JAMA Network study: caliber v's fatality

A study last year - published in JAMA Network Open - examined the type of weapon used in every fatal and non-fatal shooting in the city of Boston. It found that irrespective of the time of day, the number of wounds or the circumstances of the crime, the caliber used affected which gunshot victims survived and which ones died.

Between January 1st 2010 and December 31st 2014 there were 511 gunshot victims (220 fatal, 291 non-fatal) in the city of Boston. What's fascinating about this study is that is was one of the first on caliber v's fatality conducted by a police department (normally caliber is not taken into consideration in criminal shootings) for the sole purpose of reducing violent crime, AND, almost all incidents involved only a single gunshot wound even if many rounds had been fired. Though somewhat morbid to consider the results of criminal shootings, it does offer us preparedness in the face of criminal intent and continues this week's topic on one-shot-stopping power.

The JAMA study is critical for three reasons: firstly it determines that caliber size can be directly correlated to the likelihood of a fatal outcome; secondly it shows the next potential angle of attack by the anti-2nd Amendment hoard (i.e. license tiering for caliber and/or ammo regulation); and thirdly it demonstrates that if a criminal is armed with a gun (of any caliber), he has a 48% chance of killing you. The implication is that criminals are not typically in the expert class of firearm proficiency - probably because they lack the legal resources to practice - which makes this statistic even more frightening. Basically, a lousy shot loosing off a full magazine at you has almost a 50:50 chance of ending your life!

The report also discusses how murderous intent may determine a criminal's choice of weapon/caliber, the final outcome, and if or not the outcome differs if a non-firearm weapon is selected - this supports the well-founded opinion that people kill people, not guns. With almost daily knife murders in England (arguably one of the most regulated countries in terms of firearms) it's evident that the criminally inclined will grab whatever's at hand to do their bidding, so get every firearm off the street and we'll still have to watch our backs. I know for one I'd rather take my chances being hit with a single bullet than being smacked on the back of the head with a baseball bat!

Anyway, after simply glancing at the above statistics chart, I say to all you fellow law abiding citizens and licensed bearers of arms...grab yourself a 357MAG revolver and get thee to a range! ED