Gunfight Rules (video)

I would disagree with him on a few things, and explain why.

1) “The first shot should be carefully aimed”. This goes against the Old West rule that you should “Get a shot off quick to unnerve your opponent, then make your second shot count.”

But there is another argument *within* this one that is very situational. That is, where is your opponent; what is he doing (the state of his gun); how is he standing: in the open, behind or near cover; and all of the above about you as well; and the odd one — who is ‘initiating’.

No lesser light than the brilliant physicist Neils Bohr, also proved to be something of a gunslinger, at least with a cap gun. He discovered what has now been psychologically proven, that the initiator of a gunfight has a slower reaction time than his opponent who reacts to his initiation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8493000/8493203.stm

2) Movement into shooting stance. I’m not disagreeing with this one, but it does need to be elaborated on.

First of all, with a measuring tape, measure from the outside of one shoulder to the outside of the other. When you are in a “square stance” to do a two handed shoot, this is your opponent’s target area. Now stand up, move your right foot ahead of the left and pivot your body 45 degrees or so, to do a one handed, extended arm shot. You other shoulder faces the rear. It is called a “neutral stance”.

From your opponent’s point of view, his target area has been reduced by a third to a half.

Thus the rule, if your opponent is advancing on you while firing, fire back from a neutral stance one handed, so you will present less target area. However, if your opponent is moving away from you, firing ‘Parthian shots’, take a square stance for an accurate, two handed aim.

And as he said, moving your position between stances.

3) “He might get your gun, but it should be empty.” People can be really stupid by assuming someone else’s gun is empty. This is why police always move the gun away from someone they’ve shot. They might just be taking a little nap, or are faking it, and when they wake up, they can pick up their gun and use it.

Likewise, if some gun aggressor thinks you are out of bullets, he might leave good cover to get you.

Often gun aggressors assume they have power and control because they have a gun and nobody else does. If you have a gun, too, this gives you a huge advantage. This can be reinforced by yelling, “Don’t shoot!”, which a stupid gun aggressor will assume means “I’m unarmed”, so he can shoot you at his leisure. Surprise!

Remember Tuco’s rule: “When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.”

4) I don’t particularly carry backup guns, because a backup knife is much better, tactically. A second gun is “supplementary”, under the same rules, as your first gun; but a knife is “complimentary” to your gun. It is better for short ranges, under 25 feet, it does not need to be reloaded, and knife wounds can be much worse than bullet wounds.

Many fights are like trench warfare in WWI, in which attacking an enemy trench or defending a friendly trench, a soldier would carry a pistol in one hand and a trench knife, with its own brass knuckles for very close distances, in the other. This gave him the ability for medium short range, short range, and very short range fighting.

And even if you need to give the backup knife to someone else, it is best if they stay behind cover to force the opponent to fight at short range, in which they can close quickly with the knife.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.