How far away is does a person have to be to be a threat?

[LGH]

I was talking to a person last night that said that before they would draw and fire a threat woould have to be within 5 feet. I passed on that at 21 feet that it takes little over a second to close the distance etc. Stil this person was dead set on that distance.
Here is what I am wanting to know at what distance do you see a person a threat that would cause you to draw and then to fire?

 

[PascalFleischman]

Our class emphasized that 20' or so was well within the limits of deadly threat. A grown man can cover that distance in less time than most folks can draw a pistol. Within 5', you'd better just hand over your wallet.

 

[ClearSightTactical]

Depends on the type of threat

Unarmed: I wouldn't use my firearm...
Blunt object (bat, stick, pipe, etc) 21' or less
A knife? 21' or less
A pistol? I know I can shoot out to 25 yards so I have to assume they can too....75ft or less
A rifle? they're a threat period.

Just my opinion...and many will disagree but I'm not going to wait until they're at an imaginary 'X' marks the spot to engage...

of course this assumes you have reason to believe they have intention to inflict great bodily harm or death, and other force options or options do not exist or are not practical.

 

[JJFlash]

Unarmed: I wouldn't use my firearm...
Blunt object (bat, stick, pipe, etc) 21' or less
A knife? 21' or less
A pistol? I know I can shoot out to 25 yards so I have to assume they can too....75ft or less
A rifle? they're a threat period.

Just my opinion...and many will disagree but I'm not going to wait until they're at an imaginary 'X' marks the spot to engage...

of course this assumes you have reason to believe they have intention to inflict great bodily harm or death, and other force options or options do not exist or are not practical.

Works for me, with the exception of "unarmed" cause that depends: if they're 6'5" and 300 lbs and wearing a black belt and they're threatening bodily harm, I consider them dangerous!! Then, if they step to the magic 21-foot marker, well....

 

[charliej47]

:victory: The first time this was talked about in one of my classes the instructors asked for volunteers. Both instructors were retired military people.

The instructors put on protective gear, a white T-shirt and gave the 'hand raiser' a paintball gun. The instructor had the guy, who was in his mid twenties, lower the gun to is side. The instructor that was not participating ran the exercise.

The one that had on the gear got 20 feet from the volunteer. On the count of three both parties were going to move. The instructor was going to try to hit the volunteer with a soft tube and the volunteer was going to shoot the instructor.

Seven out of five times the volunteer never got a hit and the instructor was able to hit the volunteer every time. Even after the first try and everyone knew what was going to happen. The first and second time the volunteer never go off a shot.:hang2:

They were trying to teach us that even if we know what is going to happen there is a strong possibility that we can get hurt.

They taught us that you have to be aware of your surroundings and be prepared to defend yourself and all costs. There is no guarantee that we will win every confrontation but we had to try as we might be the only defense our family had.:butcher:

 

[HootmonSccy]

Unarmed: I wouldn't use my firearm...
Blunt object (bat, stick, pipe, etc) 21' or less
A knife? 21' or less
A pistol? I know I can shoot out to 25 yards so I have to assume they can too....75ft or less
A rifle? they're a threat period.

+1 - Although the rifle bit... If he is 75 ft away, I probably don't know he is gunning for me..

The original question is a little vague and the answer above replies to the missing info.. What is the threat..

They taught us that you have to be aware of your surroundings and be prepared to defend yourself and all costs.

Just remember that part of knowing your surroundings is being aware that there may be more than one threat..

 

[NRA UR2]

+1 - Although the rifle bit... If he is 75 ft away, I probably don't know he is gunning for me..

The original question is a little vague and the answer above replies to the missing info.. What is the threat..




Just remember that part of knowing your surroundings is being aware that there may be more than one threat..

Really enjoyed your Baby Jesus...I'm not sure its still legal to say Jesus but I've always been a maverick. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

 

[LGH]

original question is a little vague

I wrote the question that way so it is an open question. I was/am looking to see not just distance but what people see as a threat to themselves.

 

[RugerP345]

Unarmed: I wouldn't use my firearm...
Blunt object (bat, stick, pipe, etc) 21' or less
A knife? 21' or less
A pistol? I know I can shoot out to 25 yards so I have to assume they can too....75ft or less
A rifle? they're a threat period.

Just my opinion...and many will disagree but I'm not going to wait until they're at an imaginary 'X' marks the spot to engage...

of course this assumes you have reason to believe they have intention to inflict great bodily harm or death, and other force options or options do not exist or are not practical.

I agree with clearsight. It depends on what weapon they have. 5' might be OK with "bare hands" but if they have any kind of weapon, even just a rock or brick, five feet is too close!

 

[kevin mosley]

I'd like to add fuel to the fire here with a new WHAT-IF:

Say it's dark, vision is limited. A sketchy looking character charges DIRECTLY at you, full throttle, from 30 feet away. You KNOW you are being attacked by some means / with some intention, and you fear for your safety, for your very life. But you don't know if this guy coming at you is young or old, armed or unarmed... you're not even certain yet if he's acting alone. It's a blitz attack, and in another second & a half, he'll be on you.
What are you going to do?

 

[tattedupboy]

I think it's dangerous to set arbitrary limits on how far away an aggressor has to be to be considered a threat. Think about it, if the limit is 10 ft, and the aggressor is 10 ft 1 inch away when you fire, then under the law, the person would not be considered a threat and the shooting not justified, yet if they're 2 inches closer, 9 feet 11 inches, then it would be. Whether or not someone is considered a threat should be based solely on the aggressor's intentions, not how far away he was.

 

[2beararms]

The problem is you are trying to quantify something in order to make it fit into your "safe zone" under the law. In reality the key is to get the laws changed to fit the circumstance.

Florida law uses the criteria of "fear" for your life for a reason. You will NEVER know or be able to quantify exactly when a threat is a threat to your life, but you will always FEEL when such a threat exits.

If you FEEL that your life is being threatened by the situation and the situation is such that it is agressive in nature meaning YOU (or the one you are protecting) are the one under attack, then you should use deadly force if required to stop the threat ... PERIOD.

If you are going to take the time to calculate your distance, judge it against the law where you are standing, and try to make a determination if DA is going to see this a justified, then go ahead and leave the gun at home because you are either going to be dead from the delay or in deep trouble for overthinking and overreacting.

Trust your gut instinct, it is what you use to protect yourself in everything you do!

 

[Ga9mm]

... but again I'd like to think I have the discipline to not be fast on the trigger.

+1

This is a hard question to answer. If someone were charging at me, and I couldn't stop them with a warning and pointing my weapon at them didn't sway their aggression, then that is definately a deadly threat. As far as distances go, that's hard to say. I think the person creating the threat would dictate my actions more than their distance from me.

 

[MONTANA]

I was talking to a person last night that said that before they would draw and fire a threat woould have to be within 5 feet. I passed on that at 21 feet that it takes little over a second to close the distance etc. Stil this person was dead set on that distance.
Here is what I am wanting to know at what distance do you see a person a threat that would cause you to draw and then to fire?

Well, just using a knife threat as an example. If you allow a person to get within 5 feet, you are probably going to get stabbed to death before you can draw your firearm and get off a head shot--------which probably provides the best chance of neutralizing the threat at that distance.

 

[charliej47]

:cray:Almost thirty years ago a man charged my wife who was about 15 feet in front of me and we were in a dark parking lot. He had something in his hand and I did not hesitate. I drew and I was going to fire when I obtained a sight picture but my wife asked me not to. The man stopped when he saw me and I told him "You don't have to die today!" the man turned and ran the other way.

This all happened within 5 or 6 seconds. My wife yelling at me not to shoot caused the man to stop and gave me the opportunity to hold my fire.

To this day I can clse my eyes and see the man as he stood there and made the decision to live.

 

[JJFlash]

Here's where I think having a "warrior" mentality comes into play. A person who is serious about personal self-defense, IMHO, should be doing more than just strapping on a firearm. Think martial arts training of some sort. I am older now but have quite a few years of such training under my belt, so personally, if someone is coming on me fast and I can't tell if they're armed or not, I'd probably a) run or b) trust my motor skills to provide some sort of defense (palm strike to the face, e.g.) which would give me additional precious seconds to make a further determination of the threat.

Just me, but I think all CCW holders ought to have such training, in addition to tactical/defensive handgun training. In the scenarios, described above, I believe that the "average" CCW holder could be in a world of hurt. I could be, also, but I've maximized my chances of staying alive as best I can.

My .02 cents.

 

[kengrubb]

I was/am looking to see not just distance but what people see as a threat to themselves.

If I'm in my car, I don't see a guy with a knife as a lethal threat to me that I need to shoot. Now, if I'm in a convertible, top down or not, then he's a lethal threat.

If I'm in my bulletproof taxi, then not even a guy with an Uzi can touch me. Of course, I can't shoot him either.

In the words of Link Removed, everything is a situation.

 

[tcox4freedom]

I'd like to add fuel to the fire here with a new WHAT-IF:

Say it's dark, vision is limited. A sketchy looking character charges DIRECTLY at you, full throttle, from 30 feet away. You KNOW you are being attacked by some means / with some intention, and you fear for your safety, for your very life. But you don't know if this guy coming at you is young or old, armed or unarmed... you're not even certain yet if he's acting alone. It's a blitz attack, and in another second & a half, he'll be on you.
What are you going to do?

This is why I believe in SA and some/minimal HtH training. In this situation you'll most likely lose; IF your 1st instinct is to stand there and go for your "concealed" handgun.

IMHO; You need to know how to move off the "X"; and be prepared to deflect and "set-up" an armed response. (Go on offense!)

Most people really don't realize in a "real" threat situation you most likely will have to deflect the initial attack in some fashion, then draw your weapon in defense.

In the 1-2sec it takes to draw your "concealed" weapon a BG can stab/cut you, shoot you or at the very least knock you on your butt!

"Situational Awareness" and at least some "Hand-to-Hand" training should be the top priorities in any self-defense training regimen.

 

[AvidshooterTX]

Many, many people are killed every year by just blunt force trauma. Some are killed at the bear hands of another - especially if they fall and hit their head on a curbstone or other hard surface. If you fear imminent bodily injury use your lethal force. You only have to believe that you are in danger. At trial be prepared to show the jury instance after instance of blunt force killings, including the graphic photos - your lawyer should be able to dig them up for you.

 

[oldvet53]

20 ft. and i'm on allert, if they keep aproching,hand on weapon,5ft alreadu drawn and ready to fire!:biggrin: