I took the time to watch some videos of people testing this.
- A pneumatic roofing nailer couldn’t stick a nail into the board from even 2-3cm away.
- A pneumatic framing nailer couldn’t stick a nail into a pine board from 5m; the nails all tumbled badly past about 15cm.
- This guy then proceeded to weld a freakin’ barrel, almost a meter long, onto his framing nailer in hopes of improving accuracy. While it did achieve that goal, he only got about 1cm of penetration from ~3m.
- A PA nailer with green blanks stuck a 1.5" nail into a railroad tie about an inch deep from 2m, and a 2.5" nail about 1cm deep from 3m.
- More interestingly, the above nailer only got about 5cm of penetration in a ballistic gel block with a 1.5" nail and a green blank from 15cm away. A yellow blank from the same distance got about 12cm of penetration.
Aside from all that, we’re talking about a tool designed to push a fastener into material while in contact with said material. A gun is a tool designed to push a bullet into a target at a distance with some level of designed-in accuracy. These are not the same thing. A power nailer can certainly be used as a gun, but it can also be used as a step stool, a ruler, or a door stop. Usage outside intended purpose doesn’t change the nature of an object.
Hey, if you want to call your PA nailer a nail gun, that’s fine. There’s no law requiring accuracy in speech, and of the entire power hammer category a PA nailer is probably closest.





The main problem with the belly as a target in a self defense scenario is that it’s too slow. If you’re being attacked, you want to end the fight and escape as quickly as possible. Wounds to the belly kill via blood loss and sepsis, which takes at least several minutes during which the attacker can keep causing you damage.
The femoral artery in the inner thigh is what you want to aim for. Also, the tendons along the inner wrist are responsible for grip strength; if severed, that hand can’t hold anything. Take a good look at the anatomy of those areas and you’ll have a good start.
Your reaction times and agility from fencing will help you in a real fight, but the actual techniques not so much. Stick to slashing attacks, as stabbing can result in your blade getting stuck in or between bones.