Protecting Myself

[Cowled_Wolfe]

and don't tell me that it takes training, firing a gun is easy.

Yes. Just pull the trigger... But will you actually hit anything? Will you remember to turn the safety off?

I don't want to offend you, or question your skill, but might you be underestimating your abilities under pressure in a life-or-death moment?

Wolfe.

 

[XavierBreath]

When I tried to mace him he grabed my arm and turned it down and all i could spray was his shirt, so it was of absolutely no use.

After all I did mention I have fired one before, and don't tell me that it takes training, firing a gun is easy.

Kind of like your "mace" huh?

Sometimes when you ask for advice you get some very good advice you don't want to hear. Open your mind.

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

Alyssa,

One woman to another - firing a gun is easy, hitting the target is harder than you think. You're anticipating that you're going to be perfectly calm when you draw a gun and you'll shoot staight. Your body will have other ideas, especially when you're shaking with fright - and it isn't normal not to be because you'll be doing something life altering.

Shooting lessons will give you techniques that will help you to focus and make the right decision. Just because you have a gun, doesn't mean you can use it and if you live in an anti state, you should try your damnest not to. If you find you must, you'll want to be sure you acted properly and hit the intended attacker -- and only the intended attacker, not an innocent that had the bad fortune to be within range. Again, it's not as simple as pulling the trigger as you suggest, there's a lot of other factors you're not considering and this is why you need to think of lessons by an NRA instructor. If you really don't have the time, you shouldn't be thinking about owning a gun.

Laura

 

[Apple a Day]

She had pepperspray instead of a gun.
Badguy grabs her spray and she "only" managed to spray him in the shirt with it. I daresay that if she had "sprayed" him with bullets instead of pepperspray it would have had more of an effect.
Alyssa, glad you're okay.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Yes, I still read your suggestions, sorry to disapear after page 3, like i said in a previous post, I have a busy life and dont have time for martial arts training, which is the reasoning behind me wanting to get a firearm to protect myself. After all I did mention I have fired one before, and don't tell me that it takes training, firing a gun is easy.

This is either a troll post or a really clueless individual. Lots of us have busy lives and find the evenings or weekends to train. The last statement is indicative to me that the individual is trolling and just wants to see some gun fanboys blow smoke over an obviously stupid statement.

I know many professional men and women with busy lives who have trained a bit. So let's cut the BS here.

 

[Ichiro]

Living with a gun IS martial arts training.

I've trained in unarmed martial arts consistently for the last 20 years. Nothing in that 20 years of training has made me quite as aware of what I was doing as owning and handling loaded firearms in my home and on my person.

Delivering pepper spray to a target at close proximity should be easy, but reality always often gets in the way of our plans, as has been noted.

I've got a wicked right cross on the heavy bag, but damned if I don't have trouble landing it against a live and motivated opponent!

ALL skills will break down in the face of opposition, confusion, and stress. We need training to perform the simple tasks under great stress.

~Ichiro

 

[kymasabe]

Krav Maga

Look it up locally, it's a self defense martial art. Unlike karate and some others that are long stroke, long punch, long kick stuff. Krav is Israeali military and civil defense stuff and is designed for close quarters self defense. Size has no advantage and with some training you'll never be pushed around again. I was saddened to hear of your experience in the bathroom and I hope they catch the low-life that attacked you. Maybe next time (hopefully there is NEVER a next time..but if there is...) they'll take the guy away on a stretcher with his teeth in one ziploc and his b@lls in another.