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A firearm used for self defense needs to provide a balance of bullet energy transfer (correlated with threat cessation effectiveness), ease of use, ability to m

A firearm used for self defense needs to provide a balance of bullet energy transfer (correlated with threat cessation effectiveness), ease of use, ability to make attempts to fire on target successfully given extreme stress, little or no notice to prepare, and operating while thoroughly disoriented due to surprise. Bullets which do not halt upon impact with the body but go through it with minimal damage do not stop the threat. The chances of this occurring decrease with caliber size increases and benefit from hollow point ammunition. Larger ammunition cartridges are heavy and bulky and you can't fit many bullets (=attempts) in a convenient cartridge. The decision to use a firearm is never taken lightly by a normal person, and normal people can not fire on target under stress. It's a balance between bullet energy transfer which is correlated with threat cessation and ergonomics. It's important to remember that a single shot will not stop most assailants. It's normal to have to fire 3-6 times with normal 9mm ammunition to stop someone intent on killing on you. Sometimes you get lucky with one, but it's not true most of the time. Many times gunshots are enough to subdue the threat without killing them.

_carbyau_ 5y ago
Thank you for the detailed response. I guess my dreamed up scenarios were more vague "shooter/assailant in the area" whereby I figured I'd want to "make myself less desirable to bother with while I exit the area". Hence small caliber, lots of noise/attempts and if - god forbid - anything connected it would still hurt/slow them. I never really contemplated a "someone intent on killing you" scenario. It isn't something I think of much and I appreciate that clearly people have.
- deleted 5y ago
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- orangepurple 5y ago
  In general most people simply won't ever encounter that scenario. There are parts of the US where the people who commit crimes against you won't think twice about "eliminating eyewitnesses," especially if they are a protected class with favorable treatment by the judiciary in their particular jurisdiction. Court systems vary immensely around the US in prosecutory discretion and rulings. For this reason it is more acceptable to defend yourself with firearms when in Texas than in the Northeast. Additionally, 9-1-1 simply does not work in many parts of the country. In rural areas, response times are on the order of half an hour or longer. In cities like Washington D.C., 9-1-1 can take FIVE MINUTES to pick up the phone. I could not believe it until I needed to use it. I was put on hold by 9-1-1, LOL. I was able to run away from the threat and hide in that case. I was attacked unprovoked near a dark wooded area while walking down the street. I got lucky then. The stories about Rock Creek Park disappearances are true.

_carbyau_ 5y ago

Thank you for the detailed response. I guess my dreamed up scenarios were more vague "shooter/assailant in the area" whereby I figured I'd want to "make myself less desirable to bother with while I exit the area". Hence small caliber, lots of noise/attempts and if - god forbid - anything connected it would still hurt/slow them. I never really contemplated a "someone intent on killing you" scenario. It isn't something I think of much and I appreciate that clearly people have.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
orangepurple 5y ago
In general most people simply won't ever encounter that scenario. There are parts of the US where the people who commit crimes against you won't think twice about "eliminating eyewitnesses," especially if they are a protected class with favorable treatment by the judiciary in their particular jurisdiction. Court systems vary immensely around the US in prosecutory discretion and rulings. For this reason it is more acceptable to defend yourself with firearms when in Texas than in the Northeast. Additionally, 9-1-1 simply does not work in many parts of the country. In rural areas, response times are on the order of half an hour or longer. In cities like Washington D.C., 9-1-1 can take FIVE MINUTES to pick up the phone. I could not believe it until I needed to use it. I was put on hold by 9-1-1, LOL. I was able to run away from the threat and hide in that case. I was attacked unprovoked near a dark wooded area while walking down the street. I got lucky then. The stories about Rock Creek Park disappearances are true.