My thought is never say never.
DeMiao's book on wound pathology and investigation includes photos of certain tell-tale marks on the victim's body (victim is the generic term for the one perforated, and is not a judgment call on the validity of the shoot) caused by tissue disruption into the weapon they were carrying at the time.
Conclusion (based on my adding news accounts of many "incidents" to the knowledge base): many shootings occur under circumstances where trouble is BREWING. Sumbuddy's getting mean...
Anyway, circumstances may vary.
IF you are in a physical position with little reasonable chance to escape, AND the perp is toying with you (personal experience speaks here), there may be enough time before the critical decision point, for you to make a continuum of force decision.
Warning shots tend to be overrated, especially amongst do-gooders who cannot face the realities of criminal behavior and the need to decisively suppress such antisocial conduct. Sometimes the only way to stop a crime is to perforate the offender.
BUT, the reasonable person's fear for his or her life can be validated by the perp's continued approach despite a demonstration that the firearm really does work.
Don't forget to repeat the warnings very loudly following the warning.
For those willing to plug the concept of the force continuum into the equation, consider this: riot control doctrine calls for live-fire real ammo shots fired into the ground about 10 yards in front of the crowd. The ricochet projectiles *tend* to be less lethal, the scattering rocks and bullet fragments (yes, buckshot is better for this) *tend* to produce wounds in several individuals rather than one person, and the pain of the wounds and occasional lower limb disablement takes the fight out of many individuals.
Wish the shopkeepers in the L.A. riots knew about this. There would have been fewer looters left in the fight when they ran out of ammo.
I agree wholeheartedly with the above posters who recommend AGAINST firing shots into the air. Methinks almost every country will allow civil recovery for injuries caused by such reckless endangerment. At the very least, such a violation of rule #4 constitutes negligence. Only shotguns loaded with #6 or smaller can be "reasonably" discharged skyward, IF you're willing to take the risk of taking out someone's eye (Non-lethal is not enough!).
The cardinal rule of 7 yards equal the danger zone for the perp to cream you before you can get a shot off is based on a holstered sidearm. When your hand is already on the gun and it's at low ready, shooting at 7 yards may be harder to defend. But at 5 yards, you have two feet of arms to reduce your danger zone to only 12 feet. Now you fear.
So, if you're going to put warning shots in your bag of tricks, warn at seven with a shot into the ground. One foot ahead of the feet if you want to frag the perp, exactly between you if you want to really minimize the chance of causing injury. Then drill at 5 yards, and remember to tell your lawyer about the perp's two steps taken towards you after the warning shot.
DeMiao's book on wound pathology and investigation includes photos of certain tell-tale marks on the victim's body (victim is the generic term for the one perforated, and is not a judgment call on the validity of the shoot) caused by tissue disruption into the weapon they were carrying at the time.
Conclusion (based on my adding news accounts of many "incidents" to the knowledge base): many shootings occur under circumstances where trouble is BREWING. Sumbuddy's getting mean...
Anyway, circumstances may vary.
IF you are in a physical position with little reasonable chance to escape, AND the perp is toying with you (personal experience speaks here), there may be enough time before the critical decision point, for you to make a continuum of force decision.
Warning shots tend to be overrated, especially amongst do-gooders who cannot face the realities of criminal behavior and the need to decisively suppress such antisocial conduct. Sometimes the only way to stop a crime is to perforate the offender.
BUT, the reasonable person's fear for his or her life can be validated by the perp's continued approach despite a demonstration that the firearm really does work.
Don't forget to repeat the warnings very loudly following the warning.
For those willing to plug the concept of the force continuum into the equation, consider this: riot control doctrine calls for live-fire real ammo shots fired into the ground about 10 yards in front of the crowd. The ricochet projectiles *tend* to be less lethal, the scattering rocks and bullet fragments (yes, buckshot is better for this) *tend* to produce wounds in several individuals rather than one person, and the pain of the wounds and occasional lower limb disablement takes the fight out of many individuals.
Wish the shopkeepers in the L.A. riots knew about this. There would have been fewer looters left in the fight when they ran out of ammo.
I agree wholeheartedly with the above posters who recommend AGAINST firing shots into the air. Methinks almost every country will allow civil recovery for injuries caused by such reckless endangerment. At the very least, such a violation of rule #4 constitutes negligence. Only shotguns loaded with #6 or smaller can be "reasonably" discharged skyward, IF you're willing to take the risk of taking out someone's eye (Non-lethal is not enough!).
The cardinal rule of 7 yards equal the danger zone for the perp to cream you before you can get a shot off is based on a holstered sidearm. When your hand is already on the gun and it's at low ready, shooting at 7 yards may be harder to defend. But at 5 yards, you have two feet of arms to reduce your danger zone to only 12 feet. Now you fear.
So, if you're going to put warning shots in your bag of tricks, warn at seven with a shot into the ground. One foot ahead of the feet if you want to frag the perp, exactly between you if you want to really minimize the chance of causing injury. Then drill at 5 yards, and remember to tell your lawyer about the perp's two steps taken towards you after the warning shot.