Did anyone else here receive training on how to take the shot if someone has a hostage? I know my CCW instructor did and that’s something I’m thankful for. But that also got me curious to see if anyone else got any training on such a situation.
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Not specifically no. But curious to see where thread goes.
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No. There is a class offered at a local gun range. But the laws in my state are not clear cut and unless it is my family member being held hostage I don’t have the right to intervene.
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And that’s what the law says? That it has to be a family member being held hostage in order to use deadly force?
What state do you live in if you don’t mind me asking?
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Every situation is going to be different. You’d better believe I’d defend my children and granddaughter. But would I be able to take a shot if they were held hostage? I don’t know.
It would weigh on the risk to them if I miss. Do not get me wrong, I am a pretty decent shot. Put a lot of adrenaline into my bloodstream and I cannot guarantee my aim would be good enough for a very closely held hostage. And if my family is being held hostage, there would be a LOT of adrenaline.
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I often times forget of adrenaline. But at the same time with adrenaline time seems to slow.
I’ve shot at the range I normally shoot at with silhouette targets and land the between the eyes shot like I was taught. Though I think the targets are rather big. I gotta order the action targets I was trained with and then see if that holds true.
What I don’t understand is why some states don’t allow you to use deadly force in aid of another person
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If you want to use your current targets put one up then use a credit card or something of that size and use a razor blade to cut out that area between the “eyes”. Any hit on paper would be a miss.
I enjoy shooting negative targets
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Head shots are very tricky to make, @luke_ouellette, especially when your hands are shaking for adrenaline.
Rick Sapp - one of the USCCA bloggers - had a great discussion with a Chicago Detective about head shots. Here’s Ricks’ blog post about it:
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I live in Missouri. We have some very vague laws with lots of gray areas. Here is the law :
Now, when you read blogs from Lawyers that interrupt these laws, they say you have to the right to defend another person if you are invited into their home, not just sitting on the porch, In your car or their car, or have a right to be on the property. So if you came to my my house and someone tried to attack you, I could defend you as long as you were not the original instigator. But out in a public place is interpreted a whole different way as they have a right to be there too and the alleged hostage taker also has the right to physically restrain someone if he was originally the person being attacked. I would be at the mercy of the PA . It is best to get away or be a good witness unless you are 100% sure you have some good witnesses on your side. But then again, if someone was being held hostage by someone rambling on in a crazy way I would probably be in fear for my life. I was told best to stay out of it because the laws are not 100% on my side unless I am protecting me or mine. If you google some of the stuff that happened in Mo , it is pretty mind blowing.
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Love that you know your laws, Tracee!
Self-defense does have to be of an innocent party- no matter the state. Otherwise the aggressor could claim self-defense as they attacked someone.
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Speaking of laws and knowing them, USCCA has a good book on how and when you can use lethal defense especially in a home situation. I posted it in another post but here it is again for those who would like to buy it for their own knowledge.
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In case you’re interested, here’s a link to that book in our store:
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/product/magazines-books-the-law-of-self-defense/
It isn’t a thrilling, page turner, but is a great book with easy to understand information.
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I think I would let a SWAT officer take the lead on that one. They have less vested interest in the safety for your family, and won’t be held to the same liabilities as you would, so they dont have that added pressure when touching that trigger. Plus they’re trained to deal with and negotiate with people like that, so they could possibly make the situation end without anyone having to get killed. You could make the situation end really badly. Then the news headlines come out… and you have a CNN moment.
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I have that same book. I found it because my mom tried this holster wrap thing but it didn’t work. I was looking at a slip and saw that book and knew I had to get it. It’s taken me a while to get 35 pages into it but I’m getting there.
It’s a really mind-blowing and scary to know how easily things can go sideways legally!
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That’s it! I have to find a way to set up my range on my 3 acres at home and I’m going to practice getting those headshots down! Or you can do it the military way: center mass then headshot because usually the center mass shot will stun them which allows you to follow up with the headshot. Thus ending the gun fight and you walking out alive.
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I do more picking and choosing what to read in that book. I usually don’t do that, but with this book it’s easier to read the areas I’m interested in as I want to look up the information. 
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Hm. I’ve never thought of that. I’ve always read books, even information books, from cover to cover. That and I feel you learn more by doing so instead of just hopping around the book for things you’re interested in. For instance, I like knowing the inner workings of a court room, how things are going to proceed and such. But then again, I like to learn a lot of things.
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I’m the same way unless I’m looking for something very specific
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I usually highlight the title of the area once I’ve read it - so I don’t double read… but there are times I purposefully double and triple read a segment.
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Yes. A head shot under pressure is a tough shot little own not under pressure in a scenario situation. We train for keeping stress down and use adrenalin to your advantage. Controlled adrenalin and pressure. Breathing and focus on task at hand. Not saying it works at all times but helps…
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