They could get lucky, you mean. You can get a very good idea of how you'll behave in an adrenaline dump by engaging in realistic Simunition training with pain feedback (ie, it hurts when you do it wrong). My real shooting was very much like a scenario shooting I'd previously done, so much so the similarity actually came to mind during the event, and I reacted the same. Of course there are no guarantees in life. You could have a squib load and no matter how good you are your gun is out of commission. It's foolish to not train and practice based on "there's no guarantee", though. I want the odds tilted as heavily in my favor as possible.
On a side note, I had a victim recently go 0 for 2 shooting at his robber at very close distances. The robber decided to forfeit the field, he missed fast enough to win. It happens. I'd not want to rely on it, but it happens. Might as well carry a blank gun if you're relying on loud noises to run the bad guy off.
Yes, I did mean get lucky.
The point that I was trying to make was that the questions the OP asked were not directly related to training and practice. I do agree that training/practice definitely gives one an edge in a self-defense situation. One should tilt the odds in his/her favor, but I just don't feel that the answers to things the OP posited are found ONLY in training. They can be answered through research, introspection, or only definitively in an actual situation, IMO. I have only had one gun pointed at me in my life, and it was before I owned or carried one myself. I know after my experiences since that point, that my reaction would be different now, but if you asked me before it happened, I'm sure my answer would've been much different not having had that experience.
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