Have any of you guys actually been in a gunfight?

Since I started reading this forum a couple of months ago I have done a lot of thinking about the posibility of having to defend ones self in a situation. I have always supported CCW and keep myself armed as far as the law in KS will allow, but last Friday night I got a real good insight to this ...
I got a call @2345 from the local PD that my alarm had gone off at my restaurant. I went out to find that the perps ahd entered my walk in freezer. Nothing was missing thank god, but I ended up having to gaurd the place all night since I couldnt secure the damaged door. I positioned myself in my truck about 50 yards away from the freezer in a dark area, hoping to surprise the perps if they came back.At about 0330 a vehicle entered the parking lot. and guys I'll tell you what, you would have had to use a tractor to get a pin out of my a$$ at that point! It turned out to be the PD, but I had my Kimber 45 in hand and my Winchester 1200 (The terminator :D )beside me. The thought of actually having to use them was a sobering experience to say the least. Our local cops are pretty supportive of CCW so for that I'm thankful. In fact when the officer told me he wanted to clear the building, I think he was thankful for my backup.
I know this is long, but It made me think....
 
It depends on gow you define "gun fight,"
If you mean using a handgun then I have been in two gunfights in which I had to draw and use a pistoll
If you include using shoulder arms in close combat then I have been in a great many more.
 
Nope. As for wealth of knowledge, what I've determined is that there are three things that will govern how well you do in a fight.

1. Your amount and type of luck.
2. Your level and quality of training (which will you will revert to when your brain shuts down)
3. How your answers to 1 and 2 compare to the bad guy's answers to 1 and 2.
 
If the first gulf war and somila counts then yes in policing once hope never make it twice but I train hard so I WILL go home to the wife.....

Dave
 
practice so that you don't fight your gun

my "experience" is even less than Jeff OTMG's
Yes, twice, but apparently the other guys didn't know it was a gunfight and violated rule number 1.
1. In a gunfight, have a gun.
as a result, fortunately, no shots fired.
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I drew. I fired. But the bad guys were a bunch of dogs way beyond control (no gunfight then). And I decided to shoot the earth I was walking on right by my side. That was enough for five dogs (2 big, 3 normal) to go :eek: and turn 180° while running.

What I have learned from this is that things go rather cool and somewhat automatic. I had no time to be scared. I just assessed the situation and the earth underneath me as a safe backstop - while I drew my gun and hid it at my side. Then I drew a virtual line for the dogs not to cross. As they crossed it - I fired. Problem solved, nobody hurt. And then I got scared. My body got stiff as I walked away. I felt my head to be crystal clear and actually felt some cold sensation.

Until I fired and the dogs ran I felt in control of my senses and motions. The handling of the gun went automatically and flawlessly. I was amazed that I didn't feel any trigger resistance as I decided to fire and so did. I am still surprised by how rational it all went. I assume if I had been as scared when the dogs approached, as I was after I shot, I would have shot the dogs.

The bottom line could be: If you practice regularily with your gun, you have more resources to use for assessing the situation and reacting. Otherwise you could find yourself fighting your gun.
 
I have. Do a search here, especially in the Tactics section, and it will become apparent that quite a few members here have.
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I did that, i still cant find it. can you give me some keywords? I am very curious about your experience, since I reagrd your advice very highly. Thanks.
 
"Nope. As for wealth of knowledge, what I've determined is that there are three things that will govern how well you do in a fight.

1. Your amount and type of luck.
2. Your level and quality of training (which will you will revert to when your brain shuts down)
3. How your answers to 1 and 2 compare to the bad guy's answers to 1 and 2."


Uh oh -

1 - Oh Sh.. I am in trouble
2 - good, never enough, constantly getting more ( I enjoy the training both tactical gun, and martial combat very much)
3 - most have much better luck then I, so I have always felt a need to pursue training of any and every kind extensivley, for these situations as well as for work and much other stuff, I know murphy all to well and dont like hooking up with him.... Hopefully I have found at least some balance to compensate for the answer to number one...
 
Yes and no, was shot at, drew my weapon but didnt return fire as I was able to immediately take cover in a place of safety and waited until others could be in a position so we could end it peacefully, I never wish to use deadly force unless 100% unavoidable, or someone else is at risk. Had I been in a position to have to shoot there is no dought what I would have done. I also had to enter a building with someone armed and incoherant believing that the CIA had a sniper on a rooftop who was going to kill him, it was an HVAC repairman and the guys friend called and I ended up going in and diving across an open door into a kitchen and sliding up to a counter and searching ther house flat against walls and going room to room with my weapon, the guy had left the building and I removed all the weapons and later found he was in custody after assaulting an officer and ended up in the state institution. Turns out he felt he no longer needed medication, and these were the days before background checks, after he got out, yup once again I ended up going through his door again as he was armed and threatening his mother who was nice enough to buy him a gun after he finally got out of the state hospitol because by then background checks had been initiated and he could not buy on his own, arent moms wonderful. I also had an unknown number of perps try to gain access to my rural desolate house at 2am, one of whom came to my door saying he was thrown out of a car by friends and needed to use the phone, I had my S&W shorty forty in my hand behind my back and he had his right hand behind his back and never showed it, I said give me a number to call and he stated he needed to come in to use the phone, I told him how to get to the main road and instructed him I was calling the PD. He left and I saw brake lights but no headlights go down the hill from my house, yup his friends threw him out. Turns out when I called the neighboring PD ( we didnt have our own long story) they tried this 30 minutes earlier another town over and the one that came to the door was ordered to leave at the point of a shotgun. when I bought my first home gun many many years ago I never really expected to need it, but as the saying goes, it is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it. After that I got 2 very friendly K9's, best investment for a first alert and deterent there especially in the deep of the night when your senses arent fully up and running. I always pray I will never have to shoot someone, but when it comes down to survival you do what you have to or survive is something you wont.
 
Yes, I have. It happened fairly recently. Everything was automatic, and the only thing that I regret is that I was a little slow on making the decision to pull the trigger. BG had the drop on me. I was moving to my left and he was backing up into a doorway, it was at night and I was about 10-12 yards away with lights (Red and Blue)reflecting off side of house. I was very calm, and everything happened within 2-3 seconds, but it seemed like it was slow motion.
I didn't have time to do anything but react. Do remember making the decision to shoot and saw my bullet hit after discharge. Remember distinctly the long double action trigger pull. Strange things go through ones mind when faced with a life or death situation.
I use a 40 cal. on duty, and off. Their was a 40 cal. and a 9mm used and the 40 did perform better as far as bullet mushroom and penetration. Federal 165 grain jacketed hollow point and speer gold dot. 9mm was black talon. Good for armor but not much else. My opinion only.
I cannot express how important training is. You have got to practice drawing your weapon and placing the round on target. Start slow and then pick up the pace until you can safely draw and engage the target effectivly in a smooth controlled manner while being quick at the same time. I know people that never practice drawing their weapon. When the adrenaline is pumping, reaction and muscle memory take over. I think that was a big factor in my situation coming out in a positive way for me.
Remember, the BG will almost always have the upper hand. You will have to assess the threat and then make a determination as to whether deadly force is justified and then make your move. You will be behind the eight ball in most situatuations right from the start. That's why it is so important to be aware of your suroundings and what is going on around you.
 
i was a witness in a gun fight.

few years ago my family was at my gandmothers for christmas. in the middle of the night i heard a window break and so did my dad i dialed 911 and he went down stairs w/ his .357 a man had broken in and was stealing our presents on chirstmas eve.... (low life heh?) when he saw my dad he drew my dad open fired and hit him in chest and shoulder, the man fired at the same time hitting my dad in right thigh.


my dad recovered...the crook didnt. it is something i will never forget and will always have in the back of my head....im sure the same with my dad.

Edit: as many have asked on here do you hear the shot? in my situation i didnt it was quiet but afterward my ears were ringing...its like i blocked out the sound but still heard it?...if that makes sense.
 
Do duels count. I have had 6 and won 5.
This was on the FBI dueling course at Quanitco, Va..
Was competeing against a guy stooting a snubby , while I was using a 4" barrel S&W M 19.
At farther distances it was really not even close. At close range it was more even, as he could get his lighter snubby into action quicker.
He beat me on number 6, a range of about 5y rds. Lighter gun=quicker draw!
 
Drew a knife once, after getting socked in the face by one of seven hoodlums. My friend just stared... but anyway.

He in turned grabbed a red bandanna thingy with something wrapped in it out of his car behind him. I left. Period.


Had i been carrying? The knife wouldnt have come out, i promise you that.
 
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Edit: as many have asked on here do you hear the shot? in my situation i didnt it was quiet but afterward my ears were ringing...its like i blocked out the sound but still heard it?...if that makes sense.
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That's called "auditory exclusion." Your ears still hear the shot (and suffer the damage) but your brain focuses on more important things and "dulls" the sound so you can deal with the situation at hand. You saw what was going on and your body reacted to the stress. Had you had your back turned and not known what was happening, the shot would have seemed a lot louder.
 
I got into several in Panama (Operation Just Cause). Got into a few more clearing bunkers outside of Khafji in Desert Storm. Never as a civilian.
 
Thank the smallest muscles in your body for protecting you

Actually the ear is an amazing piece of machinery. The smallest muscles in your entire body perform a very unique function in the body. They actually cause the effect that Trebor is talking about:

The eardrum can also serve to protect the inner ear from prolonged exposure to loud, low-pitch noises. When the brain receives a signal that indicates this sort of noise, a reflex occurs at the eardrum. The tensor tympani muscle and the stapedius muscle suddenly contract. This pulls the eardrum and the connected bones in two different directions, so the drum becomes more rigid. When this happens, the ear does not pick up as much noise at the low end of the audible spectrum, so the loud noise is dampened.

In addition to protecting the ear, this reflex helps you concentrate your hearing. It masks loud, low-pitch background noise so you can focus on higher-pitch sounds. Among other things, this helps you carry on a conversation when you're in a very noisy environment, like a rock concert. The reflex also kicks in whenever you start talking -- otherwise, the sound of your own voice would drown out a lot of the other sounds around you.
 
Hrmm...

If the reflex is active when you're talking, then it's likely active when you're shouting/screaming.... or giving a war cry.

Is the charging war cry a method of avoiding hearing damage without external protection? :D
 
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