dleewo wrote:I was rather amused when he said that if you put 2 shots in a BG in the exact same spot, all you're doing is putting the second bullet in the same hole that the first bullet made. He said is was actually better to be a little off so that you make 2 holes instead of one.
Technically speaking, he's absolutely correct. Especially with handgun rounds, which are relatively underpowered compared to almost all rifles, stopping the threat physiologically is most often going to be the result of a rapid drop in blood pressure (orthostatic hypotension) caused by the loss of blood (hypovolemia). That's why the myth of the "one shot stop" with a handgun is, well, a myth. You'd either have to hit the ol' computer itself (the brain stem or cerebellum), or severely damage the upper portions of the spinal cord to cause an immediate shut-down.
So, depending upon where the holes are, the analogy that a five-gallon gas can will drain faster with two holes in it as opposed to one is, from a practical standpoint, valid. It's also the biggest reason that, in a life-and-death situation, we're taught to keep shooting until the threat stops.
'Course, the amusing part is another myth: Robin Hood never split the arrow. Being able to place one bullet precisely through the same hole as the previous one is pretty darned difficult on a two-dimensional, stationary, paper target. In any sort of defensive or combat situation where things are moving--certainly the target that just took a hit--it's all but impossible.
I'm going to climb back on my soapbox of realistic defensive distances for a sec. A whole bunch of evidence tells us that, if you ever have to use your concealed handgun in an urban setting, the encounter will most likely be at a distance less than 20 feet, probably from direct contact to 10 feet.
Yet very few CHLers train at those distances...or even know how to properly do so. I'm not saying precise marksmanship isn't important: regardless of the distance, only good hits count. Tight grouping with a handgun at 25 or 35 yards is good marksmanship, but isn't really a defensive skill.
Not sayin' don't train for marksmanship and a long-distance contingency, only that a 25-yard handgun engagement is
far less likely than a contact-distance to 10 feet encounter. My opinion is that the vast majority of a CHL's practice should be within that 10- or 15-foot circle, but from experience it's more likely to be stationary slow-fire at 7, 15, or 25 yards.
Just my two cents; and all this, BTW, is separate from the matter of any "shooter" not being able to punch holes in a B27 silhouette 7 yards away...
Maybe us civvies were practicing more?
I would not want the major hiring criteria of a police department to be based on marksmanship.
