If you are attacked, where are you supposed to shoot the perp?

[Harleyrider_50]

2 ta the chest, 1 ta the head........then walk up an' dump the other 9.......jus'ta be sure.....

 

[TWalker]

center of the face triangle.(corners of mouth to the bridge of the nose) is the ideal spot.
I think the chest thing has been adequetly covered.
I like the "two to the chest face gets the rest thing" it's catchy
however the fast drill is probably my favorite because it works my draw, accuracy, and reload in a timed fashion with minimal rounds, but you shoot the face first.
in real life its a crap shoot tho. just hit him where you can and take better targets as you go.

 

[45fan]

I was really liking that until you got to the pelvic shot part. What was after that was pretty good too. If you are talking about pistols, good luck in breaking the pelvic girdle. Even if you do, it is not a reliable stop. Rifle, different story.

Believe me, I am right there with you. Pelvic girdle shot is a last resort, hope to god it works idea in my opinion, but given a "typical" carry round (9mm, 40, 45) there have been a few "experts" that believe it is enough to cause damage in the area that will put the attacker down. Shooing to this area is only better, in my mind, than shooting for an arm or leg. The only scenario that I have ever envisioned this being a viable option would be an attacker from behind, not able to break contact, but able to get to gun. put one in the pelvis, break contact, turn and fire (at a more appropriate area for aggression stoppage).

Given a frontal assault, my priorities will be to ventilate heart, lung and cranial matter.

 

[45fan]

center of the face triangle.(corners of mouth to the bridge of the nose) is the ideal spot.
I think the chest thing has been adequetly covered.
I like the "two to the chest face gets the rest thing" it's catchy
however the fast drill is probably my favorite because it works my draw, accuracy, and reload in a timed fashion with minimal rounds, but you shoot the face first.
in real life its a crap shoot tho. just hit him where you can and take better targets as you go.

Better rethink, and study on the corners of the mouth to bridge of nose thing. thats a bit low to hit anything vital that will put a body on the ground in a hurry. There have been cases where a person trying to commit suicide have put a shotgun in their mouth, pointing straight back, and lived to regret their decision. Not a pretty sight, but its something to think about.

Looking at this picture should explain a bit better than just words. The Medulla oblongata is the area that a "head shot" is actually going for, anything else is sketchy at best if it will put a person down fast. The "T" zone, as explained to me by military instructors, and highlighted on targets intended for hostage intervention training, is an area extending from the outer edges of the eye sockets, and a line connecting with that line down the bridge of the nose.

As highlighted here.

To further reinforce this, there was actually a deputy in Madison county some years ago that was shot multiple times in the area that you described, and not only lived to tell about it, but is still a law enforcement officer.

 

[John Galt]

What are the official teachings of SWAT and/or police academies of where to shoot a violent/deadly force aggressor? If it's good enough for them, that should be the standard for all.
Please note: This IS NOT a SWAT/Police bashing statement!!! I have the utmost respect for the good ones that risk what they risk to try to keep us safe. My query is based on the assumption that they have the most recent data and training on this topic and could provide some legal cover for anyone finding themselves in a courtroom for exercising self-defense.

 

[Ungie]

I am glad to hear that you signing up training. Try to get as much training as you can afford, it will only make you better. Bring the gun that you intend to carry not a selection of guns. Make sure at some point the training you sign up for will incorporate shooting on the move, and will induce some stress to your training, Finally, the other posters are right when they say it isn't the movies. The book The Tactical Edge goes through scenarios where the perp didn't stop coming though they were shot. don't believe you can do what is needed because you read a book either.

 

[CathyInBlue]

Where are you supposed to shoot the perp attacking you? In the living room. In the bedroom. Pretty much wherever you happen to find the person who is attacking you, that is where you shoot the perp. Never let them take you to another location before you shoot your attacker. It complicates the police paperwork and means you have to walk back yourself.

If the question is where on the perp to aim, the answer to that question is always center-of-mass for whatever of the perp is visible / imputed to be ballisticly accessible through concealment, but always center of it. Like the character of Benjamin Martin in The Patriot said, "Aim small, miss small." If you aim for something small, the head, the hand, the leg, the gun, you will miss it.

 

[stephen87]

Where? Where ever they were threatening enough to force you to make the decision to shoot them.

 

[SkullDaddy.45]

Might want to rethink that head shot. Sounds a little "executiony".

Yep, that's what happens in these cases. You execute them! To condemn someone to death, to carry out fully. And maybe whisper sweet nothing in their ear before the final heart beat. Some one tries to take me out. I'm not worried about what any judge, jury or interweb lawyer says. Two to the chest, one between the eyes. Every time!

 

[TWalker]

Better rethink, and study on the corners of the mouth to bridge of nose thing. thats a bit low to hit anything vital that will put a body on the ground in a hurry. There have been cases where a person trying to commit suicide have put a shotgun in their mouth, pointing straight back, and lived to regret their decision. Not a pretty sight, but its something to think about.

Looking at this picture should explain a bit better than just words. The Medulla oblongata is the area that a "head shot" is actually going for, anything else is sketchy at best if it will put a person down fast. The "T" zone, as explained to me by military instructors, and highlighted on targets intended for hostage intervention training, is an area extending from the outer edges of the eye sockets, and a line connecting with that line down the bridge of the nose.

As highlighted here.

To further reinforce this, there was actually a deputy in Madison county some years ago that was shot multiple times in the area that you described, and not only lived to tell about it, but is still a law enforcement officer.

yeah i know of a few cases where people have taken ak rounds to the dome, 7.62 to the cerebrum, and still been functional. The men that taught me to shoot that triangle were in group so I don't usually second guess what they were saying.

 

[glockednlocked]

Face! Eye contact is very important in most cultures

 

[sloughfoot]

I admit I have not read every post in this thread. I have trained on FATS simulators in the past. Without exception, when a gun is emptied at an armed individual, most of the hits are in the area of the weapon.

It is very difficult to not focus on the gun or knife.

But yeah shoot for center mass. Not a leg. On purpose anyway.

 

[HoughMade]

Usually where they attack you. I've had little to no luck when I've invited attackers to come with me to a different location.

 

[tobi]

What are the official teachings of SWAT and/or police academies of where to shoot a violent/deadly force aggressor? If it's good enough for them, that should be the standard for all.
Please note: This IS NOT a SWAT/Police bashing statement!!! I have the utmost respect for the good ones that risk what they risk to try to keep us safe. My query is based on the assumption that they have the most recent data and training on this topic and could provide some legal cover for anyone finding themselves in a courtroom for exercising self-defense.

Good question - Quite a while ago (25+ years) I read a paper published by the Army on how parts of the body would react when person got shot. I don't remember how they did the research (I'm sure it was not on live test specimens) but it talked about hand muscle contraction and relaxation based on where a person was shot. Again, I don't remember the details but it was something like when a person is shot in the lower chest the hand relaxed and when shot in the upper chest the hand muscles had a tendency to contract. Note - I may have this backwards. One may have been more deadly but the other would have a tendency to cause the shooter to drop the gun or his finger off the trigger. - Not saying a person in a stressful situation could differentiate.
Has anyone seen any data like this??

 

[sloughfoot]

Nope. I am not sure how the data is relevant in the slightest degree. But thanks for adding to the discussion anyway.

 

[cedartop]

Nope. I am not sure how the data is relevant in the slightest degree. But thanks for adding to the discussion anyway.

That really struck my funny bone this morning.

 

[Hoosier8]

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of stopping them from coming at me, so the leg was my first thought. I fully intend to get proper training in the very near future. If I'm I'm a situation where I feel it is either him or I, I would have no trouble shooting someone to kill. This would not be my intention but I could deal with the repercussions if it happened. I do not intend to carry a gun on my person and still be a victim of an attack. I appreciate all the responses and as stated before, I plan on taking some training courses very soon.

Yeah, you will find that under pressure even the police miss a lot, that is why you shoot at the largest target, center mass so you actually have a chance of hitting them. Some people think that shooting someone in the leg would be less deadly but shooting someone in the leg could actually end up killing them pretty quickly if you hit the artery.

You don't shoot to kill, you shoot to stop the aggression which just seeing a weapon could scare off an aggressor. Shooting someone does not mean that they actually die since only about 1 in 6 handgun wounds result in death. Anything after that could be considered murder.

 

[csaws]

I was wondering what your guys' opinions would be on where you would shoot your attacker. I know that discharging your firearm is a last resort but if you were in a situation where you felt your life was at risk, where exactly would you aim?

I have yet to take any self defense or firearm courses (although I will be taking a handgun class soon locally) I was wondering if there is any training that teaches you where to shoot an attacker? I know that you are not supposed to shoot to kill, but to incapacitate or stop the threat immediately.

Without any proper training I'm thinking that I would shoot my attacker in the leg and possibly the abdomen. Now, I realize this is a very broad topic because so many different factors can play into the situation, but in general how would you go about defending yourself?

dead men tell no lies, shoot to stop the threat

i also suggest you learn when to " flip the switch" when it's time to fight

 

[mainjet]

I have discovered from this video, that if you shoot yourself in the leg the attacker will not move a muscle and will simply allow you to walk away.
http://youtu.be/k-rGnMKszxg

 

[jsharmon7]

The correct shot placement is actually "the toodles."

Old woman shoots MP40 Machine gun - YouTube