The 10 Rules of a Gunfight

1. HAVE A GUN.

1A. PREFERABLY, HAVE TWO.

2. ENSURE THAT IT'S LOADED.

Believe it or not, there are people that don't do this. They carry a gun without a bullet in the chamber. They believe that they have time to chamber a round before the shooting starts. Don't bet on it.

3. WATCH YOUR POTENTIAL OPPONENT'S HANDS, NOT HIS EYES. NOBODY WILL EVER "LOOK" YOU TO DEATH.

Many martial-arts instructors will tell you that an opponent's eyes will give away their intentions. That is not always the case. But you can bet that if they go for a knife or a gun, they will go for it with their hands.

4. YOU WILL START A GUNFIGHT AT A DISADVANTAGE; SEIZE THE INITIATIVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

If you do get into a gunfight, it will probably be with a person that has already made up his mind to kill anyone who gets in his way. You don't go to work everyday thinking, "I'll kill anyone who gets in my way". Therefore, the bad guy has an advantage. You can take it away from him very early in the fight if you use good tactics and good shooting.

5. THE FIRST GUY TO SCORE A GOOD HIT USUALLY WINS.

A good, vital zone shot will usually take the fight out of your opponent. When he decided to attack you, he probably thought that you were an easy target. If he is surprised by your ability, he may give up.

6. WYATT EARP WAS A MORON; SEEK COVER AND USE IT.

When you watch a cowboy movie or Dirty Harry, you'll notice that the heroes never use cover. Those actors are not really going to die if they get hit. Real humans do. It is foolish to stand in the open while bullets are flying. Clint Eastwood is bulletproof, we're not.

7. FIRE 'TIL THE FELON FALLS.

If you're shooting, it's to stop a deadly attack. Do not stop firing until the assailant's ability to hurt you or others has ended. Don't fire to wound or kill. Fire to STOP.

8. RELOAD AT THE FIRST TACTICAL PAUSE.

If there is a time-out in the action, use it to reload. Although your gun may not be empty, reload anyway. All of your opponent's buddies may have heard all the activity and are headed your way. It would be nice to have a full gun.

9. BEFORE YOU QUIT THE FIGHT, MAKE SURE THE FIGHT'S OVER.

Back in the "old days" we used to tell Guards and Cops on the range, "fire two shots and re-holster your weapon". This is fine on the range ... until a couple of them did it on the street. Well, they didn't hit the bad guy with the first shots and "automatically" re-holstered, only to be shot by the bad guy! We also learned that people don't think in a highly stressful situation, they react ... so practice like its real life.

10. REMEMBER THE LINE, "ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU..." IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN ATTORNEY, NOW'S THE TIME TO FIND ONE.

Consult with your attorney, no matter how justified you think you are. Anything is possible in the legal system, i.e. lawsuits.