(GunReports.com) — Last week, Front Sight Firearms Training Institute’s Dr. Ignatius Piazza took on the issue of small-caliber handguns as suitable self-protection items. Here’s what he said:I have a video for you this week that is the best example of the pros and cons of carrying a pocket pistol that I have ever seen.
The greatest benefit of a pocket pistol (as the name implies) is it is small enough to fit in your pocket. Because it is small and you can literally carry it in your front pocket or back pocket or jacket pocket, YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO CARRY IT ALL THE TIME.
Personally I have disciplined myself to carry a full size, major caliber handgun at all times, because in a gun fight, you never wish you had a smaller gun!
If I did carry a pocket pistol, it would be a hammerless S&W Air Weight .38 Special and I would carry it as a back-up.
The greatest down side to carrying a pocket pistol is the fact that it does not shoot a major caliber round and to stop an opponent in his tracks you are most likely going to have to shoot him in the cranio-ocular cavity (between the eyebrows and the moustache).
Most pocket pistols are chambered for .22, .25, .32 or .380 caliber rounds that have pathetic stopping power when shooting to the thoracic cavity.
Think I’m kidding?
Watch this video and then see my further comments…
Here is the Link: http://www.fox8.com/videobeta/c5c513e9-ea42-4b6a-a5fe-5893858afb14/News/Elyria-Store-Robbery
You just witnessed the best example of the pros and cons of pockets pistols I could ever show you.
Pros: She had the gun in her pocket, not under the counter or in her purse, or in the lock box. It was in her pocket ready for immediate use when she was on her back and at arms length from her assailant. Great job!
It does not get more real and a gun is never more valuable than when you can smell you opponent’s breath at that critical moment you shoot to survive!
Cons: She hit him at least twice with pocket pistol caliber rounds in the upper torso and likely the head (although not between the eyebrows or moustache) and he ran away like he wasn’t even hit!
True, he stopped his attack.
True, he might die 30 minute later from bleeding internally.
But remember, he only ran away because he was not a very dedicated opponent. Had he been high on drugs or enraged or simply a real bad dude, he would have kept on coming because pocket pistols just don’t pack enough stopping power.
So what is the answer? What is the best choice?
I practice what I preach and so do all the instructors at Front Sight:
Carry the biggest caliber, loaded as hot as you can handle it to deliver two, quick center of mass shots to a target 3-5 yards away, in less than 1.5 seconds. If that does not stop him, then have the skills to quickly follow-up with a single round to the cranio-ocular cavity.
Here is the news story that followed this incident and the advice the Police Detective gave that will get you killed.
ELYRIA — As the investigation into the holdup of one Elyria business and the attempted robbery of a second entered its second day Tuesday, Elyria police are pursuing information about a man who showed up at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland with a gunshot wound.
Police said it remains unknown whether the robber was shot by an employee of Broad Street Beverage.
“He’s not talking but he is claiming he was shot in Cleveland,” police Detective Sgt. Lee Frank said. “We have no other physical evidence to indicate it was him. We have to talk with Cleveland police and see where it leads.”
On Monday, a gunman held up West River Florist for $600 cash and checks as a clerk was opening the business about 8 a.m. About an hour later, a man ran into the drive through at 308 E. Broad St. with a gun drawn, but bolted after a female clerk fired a single shot at him as he forced his way inside.
The man was described in both cases as black and wearing a blue bandana over his face, but police have yet to turn up evidence to conclusively link the same suspect to both cases.
“We have nothing at this point that connects the suspect, nothing that puts him in both locations,” Frank said.
In the meantime, police say they empathize with the drive-through employee who fired the shot at the would-be robber but are breathing a collective sigh of relief that the gunshot didn’t escalate to further violence.
“There could have been a complete shootout in there,” Frank said. “We’re not saying she acted improperly. She may have believed her life was about to be taken and she acted.
“In this case, the bad guy got shot at and possibly hit. But what happens if something goes wrong? That’s our biggest fear.”
Although residents are required by law to complete a class to obtain a concealed carry permit, that doesn’t match the extensive training and experience police gain to help them make split-second decisions whether to draw and fire their weapons.
“Officers do this every day … they get caught in shootings,” Frank said. “We’re not saying this shooting was not justified. We’re not saying we would have done it any differently given the same situation.”
Frank said police generally advise private citizens to comply with a robber’s demands.
“We’re not saying not to defend you,” Frank said. “But what if an innocent person is killed when you could have given them $50?”
There have been 17 armed robberies in town this year, Frank said. That equals the number that occurred in all of 2009, and already is well above the 11 armed robberies in 2008.
Reporter Cindy Leise contributed to this story.
Comply with robber’s demands?
To what level?
Give him your wallet?
Give him your wife?
Give him your life?
WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE WITH A CRIMINAL?
There are thousands of dead victims who have complied with criminals’ requests (and were slaughtered like farm animals) instead of answering the request with immediate, overwhelmingand incapacitating violence against their attackers.
Criminals expect you to comply, so when you are armed and take the fight to your assailant, YOU have the overwhelming advantage.
The choice is yours and I’ve dedicated my life to helping you make the right choice!
