Fairbairn makes for some good reading.  Shooting to Live by him and Sykes can be obtained for free, online at a couple places.  http://www.gutterfighting.org/files/shooting_to_live.pdf  ; is the first hit Google pulled up.  Intriguing read for anyone with an interest in pistol usage.

From "Shooting to Live" by W.E. Fairbairn

"We have made no mention yet of an aspect of this matter which we have observed time after time in the course of years.  A hit in the abdominal region almost invariably causes a man to drop anything he may have in his hands and clutch his stomach convulsively.  We add that such a hit almost always has fatal results, and that is an excellent reason for such equipment such as effective bullet proof vests, at least for the use of police."

Notice Fairbairn says "almost invariably" and "almost always."  He goes to great lengths elsewhere in his book to point out that there are NO guarantees in a shooting.  Perhaps gutshots are not nearly so apt to be fatal in this day and age but the other effects were observed way before TV.

Fairbairn claimed that his information comes from over 600 gunfights that the Shanghai Municipal Police were involved in throughout the '20's and '30's.  He didn't claim to have participated in all of these but he was known to have been in some of them and to have observed others.

I suppose he could have lied but what reason would he have to?  I've never read a single account from a WWII SOE or OSS operative that had anything exept praise for Fairbairn.  As far as they are concerned Fairbairn is the reason many of them lived.

Anyway, Fairbairn was way ahead of his time in such things as autos for cops, body armor for cops, SWAT, and riot control techniques.  It seems Shanghai was just that kind of city.

Fairbairn's claims are fine but misleading to a certain extent with regard to shooting the abdominal cavity. Also its not just T.V., its whatever media is used to convey the effects of a gunshot at the time. Gut shots will not reliably cause anything whatsoever except bloodloss which will vary in severity based on circumstances and is thus an unreliable hit zone for incapacitation. In the cases where it has caused the things claimed by Fairbairn they are purely coincidental and entirely subjective to the individual. In everycase Fairbairn sites for an abdominal cavity incapacitation, you could find dozens where it didnt stop the fight. In fact, Colonel Charlie Beckwith  was shot by a .51 Cal MG round through the abdomen and was neither immediately incapacitated or later killed.

I have read, used and instructed some of the things Fairbairn explains. I take nothing away from his efforts except for the fact that the effects of gunshot wounds as presented with regard to gutshots are unscientific, subjective and cannot be used in anyway to predict the outcome of a shooting to that area of the body. And also, there are indeed very distinct guarantees, within reason, in a shooting. Humans as tough as we are do have physical limitations that cannot be avoided. Hits to the areas I described will stop opponents within well defined times. There will be slight variances based on the individual but it will be within the margin of error. With the "gutshot" however, you will not guarantee anything. You wont even guarantee the individual shot there notices it much less drops a weapon or ceases to be a threat. That I know for a fact.

With regard to a gutshots likely hood of producing a fatality. Its largely irrelevant except for the fact that is not got to be immediately fatal. Modern medicine and life saving techniques have also increased the chance of survival immensely. Another fact witnessed first hand on several occations.

Are there reasons for shooting a person in the gut? Yes and they are too varied to name in a post here. But as a matter of practice should you choose that area as a target if other areas such as the thoracic or cranial cavity are presented and in that order? No even if Jesus told you to.

Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, the key to incapacitation is through the thoracic cavity.


DA

I hope for your sake you are refering to the entire context of his work and not the gross misinterpretation posted below. If otherwise, you had better pray that your future violent encounters continue to be untrained persons with low motivation.

Most are til the first shot. Especially LE. But thats how it goes. Survival is often some balance of luck and skill. The question is which plays more of a role?

Darth,

I'm not going to hold up Fairbairn, Applegate, et al, to be the ultimate in LE trainers but I don't think we can afford to dismiss what they say either.  The fact remains that they were in gunfights and formed idea's from their experiences.  Didn't you start his thread, way back, because people were preaching things that hadn't been validated by experience?

Incidently  LTC Cooper, whom I respect, admitted that he had never been in a "pistol discussion."  Cooper's first hand experiences were as a rifleman and his rifle skill appears to have been his strongest suit.

I practice Mozambique regularly.  Most departments do.  I have confidence that "it will do, if I can do."  But is it always the best tactic?  I don't know, I'm open to other ideas.

LE trainer Paul Howe (former 1st SFOD-D, and a Mogadishu vet) likes four to the body before transitioning to a head shot.

There is also at least one program these days, run by former cops, that teaches "stitching" a threat up the middle.  I think it's the one called"Survival Shooting," but don't quote me on that. It occurs to me though, that if your shots are well centered, successive shots up the middle are going to be very close to the spine.  Would that make even the lower shots CNS?  Are there not a lot of nerves in a persons center of gravity?  I've never practiced this technique but I intend to at least check into it and find out all I can.  Hopefully find some after acton reports, etc.

But, then again, I practice shooting with both a front sight focus AND a target focus, distance dependant, so what would you expect from someone like me?