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I think warning shots are a bad idea for numerous reasons. One of the main reasons in my opinion is this:

If you fire a warning shot only you know it is a warning shot. The BGs very well may think you are trying to shoot them, and their normal reaction will be to defend themselves. They won't fire a warning shot back, they will shoot at "you". A warning shot may precipitate a gun fight and the BGs get the first shot at you.

seamusTX wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:... given the suddenness and lack of warning with which an attack can be launched against you, there may not even be time to shout a warning, let alone get off a warning shot. In other words, you're going to be pushed from condition yellow, straight through condition orange, and into condition red in the matter of half a second.

This is an excellent point.

In the stress of combat, you will do what you are mentally prepared to do. If you are looking around for a sandbox to fire a warning shot into, you lose. And if you fire a shot wildly, you could be looking at a manslaughter or deadly conduct charge.

Focus on the target.

Excaliber will rightly say that you have to be aware of other potential threats, but we have only two eyes, and they point in the same direction (unless you're cross-eyed, but I digress).

- Jim

Jim is correct that the use of force continuum is not like a ladder, where you have to hit every step from physical presence through verbal warnings, physical force, deadly force, etc. Many situations jump from very low on the scale to the very top in the blink of an eye (e.g. verbal threat to deadly force), and you need to apply level of force required by the "right now" situation.

I would add that, if there's time, performing a 360 scan to prioritize your targets (which may be multiple and approaching from different directions - typically one in front and more from behind) and selecting your cover options accordingly is the best way to go if you can manage it. That's not always the case.

If you don't have that time (and you won't in a sudden, close range attack) the best tactic is to deal with the identified threat(s) right away and then scan, prioritize, and move to cover as indicated.