FAILURE TO NEUTRALIZE

 

 

“Always have a plan B”, that’s what my martial arts instructor used to drill into our heads.  “What are you going to do if you hit him with your best shot and it doesn’t faze him?” he would ask.  After many years of training I’ve learned not only to have a plan “B” and “C” but sometimes you need a “D” or more – MURPHY’S LAW IS EVER PRESENT!  To me firearms training is another form of martial arts and I carry knowledge learned from my unarmed training over to armed.

 

What do we do if we’ve engaged our adversary two or three times with solid hits to the chest and he shows no sign of being affected?  Continue to shoot till he drops?  Well, that’s what some people would advise but first let’s look at some facts.

 

Typically you can’t see bullet holes in a real person so if they don’t collapse how will we know if we hit them?  If we shoot someone and they don’t drop (“our best shot”) it’s most likely that we’ll start to panic. If we continue to fire rounds in our adrenalin pumped state, we run the risk missing our target and hitting a bystander. We are morally and legally responsible for every bullet that leaves our barrel.

 

If they do flinch violently, indicating that they have been hit hard, they will probably collapse soon, but how soon?  That all depends on the severity of the wound.  Most nervous systems shut down five to six seconds after a dramatic trauma and the person virtually feels nothing.  So to continue to shoot for center of mass (chest) till they do collapse doesn’t make much sense to me – they aren’t going to feel it.  If they STILL pose a threat, it’s time to go to plan “B”.

 

Most instructors in the know advocate two shots to center of mass; lower the firearm to assess and if it is a failure to neutralize, then one shot to the head (brain/eye cavities).  I haven’t heard of too many people that can take a hit to the brain and continue to be a threat.  You old IPSC shooter might recognize this technique as a “Mozambique”.

 

To me this makes more sense than continuing to place shots center of mass or trying to hit a difficult target like the hip or leg, which still doesn’t offer any guarantees that your opponent won’t be able to shoot back.  It also works if your adversary is wearing body armor (bullet proof vest), which is not that uncommon these days.  At your next practice session give plan “B” a try – two to center of mass, assess and one to the head.