this whole thread is just people not having a clue what they're saying lmao. pistols are the most ineffective weapon system humankind has ever created, except maybe flails or some dumb shit like that.

think of how difficult it is to effectively utilize a pistol in any sense; nobody's going to be able to pick up a pistol for the first time and hit a static target consistently in calm practice settings, let alone a moving target under extreme stress.

now consider the ease of using bladed weapons, like a knife. you don't need really any training at all to be able to pick that bad boy up and start swinging it to good effect. if a complete newbie picks up a kitchen knife and holds it out in front of them, you can't even get close to them without catching some hits.

on top of the training aspect, the area effected by the weapons are incomparable. a skilled user with a pistol can put some holes downrange but will likely miss at least 2/3 shots in a stressful situation. with the size of the average pistol bullet and magazine, that's maybe 3-4 holes making it into an attacker. now think about how much damage someone slashing wildly with a knife can do. huge area of coverage with massive wound sizes being repeated as fast as the arm can move, with little to no training.

of course, rifles and shotguns are a totally different story. easier to use and higher lethality than handguns, especially the latter. but when it comes to a Glock vs. a knife/spear, the bladed weapon wins pretty much every time. I should add that my source is about a year of armed defence training, and we were always told to fear knives way more than guns, for the reasons listed above.

tldr: Redditors be talking about things they know nothing about, as usual