For those that Carry - To Intervene or Not?

[cwink]

This is a good article on issues that may arise while you are carrying your firearm. Most people wouldn't think twice about helping a innocent person in danger. But there are many, many things to think about before you decide to pull your gun. Do you know "the whole story" behind the altercation?, Will you do more harm than good?, What happens to your family if you are injured or killed? These are all things you should think about before you decide To Intervene, Or Not? Please read....

http://americanhandgunner.com/to-intervene-or-not/

[Smoke68]

Just my opinion, but that's a bunch of horse caca right there. And put in that situation I may run like a little girl away from danger. I don't know cause I've never been there, but that author's cop friend wasn't talking about a case-by-case basis. He was talking about any and all situations where it's someone you don't know. Saying their protection is their own responsibility and that relieves you of the burden to help is crap.

I just hope if I'm ever caught in a defenseless situation that everyone around me doesn't say, "sucks to be him, he shoulda be ready, I'm outta here!"

[booger]

Thanks for the link, it's always good to keep the mind informed and thinking. As to the specifics, the authors self preservation message is worth noting. There is no predictable situation, so it's best to really think hard about ALL options before it hits the fan.

I am programmed to be 99% leaning towards helping someone out, especially if it's a beat down with a lead pipe or baseball bat etc. If on the other hand, it's two large gals throwing drunken haymakers in the ChinaMart parking lot, well, sorry................ I'm moving on. If I hear "alluah ahkbar" and see some goat humper firing away at everyone, well..............I'm all in (I hope).

Massad Ayoob, I like his stuff, Rob Pincus is more "modern" I like him too. "ATSN" show is good for these scenarios, I think it's on the Pursuit Channel? Best Defense good too.

[cwink]

To me the officer has a legitimate argument. But to me the bigger concern is not whether to help or not, but knowing your limits and what you are capable of under stress with a handgun. On our range sessions we start off with basic target practice and most people do really well shooting in the 90% range. And then we put them under a little stress. We have them load their guns and lay them on the table just as they would have them stored at home. Then we have them run up to a table and shoot from a kneeling position while the other students watch them. The 90% drop to usually below 50%, most forget to take off the safety or put one in the chamber, they forget to correctly use the barricade correctly or fire the correct amount of shots.. Only about 5% of the students can perform this drill correctly. Think about a hit ratio of 50%.. If you shoot 10 times, only 5 shots hit your assailant, and the other shots go where?????

As an instructor I am on the range at least 2-3 times a month, and I know my limits on what I can and can't do..Most people do not. You know we hear all the time about hunters who passed on a big buck because he was 5 yards out of bow range, because they didn't want to wound him, but more times that not I hear CC people say, they wouldn't think twice about pulling out a gun and firing.

If your trying to be a good Samaritan and help someone in need, and fire and your shot misses the bad guy and kills an innocent bystander then your going to jail!!

I am not saying we shouldn't help, but CC holders need to be smart about it, we do not have a legal obligation to help, nor do we have immunity from prosecution if our shots go awry like police or military personnel do.

The article was intended to get us thinking.....

[Smoke68]

I am not saying we shouldn't help,

That's exactly what the author's friend said, though. Am I wrong?

[cwink]

I am not saying we shouldn't help,

That's exactly what the author's friend said, though. Am I wrong?

It's hard to tell if he is saying, we should never intervene, his quote "Simply put, by intervening we put the welfare of strangers above the welfare of our own family. That’s not an opinion, but a stark fact, and one we don’t often think of"

I have never heard of an instructor tell people not to come to the aid of someone. I don't tell my students to not intervene, but I tell them to be smart. Here are some examples of both good and bad decisions made armed citizens. #1 shows a sort of reckless situations with people in front of the line of fire, while #3 shows how the CC holder is conscious of everything around him.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/08/9-tim ... can-lives/

[Smoke68]

I am not saying we shouldn't help,

That's exactly what the author's friend said, though. Am I wrong?

It's hard to tell if he is saying, we should never intervene, his quote "Simply put, by intervening we put the welfare of strangers above the welfare of our own family. That’s not an opinion, but a stark fact, and one we don’t often think of"

I have never heard of an instructor tell people not to come to the aid of someone. I don't tell my students to not intervene, but I tell them to be smart. Here are some examples of both good and bad decisions made armed citizens. #1 shows a sort of reckless situations with people in front of the line of fire, while #3 shows how the CC holder is conscious of everything around him.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/08/9-tim ... can-lives/

I see what you're saying CWink. This author needs to be more careful with words if that's what he means though.

But there’s another valid point of view — you should not intervene to come to the aid of someone you don’t love or have any responsibility for. This is the opinion of a friend of mine, a man who is a very good cop and is as tough as they come.

[duckhunterdoc]

To me the officer has a legitimate argument. But to me the bigger concern is not whether to help or not, but knowing your limits and what you are capable of under stress with a handgun. On our range sessions we start off with basic target practice and most people do really well shooting in the 90% range. And then we put them under a little stress. We have them load their guns and lay them on the table just as they would have them stored at home. Then we have them run up to a table and shoot from a kneeling position while the other students watch them. The 90% drop to usually below 50%, most forget to take off the safety or put one in the chamber, they forget to correctly use the barricade correctly or fire the correct amount of shots.. Only about 5% of the students can perform this drill correctly. Think about a hit ratio of 50%.. If you shoot 10 times, only 5 shots hit your assailant, and the other shots go where?????

As an instructor I am on the range at least 2-3 times a month, and I know my limits on what I can and can't do..Most people do not. You know we hear all the time about hunters who passed on a big buck because he was 5 yards out of bow range, because they didn't want to wound him, but more times that not I hear CC people say, they wouldn't think twice about pulling out a gun and firing.

If your trying to be a good Samaritan and help someone in need, and fire and your shot misses the bad guy and kills an innocent bystander then your going to jail!!

I am not saying we shouldn't help, but CC holders need to be smart about it, we do not have a legal obligation to help, nor do we have immunity from prosecution if our shots go awry like police or military personnel do.

The article was intended to get us thinking.....

this is a great point--aside from helping or not... what we can do on the range reflects little of what we may be able to do in a "real situation"----besides shooting under stress (which we should probably take it up a notch and let someone fire off a few rounds Behind us- or yell things about our Mother-----whatever gets you to the "buckfever " state) we should also consider physical stress/fatigue and try squeezing off a few rounds after 50 push ups and 25 burpees