Shoot To Injure?

We often are asked why we aim for the center of mass, which is center of the chest, in defensive shooting and not at the legs to maim someone. The answer is two-fold.
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First, a very forgiving hit rate statistic for Law Enforcement is a 30% hit rate. Which means that the police, the professionals, are missing their targets 70% of the time. So what makes us think that we, even with diligent training, are going to do better? It’s hard enough to get your shots on target when you are moving and your target is not, but in a defensive situation, you are moving AND the perpetrator is moving. You must aim for the largest portion of their body to increase the probability of getting your hit on target. The largest portion of the human body is the Center of Mass, the chest. It just so happens, that in the chest, are vital organs necessary for life. When these organs are punctured, death will occur without immediate medical attention. When you are shooting in self-defense, you are shooting to stop the threat, not to kill the threat. Center of mass impaction will likely stop the threat but as a result, the threat also may die.

Second, the only time that lethal force is EVER to be used is when you are in fear of your life. If you are indeed in fear of your life, you will not have time to aim at a limb to try to injure your perpetrator. If you find yourself before a jury of your peers after the shooting, you will have a very difficult time convincing them that you were indeed in fear of your life so you shot him in the leg.
Key points:
In self-defense, we are never shooting to kill a person but to stop a threat.
Aim for the largest portion of the body to increase the chance of stopping your threat.
Lethal force should only be used if you are truly in FEAR OF YOUR LIFE.

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