Self Defense: Let's Take a Look From An Avid Reader of The Blog
By Gregory Kielma
Firearm vs knife: What would you do?
If you are carrying a concealed firearm and are approached by someone with a knife with the intention of robbing you, should you threaten them by saying you have the gun, or draw it first?
Thoughts from Tom H.
Says Kielma, you give the commands, stop, stop, The perp has one of two choices, retreat or continue to advance. Either way you're in a very difficult position. Use distance and time to your advantage. Always be situationally aware. The perp already knows the risks and is committed.
See Tom’s reasoning below.
Your gun is ‘all or none’. Don’t threaten, don’t brandish, don’t mess around. Use it, or don’t. Once you decide that you need to shoot and commit to that course of action, you draw and fire. If he didn’t get the picture in the half second or so you afforded him, that’s unfortunate for the perp. He should have thought about that when he decided to try to rob you with a deadly weapon.
If he’s within twenty-one feet, or just a little more than the length of a full-sized pickup truck, you are essentially out of time. If he gets any closer before you decide to draw and fire, he can charge you and slash or stab you with his blade before you’ll be able to draw, aim, and fire at him. You might have hit him as he’s closing in, however, he’ll still have the inertia to reach you if you can’t make space between you and him. You also don’t know what he has in mind unless he says things that clue you in.
He may be wanting to rob you, but he also may just want to stab you to death for whatever twisted reason his broken brain can conjure up. There may be someone or something he absolutely despises, and for some reason, when he looked at you, his delusional mind registers that. If he attempts to attack you with a knife, you counter his attack with your gun to keep his knife away from you.