Opinion
“I recommend shooting attackers in the head. I’ve seen too many people put-up a strenuous fight in the ER, long after being shot in the chest!” ~ Trauma Nurse (and one of my students).
Most of the chest wounds seen by my nurse/student were, of course, from handgun bullets, and her observations are not atypical.
Handgun bullets usually penetrate the chest, and when they subsequently compromise the circulatory system, particularly the “supply-side,” blood pressure will drop (rapidly or slowly) and consciousness will be thus compromised- at some point.
So, a person thus shot will remain fully conscious for at least five seconds, but more likely twenty or thirty seconds. And in some cases, consciousness comes and goes over a period of an hour or more, as my student has observed, more than once!
An Option Is To Shoot An Attacker In The Head.
A bullet that punches through the skull or facial bones and then goes on to penetrate the cranium will likely deanimate the attacker much faster (and more permanently). Still, the head represents a significantly more challenging target than the chest, and the skull and facial bones are often not penetrated by pistol bullets. Many times, pistol bullets ricochet off the skull or embed but fail to penetrate the braincase.
Naturally, both strategies have their advocates.
When an attacker is shot (single or multiple times, by pistol bullets), he may fall to the deck immediately, but he may shrug off his wounds, press his attack (displaying very little discomfort), and continue to try to harm you. Both eventualities have surely happened, but neither is likely.
By far, the most likely behavioral change you will notice immediately after shooting an attacker is that he will run away. And from the standpoint of your continued good health, that represents a good outcome!
He may subsequently succumb to his wounds (seconds, hours, or days later). Or, he may recover completely, after first giving doctors and nurses a rough time in the ER, as noted above. You will have little control over any of that.
The conclusion here is that the immediate post-shooting behavior of violent felons is highly unpredictable, particularly when handguns are involved. With the preservation of our good health as our primary goal, we thus need to train to fire our pistols with precision, and multiple times when necessary.
Even then, we need to be careful never to count on any particular immediate result.
As I’ve often repeated, when we find ourselves in a life-threatening circumstance, we first need to ask ourselves one question:
“What can I do to keep myself from getting hurt?”
That will drive the rest of our decisions!
/John
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Glock 34 MOS Gen 5 9mm Luger Pistol 5.31" Barrel 17+1 Round Black | MidwayUSA | $ 851.13 |
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TangoDown Vickers Tactical 9mm / .22LR Slide Racker for Glock Gen 5 Pistols | GunMag Warehouse | $ 23.99 |
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Glock 17L MOS Gen 5 9mm Luger Pistol 6.02" Barrel 17+1 Round Black | MidwayUSA | $ 679.17 $ 661.84 |
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X-Grip Gen 5 9mm, .40, .357 SIG Magazine Grip Adapter for Glock 19, 23, 32 Pistols | GunMag Warehouse | $ 15.99 |
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About John Farnam & Defense Training International, Inc
As a defensive weapons and tactics instructor, John Farnam will urge you, based on your beliefs, to make up your mind about what you would do when faced with an imminent lethal threat. You should, of course, also decide what preparations you should make in advance if any. Defense Training International wants to ensure that its students fully understand the physical, legal, psychological, and societal consequences of their actions or in-actions.
It is our duty to make you aware of certain unpleasant physical realities intrinsic to Planet Earth. Mr. Farnam is happy to be your counselor and advisor. Visit: www.defense-training.com
Aim center of mass then lower it to the pelvic triangle. No one can move with a shattered pelvis.
Mozambique drill for the win.
A front on shot to the skull will generally work very rapidly. This is a 4″ x 3 1/2″ target. The same shot through the “apricot” results in immediate nerve shutdown disallowing any response. This is a 1 1/4″ by 1″ target. These are difficult shots and much more so under pressure. A front on shot to the torso can result in rapid loss of blood pressure (heart or aorta) or the inability to breath normally (lungs). Both can stop the fight but they take time. Even with a shot through the heart one can remain conscious and able to… Read more »
head or groin ,and 45s penetrate skull
50 ae or 429 de no bounce
One must also wonder about the effectiveness of a solid monolithic round if placed at the xyphoid process. In theory you would tear the ascending aorta apart which would cause a very rapid blood pressure drop followed by rapid internal exsanguination as well damage to the lower lobes of the lungs.
Hmmmmmm……..maybe someone should experiment with ballistic gel torsos using that shot placement.
I am open to more discussion on this matter. My theory is that a threatening situation will likely present complications and the probability of a good head shot is low. For this reason I carry a 45 caliber hand gun for chest work. The large frame 45 is also one reason I open carry. I do not like small frame, small caliber, hard to aim, concealed pistols. StreetSweeper has an interesting comment about working the pelvic area. swmft talks about higher power rounds. I feel pretty goid about the 45ACP, but I would like to hear more about other rounds.… Read more »