GregM wrote:Choose the right tool for the task. Always good advice. My task, as I see it, is to defend myself with my gun if I have no other choice. In this situation adrenaline is foaming into my bloodstream, my sensory system is nearly shut down, my manual dexterity is severely impaired, and my pants are a mess. I need a gun that is simple enough for a retarded child --- no safety levers, no magazine releases, and forget about tactical reloads. The gun must be utterly reliable --- no jams, no stovepipes, no accidental discharges. And it must be very, very big. Proper aiming is essential, I know, but the encounter probably will be within spitting range and I'm going to be busy screaming "STOP! STOP! STOP!" If only one out of six shots finds its mark, I want to know that my attacker will bleed to death before the paramedics get to him.
Allow me to just toss out some food for thought on this...
Great points on the impairment of fine motor skills and the physiological effects of stress. These are great reasons to keep everything as simple as you can with both firearm and associated equipment.
That being said, you will usually perform like you've trained to perform, both mentally and physically. Tounge in cheek responses about stress aside, if you believe that you will melt down under stress and visualize yourself melting down under stress...then chances are that is exactly what will happen. Conversely, if you train correctly and often (both mentally and physically) to perform under the stress of a fight, then the chances are that you will perform pretty well.
On your last comment, terminal ballistics have a tendancy to be really inconsistent. That being said, the stated objective of any defensive engagement should probably be more along the lines of stopping a specific threat/action rather than trying to make somebody bleed out.
Dusty
http://www.sealedmindset.com