Watching the military channel last night, and was reminded that using a handgun in a life/death conflict, means that the situation has deteriorated to a close up and last ditch effort to survive, and that the decision on whether or not to shoot has already been made. Shoot or die.
I was reminded that a fire fight with rifles leave us with some discretion concerning when to shoot and when not to shoot. The distance between the contestants allows room to make adjusments in position and conduct.
That's sort of ironic. Civilians not in a war zone have no access to a rifle, and even if he did, he'd better not shoot someone 200 yards away unless he can show it was necessary, a thing that never happens.
With us, the deterioration of events has already occurred should we need to shoot our c/c weapon.
Along with that factor comes the knowledge to serve as a reminder that we might not win. I know this is not new information, but it was in my head, so I entered it here.
