said, a million things might be going through your mind in a self-defense situation. One less means less hesitation.

To the previous posters who have pulled the trigger, thanks for sharing your insight.
 
Kung, how can you be 100% sure about your conviction unless it has been tested? You can't. We are human. Not machines.
 
(If this is within your moral code) Are you certain you'll be faithful to your wife? Are you certain you'll never let your kids go hungry if there's any conceivable way to avoid it? I can tell you, with 100% certainty, that I will put my body between my siblings and any threat, if that is my only option. Making the decision to pull the trigger if circumstances warrant is something only you can decide, and the rest of us talking about how you need to be converted will never take the place of you taking the necessary action. Just make up your mind, lay down or take up your arms, train well, live peaceably, and get on with your life.
 
Boris_01, if I were to wake up one night and discover that some burglar had broken into my home and was in the process of harming a family member, I will shoot him dead. Of this, I am 100% certain, not 99.99% certain, not "pretty much" certain, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT certain, just like the burglar would be 100% dead.

This I know without it ever being tested. This I know because I am a human being and not a machine. I will defend me and mine. I have already made the decision.

No offense, but maybe it's your own uncertainty about your own convictions that leads you to think others should think the same. I, for one, do not, and from the sounds of it, nor do many of the other posters. They, too, have already decided that they will pull the trigger.

Again, it's a choice only you can make, and there's no right or wrong choice. Only thing is, if you find that you're not 100% certain (this ain't horseshoes), then don't arm yourself. You'll only end up arming the bad guys.

I think you gotta do a gut check, bro. Not for us. We're just a bunch of faceless names on your computer. You gotta do it for you and yours. I hope it all works out for the best. ;)
 
I carry a pistol every day of my life. So does my brother. We work in a family business and we live as constantly in condition yellow as possible, which means we think daily in terms of protecting our parents, as well as ourselves. I know I'm not speaking for my brother, but for my part, it makes me sad, sometimes. I remember what it used to be like not to know what I now know about the world and the people in it. But that's just the way things are, when you get past childhood. It's something some people have never learned (anti-s, for example.)

Thank god Erick pointed out the difference between black and white issues and those in the grey areas in between; I think most of life happens between those two extremes. I think life is made up of lots of small decisions made over time, over and over. But I believe I've made it pretty simple for myself, i.e. if I see a weapon, I drop the threat etc etc. Better to be judged by twelve and so on in that vein. But while it still makes me sad when I think about it, it's nowhere near regret, or doubt, or hesitation, or lack of resolve. You could call it duty to yourself or your family or anything you like, you could couch it in macho terms, I really don't care, but in the end it's just another d@mn thing life throws at you that you have to do. That's all.

I don't want to kill, but I'm willing to do it if I have to. Pity is not the same as reluctance, in my book.

Was this always such a hard question to answer? Was it like this before this Modern Age of feelings and litigiousness? I don't think so.
 
Kung. In none of my posts have I directed my comments that someone would not pull the trigger. I'm just trying to get people to realize that the law of probabilities is never 100% when it comes to human behaviour. It is not an attack against anyones manhood. Just people too macho or dense ( one or the other or both) to admit or acknowlege it. It's easy to do behind the safety of the computer screen. You can not see how someone's eyes avoid contact or how they submit through their body language. And be carefull. Do not question my resolve about wether I could pull the trigger. I'm just as sure as anyone else who has not been in the situation, that I would pull the trigger. I do not question myself. Have no reason to question myself. And you would not question my resolve if you were not behind your safe computer screen and I were able to look you eye to eye. So do not direct any agressive comments at me personally. AND DEFINITELY DO NOT IMPLY THAT I SHOULD NOT OWN OR CARRY A GUN. AS LONG AS I LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE AND WE HAVE THE SECOND AMMENDMENT, I WILL OWN AND CARRY A GUN. PERIOD. Now I will try to explain this one more time. I'm not questioning someones confidence or wether they are convinced that they WOULD pull the trigger. I'm trying to point out that the law of probabilities when it comes to human behaviour is never 100%.
 
Hey Boris_01.

Maybe I misread your previous posts. If I have offended in any way, it was without intent, and I do apologize. I am glad for you that you have the conviction necessary for using a gun in a self-defense situation. And I understand your point about human nature not being 100% predictable. Too true.

But I think the direction of this thread is not so much the predictability of human nature as it is about the mindset necessary to pull the trigger, no? Maybe I'm wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. :D
 
Funny how sixty-some years can go by so fast. I grew up on stories of lawmen and outlaws and what I guess you could call "necessary killin'". I've always tried to generally avoid situations where I'd have to drop the hammer on somebody, and so far I've been successful.

But somehow there's just no doubt in my mind as to what I'd do were gratuitous deadly force offered against me, and it seems like it's always been that way. Seems to me that staying alive is just part of living.

Art
 
I was asked "how it felt to shoot someone"? I think they expected a macho or heroic answer!!! My answer was that it felt like I was saving my life! No lights flashed!!!! No comets in the sky!! Just me saving my life!!! I don't feel like a hero. I feel like I did what I had to do! I was lucky, my gun misfired and I didn't kill him! I did stop him or I wouldn't be writting this!
 
I completely agree with Boris. I had an argument with my friend about this in a war scenario after watching Saving Private Ryan.
 
I could and would pull the trigger. It's easy to say that without ever having been in the situation, but I really do feel that I could and would pull the trigger if the situation was life threatening to myself or an innocent bystander. If there is any doubt, you shouldn't carry a gun, you just might end up arming a BG. And I carry a gun, so I could and would pull the trigger.
 
as to the question......I answered that one when I got my CCW. I am prepared to defend myself or my family, and if put into a situation where I would have to draw my weapon, I would address and neutralize the threat, and deal wth the ancillary issues when appropriate.
 
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