Shot placement or caliber?
Which side of the argument do you come down on? It’s a variation of the ice breaking
question, “What’s the best caliber for self-defense?”
Stripped of arguments about how we measure power, what is
the primary target, bullet performance and what is stopping power, it’s really
about your ability. And ability changes
over time, doesn’t it.
Bub starts shooting with a 22 pistol and after a reasonable
period he’s pretty good with it, but not so hot with the 1911 .45 ACP. With time Bub masters that skill and becomes
proficient with the .500 S&W. Later
as the effects of age and injury rob him, Bub finds he can’t control the recoil
of the big bores and no longer has the tack driving accuracy he once had. Shooting anything larger than a .380 ACP is
no longer fun.
So what’s Bub to do?
I see shooters dealing with all points in this story and I expect this
to happen to me and you.
Let’s ignore the silly solutions: air soft, BB guns, .22 CB
cap, or rubber band guns shooting paper clips dipped in nitroglycerin.
Likewise, how many of us will find, realistically, a raging
stoned, meth head in our kitchen? And as
much as I follow the religion of the one shot stop, I know that’s a largely
impotent god. (Sorry Evan Marshall!)
Even shot placement, where I genuflect, how many times do
you think you’ll be able to consciously aim at the heart’s right atrium or the brain’s
medulla oblongata?
I was going to post an image of someone else’s idea of
priority targets on a person, but instead look at the angle views and you decide
where to aim. Now put a shirt and pants over him and pick your aiming points. 2-D flat targets are so
much easier…
Massad Ayoob use to tell his LFI classes, as I remember, to shoot the most powerful gun you can control in rapid fire.
So the answer to the ice breaking question, “Which is more
important, shot placement or caliber?” is neither. Your ability to rapidly and accuracy hit with
the gun you’re holding is the answer and one of the keys to survival.
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