Well 'striking distance' I believe would be left up to the situation, I left it vague because I wasn't there. IMO one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle for self-defense with a firearm in most cases would be imminent danger - they have to reasonably possess the means and be close enough to use those means. Someone with a gun poses a much greater risk at a much longer distance then someone with a melee weapon. once again I am talking in very vague sweeping terms, I know there are other factors that might justify shooting in self-defense.OneGun wrote:I'm not picking you on personally, but I'm raising the question on this notion of distance. What distance is "striking distance" with a knife or a club? There are a number of videos showing that in an attack with a knife or club, etc. that inside of 15 to 20 feet, a person, even a police officer does not have enough time to draw from holster and fire before the attacker strikes. In my earlier post, I linked a video of police officers going through a knife attack drill and even trained police officers that attempted to draw their gun were unsuccessful inside of 15 to 20 feet. Another video, this time from Mythbusters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDpIi5QNpwPariah3j wrote:lildave40 - sounds like you were thinking on your feet and handled the situation beautifully.
I would like to point out something, not as an attack on what you did, but more as food for thought. You have the right to meet force with force. They threatened bodily harm and had a weapon that could back that threat up. Now it sounds like they weren't within striking distance yet, so drawing your weapon and using it might not have been appropriate yet, but displaying your firearm I believe would have been within the bounds of the law - ie drawing it and leveling it at them while giving verbal commands or keeping it a low ready would have been justified IMO because you are meeting their force (3v1 plus possible deadly weapon and threat of violence). IANAL, this isn't legal advise just my understanding of the law. If I'm wrong, I hope someone can correct me.
Back to my original question: What is striking distance for a knife or club? Or how much distance to I need to draw my gun, even if I was a skilled gun fighter?
And just to be clear, I was advocating that OP had grounds to draw at that point, not wait for the attacker to close in. Pointing the gun at the threat or pulling it out at low ready and giving commands to leave/backup up sound like they would have been justified.
Sorry if what I'm trying to say is coming out muttled or unclear. Its been a frustrating day at work dealing with users so my blood pressure is up.