Ever shoot someone?

[tstand]

I'm considering concealed carry and am thinking about worst case scenarios - you have to use the gun in defense, or there was an accidental discharge that harmed someone.

If either has happened to you, can you tell your story? What was the aftermath for you? (Psychological, medical, legal, financial, whatever you want to share)

thanks

[TAB]

I doubt any one is willing to talk about it.  I am happy to say thay has never happen to me, but I have pointed guns at people.

[tstand]

This is helpful

http://concealednation.org/2013/04/aftermath-of-a-self-defense-shooting/

[tombogan03884]

If you are going to CCW you should be more concerned with things like your willingness to actually pull the trigger when needed, how will you carry, on body IWB, OWB, off body, weapon security, things of that nature.
While it is wise to know your legal position , and perhaps look into concealed carry insurance, you can not let these things influence your decision.
You and your loved ones have to be alive for you to be concerned with consequences.
If you let some POS kill you you will be safe from any sort of legal or financial consequences, but will it matter ?

[Timothy]

I can parrot what Tom has already stated and add that with a firearm, there is no such thing as a "accidental" discharge.  Any unintended discharge is "negligence" not an accident!  An accident is something that is unforeseen or unplanned.  As soon as a firearm is loaded, it's not an accident when it's fired under any circumstances if the party is responsible in it's handling.

As to the question, I've no idea how I'll react if confronted with the reality of defending myself with a firearm but I've faced the reality of a knife wielding assailant and manage to prevent my own blood loss. 

I suspect I should be capable but unless and until that situation arises, all we can do is get the mindset, prepare and practice for the eventuality.

[Sponsor]

[tstand]

If you are going to CCW you should be more concerned with things like your willingness to actually pull the trigger when needed, how will you carry, on body IWB, OWB, off body, weapon security, things of that nature.
While it is wise to know your legal position , and perhaps look into concealed carry insurance, you can not let these things influence your decision.
You and your loved ones have to be alive for you to be concerned with consequences.
If you let some POS kill you you will be safe from any sort of legal or financial consequences, but will it matter ?

I've worked through the willingness to shoot someone if they invade our home (already happened once last Spring, but no one was home). But then I got more curious about the Ohio concealed carry laws, and that's what motivated my question(s). I think you have to know what the aftermath could be, as well as evaluate whether you could pull the trigger.

[brushmore]

I never had to but thought that might happen when someone was breaking into house I lived in during college.  The guy took off when the cops arrived. Let me tell you that the five minutes it takes for the cops to show up seem like an eternity.

My grandfather was a Marine in the Pacific during WWII.  I can tell you that he was troubled by the killing he did for the rest of his life.   Once I was an adult and in the military he told me the details of what he went through.  Without a doubt killing a human being will scare your soul.

[Solus]

Think it through deeply before you carry. 

You need to make that moral decision before you are faced with the situation.

Think about and understand, "internalize", as the catchword goes.  Know fully that you believe you would be justified in killing to protect your life or the life of another innocent.  Think, also, how you would view yourself if you didn't...if you stood by and an innocent was killed and you could have prevented it.

If after all that consideration, you do not know for sure you would be morally (to yourself) justified, I'd say don't carry.

Also note that even if you have made the decision that you would be morally justified in a self defense killing, you still don't know what you will do when it's time to pull the trigger....not for sure.

But I do believe that the more you look at it and consider all the "angles" the more likely you will be to do what you have thought out to be right when the time comes.

About negligent discharges.  They can be avoided by never being negligent. 

If you don't know the 4 rules of safe gun handling, learn them and every time your fingers touch your weapon, be thinking of them. 

When you have your gun in  your hand, it needs to be the center of your attention..along with your target if you have one.  Just never be casual with it.  Treat it like a running chainsaw....be aware of every move you make with it.

Good luck and take care.

[TAB]

I can parrot what Tom has already stated and add that with a firearm, there is no such thing as a "accidental" discharge.  Any unintended discharge is "negligence" not an accident!  An accident is something that is unforeseen or unplanned.  As soon as a firearm is loaded, it's not an accident when it's fired under any circumstances if the party is responsible in it's handling.

As to the question, I've no idea how I'll react if confronted with the reality of defending myself with a firearm but I've faced the reality of a knife wielding assailant and manage to prevent my own blood loss. 

I suspect I should be capable but unless and until that situation arises, all we can do is get the mindset, prepare and practice for the eventuality.

I dissagree. Mechanical.failures can produce a ad, but they are extremely rare.

[Timothy]

I dissagree. Mechanical.failures can produce a ad, but they are extremely rare.

In more than fifty years of gun handling by me, my family and friends combined, we've never had a mechanical issue of any kind that resulted in a discharge of a firearm!