Muzzle Strikes Instead of Fisticuffs as Last Resort

To the new defensive handgunner, the idea of striking an attacker with their gun may seem odd. Why would you let an attacker get close enough to strike with your gun? Why not just shoot him from several yards away? The simple answer is that it may not be up to you. Don’t forget: The bad guy has a say in the fight, too.

Inattention or distraction may enable an attacker to close in undetected. If he presents an imminent deadly threat, shooting him would be appropriate. But what if you pressed the trigger and heard only a click instead of the anticipated bang? Fortunately, in close quarters, a malfunctioned or empty handgun makes a great bludgeon.

Some worry that striking an attacker with their gun may damage it. Not only is that unlikely, it’s also a well-calculated risk, given the alternative. And remember, if your gun was operational, you’d shoot the attacker instead of striking him with your gun.

A properly executed muzzle strike will at least temporarily diminish an attacker’s ability to harm you, while creating an opportunity to disengage. With a little distance between you and the attacker, you can try to clear the malfunction or reload as necessary, then assess the situation from a position where you have more distance—and therefore more time.

Things to Consider

Here are some things to keep in mind when delivering a muzzle strike. First off, it’s called a muzzle strike for a reason. The rules of firearm safety are universally applicable. Just because your gun is seemingly non-operational at the moment doesn’t mean you can get careless and allow the muzzle to point at yourself or anything else you’re unwilling to destroy. To ensure the muzzle is pointed at the bad guy, that’s the portion of your gun you need to strike him with. Target areas are the head and upper chest, with the former being preferred for obvious reasons.

Your gun’s muzzle, being much smaller and harder than your fist, is far better at concentrating the force of the blow than your fist. And it’s far less injurious to you. Since the small metacarpal bones in your hand are likely to break in a head-on collision with an attacker’s head, punching to the head is ill-advised.

The last thing you need during an armed encounter in close quarters is to injure your hand, which would make it difficult if not impossible to fire your gun should the need arise. And the more skilled you are at punching, the harder the impact and the more likely you are to injure your hand.

As a case in point, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson—one of the most powerful punchers in the history of the sport—once fractured his hand in a street fight. As a result, his upcoming bout had to be postponed. In the bare-knuckle boxing era, many fights were stopped due to a boxer’s hand being injured. Gloves were originally implemented in boxing primarily to protect the fighter’s hands, not his opponent’s head.

Full Force

Like a punch, for a muzzle strike to be effective you need to strike with your full body weight behind it. Merely swinging your fist at an opponent is ineffective, regardless of how strong you may be. A smaller fighter like the legendary Jack Dempsey can generate tremendous power by exploding their entire body weight into the blow That’s what you should do when delivering a muzzle strike.

Here’s how. From a wide, deep shooting stance, lunge forward with the leg opposite of the hand holding the gun. Your muzzle should contact the attacker as your foot lands on the ground. Timing is critical. If the muzzle impact occurs before or after your foot falls, the strike won’t have the full force of your body behind it.

As you drive the muzzle to the target, you’ll find it much more natural to rotate the gun inboard about 45 degrees. This motion more closely represents a punch and aids in follow-through, allowing you to drive through the target.

As with delivering an effective punch, a muzzle strike should be retracted after impact. If you don’t pull the gun back, the strike will tend to be more of a push. It will be less effective, and the bad guy may grab your gun.

Protect Against Counters

Your other hand should be up to protect your head in case the attacker strikes back. That’s why boxers index their non-punching hand on the side of their face.

Unlike a punch, a muzzle strike can also be delivered with both hands on the gun. The advantage of delivering a two-handed muzzle strike is that you maintain your shooting grip for maximum control of the gun. The mechanics are similar, as you still need to time the impact with your foot fall.

The downside to delivering a two-handed muzzle strike is that you can’t protect your head with your non-punching hand.

Keep in mind that while an effective muzzle strike may drop an attacker in his tracks, the strike is only a means to an end. Your ultimate goal is to create enough space and time to get your gun up and running, whether that means clearing a malfunction or reloading.

From a legal standpoint, striking someone in the face with the muzzle of your gun would be considered a high level of force. While a muzzle strike may not be as likely as a bullet to result in death, it is very likely to cause significant or substantial injury. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon you to understand the laws of self-defense in your area and to ensure your response to an attack is lawful.

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