[Redley]

It is a good idea to have in your mind what you would do in any situation. Whatever conclusion you come to will most likely be what you will do in a situation where you are faced with shooting someone or not.

A good friend of mine, who is a local police officer in Idaho gave me some very important info to think about. First, take a class, taught by professionals on when to shoot and when not. Law enforcement officers train for all these kinds of situations like MobilMarine brought up.

Each situation has its advantages and disadvantages. But one thing stands out front more than any other thing...that is YOUR life can be at risk and this is what you should be thinking. Like my friend tells me...When he goes to work each day, he wants to go home at the end of the day. What does this mean to you and me? It means that "IF" your life is being threatened by someone, you will shoot to kill them. NOT just wound them! The idea is that you want to make sure you have stopped the perpetrator. If you train your mind to shoot someone in the leg or arm...you have more of a chance of missing your target and YOU may be his victim. Like ALL police law enforcement officers, they shoot to kill. You should do also! If you attend a training class, they will tell you this.

Prepare and train is your best chance of coming out of a situation, alive. People who walk around with a gun and do not have any training whatsoever, stand a better chance getting killed themselves or killing someone who was not involved. Practice, practice,practice will give you the best chance of staying alive.

[texaswoodworker]

Originally Posted by trip286

Oh I haven't made any kind of a decision on it for sure.

I am kind of thinking about using a leaf spring though. I could heat it up in the forge and beat the curve out of it I think. From there it would just be a matter of time on a grinding wheel.

A leaf spring would probably be great for a sword. I tried making a chisel out of one once. They are a little hard to work with and pretty hard. It will take a little work to get it just right, but when you do, it will make a fine sword.

Good luck.

[Doc3402]

Example A: A young teen is breaking into your shed or car ect and is armed with say a knife , you confront him and a fight ensues .

NEVER let a man with a knife advance on you. Retreat, shoot, or barricade yourself. When it comes to knives, distance is your friend. You want a minimum of 10 feet between you and the knife, and preferably 30 feet. If a man is rushing you with a knife, once they are within 10 feet you are going to get cut, even if you shoot him.

You come home mid-day and find un-welcome people in your house doing some shopping

Call the cops and let them handle it. There isn't a single piece of property in that house that is worth losing or taking a life. Using deadly force is not the walk in the park many of the Rambo wanna-bes think it is. In this scenario by the time the cops and the lawyers get done with you you will wish you had never come home that day. If you don't end up in prison you will probably lose everything in the civil suits that follow. You were safe, and then you chose not to be in order to protect a TV? Not good thinking, and it looks really bad in the eyes of a jury.

[gwk4667]

There is no pat answer that fits every situation.

I had to shoot an escaping prisoner in 1969 - - - he ended up dying, and I still wonder if I had chased farther could he still be alive. It was his choice to run and I had a responcibility to stop his escape. He still comes to mind after all these years.

I hope to always say the last person I had to kill was in 1969 but if I have to defend myself or my family that date can change.

Do not put yourself or your family in risk to allow a perp to have another chance. I shot the prisoner in the leg and he bled out. Just remember he was in charge of his actions and you are in charge of your own.

[X-Raycer]

When I went through Armed Security training with St. Louis Police Department, the purpose of shooting someone was to Stop them.
Killing was mentioned only as a possible outcome of the shooting.
That was not the object, stopping them from harming was.
The Aim Point taught was Center Mass with however many rounds that it took to Stop the Bad Guy from hurting you or others.

We were taught to not shoot at fleeing vehicles.
We were taught that a justified shooting was to protect life and limb.

[Flat4sti]

Kill him or not. I am not going to shoot him in the balls first. Come on man that is just mean....

[Dearhunter]

I would rather be judged by 12, than carried by six. Stopping to see what they are going to do can cost you and your family their lives. Therefor I will defending my home and family with deadly force instantly.

[therewolf]

Originally Posted by gwk4667

There is no pat answer that fits every situation.

It was his choice...

No truer words...

IMHO, if a criminal makes the wrong choice, the bad decision

to put at risk of harm my family(or my loved ones) he

has already made my choice to use deadly force for me.

This BG could have been applying that energy toward

getting a job, helping a relative, joining the Army, or

moving to Indiana.

Instead, he's chosen to put my family in mortal danger,

and in so doing, placed in danger himself.

[aktommysks]

Originally Posted by usmcprofessional

hahah i like how most of the people here, that are leary as hell of using deadly force to protect themselves, and are the first ones to scream "BUT YOUR GONNA GO TO JAIL!!!11!!" are usually from NY or CA. i feel your pain under those socialist hammers friends.

You are right the gun laws in NY,CA,NJ< are tough to say the least, but i was taught that when you truly fear for your life, and beleive me you will know. At that point you neutralize the threat with whatever means available, and when i say neutralize i mean no movement(threat eliminated). Sadly i'm still going to have to deal with the court systems, but i'll take my chances knowing i truly feared for my life.

[MobileMarine]

Ok so my wifes state office is moving to a criminal mental hospital in raleigh
The infamous Dorthea Dix . She just told me tonight about a person who escaped and car jacked an employee leaving work .
Now my wife is 5 ft at best and has some strange fetish about stabbing people.... Keeps me inline but If your getting jacked a knife aint gonna do it in my book . Im thinking of getting her a little derringer or one of those key chain pistols . Although shooting a mentally ill person would have the liberals throwing a ****coniption fit around here even if they did escape and harm my wife it would some how end up being her fault .
Back when pops was a prison guard he told me all the times these not so right in the head folks got sprayed and just took it , never even phased them and they kept coming . A mentally ill person is just as dangerous if not more than anyone else on this planet in my book .