Survival and Emergency Preparedness

Interesting thread on another forum about 25 yards being max SD distance. Lots of folks saying that you'll get yourself in a legal jam if you shoot beyond 25 yards. I don't subscribe to that viewpoint. I think the maximum distance for self defense depends on the situation, your ability and what you can articulate as reasonable and necessary.

I used the example of an Air Force SP, years ago, shooting someone on base from 71 yards distance (IIRC). The bad guy was shooting at other people with a rifle (AK I think), the SP was using his issued Beretta 9mm sidearm.

At what distance do you think you would/could fire if necessary? Of course a lot can depend on whether it's a rifle or handgun being used. And situation and location can play a huge role.

Thought it would be an interesting set of questions to toss out.

I'd shoot what I had.

That said - if I only had a pistol, I'd very very carefully consider engage vs retreat, or at least how I engage.

Gotta close the distance if possible safely. Depends on how well/close they are shooting at me too.

David wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:52 pm Interesting thread on another forum about 25 yards being max SD distance. Lots of folks saying that you'll get yourself in a legal jam if you shoot beyond 25 yards. I don't subscribe to that viewpoint. I think the maximum distance for self defense depends on the situation, your ability and what you can articulate as reasonable and necessary.

I used the example of an Air Force SP, years ago, shooting someone on base from 71 yards distance (IIRC). The bad guy was shooting at other people with a rifle (AK I think), the SP was using his issued Beretta 9mm sidearm.

At what distance do you think you would/could fire if necessary? Of course a lot can depend on whether it's a rifle or handgun being used. And situation and location can play a huge role.

Thought it would be an interesting set of questions to toss out.

The distance at which the bad guy is no longer a threat to you is your safe distance. If the bad guy is within that area; you are OK to fire.

Most people consider "max distance" for a handgun to be relatively short. That's mostly based on lack of skill. I want to be able to engage at any distance I may be engaged from.
I regularly shoot handguns out to 100 yards. My 365 is no sniper rifle, but I feel comfortable hitting center mass at 50 yards.

Ronin.45 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 4:09 pm Most people consider "max distance" for a handgun to be relatively short. That's mostly based on lack of skill.

Bingo!

Ronin.45 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 4:09 pm My 365 is no sniper rifle, but I feel comfortable hitting center mass at 50 yards.

And I've been very pleased with how this little pistol has performed.

"Most people consider "max distance" for a handgun to be relatively short. That's mostly based on lack of skill."

The developer of the .357 magnum handgun in the 1930s reported killing two deer at about 600 yards.

I had a military instructor who said a government .45acp auto was inaccurate past 25 yards. Of course he was wrong. You only need to learn two things. The easy to learn is called ranging. This is the concept that allows guns on navel ships hit targets beyond the horizon. You have it easy. Just remember where your sight picture is at different ranges.

The second concept is called human ergonomics. You can shoot accurately while walking or running with a handgun, rifle or even a pump shotgun. Most people never learn and most instructors have no conception. Rather than describing it or how learn it, I will tell what I did one day at the private range.

I remembered that I had an 870 pump in the trunk. I went to the rifle line with a girlfriend who had never shot a shotgun. I told her that she would able to do the following - hit metal at 200 yards with slugs. I first did the shoot to confirm that if she held the front sight of the rifled barrel of the shotgun she would be right on. That took care of elevation. Then, I put her sitting at a table in a variation of the USMC sniper scout prone position. She had all hits. A guy ran up and said he had never seen shooting like that and thought a shotgun was useless after 50 yards.