Have you ever been in a live gun fight? (how does it feel?)

[g31357]

I've owned a gun now for 4 years and been to the range many times. Feel very comfortable handling a gun and being around others carrying, but I always wonder to myself, what's it going to be like when that time comes and I actually have to draw. We always use ear protection at the range to muffle the sound of the gun shots, but I can imagine without the ear muffs they would be extremely loud and frightening, especially say in the middle of the night when you just woke up to find a stranger standing in your living room. I'm wondering if I have what it will take to make the right decision.

Would like to anyone if anyone has ever been in a situation where they had to fire or even draw a weapon because they felt threatened, what's going on through your head?

[10mmillie]

I always felt hyper alert, irritated and totally focused.

[The Annoyed Man]

Never been in a gun fight. I have been on the receiving end of gunfire once. I was a teenager, and the person shooting was firing at squirrels through some oak trees from above a canyon down into the canyon. I was at the canyon bottom, and I'm pretty sure the shooter had no idea I was down there. I remember hearing the shooting and not thinking too much of it. People hunting squirrels or rabbits with a .22 or something wasn't that uncommon in California back then. Anyway, I heard a shot followed almost immediately by a loud SNAP!!! as something passed close to my right ear. I remember thinking, "that's weird....." and then a second shot splashed against a low cinderblock wall I was standing next to. I thought "BAD THOUGHTS & DIRTY WORDS!" and dove down behind the wall, and started hollering for whoever it was to stop shooting. The shooting stopped, but I never did see the shooter. Although I was what you might call real concerned, I wasn't terrified. In retrospect, I probably should have been. I would certainly be pretty scared today.

[Beiruty]

I was unarmed and on the receiving side against pistol-armed attacker firing at my brother. Initially, I was away from the shooter some few yards, I instinctively run behind the shooter (Teleported?, maybe) and climbed on his back and put on a lock. Rest of the story to follow soon...

first, Once Adrenaline starts flowing heavily, your brain will switch to auto-pilot mode.
second, your will lose hearing sense (brain will shut down hearing)
third, your will lose peripheral vision and you have to get by with tunnel vision.
fourth, if the battle gets long, you would be drained quickly and you start losing finer motor skills and your hands' muscles start twitching.
Fifth, time will slow down for you.
Sixth, no pain, just numbness if you get injured.
Seventh, if you survive (the plan A) then you have to deal with aftermath, you just crash like as if you have been running in a Marathon.

Finally, Long term effect may include PTSD and you may suffer some panic or anxiety attacks.

[G26ster]

I always felt hyper alert, irritated and totally focused.

[OldCannon]

I always felt hyper alert, irritated and totally focused.

For me, being on the wrong side of close-quarters muzzle blasts definitely did exactly that to me, but one of the oddest things I remember is the concussive blasts from the weapons (I wasn't hit). Guns sound (and feel) VERY different when you're in _front_ of them.

[68Charger]

My brother was a real delinquent growing up and had my apartment shot out twice. I also was standing in front of the apartment with him at one point in time talking and someone opened fire on us in a black SUV. Thank God no one was injured and the guy who did it is in jail serving hard time for a murder he committed. Happy to report my brother is now a very stable, level headed guy who has a great career going for him now and holds his CHL.

Though as far as the apartment incident, I now always sleep with a gun under my pillow (cliche, I know) and constantly check the door to see if it's locked.

I can agree with people talking about the noises it makes when getting fired upon. Very distinct and pray I never hear it again.

Stay safe

[srothstein]

Well, I was in one gunfight and as I recall, I wasn't feeling anything at the time. I was too busy reacting to feel anything. I did prove teleportation really does work though. We had set up a quadrant on a robbery suspect and I cut him off as he ran from one of the other officers. As I cut off his path out, I jumped from the patrol car and started to run up on him to arrest him. As I got around to about the front center of the car, I saw he had a Colt .380 in his hand. I instantly remembered the trainers saying that the engine block was the best cover a car could give me and to keep it between me and the shooter. As I was remembering this, I looked down and saw I was back on my side of the car and the engine block was between us and I had no memory of changing my direction or going backwards to get there. I swear that there was no elapsed time between my seeing the gun and being where I needed to be and teleportation is the only possible explanation.

While the next two or three minutes was reported by the media as incidental to things, it sure seemed like it took hours to me while it was happening. And I can say that most of what went through my mind was various instructor's words on what to do in a shooting, but I was doing it faster than I remember thinking it. Everyone does react differently to this kind of stress. I experienced the time dilation effect (one witness swore it was just one loud gunshot while I distinctly recall the pops being separated in time), some auditory exclusion (three .357 rounds went off and I still say they were quieter than most .22LR rounds), and some tunnel vision ( I was so focused on the gun in his hand that I never saw his other arm moving). And the really weird part of the tunnel vision is that at the same time as I could identify the pistol in his hand from 43 feet away, I saw everything going on around us in the parking lot too. It was like my mind focused on the center but also enhanced my peripheral vision. I saw my partner pull in and heard him yell something but I could not tell what.

After the shooting, things were a lot different. When the suspect was in custody and being worked on by EMS, with sergeants and others showing up, the adrenaline crash came. I started thinking about what could have happened, what was coming up, and what I had done wrong. I got lucky because I had two great sergeants on duty and they handled it right. When I started to say something about what I had done wrong, they quickly got me to shut up and moved away so they could not hear what I was saying to myself.

So, I learned some lessons I can tell you. First is that everyone will react differently. Second is that it really is possible for you to say things that will be taken wrong when you did nothing wrong. Third is that some of the best time I ever spent was with a psychologist as quickly as possible (fortunately, the PD had one on call and we spoke with him before the detectives or lawyers). Fourth is how a good lawyer can help (I never did talk to the detectives, the lawyer served as a go-between and wrote the statement for me after I told him what happened). And, finally, I learned that the media cannot report a simple story like a shooting in such a way that you will recognize it, even when you were directly involved.

[MoJo]

I've never been in a face to face gunfight but I participated in a few firefights when I was in Vietnam. I was scared, then angry and, finally I shifted into stay alive mode - - - all this took microseconds although it seemed an eternity. I only remember being scared and then angry that someone I don't know is trying to kill me then it's all a blur. Afterward there was a feeling of exhilaration knowing you had cheated death.

[Dave2]

I've been nearby when shots were fired (in anger... not at a range...), but nothing aimed at me. I recall thinking that my usual reaction to odd noises — investigation — might not be the wisest course of action, so my roommate and I continued driving down the road and called 911.

[Skiprr]

Steve, we need to fix your post in our collective memories, permanently.

The Forum has civilians who have never fired a shot in self-defense, and military veterans who have fired thousands upon thousands of rounds in war.

Thank you for your personal, law-enforcement-officer observation.

This brings things closer to home.

[jimlongley]

I was shot by my brother, a .22 through and through the right thigh, an "accidental" shooting, and all I remember is the burn.

I was rabbit hunting with a friend when he peppered my boot with number 8.5 shot. Nothing penetrated.

I was up a pole working when someone decided to use it as a target, way too much pucker to hear anything except the pole twanging when the bullets hit.

I walked in to a bar on Flushing Av. in Brooklyn just as one sailor shot another for taking advantage of his wife's willingness to forsake her marriage vows (I think he shot the wrong person) I saw the gun pointed at me, hit the deck, got up and looked at the soon to be deceased, decided he wasn't saveable (he was already guppy breathing) and left to catch the bus home without having the beer I stopped for. I was still puckered three hours later when I got home to my girlfriend's place.

Never had a chance to shoot back.

Only the bar shooting in Brooklyn actually resulted in an "instinctual" reaction to shoot back, and I wasn't armed.

[Greybeard]

Little guy on left shoulder saying "That noise is NOT a bumblebee. Find a tree for cover!"

[snatchel]

Fear and adrenaline.

Defensive mode, 75% of a gunfight is spent figuring out how to not get shot.. the other 25% is spent peeking around corners and such to see if you can squeeze off a round or two...unless you have really good cover-

It's a little different if your on the offensive. I remember when clearing houses and such, it's about 25% figuring out how to not get shot, and 75% kill mode.

I shot a LOT less on the defensive than I did on the offensive. And another thing--ammo does go fast. 30 round mags went pretty durn quickly, even in semi-auto. If you manage to get yourself some good cover, it was super easy to dump mags on auto quicker than your team could move.

[smoothoperator]

Would like to anyone if anyone has ever been in a situation where they had to fire or even draw a weapon because they felt threatened, what's going on through your head?

Very little in the moment. In other potential incidents, when I did have time to think, I was able to avoid it.