When to shoot! It all depends on what the situation is. Like if someone kicks your door in and comes in shooting. Defense says now return fire but if you train in the place you live you may have the upper hand. But what if you are walking down a street and someone starts following you making you feel uncomfortable you don’t know what that person is up to, and can’t just turn around and fire he may be unarmed or not you have some choice’s walk faster to see if he moves faster also or challenge him and ask why he is following you and if he make a move to pull a weapon than you must identify exactly what he is going for if he pulls out a weapon then you draw and see if he stop and retreat. You can’t fire because the threat is going away but if he stand still and continues to pull a weapon you should I ld be in your firing stance and then fire before he puts his weapon in battery. You see it all depends on the situation so practice situational awareness and conflict avoidance and you may not have to worry about bad situations you well see them before you get involved. Stay Alert Don’t Get Hurt .
This brought up in my mind the 21’ rule. If someone is closing on you at decent speed they could be on you quick. A 01 02 count imagine the distance covered. At any rate Condition 1
And really, 21 feet is too close. That’s the distance everyone knows, but at 21 feet, an able bodied attacker standing motionless can start running at you, and make it to you with contact in an average of 1.5 seconds.
The average concealed carrier’s draw to first shot time, from concealment, is longer than 1.5 seconds.
And a shot off is not the same as stopping the attacker.
Sounds like it might be a good time for pepper spray
And shooting everyone who gets within 7yd is not a viable solution. Even giving the pepper sauce or preparing to shoot everyone within that distance is going to make a problem for you.
So really, twenty one feet is not a particularly useful thing at all. Except as a reminder that:
- your alert radar needs to monitor a larger radius than that, and
- a person who is actively hostile at you is nearly on you at that distance.
Yep that is my reasoning for Cond 1 No time for chambering a round 
Yes , There are folks out there than cover 21 in a brief span of time. Imagine some folks time in the 40 yd dash.
If you have your gun out and issue the command stop, any advancement or adverse action could be interpreted as they intend to do you harm and don’t care if they are shot…
AKA,
Protect yourself and family from an immediate threat.
When all other avenues are depleted and there is no other way out alive!
And all descisions are made in 1/2 seconds.
I dont have to chamber a round,there is always one in the pipe,having to put one in the pipe you lose the timing to fire
What if you look up from the gas pump and the threat is just standing there next to you?
My head is never down! Nobody ever gets that close to me except my wife. The past few years, my neck is killing me. It’s on a swivel 24/7/365. Phone usage never in public. I wouldn’t tie my shoe laces at a gas pump, I wouldn’t pick up a hundred $ bill at a gas pump, it’s a trap.
If someone calls me and they think they are important, they can leave a message! No distractions when in public, no distractions when getting my mail from the mailbox! We live in a totally different world. Eyes up and focused, ears perked, little hairs on standby!
When in public, I’m the predator. I’ll be looking to see if I can sneak up on you. I practice with my cat. Challenge yourself and see if you can sneak up on a cat. I’m watching hands and eyes (now that half the world is wearing a mask, that makes everyone a thug, bad guy or predator).
I watch everything I possibly can, from shoe color, to your license plate, bra size to eye color! It’s an art form my wife and I perfected over the years.
Want to try, when checking license plates, create a word as quickly as you possibly can with the letters or numbers you see, then color and make of vehicle. The words don’t have to make sense as long as you can give LEO a head start.
Don’t ask me where I learned this, but shoe color is most important, fleeing bad guys don’t ever toss the shoes. They toss the hat, shirt, hoodies, jackets, pants, but they will never ditch the Air Jordans.
Scan parking lots, see who is doing drug deals, how many people are sitting in their cars, how many are smoking, how many have a dog. It’s truly amazing what you’ll see these days.
So the answer to your question, if they are that close we better be kissing because one of us is F##ked!
P.S? Thanks for the question!
Thanks For your answer. You remind me of ME.
I haven’t tried a house cat but have snuck a deer, coyote and bobcat over the years 
Situational awareness, always, again, ALWAYS know what is going on around you. You cannot be surprised if you are aware. Especially at the gas station or getting to the store or leaving. Do not use a cash machine unless it is absolutely essential. If you do use one, go inside a store. These are transitional areas as when you get home or go to leave from your house. Stay safe!
Something I’ve yet to hear anyone mention in this thread. If you are forced to issue warnings/ commands, be LOUD and draw attention to yourself. You want to have witnesses as to what is going on.
Responding to the OP, some better questions might be:
-
How do I avoid and evade so I never have to make the choice?
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How long do I wait before I turn and run as fast as possible? (Answer: Zero seconds!)
I have bought my Daughter and Grand Daughter and the 2 car givers that look after my Grand Daughter a key chain alarm that is 480 DB and have told them that If they heard some one given the times are facing now breaking into the house to pull the alarm and hit the floor because I will be coming from the bed room or the garage Mean and green and will take down any one standing with out remorse as I am always have a weapon close to me
Lesson for the bad guys: don’t f*****g mess with our kids!!!