How Old and Slow is Too Old and Too Slow to Carry?

[revchuck38]

Elsewhere, @Glenn E. Meyer quoted Bill Wilson having said in a magazine article:

Finally, Bill suggested this: “Train frequently with your chosen carry gun. If you can’t draw from concealment and place a hit into an 8-inch area, from 10 yards, within 2.5 seconds, shooting full-charge ammo, you probably shouldn’t carry a gun for self-protection.”

This prompted a couple of responses agreeing and disagreeing with that concept. So I'm throwing this out for discussion - how old and slow is too old and too slow to carry responsibly?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Add accuracy to the criteria? For the young also?

[vcdgrips]

First blush, perhaps a bit restrictive in thought and deed.



I might modify that that re drawing on a threat v responding to a threat i.e. I am a 2.51-10.51 sec drawing individual who can still hit when the gun is up and I am dropping off my grandchild at school when it goes bad, having a 2.5 sec inch presentation is not what is driving the train nearly as much as simply having a gun and being able to not hit innocent folks.

[Chance]

Plenty of "defensive gun uses" involve would-be assailants simply knowing you're armed. Which isn't to say that anyone should rely on a firearm to be a magic talisman to ward off evil, but I think it's a broader discussion than just putting rounds on target.

[Oldherkpilot]

The aviation author Earnest K. Gann was asked when he thought he'd give up flying. He said he'd give up flying when his beard got caught in a propeller. However, since he had no plans to grow a beard any time soon, he'd be flying for some time. I feel pretty much the same about carrying a pistol.

[GJM]

I would have ask Bill to elaborate, as this may be missing context. I am betting he means, if you can't meet this standard, you need to train more not carry less. Also, not sure what full power ammo has to do with a one shot drill. Incidentally, when I spoke to him earlier this week, Bill has turned 70, and is focusing more on new product development.

[SCCY Marshal]

Most people who carry a gun can't do that - at all, much less on demand - at any age and history has shown that they still usually turn out okay. Unless one's family has taken the guns to keep dementia-addled failures in target discrimination from becoming a messy problem, carry on.

[mmc45414]

Lots of gun owners (old and new) have no expectation of any standard, and 10yrd/8in/2.5sec is a reasonable expectation. If he had said it was a standard to aspire to rather than a gating issue as he did, we would all agree.

Never mind that it is probably a higher standard than the LE qualification in most (all?) states...

[MVS]

I actually think this is a great thing to think about. Nobody wants to get their keys taken away. It meshes into something I observed recently. I was shooting a local indoor "action pistol" night. It is a very low round count affair with almost no movement scored more or less like IDPA. They typically shoot three 6 shot stages once in full light then immediately following in low light. Everyone there I would consider gun guys and good guys, but I surely would not want to be around if they had to draw a gun for real. Another guy and I there are what I would call decent shooters. We ran the whole thing points and all in about 50 seconds. The next closest guy, (an NRA instructor) was around 100 seconds and it just got worse from there. It wasn't just the time and accuracy that was bad it was the gun handling and safety as well. Now in some of the cases I am sure it was never learned right to begin with but in others I am pretty sure age was a big factor. If we don't die young, we will all get old.

[RevolverRob]

MY FIRM BELIEF: There is no standard on the expression of a Constitutionally protected right.

MY OPINION: If you cannot safely operate a motor vehicle, you cannot safely operate a handgun. There are A LOT of people who are 70+ who cannot safely operate a motor vehicle.