How can a handgun compete with a man armed with a rifle?

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There's plenty of accounts of a defender with a handgun defeating a shooter with a rifle.
One that comes to mind, was a military policeman with his service 9mm handgun stopping an "active shooter" armed with a rifle from a distance of 75 yards.
The incident took place at a base hospital in the northwest a few years ago.
Another one that earned publicity was the fellow in the trailer part who stopped a rifleman with a handgun shot from a reputed 65 yards, if memory serves.
It might pay us all to practice longer shots when we go to the range.
And there's no forgetting Wild Bill Hickok's famous 75 yard cap and ball revolver shot that won the duel with a poker pal.
 
We had a guy in the office some years back, Korean War veteran. He was a witness to a Marine dropping three Chinese soldiers with three shots from a 1911 at over 100 yards as the Marines got on trucks to get out of Chosin.

It could have been eight shots, but that was the story and no one doubted it.
 
Yes, it's possible.

However, while the race does not always go to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, that's the way to bet.
 
David the shepherd boy from Israel killed a giant warrior of Philistine named Goliath with just a sling shot. Sometimes it's the size of the fight in the person holding the weapon, not the size of the weapon.
 
Whoever asks this question doesnt know pistols very well.
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If that was the case they would just arm the armed forces with handguns , no need for rifles. Also handgun ammo is much less effective than rifle ammo. I did enjoy the video.
 
"...a defender with a handgun defeating a shooter with a rifle..." Said defender got extremely lucky.
Hickok was an extremely good shot with a handgun and lucky. At least until he turned his back to the wrong guy. In any case, all the anecdotal evidence on the planet will not change the fact that a rifle beats handgun 9 times out of 10.
 
we routinely shoot 50 yards with handguns mostly 45 acp and 357 mag. But that is range shooting not against an armed attacker.
 
buck460XVR: As I recall the story, David had some pretty powerful back up. Not something the average guy has in his back pocket.
 
If the shooter has his back to you, which is highly likely if there are a couple of shooters and many innocence, several round in his back would suffice. And he'd never see it coming.
 
All thing being equal, the rifleman has the advantage but rarely are all things equal. Circumstance is a big factor and so are tactics.
 
David the shepherd boy from Israel killed a giant warrior of Philistine named Goliath with just a sling shot. Sometimes it's the size of the fight in the person holding the weapon, not the size of the weapon. QUOTE]

Buck460, actually David didn't kill Goliath with the sling he just knocked him silly and to his knees. David then ran up grabbed Goliath's big ol' sword and cut his head off. Either way David had more than a little luck on his side that day!!! I bet if you gave David a choice between a 1911 or the sling he would choose the 1911.
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At the risk of being a "broken record"
I say again, it's 98% the man and 2% what he's shooting.

Some Confederat calvery units in our Civil War used only revolvers against rifles in their raids.

Alvin York used a stock 1911 to kill 7 charging German rifle men.

John Basilone used a 1911 to kill 5 Japanese soldiers in the battle that earned him the Medal of honor when he had nothing else to use for some minutes.

Japanese American soldier Hiroshi Miyamura also was down to his 1911 for some time in the battle in which he also earned the Medal of Honor during the Korean war.

Joseph Kiteman use a pistol and killed 9 charging enemies when his unit was overrun by AK47 wielding terrorists, (most of which were shooting at him personally,) in Rhodesia in 1977 and escaped being surrounded by dozens more.

ALWAYS use a rifle or shotgun if you can, but if you can't, use what you have and use it well.
 
Absolutely a true story. An ancestor of mine was awarded the medal of honor during the civil war. However, he used a cannon :)
 
Most self defense shootings do not involve two people standing in plain site shooting across an open field at one another. In some scenarios, the pistol can be an advantage. If faced with a rifle weilding attacker, try to change it to one of those scenarios.
 
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