Didn't realize that was how that guy bought it.  We were related a similar story many years ago in the Corps; an off-duty police officer is standing in line at the bank when some knucklehead tries to rob the teller, the cop stepped out of line and pulled his pistol and the robbers partner standing at the back of the line stepped up and shot the cop in the head.

The message to us was - don't try to be a hero, if you even look like a threat you will probably get shot.  This was at an annual safety briefing by the CHP.

Tall Paul wrote:

But he hadn't read the situation, that takes time even for professionals trained to do it. Wilcox read a small part of the situation and paid with his life. That's just one of the big flaws in the NRA's good guy/bad gun scenario.

Bingo.

There is a term used by cops and "operators" that Wilcox apparently wasn't aware of - head on a swivel.  They are looking EVERYWHERE even when they shoot in competitions and everything is pre-defined.  It comes from having that shit turned in to muscle memory.  Tunnel vision kills.

I always say - the first rule of gun fighting is to not get in one in the first place.

What Em says.  Having had them pulled on me in my youth, I find it most uncomfortable.

phreddy wrote:

This one is a tough call.  However, I still believe it is much better to have the weapon in your pocket and be in control of your options.  In this case the shooter was killing strangers and Wilcox made the decision to intervene.  But, what if the shooter was trying to kill Wilcox and his family?

Getting into a gunfight can never be a good idea, but at some point it may be necessary.  I have always believed I have a level head and I am almost positive I am a better shot than 99% of the gang bangers or nut cases who decide to open up. Unless ambushed, I like my odds.

Where the fuck do you live, Compton?

Emmeran wrote:

First rule of gun-fighting:  Never assume you are better than the other guy, that type of thinking is the fast track to dead.

Just because I'm a better shot doesn't mean I'm going all John Wayne the guy.  It just means the odds are in my favor if I am drawn into an altercation from which there is no reasonable exit. Anyone can score a lucky shot and you don't get that many second chances.

You are talking to John Wayne Em.

Yeah but you oughta see my mom shoot: whoo-whee makes me and my rifle team awards seem silly.  She once had a state dinner with JFK in the white house to celebrate her accomplishments.  Time was she would staple dowels up to the posts in the back field for us to shoot at and damned if she couldn't hit them sights down whilst we floundered around like your normal shooter...

GooberMcNutly wrote:

I guess I have to side with the writer. When you are the only one who can stop a killer, you HAVE to do it. If a miniscule percentage of shooters have unnoticed backup, you are still working the percentages to go for it.

First rule of infantry: Charge the machine gun. Waiting around only lets it do it's awful work for longer.

WTF? Charge the machine gun? That's step one for making creole sauce. Howzabout don't give the machinegunner an easy target while you set the range on the mortar? Besides, the first rule of infantry is 'Never volunteer for anything'.

Last edited by Tall Paul (2014-07-01 23:54:13)

Actually the "charge the machine gun" thing has been proven to work on a number of occasions.  "Back in the day" we were taught that when caught in an ambush the best chance for survival is to charge the enemy's lines firing away.  If you hit the dirt you are a goner.  There was an old Sergeant Major when I was in that survived two near ambushes in Vietnam this way, coming away with only one purple heart.

Not every fighting unit carries mortars....

Baywolfe wrote:

Only if it's "a" machine gun and few support troops. 

A frontal assault against a fixed position has been a bad idea since Gettysburg.

Of course, but that's an assault, a completely different situation than an ambush.

In an assault, you wanna be this guy:

But it doesn't matter. This is all Monday Morning Quarterbacking. Nobody knows what they will do in the moment. I just like the idea that I have options, that they haven't been taken from me.