Said by a lot of dead people.
And what is your point? In a struggle which is better, the semi auto, the wheel gun, or maybe some derringer type device? Anybody can get sucker punched, but we try to avoid that, any movement when it comes can save your bacon, and allow you to pivot or move into a better position for defense. Old people should not let strangers get that close, my opinion of course, others may differ.
Every cop will have those struggles if they work long enough, especially when they make arrests without backup. I recall 2 in remote areas where my struggle was to survive and I was blessed. Death was actually pretty close. And I recall a few arrests with other officers present where the bad guy struggled for the guns. Not fun.
That is why officers train to retain the gun and that is why we use retention holsters. Not required for old guys carrying guns to Walmart and back, but everyday old people get attacked and some do not survive. All we can do is hide from the risk and minimize the risk. I see no real difference in whether one carries a small wheel gun or a small semi auto. Whatever works for that person.
When I became prosecutor, I was usually assigned those jury trials where an officer fought with suspects. I volunteered for those cases, but it was actually a good plan. The reason is because, having been there, when the suspects attorney would wander off into those areas about the officer being abusive or maybe making the suspects actions seem lesser of an offense, it was easy for me to walk both the officer and the defendant through the steps that led up to the officer being attacked.
I would probe each of them as to their position as the contact unfolded, presenting word pictures to the jury. The officer would explain why he might face his gun side away from the suspect and how the suspect rapidly approached and made threatening gestures, shifted his weight and then made physical contact with the officer.
It is pretty simple after the fact to describe why an officer took action when a threat was unfolding. And that is how I see gun retention for us old guys carrying guns for protection. We move away from contact when we can, and when it is imminent, we should be at the least shifting our weight and making our body positioned to where the perp cannot get a good hold on our gun. Again, nobody enjoys being shot in the foot, and they will not be following you very fast when you move away.
It is all academic on the forums, but thinking about keeping that distances and moving off the X I believe is helpful, if that attack ever comes.
My 2 cents.
My 2 cents.
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