Auditory Exclusion or Squib?

[JD]

I recently finished reading On Combat by LtCol Grossman and when discussing the physiological effects he covered auditory exclusion I began wondering how I would react if during an altercation my shots sounded like squibs. This was kind of odd as I've been aware of auditory exclusion for a while and recently had two squibs of my own but never really thought about the two in relation to each other.

A couple pages later LtCol Grossman even described one instance where two officers ceased firing on a vehicle running a road block because their guns went pop instead of bang and they thought their guns were broke.

So in the event that you had to fire you gun in a defensive situation and you heard a pop instead of a bang, would you fire again?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Guantes]

I had auditory exclusion in one shooting that I had, inside a house. I did not fire again as befor I could the perp dropped to the floor from the "squib".

ETA: It was in fact not a squib, but that was my instant impression until the individual fell to the floor from what was actually a full power load.

[kazzaerexys]

I haven't had a squib, but in cases where I have had a click-no-bang (incorrectly seated mag or dud), or a failure-to-feed/extract/eject that keeps the gun from going back into battery, I have felt that something was wrong. Once in an IDPA match the initial target was very close and I leaned forward so aggressively that I was near contact distance when I fired my first shot. The muzzle blast blew pasters everywhere and I saw a ton of holes in the paper; I hesitated momentarily, briefly afraid I had just, I dunno, blown up my gun and sent fragments of my barrel downrange. I decided after the brief hesitation that the gun had felt okay in recoil/reset, so I kept shooting.

So, I guess my point is that if you have enough practice shooting, especially with a particular gun, you are more likely to react to sight and feel than to sound.

My only conscious instances of auditory exclusion were force-on-force training, and was something of a side effect of target fixation. I saw and heard everything (I think) going on between me and the immediate threat, but completely missed a third party yelling something. I am not sure how that would affect my ability to hear target-focused input like gunfire.

[Ram Rod]

So in the event that you had to fire you gun in a defensive situation and you heard a pop instead of a bang, would you fire again?

You know.....this is rather easy to do when at the range (recognize a FTF not only by sound, but felt recoil). In a self defense situation under duress, and according to the situation, I'd say my trigger finger might override my mind at the time. Granted....that could turn out to be good or bad depending. Our human senses are just as fragile if not more so than our physical bodies. Many times our senses indicate an immediate and automatic response. When several senses are involved in gathering information simultaneously, the process to reaction time may take longer. Any question as to the proper action or reaction required takes even longer if the senses send conflicting information. How is it I wasn't able to stop the hammer when I hit my thumb instead of the nail? I have excellent vision, yet I missed the mark. Once the hammer hit my thumb there was an instant reaction and an instant sensory perception that left no questions as to what had happened. I do know that the sound I should have heard (and expected) in striking the nail didn't happen. So....what let me down here? My sense of vision and perception, my sense of touch, or my hearing? If you've never had a black thumbnail......just imagine it.
Since the book was highly suggested reading, I think I'll find a copy myself. That will make three I need to read, and two of them I already have!

[rocky]

I want to think I would keep firing unless I noticed a jam or open / partial open slide. The gun could Kb, however if I don't stop the threat it may not matter either way.

[HotGuns]

I fired 5 rounds into a charging pit-bull one time that fell at my feet,quivered and bled all over my boots. I was in the aw-heck mode when it happened and it happened so fast that it seemed like it was over before it ever got started. His mouth was popping like he was trying to chew on me even while he was dying. That was a bit unnerving.
I was amazed at the speed in which the whole event took place. I was also amazed that my shots from a G21 sounded like mere pops instead of the loud ear ringing bangs that I was accustomed to.
Another thing that I remember was listening to my heart beat, it was loud enough that I was able to determine that it was beating way too fast and that I needed to settle down and chill out.

[deafdave3]

I recently finished reading On Combat by LtCol Grossman and when discussing the physiological effects he covered auditory exclusion I began wondering how I would react if during an altercation my shots sounded like squibs. This was kind of odd as I've been aware of auditory exclusion for a while and recently had two squibs of my own but never really thought about the two in relation to each other.

A couple pages later LtCol Grossman even described one instance where two officers ceased firing on a vehicle running a road block because their guns went pop instead of bang and they thought their guns were broke.

So in the event that you had to fire you gun in a defensive situation and you heard a pop instead of a bang, would you fire again?

Yes. I've learned long ago not to trust my ears; mine are broken. I use my hands to feel the shots of my .32ACP Walther. I know what each shot should feel like.

Although.... I don't know how dependable this would be in a self-defense situation. Hm...

[Guantes]

DD3,
Can you detect/sense the overpressure when you fire?

[deafdave3]

DD3,
Can you detect/sense the overpressure when you fire?

If by "overpressure" you mean the shock wave, yes, I can... very sensitively. If you mean by more power between regular loads and +P loads, I don't know yet. As for now, I only know my .32 that well.

[Guantes]

I meant the shock wave.

[deafdave3]

I meant the shock wave.

Yes. I'm extremely sensitive to ANY vibrations.

[chiefjason]

I have yet to have a squib. Hopefully that does not change. With that thought, and the reliability of my firearm so far, I would likely keep firing. The fact that I train to shoot multiple shots quickly would probably mean I would keep going too.

[Guantes]

The problem with a true squib (stuck in barrel) is that the next round fired, if the action cycled, would probably destroy the gun and possibly your hand.

[cplguy]

I have had a squib, but fortunatly it was just during a "plinking" session with a .22 rifle. I just heard "pop" and didn't hear the sonic crack, and looked up to see what wrong, and I literally watched the round sail down range because it was moving so slow. I looked at my father with a "W.T.H?" look on my face, and he had the same expression on his face. I dumped the magazine, cleared the chamber, re-inserted, and slowly squeezed off a round. It went off like normal, so we just attributed it to shooting 30 year old ammunition.

[dukalmighty]

I've had several squibs during my early reloading days,the thing about a squib is there usually is no recoil or very light recoil,and most squibs will not cycle the slide,I've had a few that had just enough powder that I could see the round smack the target and those cycled the action,but the barrel wasn't obstructed.