Reply #120: tell me

[melm00se]

do muggers just pop into existence .15 seconds away?

no, they don't, they move into towards you. In a self defense situation you need to be aware of your surroundings and, if someone begins to approach you in a anything that resembles a threatening manner, you put yourself through your self defense process:

1) recognize the threat
2) attempt to retreat from the situation (if unable or unsuccessful go to step #3)
3) uncover your weapon (9 times out of 10 this will dissuade your attacker)
4) draw your weapon (at this point only a fool or a determined foe will continue to approach)
5) present
(total time for #s 3 thru 5, according to my last competition times, is approximately 1 second)
6) fire in defense of your life (double tap center mass)

something I find about most anti-self defense folks (especially anti-gun folks) is that they firmly believe that we (pro-gun, pro-self defense) are just itching to shoot someone. Nothing could be further from the truth. No sane person relishes the idea of shooting (and probably killing some one - 2 9mm rounds to the chest will ruin someone's day, week, month and lifetime) someone. The difference between you and me is that I have planned for my personal self defense, have run the scenarios through my mind, planned out my actions and, God forbid, if I have to drop the hammer, I will do it in order to save my life and others.

I also fully understand that there will be repercussions (physical, emotional, psychological, legal and social ones) if I have to do it (this is hammered into your head in every personal handgun defense training class I have taken - - something I doubt that many, if any, anti-gunners have done).

because of those repercussions, I will never actively seek a confrontation but if someone brings that confrontation to me and I cannot avoid it, I am 100% certain that I can and will shoot in defense of my and my family's safety and make no mistake: I will, if forced to fire (last option in the self defense process), shoot completely, 100%, absolutely and without a doubt, to kill. No Hollywood "shoot 'em in the shoulder", no "shoot the gun out of their hand", no "shoot 'em in the leg", but center mass (heart, lungs, liver) and they will probably die. Those are the choices they made, those are the choices I have made.

if you would prefer to get your ass kicked (with all the possibilities of injury, long term, short term or permanent) that is, of course, your prerogative. I choose not to take that path.