5 Firearm Misconceptions you might believe

The movies and media are filled with firearm myths and misconceptions. Even some of my students who are already firearm owners and avid shooters show up at my classes believing some of the more common tropes about guns. Here are 5 of the ones I've run into lately:

If I need to defend myself I should empty my magazine to really make sure the bad guy is dead so I'll be better off in court!

I've actually heard this a few times when discussing CCW and home defense. I'm assuming the idea is "if my story is the only story to tell, I'm going to be better off" along with the worry of a wounded assailant suing you civilly.

There are a few issues with this strategy and it worries me how often I've heard it from well-meaning gun owners. As a law enforcement officer you are taught to shoot to stop the threat. Every round you fire must be justified. In a day where every shooting is criticized and analyzed down to watching body cam footage frame by frame, the courts may find that the first 4 rounds you fired were justified, but the 10 after that are sending you to prison.

As a "civilian" you are going to be given more leeway in the courts when it comes to lethal force in a self-defense scenario compared to a law enforcement officer. The courts assume as a cop you have received additional training and experience over the average gun owner and you should have an idea of the constitutional and case law regarding using lethal force. With that being said you still have a legal obligation to use lethal force in a justified manner. Your goal as a firearm owner for self-defense should be to protect yourself or others, not to take a life.

Going into a stressful and potentially life threatening situation with a plan already formed of "I'm going to empty my gun no matter what!" can have dangerous consequences. Every situation is different and you need to be able to react reasonably to the information you have. If the neighbor's kid breaks in because he is drunk and is at the wrong house and you empty a mag into him you may or may not be found justified by a court but either way you will have to live with those consequences.

You don't need to aim shotguns

This is a pretty common one purpetuated by all sorts of movies. I've heard from several new students "if there's a bump in the night I'll just grab my shotgun, at least I won't have to aim". The reality is a shotgun shooting defensive buckshot (which is what you should be using) will have a surprisingly narrow spread at the kind of distances you find in most homes.

Far from filling a hallway with lead, most shotguns with defensive loads will print a group smaller than a dinner plate within the confines of the average home. That grouping size is similar if not smaller than the accuracy I would expect from the average shooter with a handgun, shooting under pressure. That means you are going to have to aim that thing just as much as you would a handgun.

You should carry with an empty chamber

There seem to be two drivers for this idea. The first is "that's how the IDF carries, so it must be good". The major reason the IDF carries pistols with empty chambers is because they rely heavily on conscripted soldiers with minimal training. They carry that way to minimize the chances of an accidental discharge from a brand new soldier with very little experience around firearms. The practice is standardized so you will see more capable units using the same technique but that doesn't mean it makes sense for you. Having to draw a pistol and place accurate shots under stress is already difficult enough without adding another step. A gun without a round in it is basically just a paperweight and in a self-defense scenario you may not have the time to rack the slide.

The other foundation for this idea is simply not feeling comfortable carrying a firearm on your person with a round loaded in the chamber. This does have some validity in my opinion. If you are just starting CCW and the thought of a loaded gun strapped to you freaks you out there is nothing wrong with carrying for a while without a round in the chamber. Check that gun after each day and see that the trigger has not been pulled. This should help give you the confidence to know that guns don't just go off by themselves, assuming you are carrying a quality firearm in a quality holster.

Quick note on the current issue with Sig P320s. There have been documented cases of Sig P320s going off, sitting in a holster, with no press of the trigger. This is as ongoing issue and although very rare, it would give me pause carrying that firearm until Sig acknowledges and fixes the issue

If a .50 cal round barely misses you it will still kill you

I've seen this one all over the internet and quoted even by people who were in the military. If you shoot a .50 cal at a paper target you will leave a .5in hole...that's it. If a large caliber round can't destroy a piece of paper without actually hitting it, its not going to damage a person.

"Stopping Power" or "knock down power" in handguns

This is a very popular one I run into all the time. This is usually from the "I carry a .45 because they don't make a .46 crowd" and those who think a 9mm is vastly inferior in "stopping power" compared to a .40, .45 or 10mm. The reality is that handgun rounds just don't have "knock down" power. That's just not how they work. Unlike a rifle round, pistol rounds do not travel fast enough to create the kind of damage and incapcitating effects common in rifle rounds.

If you look at the results of ballistic testing, a quality 9mm defensive round is going to provide similar performance to a .40 or a .45. The most important factor is not the size of the round, its where you put it. With that in mind I would much rather have 18 shots of 9mm vs 7-8 rounds of .45 you might find in a 1911.

If you want to learn more about firearms the best way is to get hands on training and experience, don't rely on what you hear or see in the media and if it doesn't sound right, ask someone who actually knows what they are talking about!