How do you deal with the fear of having your gear stolen?

[Overread]

Unless you have extensive knowledge of human anatomy using a knife to defend yourself is moronic. Using a knife is not a matter of hack'n'slash, there are vital arteries and veins that can be severed and kill somebody in a matter of minutes if they don't receive immediate medical attention. If your only intent is to kill the other person, sure a knife is fine, but for self defense purposes you're looking at very extensive training.[/COLOR]

To be fair you can also shoot those vital parts with a gun. Heck I'd argue that its a lot easier to cause serious injury to another with a gun than with a knife when both are in in-experienced hands.

 

[Crollo]

Exactly. If you don't know what you're severing [veins\muscles\tendons], then utilizing weapons should only be used as a method to kill the other person before they inevitably kill you. A last resort.

Unfortunately I find the attitude of many [Certainly not all, by any means] Americans is that if they brandish a weapon they don't have to learn about self defense, their gun will take care of everything, and they end up killing innocents because they were skittish and thought that the person in question intended to harm them.

 

[Vtec44]

Exactly. If you don't understand the human body, then utilizing weapons should only be used as a method to kill the other person before they inevitably kill you. A last resort.

That's why God invented hollow points and 12-round magazines (for pistols).

 

[Vtec44]

Unfortunately I find the attitude of many [Certainly not all, by any means] Americans is that if they brandish a weapon they don't have to learn about self defense, their gun will take care of everything, and they end up killing innocents because they were skittish and thought that the person in question intended to harm them.

There's something called "personal liability" that makes the average American think twice before firing a shot. Your average American doesn't have the same legal protection compare an American police officer. This the reason why your average American is less likely to shoot the wrong person compare to your average American police officer.

 

[Austin Greene]

That's actually called brandishing and it's illegal. You should only pull a gun if you intend to kill someone as a last resort. Not wound, not threaten, kill.

Again ... depends on state laws. In TX you don't shoot to kill. You shoot to stop the threat. You don't shoot in the head either, intentionally, that implicates execution. You shoot center mass.

This is what the instructors teach in the licensing classes. It's also worth mentioning, you must take a training course which will familiarize you with all of the state laws and prove your profeceincy with your designated firearm class (semi-auto or revolver) before you can even apply to the state. After applying to the state, you have to pass an extensive background check and be paid upon your property taxes and child support is applicable.



That aside .. rather or not it's worth making a shoot over camera gear or not is up to the individual holding the amera and in that situation. Being a hobby to me, probably not worth the shoot. If I had $6k wrapped up in what I was holding and that much more in my bag that the BG was wanting, and I depended on this for the livlihood of my family and myself, well that may very well be reason enough for me to take someones life. You have to consider, is it worth preserving some low life's life who's wasted thier mind, thier life, thier sanity away over the use of drugs and a string of bad decisions over you own ability and means to provide for your own family if you have all of your resources invested in your gear?

At that point, I look at it as, either his life or my families well being.

Now .. all that being said, there are WAY to many variables to ever be able to say with certainty that a given situation is a good time to shoot, however given the oppurtunity, I would not hesitate defending myself or my family with deadly force if put in a situation where I deemed it necessary.

Sorry for the long ramblings.

Oh I wasn't talking legal terms. I just meant, if you're pulling a gun, then make sure the BG is dead. :lmao: Last thing you need is a lawsuit because you let someone live to get a lawyer.

I was always taught, and agree with, the same policy my brother in law follows. If someone breaks into his house (or my house in the future), and if I believe they intend harm to myself or my family, I'm going to empty the entire clip into them as fast as I can if they won't leave at my repeated request and I've deemed their being shot necessary. The worst thing to have come up in court is someone who you've killed by only shooting once or twice, it implies calculated thought. The more rounds you can put into them (to a reasonable extent, we're talking handguns here), the more panicked the situation looks to the officers (implying you were scared for your life), the better off you are in court.

It should be noted though, that my family lives in the woods, and things work differently out here. Should someone inflict harm on my loved ones and then try to run off (it happens around my hometown), thats when I take the .270 and go hunting for their ass. They might be able to run pretty fast, but I'm willing to bet my bullet can run a lot faster

 

[Overread]

Wait - the more you shoot someone the more innocent you appear?
something in that sounds darn quirky

If you want to simulate panic - empty the clip into the surroundings not the person or just only leave 5 bullets in the clip to start with so you can't panic fill them with 50 rounds (or however many)

 

[Austin Greene]

Wait - the more you shoot someone the more innocent you appear?
something in that sounds darn quirky

If you want to simulate panic - empty the clip into the surroundings not the person or just only leave 5 bullets in the clip to start with so you can't panic fill them with 50 rounds (or however many)

I can look it up later, but this is taken expressly from a court case where the victim shot twice, the suspect died within minutes, and then the victim was charged with pre-meditated murder. I don't mean to say that you should walk up to a shot man and empty out on him, but rather that if you have a good bead on someone who poses a mortal threat to your life, you pull that trigger as many times as you can, as fast as you can, until they are on the ground. Again, I'm referencing handguns, so we're not talking about large capacities here, and I also am not referring to a firearm such as a shotgun where it would indeed be excessive. The bottom line is that if someone wants to kill you, your average 9mm is not going to do the job with one shot to center of mass (assuming you hit your mark). Better safe then sorry.

empty the clip into the surroundings not the person

Also, just to point out, that is one of the worst things you can do. Deciding to take a life is no small decision (not that you implied it is), but having the blood of someone else who you hit with a stray bullet is something I would not want to live with. Very similar reason why shotguns are not recommended for home defense. Birdshot won't do much, but buckshot or slugs will pass right through your average house wall, endangering those in adjoining rooms.

 

[Crollo]

Reading back on the thread I see my original readings of the people who carry here are incorrect. Seeing that most of the carry-goers have the same beliefs [Shoot to kill, last resort only, don't kill over material possessions] I'm finding myself extremely relieved. Again, I have no problems with firearms, I would love to shoot them for recreational purposes but I live in Canada, and it really is very relaxing to know the people here are in fact not what I found them to be originally. [People who would straight up kill somebody for attempting to steal their equipment]

Also overread, what he's saying is that if you kill somebody via 2 shots [To the heart, head or spine is the only spot I imagine you'd effectively kill them with 2 shots] then it implies you were under no pressure [it's difficult to get a good shot to the heart, spine or head with a moving target, much more difficult when under immense pressure] and you straight up murdered the person. If you unload a firearm it implies you were under severe pressure [Getting shot at, etc] and you were acting out of self defense.

 

[Austin Greene]

[Shoot to kill, last resort only, don't kill over material possessions]

Absolutely. Often the viewpoints of gun owners and those who carry is so heavily stereotyped its sickening. If you shoot someone, you shoot to kill, and you don't choose to do so lightly (especially over material possessions).

 

[Crollo]

[Shoot to kill, last resort only, don't kill over material possessions]

Absolutely. Often the viewpoints of gun owners and those who carry is so heavily stereotyped its sickening. If you shoot someone, you shoot to kill, and you don't choose to do so lightly (especially over material possessions).

Well, it's just that many gun owners on the first thread brandished their carrys as 'insurance policy' for their equipment\materials which misleads me greatly into the assumption that they genuinely would use their firearms over material possession instead of last resort. That's why the stereotype is so much alive in this thread specifically.

My problem personally is, I've actually known some pretty bad gun owners. So for me it's a little more then just a stereotype having known somebody who got a firearm to prevent his <400$ laptop being stolen while on campus [He is extremely skittish, I'd feel extremely unsafe being around him]. Unfortunately he's in a different country so there's little I can do to report him or do anything about it.

 

[Ryan L]

I'm pretty good with a bowstaff, still working on the nun-chuck skills...

 

[blackrose89]

http://www.google.com/search?q=gun+forums&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

 

[Ballistics]

If someone steals your gear, you cant shoot them. You go to prison. You can only shoot it if you are in danger. As much as I hate getting my gear stolen, I dont want to kill anyone.

Depends. I really don't think it happens where someones grabs your gear and shoot them down. You simply pull your gun out when you're being mugged.The mugger will most likely back down. If not that means he's using excessive force which must be pretty life threatening for him not to fear a gun. In which your life is legitmately in danger and you have a full right to defend yourself.

That's actually called brandishing and it's illegal. You should only pull a gun if you intend to kill someone as a last resort. Not wound, not threaten, kill.

Presenting or brandishing your weapon while being attacked ie mugging, is not illegal. What you are saying is complete nonsense. You can present your weapon in self defense and are in no way legally obligated to kill someone when you draw it. That's just silly.

 

[unpopular]

I think 'brandishing' is more like using a weapon to intimidate people without explicitly threatening them or otherwise displaying a weapon in a situation where it is not safe, socially acceptable or legitimately appropriate to do so.

Brandishing would be waving a gun around at Starbucks because you need your Latte immediately; not using a gun to deter a robbery, shooting at a riffle range or displaying it at a gun show.

 

[DiskoJoe]

I'm pretty good with a bowstaff, still working on the nun-chuck skills...

No computer hacking skillz?