Talyn
Emissary
Related to a previous discussion...
People on social media seem to have concerns as to the “maximum effective range” of a particular type of defense handgun.
“Maximum effective range” has a meaning outside the gun shop and is well explained in a US Army Reserve video by CW2 Knote, thus: it’s the distance at which “… the average trained soldier is expected to be able to produce hits on a man-sized target 50% of the time.” (As opposed to “maximum range,” which is the longest distance at which the projectile still has lethal propensities.)
The more general definition is by the United States Department of Defense: “The maximum distance at which a weapon may be expected to be accurate and achieve the desired effect.” (Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.)
As to whether someone at a particular distance can present an imminent deadly threat, that’s a matter for the trier(s) of the fact (the jury, unless a bench trial.) As to “it all happens close,” consider that the opposition has a vote; it’s the offender who determines when and from where the situation will turn deadly.
There are cases where those distances are long.
There are some factors in assessing ‘effective range’ issues. The first is the ability to visually identify an immediately lethal threat that requires shooting. If you can’t see well enough to positively identify the threat, the ‘max effective range’ issue of the firearm in question is the least of your problems. If it’s truly a self-defense issue and not a “looking for trouble” issue, you’ll move away or get behind something (Time = distance + obstacles: Dennis Tueller).
People on social media seem to have concerns as to the “maximum effective range” of a particular type of defense handgun.
“Maximum effective range” has a meaning outside the gun shop and is well explained in a US Army Reserve video by CW2 Knote, thus: it’s the distance at which “… the average trained soldier is expected to be able to produce hits on a man-sized target 50% of the time.” (As opposed to “maximum range,” which is the longest distance at which the projectile still has lethal propensities.)
The more general definition is by the United States Department of Defense: “The maximum distance at which a weapon may be expected to be accurate and achieve the desired effect.” (Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.)
As to whether someone at a particular distance can present an imminent deadly threat, that’s a matter for the trier(s) of the fact (the jury, unless a bench trial.) As to “it all happens close,” consider that the opposition has a vote; it’s the offender who determines when and from where the situation will turn deadly.
There are cases where those distances are long.
There are some factors in assessing ‘effective range’ issues. The first is the ability to visually identify an immediately lethal threat that requires shooting. If you can’t see well enough to positively identify the threat, the ‘max effective range’ issue of the firearm in question is the least of your problems. If it’s truly a self-defense issue and not a “looking for trouble” issue, you’ll move away or get behind something (Time = distance + obstacles: Dennis Tueller).
