RYP wrote:- if you are using a pistol..you're already dead.
Really?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_HannekenI'd have to respectfully disagree.
(Just so you know, the Navy Crosses were for guys he got with his M1911.)
I'll agree that in
almost any situation a long gun is preferable to a pistol, but that does not make the pistol worthless. We carry pistols because they are portable, not because they are powerful. The first rule of gun-fighting is to bring a gun. If you are in a situation where it is impractical or a little too conspicuous to carry your rifle or shotgun slung over your shoulder, that sidearm can save your life
if you know what you're doing. In a pinch, a man with a good pistol (hint: not the Beretta, like what the military uses)
who is highly qualified in its use can ruin a rifle squad at close range. (And it's been done before.)
Proper shot placement will trump higher caliber almost every time, and this is just as true with pistols as it is with rifles. The reason why your rule has become so popularly repeated is because the military has shamefully neglected pistol training, deeming it to be obsolete. This is because it takes less time and money to train a man to become reasonably skilled with a rifle than it does to train someone to be effective with a pistol. In cases where it is offered in the military, it is glossed over and woefully dismal.
So yes, it's true that you grab your shotgun or rifle first, but you can't carry a shotgun inside your belt, under your coat, in your briefcase, or in your glove compartment.
And brother, when you need it and don't got it, you sing a whole different tune.
"If a principle exists it must be immutable, for that is what a principle is - a truth standing apart from the mood of the times." - Jeff Cooper