"If he's got a gun, your unarmed skills mean precisely dick."
Not so. First of all, not everyone who gets shot, dies. Second of all, your training will help you to not freeze after recieving a slug. Third of all, if you're in close quarters (he's in your house/condo/apartment/dorm/hut, remember?), and if you rush him, he should be able to get ONE shot off before you engage and get the weapon pointing away from you. Fourth of all, your training has probably made you better equipped to withstand shock than the average person, thus what incapacitates Joe Six-Pack won't incapacitate you. Fifth, this is tied into the rest, he's probably not packing fed- spook- and cop- only Black Talon-exploding tip- super demolishing wadcutter rounds...he's probably got regular slugs, which make what's called temporary wound channels (like when you stick your finger into gelatin, slurp, it closes right up), which aren't as lethal as the aforememtioned evil frangible mega rounds of death that the good guys (another, later debate) pack. And sixth, if you see the weapon, you'll move, as a result of your training, meaning a potential killshot could be converted into a less lethal "flesh wound," or maybe even a miss. Seventh, statistically speaking, this guy (or gal) is unlikely to be the Night Stalker, and probably has the gun for intimidation and expects you to wilt and piss yourself when you see it, thus eliminating the need for him to use it.
Okay, that having been said, unarmed vs. a gun, or any weapon for that matter, is a losing proposition. Run if at all possible, natch. That a gun can kill you goes without saying, but my whole point here is that the unarmed skills that we hone are hardly "worth precisely dick."
And on a related note, I'd rather get shot than stabbed, because again, if he's got a gun, he's shooting me ONCE before I engage...yeah, I might die, but statisically speaking, probably not. But a knife...man, that's like rape. In and out and in again...brrrr...