Tourist,
I take it your scenario would be alluding to going against a gun, by the term shrapnel magent, with the Bowie.
I wouldn't be drawing the knife against a gun, hard to win that one I would think and pretty stupid of the guy to draw on a firearm with a blade unless he had a death wish.
Then again, everyone was armed at the table, I knew everyone one of them there.
They were not on high alert so the reaction they had was purely fun, they naturally backed away from such danger instinctively though, their minds not reacting fast enough to stop the adrenaline rush and "fight of flight".
It's the reaction to a big blade, a blade taken from someplace hidden and quickly
produced and ready with little movement got the reaction. They've seen me pop all kinds of knives from the pockets and know to expect it, this was different. The difference was the big blade hidden right in front of them.
You chose to use a bladesman against a gun. Thats one scenario, one where the blade may surely be the blade catcher if drawn in your sceanrio.
That scenario is not the only way things happen on the street, in fact, you are more apt to be mugged at knife point than with a gun. Cops in my clases say the ratio of knives to guns is roughly 8 to 1 on the street. If you have a problem on the street, 8 people will have knives for every person who has a gun. These are from stops, arrests, body searches, etc.
In any of a number of scenarios, if I had the time to draw a gun IWB [ and I've been at the gun game for a long time ]I could draw the knife as fast with the sheath setup, with no more motion than it is to draw the gun.
In my state, you can carry any length you want concealed. Better have Ma. Chpt. 269-10b with you when you do though. For the most part the officers do not know the statute, I teach it to LE in various states so that they do not take personal property away which they consider illegal or contraband which is neither.
I have probably helped the knife community quite a bit through educating LEO's. They leave understanding they have been taking things away when they were not supposed to. In fact it has happened to me, years ago as well. Got the knife back after talking to the chief.
I can legaly carry a concealed gun in quite a few states. I choose many times not to carry a firearm in my state. Sometimes I like to carry the bowie, concealed, same position as the IWB guns, and as easily accessed.
When doing so, I am not about to intervene in a bank robbery in progress, but might if carrying the right gun and the right circumstances were present.
The only thing that changes is the range at which I can operate. I no longer control my environment with a gun out to 40 yds. I now control my immediate environ, what is within my reach [ the inner circle ].
I control it with the knife if I so choose, certainly not against the gun as in your scenario, but in many scenarios.
I carry the bowie knowing I have the skills to use it to it's full advantage. The longer blade will give me more distance I can control, it will also scare the crap out of whoever is causing you to fear for your life when with no warning it is produced. The big blades do that to people more so than the smaller knives they are familiar with up to regular kitchen cutlery.
When I'm carrying the bowie I also have a few folders with me that are EDC's. If I didn't cary the gun that day, took only the EDC and defended myself for some reason [ that would be a natural reaction for me to use the folders to defend with no gun on me ]I am either right or wrong to pull escalate to deadly force.
Now, I will likely pull doubles if I can pull at all just because I can. I'm familiar with dual knives, perhaps I can't pull at all and in all likelihood it will start H2H anyway.
I can then pull one from either side as I defend with the other, vice versa, or pull doubles if possible at the same time.
Thats just the folders mind you. No bowie in the example. I'm more apt to be two bladed and no gun while out than gun and two blades. The above scenario with the folders is realistic if I have to defend my life, that what I usually have on me.
The question about the aftermath with the authorities, how do we look at that, and more importantly how do they look at it if a blade is used to defend.
The general public has more of an aversion to knives than guns it seems. The DA's can play on that and do I'm sure smewhere. But they play on everything they are prosecuting, they want to win their case. They always attempt to sway the juries into believing you had intent to harm by carryig the weapon to begin with.
Thats a given if you defend yourself with any weapon and there is injury or death. They'll weigh the circumstances, they'll surely want to know why you were carrying that big pig stick and attempt to paint the inicdent as something it wasn't that fits their agenda. I know where you were going with this, it's something you'll face if you use a folder to do the same damage.
Many may be able to carry firearms legally and many probably do. Many more can not carry firearms and don't. They rely on a folder or straight blade to defend themselves if they have to or don't think about it at all.
These people face the same dilemma of using a knife daily. They still carry them in the chance they may need it one day to defend themselves with. Training or no.
Thats an issue that will be faced in my state whether you use a knife or a gun. The knife will initially look more evil to the jury, if it gets that far. If it does and you have remembered the saying about becoming a big fish by keeping your mouth shut and only talking to your atty, and a good one would be needed, the case will not stand on the knife but the circumstances which led to the action taken.
As long as the knife is not illegal by statute to begin with, you will be tried
on the merits of self defense and your actions during the same.
I don't carry the bowie for defense when I put it on, but I know it's there and what it can do for me in a worst case scenario, if I can get to it.
But then we are back to how far does my defensive circle extend. It's dependant on the weapons I have on me.
I'm not enamored carrying a gun day in and day out. I carry one when real threats await through prior planned actions in my job.
I get to carry a knife I know how to use. I get to practice concealment of the big blades, I get to document reactions from others which leads me to opinions based on observations all over.
It's just another weapons platform that I happen to like, understand it's concepts, and carry about my person. There is no reason to own a system like this if you are not going to wear it to become familiar with it, become one with the system.
Mikes Southern Comfort is the only system I have handeld or seen that conceals the real big blades, and can be accessed as fast as a gun [ for me anyway ].
It's a hell of a piece of equipment, it will in all probability never be used defensively as the folders probably wont't.
But it's there and we are friends because I do carry it and know it well.
Brownie
I wasn't going to say anything...
) When I make my next one, it will be 2 or 3 inches shorter for easier carry. But when it comes time to actually pull it out and use it, I'm always glad to have the length. I often carry it concealed as well- tucked into my belt crossdraw beneath my long wool riding coat.