Right now, the media is spreading myths about self-defense that will send you to the Gray-Bar Hotel.
It certainly doesn’t help that the current front-runner for the Democratic nomination for President, Joe Biden, is so grievously misinformed about guns and the use of lethal force–and that the mainstream media is so happy to repeat his misinformation–but his most recent comments merely reflect a myth about self-defense that has been around for a very long time. There are others that will no doubt begin circulating if they haven’t already, and they’re extremely dangerous. In these times of not-so-civil civil unrest, these self-defense myths could cost you your freedom…or your life.
That’s because each of these myths about armed self-defense run counter to the central tenet of same, which is: We do not shoot to warn, to wound, or to kill; we only shoot to stop the threat. Here’s what we mean.
Stupid Self-Defense Myth #1: Shoot ’em in the leg!
This, sadly, is what happens when you have an entire generation that got their information about how guns work from Hollywood. Joe Biden was recently quoted suggesting that the police ought to be trained to deliberately shoot to wound. Joe, I hate to break it to you, but “shoot ’em in the leg instead of the heart” only works if you are The Terminator; furthermore, I’m sorry to report that The Terminator is actually a fictional character. And also a robot.
For the record, here’s why deliberately shooting to wound is a terrible idea that might get you killed or jailed. First, shooting at small, fast-moving targets like the arms or legs is extremely difficult to do accurately–ask anyone who’s ever spent time on the range plinking at spinning targets. That means that your chances of missing your target go up exponentially…and that bullet will keep traveling after it misses, potentially harming an innocent person.
Secondly, the way American laws work with regards to armed self-defense is that the defender must be in imminent danger of death or grievous bodily injury. Taking the time to carefully aim at an attacker’s extremities is, possibly, evidence that you weren’t really in imminent danger at all.
Stupid Self-Defense Myth #2: Give ’em a warning shot!
Oh my, isn’t this interesting? One of the most prominent founts of the “give ’em a warning shot” advice also happens to be the current front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Joe Biden. It’s one of those ideas that seems like it makes sense until you think about it for half a second; after all, none of us wants to shoot another human being if we don’t have to, and it would sure be nice if we could just scare the attacker off. Here’s the problem with that: Just like the “shoot ’em in the leg” advice, many courts will (rightly) interpret the fact that you gave a warning shot as evidence that you were not in imminent danger. If you had time to warn your attacker, they’ll argue, the danger wasn’t imminent enough to merit skinning your iron.
Furthermore, unless that “warning shot” went directly and deliberately into a safe backstop, there’s always the danger of your shot hitting an innocent person. Remember that every single bullet may have only cost 50 cents per round at the store, but once it leaves the muzzle of your gun it has a $10,000 lawyer attached to it.
Stupid Self-Defense Myth #3: Shoot ’em in the head and kill them!
Before we get started, I’ll concede that this is the “least stupid” of the three stupid myths. The third shot of the Mozambique Drill goes into the oval-shaped target that represents the top of the face, and is supposed to be the coup de grace if the first double-tap to the center of mass doesn’t stop the attacker. Note, however, that the Mozambique Drill is also known as the “failure drill,” and was created for those occasions when the first two shots don’t work because they either missed the center of mass, or the force of inertia is still carrying the attacker forward. That’s because headshots, like shots to the arm or leg, are shots to a small moving target. Missing a headshot is all too easy, even for well-trained shooters, and a miss could mean a wounded innocent bystander.
Finally, “shoot ’em in the head” is bad advice because, again, it runs counter to the central tenet of self-defense: We do not shoot to wound, we do not shoot to warn, we shoot to stop the threat. Whether the attacker who was trying to kill you lives or dies isn’t your problem. Your one and only goal is to survive the encounter; whether the attacker survives is up to the emergency responders that you will call as soon as you have stopped the threat. (Interestingly, with prompt medical attention, about 73% of people shot with handguns will survive.)
Chances are pretty good that you, the Freedom’s Lodge reader, already know pretty well that these pieces of “advice” aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on or the air it took to form the words. However, when you’ve got people as prominent as a Presidential candidate spreading this b.s., it’s important to make sure people understand the truth…so if you’re so inclined, we’d appreciate it if you used the “share” buttons at the bottom of this article!
JD Farmer says
My dad told me when I first asked to carry my pocket knife to school. Son if you ever pull that knife out in a fight kill the man. I had to stress that I wasn’t carrying my small pocket knife for a potential fight. He said it didn’t matter the weapon. If you pull a weapon and just wound the man he could sue you and lay the blame on you with police you will be the one in jail not the guy who attacked you. If you kill them it’s your word against a corpse.
Needles to say my dads words stuck with me as I never knew him as a violent person and it wasn’t until later in life I learned of some of his experiences in Korea. I have never pulled a weapon in anger except once but the site of it caused the aggressor to run so never had to use it yet. I stress yet.,,,
Kcpauly says
Term limits to these dinosaurs would also put a stop to a lot of BS
Rodger Rosie says
Extremely good advice.
JonsOn says
I can’t say that I’ve ever heard a thing out of Sleepy Joe’s mouth that actually made sense. His remark about taking a shot gun on the balcony and firing two shots in the air is beyond idiotic. God only knows where Joe got the idea for shooting a person in the leg just to wound them. I wonder if he knows that some who get shot in the leg die with in minutes due to the femoral artery being damaged. I know of no shooters dumb enough to take advice from someone whos IQ matches their shoe size like the former VP.
Colin Marten says
I would like to ask where the self defence tenets were pulled from? Who made them? Is it the law of the land? They sound fairly reasonable but why are they assered as the authority for self defense reasoning.
And it is sad we live in one country where anyone can land in jail for making a slight yet unimportant mistake while trying to defend themselves against evil. “Yes I shot him in the leg while he was running at me with a knife because i didnt want to kill him but just stop him?” “YoU WhAAAAAAT?? YOu ToOK tIME tO AIM, YoU WErn’T In DAngER! OnLY mUrdeRSs DOn’T ShOoT WiLDly ToWaRdS CEnTER MASS of a TaRGeT!!!”
Sounds to me like the threat to our safety really actually is just our government. Needs immediate, long term fixing rooted in truth, clarity and fairness instead of idiotically protecting all of the immoral ugly thugs in the many forms that they come in.
MrPhixit says
absolutely fire a warning shot, that would be to center mass of your attacker, if that doesn’t stop your attacker, pull out your tripod,, attach weapon of your choice, and aim for leg
Steve says
As a defender of 2A for many years, but only a gun owner over the past year or so, the myths outlined above seem only to confirm the death of common sense. I can only imagine what a police officer was thinking when he/she heard Sleepy Joe’s crazy comments. And Joe, if you think you are getting my 9mm and the guns of law abiding citizens, you are dreadfully wrong.
Colin Marten says
Death of moral sense too, for many imho.
It honestly would be a good thing if they tried reaching for our weapons with open fervor. At least then maybe people will begin to think critically about the government and what is actually fair, what is not, and how it may be silently harming their lives, outside of the false framing of the media. Cause its doubtful that the main media, even fox, would strongly condemn such moves if it is well staged enough and backgrounded by a catastrophic “shooting event”. Maybe just a little, but not enough to make average people really want to put any effort into thinking about all this.
Rivahmitch says
To the government, it’s actually preferable if the innocent citizen is robbed, killed or seriously injured because it increases their (i) leverage in getting more money from us, and (ii) it increases their power and that of the lawyers (who are also most of our “legislators”). After all, an armed citizen who defends herself has less need for big government than a victim (whether alive or dead). Too many lawyers… that’s the problem and those serving in legislative bodies have a built-in conflict of interest… My preferred solution would be to bar lawyers from serving in legislatures and to bar legislators from any future role as either lawyers or judges (as well as lobbiests). An ancillary benefit is that we’see fewer lawyers and become a less litigious society.
Jim Rice says
1-you shoot to stop the threat
2-you articulate that you were scared for your life
3-you articulate you shouted warnings first
4-you articulate how you called 911 and requested help, including police AND EMS
5-you advise police that it was your legally owned firearm that was stored as per local laws prior to the break-in/ assault
6-yes you will give a full statement but you are too distraught and upset to do so right now since you were in fear for your life and the life of your family
7-you call an attorney and have them go with you to any interviews with authorities
Dave S. says
Outstanding advise ! Those are the words to live by !!!
Charles McVey Sr. says
All sound advise, you cannot fix stupid (Biden), but duct tape will at least muffle it.
wise Owl says
If you wound the criminal, he will come back with a vengeance and or try to sue you because he was only stealing or robbing to get milk money. You become the bad guy.
Rich Magnani says
I always tell people that say shooting center mass could kill because that is where the heart is this: you shoot to stop, and if him demanding that you shoot gets him killed, THAT was his choice. That is a part of the decision to do evil things to good people ready to defend themselves. Wrong decision in the thought making process on who to attack.
Tim Toroian says
And if he’s in your house at night with a gun just showing him yours might accomplish anything but get YOU shot. I’ve had many co-workers who wanted a gun “just to scare” a miscreant. That kind of person may get themselves killed with their own gun.
Alan says
Where’s Biden hiding now?
I can’t believe a major political party would accept this donkey as its offering for the highest spot in government.
Media saying he has a lead over DJT?? HAHAHA
That poll must have been taken at a demorat fundraiser.
Bemused Berserker says
Great article and the pics with captions a chuckle.