Philip Van Cleave discusses self defense shooting incident at Golden Food Market Part 3

[135yota]

What I want to know is why are some of our VA troopers blind to the current laws on the books? They only enforce what they think is the law. How do they become more informed?

[FFlint07]

This incident is the reason i often carry a back up gun in an effective caliber.. and reloads for both. If I have to shoot I will keep shooting until there's no threat remaining. Those unarmed people should have gotten up and run out the front as soon as the perp walked to the back of the store

[Stink808]

Police aren't going to be there to protect you in almost any situation. They are only going to be there to clean up and make sense of the mess someone else made out of you.

[Timisso1337]

exactly, wow that just shows that even the mighty .45 isn't a magical "man stopper" shot placement really is a large factor in the equation.

[happykillmore88]

@Timisso1337 There is an insane difference in 45 recreational loads and 45 acp defense loads

[jerseyemt]

@happykillmore88 There is no indication of what type of rounds the good guy had. But .45 Colt is, in most loads, more powerful than most .45 ACP loads.

Shot placement matters more than caliber, but a larger and more effective caliber gives you some more leeway. This is very important in a self-defense shooting, because you are very unlikely to shoot anywhere near as well as you do at the range.