Much overthinking going on here...
Carrying concealed is more than having a firearm hidden somewhere on your person, it's more about the accompanying mindset necessary to actually use it.
As has been stated already, defensive shootings are going to take place up close and in split seconds. The person who identifies a potential threat and decides to engage first has a significantly higher opportunity to draw first and thus also to incapacitate the threat first.
Of course, the person who identifies a potential threat in time to elude or avoid it completely incurs almost no opportunity to select dinner from the jail menu or to mortgage the house in order to pay the attorney.
In a pinch, a .380 ACP loaded with hollow points, drawn and fired beats a .44 Magnum being fumbled with through a jacket by a person who didn't anticipate the threat or having to draw at all (not suggesting by Fritz). If the first shot doesn't eliminate the threat, it will most likely change the orientation of the threat and leave the option of reengaging it.
I've had occasion to participate in, as well as observe and analyze combat engagements where the "ready" party prevailed over the "better armed" party, and where even that pathetic military 9mm FMJ entirely changed the dynamic of the situation.
Fighting smart most often means not having to fight at all. If that cannot be avoided, "First to fight" is the first advantage.
Last edited by homers brother; 06-17-2012 at 06:13 AM.