HEAD SHOTS vs CENTER MASS

Zombies get the beta C 100rd mag out of my AR. Have a few of those and magazines taped together. 1911A1 for my pistol. Probably a 9mm for capacity too.:D:D
 
COM = bigger target
COM -CNS shot placement = instant neutralization of threat.
Missed head shots along with contagious fire = empty weapon.

practice, Practice, PRACTICE.
 
"...head shots vs center mass..." With what firearm? At what distance?
Read something, somewhere, long ago, about W.W. II battle wounds. Forget where. Head wounds had a far better chance of survival than body shots.
"...my 1911 to stop anyone..." Depends entirely on the bullet used. .45ACP Ball(fmj) is notoriously unreliable for one shot stops. Mind you, no handgun cartridge does that. .44 Mag included.
"...can *precisely* hit the golf ball sized kill zone..." Exactly. Bigger than a golf ball, but you still have to hit it.
The average SF troopie is better trained and shoots better than the average PBI troopie.
Shoot at the biggest target you can hit. That'd be Centre of Mass.
 
Counter-terror spec ops guys do train for what they call the "madula shot" aiming for the triangle that is created from between the eyes down to the corners of the mouth.
Click to expand...

I would aim for a larger triangle. There's a lot of important stuff in the triangle from the adam's apple to the nipples.
 
There is a video of a TX state trooper trying to shoot an old rancher in the head with his issued Sig. The rancher was walking towards him with a mini-14. The trooper was shooting fast and furious to slide lock. The old guy calmly walked up to the trooper and shot him dead. He then sat and waited to be arrested. When he was arrested, not a single bullet hit him, but his cowboy hat was full of holes.
Click to expand...

I found this:

http://www.chuckxc.com/policetower/T...Randall_Vetter

Not the video and it says that the trooper only shot twice. It is obvious in the video that he emptied his pistol.
Click to expand...

Well, the bad guy was wearing a cowboy hat, had a Mini-14, and shot the trooper, but none of your other details appear correct.

Here is the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFPDeiQFfZs

The trooper did not shoot to slide lock (not that you could tell slide lock in the video as there is no footage of the trooper or his gun) and he did not shoot much. At most, there are only 4-5 shots heard on the video. There is no indication that the suspect's hat was shot full of holes. The only head shooting appears to have been by the suspect.

In short, this incident isn't a good example for not making head shots. We don't know where the trooper was shooting. The suspect was shooting from the hip and got lucky.

You must have this incident confused with some other incident, though I still don't know of any where the bad guy's hat was shot full of holes and the officer died as a result of the battle.

FYI, the killer (Melvin Hale) died in prison in 2008.
 
Last edited:
Wow thats intense. Looks like the suspect was trying to commit suicide by cop but hit him. The officer waited a minute and kept saying put it down before firing what I heard as 3 shots. The suspect seems to have fired 1. The officer waited way to long to engage a deadly threat(which is too bad), IMO. 1.38 or something in the video you can hear the shooter in the cop car he's like "that felt good", creepy. I think he shot to get more shots on him but accidently hit the cop in the head.
 
Head shots are ideal, but Luis Awerbuck points out that they are difficult. First, the target may be shooting back. Second, lighting conditions may not be ideal. Third, the target is not likely to stand still and allow you time to line up your sights for that nice melon of his.

Put bullets into the largest part of the target that is visible. Slow your target down if you can't put it down immediately.
 
It depends on the circumstances. Most self defense encounters will be at close range, so the head would not be a difficult shot. Sure hitting the brain stem may be, but any hit on the head will quickly turn the fight in your favor.

My plan is the start shooting at center mass and move up to the head. I will stop when the threat is over.
 
I'd have to question the validity of Special Forces always aiming for the head. Having met a few of them (7th SFG) and dabbled a bit on this subject, I was told that when you've got a bead on a target and he doesn't know it, that's when you shoot for the head. If you're getting shot at, you go for center of mass.

As far as pertaining to Tactics and Training for Head-shots vs CoM, if you're tracking a target and planning to kill it without it knowing. Go for your headshot. If you're ambushed, shoot CoM and shoot fast.

I was always under the impression that this particular section of the board was originally intended for CCW and LEOs; Situations dealing with a life and death split-second decision to draw and down a hostility. For this reason, I say leave the head shot talk for the video game crowds. If you have time to aim for a good head shot, you've got time to shoot legs and diffuse the attacker without killing him.

My opinion, take it or leave it. YMMV.
 
head shots is what I do to squirrels.... center mass shots for deer and coyote.... depending on the situation to shoot another person... throw lead fast in the general area and hope I hit something.... Alot of people can come up with answers now for what they might aim at... All of which, I would bet, would change if your looking down the targets' gun barrel already.
 
TylerD45ACP said:
...Your probably right. Im sure alot of that goes out the window in a deadly situation. ..
Click to expand...
Especially when hostile fire is headed your way. A CQB involving gun fire usually ends quickly. In those few seconds your brain is telling you to keep pulling the trigger while your hard rapid heart beat is coming out of your throat and ears. Your weapon's sights are useless, as you forget they exist. You experience acute tunnel vision and hearing becomes impaired.

After the dust clears and gunfire goes mute, you wonder if you're hit while you try hard to catch your breath. Is the hostile down? Are you hit? Are you able to reload? Is the Hostile reloading? Where are your loved ones? Are they safe and unhurt?

All this in just a few seconds.

The best scenario is to always use common sense and to try hard to avoid the situation.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top