Are Warning Shots a Good Idea?

[BC1]

I was in anew corvette, the one thing you don't do is coware in the face of aggression or intimidation..

Sorry, I had to stop there. Awareness and avoidance means you don't park that new Corvette where you can be blocked-in. There's a good chance the Corvette angered them even more. They saw you as successful. But getting back to the issue, take a look at the NRA Guide to Personal Protection Outside The Home. That course teaches to never put yourself in a place where you can be cornered. There are always other options when pulling-in. And if the only place to park could impede your escape (even if a robbery broke-out) you don't park there. You're not wasting your time here. You're interacting with many instructors who would teach you this was wrong. Learn from it. Remember, that Corvette is nice. Real nice. It can anger the asses and troublemakers of the world. Always have an escape route, whether in the mall, your car, the movies, a bar, etc. Don't leave yourself in a spot where the only options are violent. This is standard instruction in nearly all PP curriculums. The best fight is the one you don't make.

 

[ET]

I wasn't parked... I was stopped behind a truck at a red light making a left hand turn in the left hand turn lane, on my way home.....

 

[RJT CCW]

aside from anyone accessing an internet forum, the issue I was trying to make is that if a warning shot would defuse a potential life taking issue, then In my opinion I would take the warning shot..

The reason I bring this up.. is because I had an incident years ago where 3 black guy got out of a car, one with either a baseball bat or a pipe it was 2 AM and they had me blocked in behind a truck and a cement island. It was summer, windows down, and these guys pulled up next to me with blaring obnoxious rap music.. I turnd to look at them and with a disgusting look I turned to face forward. one of them yelled over " hey white boy what are you looking at "? Not to be intimidated I said.. " Not much " .. at that point three of the four in the car exited from the right side of their car came around the front of their car and got to the front of my car. when they exited the car and I was trapped, I ran the question, fear of my life? no place to run...I must have done that ten times in 2 seconds. Blocked, no where to go , three your thugs with a weapon verbally saying. we are going to fucx you up white boy. At that point I grabbed my Colt nickel 6 inch Python 357. exited the car and drew down on the guy with the bat ( pipe) .. I Yelled "get back in your car or you are dead". at that point they backed up and got back in the car and left... Had I fired a warning shot , which never entered my mind, I think the same effect would have happened. I was ready to pull the trigger on the guy with the pipe.. That night did not cost me a thing...had I pulled the trigger, though justified, it would have haunted me, legally and psychologically. Giving them the option to leave ( aka a warning ) could have been accomplished with a warning shot in this incident.. because those three thugs were smart enough that you don't bring a bat to a gun fight. If you are a responsible person , you do not want to kill anyone.. if you can get away from that life changing event with a warning shot, I say do it. Of course this is my opinion and have to live with that. A random shot in the air would not be my warning shot choice. but a controlled shot...

Two things people need to learn from your story.

1. Never, never, never say on an internet forum that you are okay with killing (even in self defense). Subjects like this will be investigated and used against a person if involved in a shooting. If you have to use lethal force in self-defense, you use it to stop the threat. Death may occur, but it is not your intent in using the force.

2. If involved in any situation where a crime may occur, if you are the victim, you make the first call to introduce yourself as the victim. It could have gone bad for the OP if the BG's had called saying that you pulled a gun on them.

Just some thoughts for those reading this thread so they do not make the same mistakes.

 

[Eidolon]

Sorry, I had to stop there.

You didn't miss much

 

[SR9]

In some states pulling a gun to intimidate or possibly firing warning shots can be illegal. Hard to tell sometimes where a warning shot will end up, In most states you are responsible for where those bullets land(they can ricochet). Could be in a house, a building or an innocent person or animal. I feel warning shots are a bad idea. If you feel you are in imminent danger for your life, you have to make the decision to shoot to kill. A decision you will have to live with.

 

[NavyLCDR]

If pointing the gun at the criminal is not enough of a warning, then they deserve to be shot.

Well, you have changed my opinion. I am now 100% in favor of warning shots . The criminal gets the warning (aiming the gun at them) and if they don't heed that warning immediately, within about 1 second maximum, they get shot

 

[gunnerbob]

If the situation has escalated to the point of drawing your firearm, your first warning shot should be placed through the attacker's sternum. If that first warning shot doesn't suffice, I advise another in the same general area. Repeat until the attacker is on the ground, understanding your warnings more clearly.

 

[ET]

I survived two separate attacks in my 30 years of civilian carry. IN both cases, I survived , no one was shot, and I avoided any issues with the law or the legal system, Had I not been armed in either case it could have gone very bad. Ill stick by my rules of engagement, and other can live by theirs... IM 70 years old, and very few people have had to defend themself once in their life, let alone twice, as I did.. Once when alone with no where to go, and the second with my wife and children present in an attack...Once you choose to pull the trigger, your life will change forever.. Obviously, my method was a better decision then using lethal force.. so a warning or a warning shot can be a precursor to using up too and including final deadly force. A prosecutor could argue that just as well.. " did you give the assailants the opportunity to leave when you drew your weapon ,did you fire a warning shot, or did you just want to kill them " Before I attempt to take someone life, Ill give them opportunity to leave if its possible...if not, I'm as ready to stop their attempt to hurt me or my family with every means I can muster including the use of my weapon....

 

[Axeanda45]

IF a warning shot saves your life and spares others theirs, screw what everyone else says....


Now, would it be a good idea to try one instead of shooting your assailant? In my opinion, no.... but at least I have enough intelligence to understand that SOMETIMES it could work out just fine....

 

[BC1]

Hard to tell sometimes where a warning shot will end up.

In the middle-east they fire in the air for celebration. I always had this comical vision of one falling back to earth and landing right on Osama's head. POP!

 

[XD40scinNC]

IF a warning shot saves your life and spares others theirs, screw what everyone else says....


Now, would it be a good idea to try one instead of shooting your assailant? In my opinion, no.... but at least I have enough intelligence to understand that SOMETIMES it could work out just fine....

You are ultimately responsible for every single round that leaves the muzzle of your gun. In a public area, parking lot, street, etc. where everything is a hard surface, where is that round going? A warning shot breaks several rules of gun safety.

The laws are such that in some states, even drawing your gun can get you in legal trouble, unless you actually shoot in self-defense.

Drawing can bring "brandishing" or "going armed to the terror of public" or other nonsense based on how state laws are written. But we also know that merely drawing a gun has dissuaded many a bad guy that they made a poor choice in their victim selection. We actually don't know how many lives this has saved, but I would venture it is many times more than those from documented self-defense shootings.

If I have to draw, and that act alone stops the threat, great. If it doesn't stop the threat, there will be no warning shot, but a double tap center mass.

 

[Deanimator]

IF a warning shot saves your life and spares others theirs, screw what everyone else says....

IF it hits a bystander, YOU are the one who's screwed.

Increasing the risk to innocent third parties in order to decrease the risk to an assailant using or credibly and immediately threatening unlawful use of deadly force against you seems like a sucker bet to me.

Now, would it be a good idea to try one instead of shooting your assailant? In my opinion, no.... but at least I have enough intelligence to understand that SOMETIMES it could work out just fine....

People without parachutes have fallen thousands of feet from bombers that were shot down. That's not something I'd bet my life on.

 

[ET]

random shots in the air are not a responsible response... however a shot ( looking for the loud noise ) placed in the ground could be enough to make someone realize ( this guy has a big gun ,the next bang, that loud, could end my life.
Has anyone ever walked into a gun range, knowing that people are shooting but at the time no one is shooting because the line is safe... you walk in and the red light goes out and the line is now hot... the first bang especially from a 357, or a 45, will make many people jump even with ear plugs. That bang is very similar to a warning noise of racking in a round in your 12 gage shotgun.

There isn't a sane burglar alive that would open the bedroom door in a house they were attempting to rob after hearing that sound on the other side of the bed room door. Its the same reason the Calvary used a bugle to sound the charge.. the sound is a significant deterrent. A warning shot can achieve the same effect, and if is the difference between killing someone and not.. the warning shot is worth the effort.

 

[ET]

Like I said.. I don't care what other people choose to do, or how they work out a scenario in their head in the event they are mugged.. I'll go with my thought process and my odds.. two attacks on me in 30 years.. no one shot and no one hurt.. no legal issues and no sleepless nights. I say, my two encounter were 100 % effective with no permanent damage... and the absolute right thing to do, and in both cases, I had the legal right to use up to and including lethal force.

IM just sharing two real life incidents in my life that went right... the very same situation could have ended up much different... I may have had to shoot the manwho attacked my wife, or shot all three of those thugs out by the airport. Both of those incidents were 9 years apart.

 

[bofh]

random shots in the air are not a responsible response... however a shot ( looking for the loud noise ) placed in the ground could be enough to make someone realize ( this guy has a big gun ,the next bang, that loud, could end my life.

And you can't accomplish that by pointing your gun at the threat and by yelling "stop, stop, stop"? If there is a lethal force situation, then pointing your gun at the threat and giving a verbal warning is the appropriate approach if you decide to give a warning at all.

Face it, firing a warning shot is plain stupid. Anyone ever having fired a gun without hearing protection knows why. Also, what's your backstop? The ground right next to your feet? The ground right next to your attacker's feet? If it is any kind of pavement, then that round can go pretty much anywhere. In any case, a warning shot is legally the same as a miss.

Also, knowing that you carry a 1911 in .45 ACP, reducing your already low capacity by one round for a warning shot is double stupid.

 

[ET]

And you can't accomplish that by pointing your gun at the threat and by yelling "stop, stop, stop"? If there is a lethal force situation, then pointing your gun at the threat and giving a verbal warning is the appropriate approach if you decide to give a warning at all.

Face it, firing a warning shot is plain stupid. Anyone ever having fired a gun without hearing protection knows why. Also, what's your backstop? The ground right next to your feet? The ground right next to your attacker's feet? If it is any kind of pavement, then that round can go pretty much anywhere. In any case, a warning shot is legally the same as a miss.

Also, knowing that you carry a 1911 in .45 ACP, reducing your already low capacity by one round for a warning shot is double stupid.

its always so nice to be called stupid on an internet forum.. just goes to show the caliber of those with no actual experience..in actual defense or in the taking of a life... Ive had experience in both and as I said, Ill stick to my rules of engagement without calling any one stupid.. Merry Christmas.

 

[Eidolon]

IF a warning shot saves your life and spares others theirs, screw what everyone else says....


Now, would it be a good idea to try one instead of shooting your assailant? In my opinion, no.... but at least I have enough intelligence to understand that SOMETIMES it could work out just fine....

The question wasn't can a warning shot sometimes work out just fine, the question was are they a good idea. I don't think they're ever a good idea whether you get away with it or not.

 

[Eidolon]

random shots in the air are not a responsible response... however a shot ( looking for the loud noise ) placed in the ground could be enough to make someone realize ( this guy has a big gun ,the next bang, that loud, could end my life.
Has anyone ever walked into a gun range, knowing that people are shooting but at the time no one is shooting because the line is safe... you walk in and the red light goes out and the line is now hot... the first bang especially from a 357, or a 45, will make many people jump even with ear plugs. That bang is very similar to a warning noise of racking in a round in your 12 gage shotgun.

There isn't a sane burglar alive that would open the bedroom door in a house they were attempting to rob after hearing that sound on the other side of the bed room door. Its the same reason the Calvary used a bugle to sound the charge.. the sound is a significant deterrent. A warning shot can achieve the same effect, and if is the difference between killing someone and not.. the warning shot is worth the effort.

OMG is there a cliché you won't use?

 

[Eidolon]

. Ive had experience in both and as I said, Ill stick to my rules of engagement without calling any one stupid.. Merry Christmas.

People that have don't talk about it

 

[bofh]

its always so nice to be called stupid on an internet forum.. just goes to show the caliber of those with no actual experience..in actual defense or in the taking of a life... Ive had experience in both and as I said, Ill stick to my rules of engagement without calling any one stupid.. Merry Christmas.

Just consider this. There is not a single firearms instructor that teaches warning shots. Watch the video I posted if you actually care about someone else's opinion! If not, you are free to maintain your "rules of engagement," but you will have to live with critique in this Forum.

I called the action of firing a warning shot plain stupid, not you. As you stated in your earlier post, you have not fired a warning shot. Instead, you actually gave a verbal warning. Why consider firing a warning shot now in a similar situation, instead of giving a verbal warning like in the past? This makes no sense.

As for taking someone's life, you do understand that the choice in this discussion is to either give a verbal warning or fire a warning shot. In other words, you already made the choice to give a warning in a particular situation, instead of immediately shooting to stop the lethal threat. Firing a warning shot is more dangerous in this situation, instead of giving a verbal warning, as it has a significantly higher potential for unintended consequences. That's why it is plain stupid.

As for my actual self defense experience, I am just not mentioning it in every second post like you. I have posted about some of that in the past in this Forum when it provided any value. Instead of bragging about my own experience, I rather rely on the advise of well-known firearms instructors, like James Yeager or Rob Pincus, to make a valid argument. In this case, both agree that turning a lethal weapon into a signaling device is just plain stupid (Warning Shots - Personal Defense Network).

Merry Christmas!