You've been shot,. . Now what?

Thanks for the real life accounts. What I was looking for was " how much time do you have left to fight " in the split second after the bullet impact.

While it is easy to say " keep shooting " there is a physical limit to how long you can keep shooting if hit in a vital place. For example trex1310 got hit in the foot and was pretty much put out of commission by a non life threatening hit. Others werein a similar situation also.

The change of tactics I was asking about was: In a close contact PD situation, if you are hit, do you consider this the end and close the distance to point blank / contact to maximize shot placement on the BG before he can react or take the chance and keep some distance to minimize his target selection but knowing you may be down for the count shortly.
 
Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnson

During the Battle of Shiloh he was wounded in the leg. He would have probably survived the wound EXCEPT FOR THE FACT, he didn't try to stop the bleeding! He died because he he neglected his wound.

Point being: Stop the Bleeding if you are shot and want to survive
 
First, deal with the threat.
Next deal with the wound. Summon help and stop/slow the bleeding so you can live long enough for help to arrive.
 
FROM NH Marine
"Back when I was in the Marines we had a training event with Sim rounds. We were doing room clearing and other scenarios, anyways one of our marines got hit by a sim round in the head and he just falls to the ground. Immediately our Gunny yelled what the F$#^ you doing marine!? He replied "I got hit gunny". Gunny said bull**** you get hit you continue fighting as hard as you possibly can, and after you kill the f$@ker that shot you, then you can die.

Moral of story is that if you get hit don't give up and just wait to die, another thing you could do which im sure it has already been said but practice one arm weapon manipulation."
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This is pretty much what I was trying to find words for. Once shot, it better be all out balls to the wall. At that point, it is kill or be killed. Your attacker WILL finish the fight, so you'd better beat them to it, and kill them.

These are the realities of a gunfight. You do not gunfight to wound, you do not gunfight to subdue, or neutralize. You gunfight when those options are gone, and the only option is to kill in as few rounds as possible. Only headshots, and x-ring shots count. Speed, accuracy, and aggression win.
 
WANT A LCR 22LR

Thanks for the real life accounts. What I was looking for was " how much time do you have left to fight " in the split second after the bullet impact.
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I think this is what looking for LRC
from this post on here.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=464874

I don't like talking about theses things, but its quite helpful to make the BGs go away, then tend to your wounds.

As for "split seconds" that's when you use your time to decide which is more valuable, taking out the BGs, or wound dressing yourself.

YMWV.
 
fight is priority but there is no correct answer. As mentioned, a Civil War General became a permanent part of the Hornet's Nest by trying to continue the fight. If you have to address your wounds, dress your wound(s), etc, than "you must do what you feel is right of course"(OB1 Kinobi):p
 
Training may show itself in unanticipated ways

Was talking to a friend yesterday; while I haven't fired shots in anger, he has fired plenty. We were talking about training methods.

Something he said he had observed recently (IE within the past few years), while not about getting shot, per se, revealed potential pitfalls in training methods.

He said he'd seen guys, under fire, have malfunctions on machine guns, and instead of fixing the problem, raise their hands for the instructor to clear them.

Doesn't work so well in combat.

Training, whether good or bad, will have a tendency to show.
 
The OP made a comment about the guy failing backwards like they do in the movies. Well I know that does not happen when you get shot for the most part, but since someone also mentioned they hoped they would be wearing body armor if or when it happens to them. I can tell you that a dircet frontal body shot hurts like all bloody heck with armor on. Took a direct 12ga 00 hit from about 12ft once myself. It literaly shoved me flat on my back. My hard plated, mags, and other gear stopped 90% of the pellets, my soft Level IIIA armor stop the other 9.99% but one pellet still made it to my skin bearly made in me but still did, never knew the pellet had made it to my skin untill like 3 hours later when we were heading back in a APC and I starting removing all my shot up gear. I hurt rather bad for a darn week from just the pour force of the hit, I could hardly breath with out being in pain. Felt more like getting hit by a car. I was not able to return fire for a few moments, once I regained my thoughts I was able to finish the mission, but it took about 5-10 minutes for that yo happen. Lucky me another squad member(good friend, IED took him a couple months later) took out the BG, right about the time that I hit the ground

I got stabed in my left arm. It severed my Artery. I know it not being shot but it is still getting hit. I was sure I was going to bleed to death, or he would finish me off but my training kicked in and I was able to remove the threat befor going all the way down and got quick clot in the wound which docs said saved my life. This whole event lasted maybe some 3 -4 seconds from being stabbed to me filling the wound and hitting the ground. I could never draw, fire, and attend to a wound that fast in training but once it started happening I did. I had trained enough that without thinking I knew right where my weapon was how to draw while pulling the clotting agent out of one my pouches. Amazing to me to look back at it and see how much my traing really did help, and how I am so glad to be out of that place also.

You can still fight after getting hit in most cases if you can hold it together. But like some one said getting hit in the face is a game changer for sure.
 
I've never been shot, don't plan on it, but it seems like a bullet would is dependent on so many factors (e.g. environment, proximity, caliber/gauge, etc.) That it's really up to us to not want to get shot, but not be afraid of it either.

Sorry if this here newbie just regurgitated info from the last three pages.

edit: Knife wounds are different. If it's some thug catching you as you walk out of an ATM booth, unless he's a butcher or surgeon, you can recover, I'd think. Knives are all arteries, vessels, nerves, and pressure points. I see people carry them all the time as "self defense", which I think is bull. IMO, a knife is a murder weapon, and a handy tool to carry around for utility.
 
I'm shot?. Shoot back and fight back with everything I have. When the threat is over, call for help and try to stop the bleeding until help arrives.
 
Every wound out in the bush is life threatening.
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IMHO - no not by a long shot.... It may be medically prudent, it may be desirable but believe it or not people existed for tens of thousands of years before professional doctors and nurses.

The medical world is prone to believing its own advertising.... If every wound in the bush was life threatening military operations would have to come to a stop daily...

for the purpose of converstaion only not as medical advice: Broken arms, ribs, noses and other things so long as they are simple and uncomplicated may be painful (especially ribs) but generally are survivable and not life threatening...
 
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BGutzman, you assume the wound in the bush will be treated in a timely manner.

If not, the threat of infection is always there, and every wound in the bush is in fact potentially life threatening.

Infection and gangrene used to kill lots of people. That doesn't happen so often now, because in our combat ops, most wounded get treated within an hour.

But things are different if you are out hiking, solo, or with friends who aren't trained in CLS and equipped with at least a minimal first aid kit.
 
what i did when my friend an me got hit by the 7.62x54R rounds i pulled mine an his out an then as much 90% alcohol an hydro-peroxide as i could get an soaked the wounds until they look like the narley raised up scar's we have today :/
 
*** Back when I was in the Marines we had a training event with Sim rounds. We were doing room clearing and other scenarios, anyways one of our marines got hit by a sim round in the head and he just falls to the ground. Immediately our Gunny yelled what the F$#^ you doing marine!? He replied "I got hit gunny". Gunny said bull**** you get hit you continue fighting as hard as you possibly can, and after you kill the f$@ker that shot you, then you can die. ***

I love that story. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the real life accounts. What I was looking for was " how much time do you have left to fight " in the split second after the bullet impact.
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It depends on where you are hit and the severity. There are a world of other factors that go with that too.

As far as what it felt like to get hit. I did not feel it. In fact until I was at the hospital I did not feel a darn thing. The impact atualy spun me forward slightly. Kinda like a firm shoulder to shoulder into someone while you are walking at a fast pace.

For me it was about a couple of minutes, and walking 200 feet on my own. After that it was kinda hazy for a bit. It felt like when some one dunks you under in the pool and your lungs hurt like hell from not being able to breath, and then you end up taking in some water. I remember getting tunnel vision towards the end, and everyones voices sounded like they were miles away. I went down after that. Both of my lungs had collapsed, and were filling with blood.

I was in full cardiac, and respritory arrest for over 15 minutes. The justice of the peace was pulling into the driveway to pronounce me dead when my heart started beating again.

Note In my case it was an accidental shooting. I survivied due to many people, and a major miracle. I survived taking a 12 guage sawn off to the chest from about 6 feet. It tore my left petoral, and an area of my chest the size of a basket ball to gound beef. I lost a chunk of lung the size of a baseball. I had a lot of chest muscle at the time. I have the full use of both arms, and can bechpress more than most men that outweigh me by a considerable margin.

If it would have been a case of a gunfight I can say I would have been able to shoot back for a little bit, but if I would have had to call 911 I would not have been able to make a peep. My lungs were collapsed.
 
" Every wound out in the bush is life threatening "


Got it, I should have added a time factor. In the next few minutes / hours not life threatening. ( I was in no way trying to minimize your injury, was trying to point out that "keep shooting" might not always be possible. )

" if I would have had to call 911 I would not have been able to make a peep. My lungs were collapsed. "

This brings up a good point, just what should you do if you can't speak? I would try to tap out Morse code for SOS --- ... --- ( Or is it ... --- ... ) and hope a old timer is at the phones. After that I'm lost on Morse.
 
LTC Grossman (USA Retired) had a great book titled On Combat that goes into this discussion a good bit. His advice, and mine, is that if you've been shot and you can return fire---do it. If you can't but can get cover---do it. Never stop fighting. Never.
 
If not, the threat of infection is always there, and every wound in the bush is in fact potentially life threatening.

Infection and gangrene used to kill lots of people. That doesn't happen so often now, because in our combat ops, most wounded get treated within an hour.
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I respect your opinion and I understand your point... Most people arent lost in the woods or whatever long enough for much of that to matter.

Further take a tour of any third world nation and you will find people that live with horrible wounds and make it day to day, many die some do not... Age and a ton of factors effect the outcome and I dont claim to be a subject matter expert...

I have however been more places than most people in this world and took my fair share of punishment along the way... yet here I am.... No death from broken finger, ribs, nose, parasites nor food poisioning.... Wont kid you though a lot of it wasnt much fun...
 
True, a lot of people survive nasty injuries in the third world.

But look at the history of warfare; an extremely high percentage of fatalities were not even due to combat related wounds. Dysentery, infections, pneumonia, malnutrition... In the Spanish-American War, botulism killed more troops than any other cause, IIRC, which led to a total revamp in how rations were stored and processed.

Leaving warfare out of it, look how many climbers and hikers, in the modern day US, succumb or come very close to succumbing to hypothermia.

Take most urbanites and suburbanites out of an environment where they have ready access to EMS, cell phone coverage, or their vehicle, and it doesn't take much to push them past their limits.

Those third worlders you mentioned, OTOH, are accustomed to such, and are likely to have better odds of survival in a detached environment.
 
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