Rules of Gunfighting: You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

Caliber-Related (Here's Where Some Furious Emails Will Begin!)

• Paraphrased and Modified from Cooper's description of the .25: "If you must own a 9mm, keep it in a box so you don't accidentally load it. If you do load it, don't shoot it. If you do shoot it don't hit someone. Because if you do hit someone and if he ever realizes he's shot, he's going to be angry!"
• Nine-millimeters are all well and good until someone loses an eye.
• As long as one doesn't get into a gunfight, a 9mm is just fine. ~ Mark Moritz
• Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a "4."

Rules of Gunfighting
The absolute First Rule of a Gunfight, in Mark Moritz' brilliantly enunciated aphorism, is "Have a gun!" The subsequent lines below help supplement that first rule:

1. Have a gun.
1. Preferably, have at least two guns.
2. Bring all of your friends who have guns.
3. Pack extra ammo
2. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun... and a friend with a long gun.

When You Have to Shoot

• Anything worth shooting is worth shooting two times, more if necessary. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive. ~Gabe Suarez
• (Revisited) Ammo is cheap and (your) life is precious — so be generous. And shoot your adversary to the ground. ~ Gabe Suarez
• "Why didn't I shoot only once? There's no additional paperwork for shooting someone twice!" ~ Firearms Instructor P.O.J.D., MOS debriefing after a shooting.
• "Why did I shoot him 7 times? Because 6 times wouldn't have been enough and 8 would have been too many." ~ Massad Ayoob
• When asked, "Why do you need a gun with 17 rounds?" you should gently reply, "In case I get attacked by 17 bad guys."
• Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.

(I believe the following all may have been said by Gabe Suarez.)

• If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
• Proximity negates skill. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
• In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
• If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading and running.
• Someday someone may kill you with your own gun but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.

Winning the Fight

• Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose. ~ Colonel Jeff Cooper
• If you find yourself equally matched in a fight, you didn't plan your mission properly. ~ Paraphrased from Cooper
• The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental. ~ John Steinbeck
• Have a plan. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.
• Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everybody else keep your hands where I can see them.)
• The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get. ~ Cooper
• A good general rule of thumb: Be polite. Be professional. But... have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
• Be courteous to everyone. Friendly to no one.
• Nothing handheld is a reliable stopper.
• Carry the same gun in the same place all the time. ~ Cooper