Shoot once or twice?
 

I have heard from some people that its best to shoot in pairs rather than shoot only one shot at a time if your attacked....

Shoot until the threat stops. If it only takes one round, then only shoot one round. If you empty your magazine and have to reload, do that. There is no magic number.

The doctrine of multiple shots on an attacker actually was popularized by the father of modern gunfighting, Col. Jeff Cooper. He exposited that when confronted with multiple attackers, it was inefficient to shot one and wait to see if the shot had the intended effect, so the rule of gunfighting thumb became, put two quick shots in the center of mass and move to the next target. Ultimately, the multi-shot doctrine evolved into the "Mozambique".

FALPhil is exactly right. Two to center of mass. Repeat as necessary.

Shoot until the attack has stopped as already said. Have a backup to firing COM such as the pelvis or head shot. For me the head shot is a backup to the pelivis which is easier to fake out by the attacker.

once or twice
 

I agree, shoot until the threat is no longer a threat. I like to start low and ride the recoil up. Pelvis, abdomen, chest, head.

The pelvic shot is good for an attacker armed with a knife or club. When you break the pelvis, the body cannot stand and will fall. I would not trust a 9mm to break the pelvis. I only consider this with a "Major caliber". 40, 10, .357 or 45.

I wouldn't trust any handgun cartridge to break the pelvis, let alone perforate the femoral artery.

If I'm in fear of my life, I don't shoot to wound, I shoot to end the fight. The easiest way to end a fight is if the other guy can't move, either because I broke his CNS (upper spinal cord or brain shot), or his brain has no oxygen (heart or blood vessel).

+1+

Shoot what ever number rounds it takes to make the threat stop or to make it leave (same results for you... no more threat)

Bingo. Rifles have field days with pelvis shots, but there's simply not enough power in most handgun rounds. And keep in mind that most people survive gunshots by handguns. Most don't when shot by rifles. Keep shooting until the fight is over.


-Brian

Something else to consider when aiming for the pelvic region or there abouts is the bladder I hear is not pleasant to be hit especially when full.

I agree that there is no sure method to drop someone with a pelvic shot but let's consider (and this happened several years ago in oregon) the bad guy has body armor. Under stress a headshot is difficult and even more so if they are returning fire on you.

Good thoughts flowing here.