testtest

The Threat You Missed — Are You Prepared?

I practice around the house in daylight, low light and dark to try and make sure that I'm doing what I can to ensure that I'm comfortable moving and running mental scenarios at home. I have limited range availability, so much of my practice is dry fire or draw stroke practice wearing what I normally wear "in polite society." It has helped my comfort level significantly as well as my speed on drawing from concealment with a 1911 from both IWB and OWB holsters.
 
Close combat is a high probability and as the author states, practice will improve your odds at survival of the attack. One I practice is weak arm (non-dominant) extended, dominant hand drawing and firing at the imaginary attacker being pushed back by extended weak arm. Be careful, your non-dominant hand is in the danger zone of the muzzle.
I've never been able to practice shooting while moving but have always desired too. Not going to happen on an indoor range that I'm aware of.
Awesome article, thx Armory Life!
 
Mike, I enjoyed this article very much and it was accurate and to the point. I grew up in a shooting family and on my grandfather's farm, there was a house that had been abandoned during the depression and was part of a block of land that my grandfather had purchased. He never felt the home was good enough to rent or restore so it sat derelict for years. in the mid 50's my dad started me shooting pistols, to be specific his Navy 1911A1 colt which I belive was his WWII weapon. Dad was a sport shooter from the time he was big enough to carry a rifle or a pistol. I started shooting around the age of 7, around 9 dad started me shooting at targets with that 1911 and within a short time he made a shoot house out old house, as it was still full of furnature and some appliances. He rigged targets stuffed with straw and would hold my belt as he walked me and my cousins through that house up and down stairs and would call out targets randomly for us to shoot at. He even would put old garden hose out in sections and would call out snake!, needless to say we did not always hit the hose, but it was good practice. A few days after I turned 17 in 1963 I enlisted in the Army, 32 months after I enlisted I was sent to Vietnam and in a matter of days was involved in a relief column going into a Special Forces Camp that was under siege, we had to fight our way into the camp and at one point we down with our backs to the wire before retaking the camp. I was tasked with setting up commuications in a building that had been the commo chiefs radio room. I was setting up the old PRC 25's when I heard a yell and turned around just in time to catch the tip of a bayonet on an old Arisaka type 44 carbine right in the right armpit. It was not much more than a deep scratch but painful. I was still able to get my 45 out of its holster and discharge it twice. I had shot one handed so much growing up that at that moment I was glad that my dad had made us drill shooting one handed both right and left handed. I filled out the paper work and brought that type 44 home with me, it sets in my gun safe today, for the past 20 years I have taken it to the range ever October and fired one round through it. That was all the rounds that were in the rifle. 6.5 jap is getting increasingly harder to find. so I have bought a set of die's to reload ammo for it. I am now 76 and intend to shoot the damn thing until the day I die. I still shoot right and left handed and in low light. I miss that old shoot house we had a bunch of kids burnt it down while I was living in another state. I ended up with retirement orders from the Air Force giving me credit for 37 years and 3 days service and retired from the Department of the Army as a mid level manager in 2005, after 30 years of service. Practice does make for perfect, and it keeps you on your toes. Forward On!
 
Ron W said:
Mike, I enjoyed this article very much and it was accurate and to the point. I grew up in a shooting family and on my grandfather's farm, there was a house that had been abandoned during the depression and was part of a block of land that my grandfather had purchased. He never felt the home was good enough to rent or restore so it sat derelict for years. in the mid 50's my dad started me shooting pistols, to be specific his Navy 1911A1 colt which I belive was his WWII weapon. Dad was a sport shooter from the time he was big enough to carry a rifle or a pistol. I started shooting around the age of 7, around 9 dad started me shooting at targets with that 1911 and within a short time he made a shoot house out old house, as it was still full of furnature and some appliances. He rigged targets stuffed with straw and would hold my belt as he walked me and my cousins through that house up and down stairs and would call out targets randomly for us to shoot at. He even would put old garden hose out in sections and would call out snake!, needless to say we did not always hit the hose, but it was good practice. A few days after I turned 17 in 1963 I enlisted in the Army, 32 months after I enlisted I was sent to Vietnam and in a matter of days was involved in a relief column going into a Special Forces Camp that was under siege, we had to fight our way into the camp and at one point we down with our backs to the wire before retaking the camp. I was tasked with setting up commuications in a building that had been the commo chiefs radio room. I was setting up the old PRC 25's when I heard a yell and turned around just in time to catch the tip of a bayonet on an old Arisaka type 44 carbine right in the right armpit. It was not much more than a deep scratch but painful. I was still able to get my 45 out of its holster and discharge it twice. I had shot one handed so much growing up that at that moment I was glad that my dad had made us drill shooting one handed both right and left handed. I filled out the paper work and brought that type 44 home with me, it sets in my gun safe today, for the past 20 years I have taken it to the range ever October and fired one round through it. That was all the rounds that were in the rifle. 6.5 jap is getting increasingly harder to find. so I have bought a set of die's to reload ammo for it. I am now 76 and intend to shoot the damn thing until the day I die. I still shoot right and left handed and in low light. I miss that old shoot house we had a bunch of kids burnt it down while I was living in another state. I ended up with retirement orders from the Air Force giving me credit for 37 years and 3 days service and retired from the Department of the Army as a mid level manager in 2005, after 30 years of service. Practice does make for perfect, and it keeps you on your toes. Forward On!
Click to expand...
TY 4 ur service.
 
Ive noticed lately that there are some very sophisticated criminals out there with weapons.Not the old time zip gun crooks. I know that there are thousands (millions ? ) of people out there.I know quite a few.Who,in the past year have purchased guns & ammo.No training whatsoever.I fear if & when the time comes.It won't be good.We have no idea who or what is coming across our southern border.I live down here & there is a lot of concern. For years,my situational awareness was called paranoia.Not so much now :)
 
One of the best articles on the subject in a long time. After a 34 years career in law enforcement as a firearms and defensive tactics instructor, I agree this is very sound and practical advice for the citizen concerned with self-defense.

Red dots, lights, lasers and multiple large-capacity magazines are cash cow for the industry. Simple basic firearms and well-practiced fundamentals are what will get you home.
 
Really solid content: well-crafted article Mike. I disagree in some respect with the cost and availability of arms and ammo but it's more than a half-truth these days. I have found that there are many-many lightly used firearms available, and ammo is available in enough quantity to satiate someone new to the defense game. Not to sound fuddy but when I was a kid we had many local gun shops and they always had more than the basics in stock or could get what was needed within a week or two. We are suffering from an unsustainable system of conglomerates (many with political axes to grind) and a very large-scale (and modern) acquisition system that is subject to shortages and panic buying. I see a benefit in the current system but also see the loss of the local gun store (LGS) in our communities. The LGS were hit hard and most went down merely from big box store competition. Now that the big corps have monopolized various markets, they can let their political compass wield more influence over the people. It's important to have a matrix of arms supply. In my region there is no shortage of arms for sale: if you want the latest model from whichever big online middleman you have to order and wait: that's just the reality now. My father has been waiting for two years for a competition rifle because he doesn't have the aptitude to search online and goes through a local gun supplier (I call them this because it's mostly online and they only open by appointment). Personally, I am okay with circumventing the LGS to order something if they cannot meet the demand, however, what I am really suggesting is that you should diversify your network to get what you need. You would be surprised what is available if you are flexible. I have had good luck purchasing ammo directly from the manufacturer store in smaller quantities. The big online retailers are not cutting anyone on price breaks until you order a strategic amount of ammo. There's clearly some profiteering going on here. I believe if firearms manufacturers like Springfield want to sell more guns, it would be beneficial to diversify and streamline by mitigating dealer requirements and allow small quantities to be ordered, and work at getting ammo prices down through various methods to get more people on the range. Just my perspective. I see more people getting rounds on target as a win-win for society.
 
I salute you, sir.

Ron W said:
Mike, I enjoyed this article very much and it was accurate and to the point. I grew up in a shooting family and on my grandfather's farm, there was a house that had been abandoned during the depression and was part of a block of land that my grandfather had purchased. He never felt the home was good enough to rent or restore so it sat derelict for years. in the mid 50's my dad started me shooting pistols, to be specific his Navy 1911A1 colt which I belive was his WWII weapon. Dad was a sport shooter from the time he was big enough to carry a rifle or a pistol. I started shooting around the age of 7, around 9 dad started me shooting at targets with that 1911 and within a short time he made a shoot house out old house, as it was still full of furnature and some appliances. He rigged targets stuffed with straw and would hold my belt as he walked me and my cousins through that house up and down stairs and would call out targets randomly for us to shoot at. He even would put old garden hose out in sections and would call out snake!, needless to say we did not always hit the hose, but it was good practice. A few days after I turned 17 in 1963 I enlisted in the Army, 32 months after I enlisted I was sent to Vietnam and in a matter of days was involved in a relief column going into a Special Forces Camp that was under siege, we had to fight our way into the camp and at one point we down with our backs to the wire before retaking the camp. I was tasked with setting up commuications in a building that had been the commo chiefs radio room. I was setting up the old PRC 25's when I heard a yell and turned around just in time to catch the tip of a bayonet on an old Arisaka type 44 carbine right in the right armpit. It was not much more than a deep scratch but painful. I was still able to get my 45 out of its holster and discharge it twice. I had shot one handed so much growing up that at that moment I was glad that my dad had made us drill shooting one handed both right and left handed. I filled out the paper work and brought that type 44 home with me, it sets in my gun safe today, for the past 20 years I have taken it to the range ever October and fired one round through it. That was all the rounds that were in the rifle. 6.5 jap is getting increasingly harder to find. so I have bought a set of die's to reload ammo for it. I am now 76 and intend to shoot the damn thing until the day I die. I still shoot right and left handed and in low light. I miss that old shoot house we had a bunch of kids burnt it down while I was living in another state. I ended up with retirement orders from the Air Force giving me credit for 37 years and 3 days service and retired from the Department of the Army as a mid level manager in 2005, after 30 years of service. Practice does make for perfect, and it keeps you on your toes. Forward On!
Click to expand...

That was a great story, an amazing incident, and I am grateful you are still with us to share your experiences. Thank you for your service to this country. God bless.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Good article and good advice on training. Frankly, my biggest fear next to ever having to use my CCW in a defensive scenario is the sheer number of people purchasing firearms who aren't getting the type and amount of training they need. In Alabama where we live, there is no requirement to do so. That's a win for 2A but not everyone will take the personal responsibility to put in the hours and gain proficiency with their shiny new pistol. The local range we frequent does not allow any "tactical" scenarios unless you pay for and attend one of their classes. I took their "Intro to Tactical Tuesday" and we went beyond the range bays; we drew from the holster and shot at 3-10 yards. We shot various patterns with and without reloads. We shot on the move. It was awesome. I've shot outdoors as well where I've had the capability to draw from the holster. There is no substitute for practice that's for sure. As a matter of fact, I think I might take a turn around the kitchen with my Mantis X10 mounted on my XDM Elite Tactical OSP... it's not my usual carry gun (curse the luck), but it helps get the trigger discipline polished up.
 
Mr. Untactical said:
Good article and good advice on training. Frankly, my biggest fear next to ever having to use my CCW in a defensive scenario is the sheer number of people purchasing firearms who aren't getting the type and amount of training they need. In Alabama where we live, there is no requirement to do so. That's a win for 2A but not everyone will take the personal responsibility to put in the hours and gain proficiency with their shiny new pistol. The local range we frequent does not allow any "tactical" scenarios unless you pay for and attend one of their classes. I took their "Intro to Tactical Tuesday" and we went beyond the range bays; we drew from the holster and shot at 3-10 yards. We shot various patterns with and without reloads. We shot on the move. It was awesome. I've shot outdoors as well where I've had the capability to draw from the holster. There is no substitute for practice that's for sure. As a matter of fact, I think I might take a turn around the kitchen with my Mantis X10 mounted on my XDM Elite Tactical OSP... it's not my usual carry gun (curse the luck), but it helps get the trigger discipline polished up.
Click to expand...
You should be far more scared about the millions of armed street thugs who not only have no training, but they have stolen guns and no fear of using them.

I have heard this argument here many times about all these new gun owners who may or may not have sought training. Some have even argued it should be mandatory. So far no one has been able to back up this irrational fear with any kind of meaningful statistics. Just because most of us are training junkies doesn't mean people who don't take courses regularly are dangerous. No doubt lots of training has made me infinitely more prepared, but when I got my first handgun I wasn't dangerous. Lack of formal training doesn't equal pulling out your gun and shooting at inappropriate times or at inappropriate targets. Stupidity does. Same goes for ND. I guess we could argue for a bill stripping stupid people of their 2A rights, but frankly I think allowing them to vote is infinitely more dangerous than letting them have guns.
 
The article covers a lot of ground. All of these things are what we encounter ( or should encounter) in the training classes we take. I am fortunate enough not only to be a member of a private range where I am free to train however I want to, but also to regularly take classes with a career combat veteran and Law Enforcement Officer who drills all these fundamental tenets of realistic self defense, armed or otherwise, into our psyche every single time I take one of his classes. The next class is this Saturday in fact and I am as always very much looking forward to it.

One thing I think is important to remember is that all of the stuff in this article is stuff we should be practicing to increase our odds in the event we are ever faced with a life threatening situation. Not practicing this stuff is something you do generally at your own peril, not the peril of society at large.
 
Hi,

Good article full of reminders for those of us who like to train. It's good advise to train more often with shorter sessions, concentrating on two or three aspects of your self-defense toolbox. One session I will concentrate on one-hand or off-hand shooting. The next session will be "scoot-and-shoot", from behind cover/concealment, perhaps with multiple targets. Be sure to practice shooting from retention for extreme CQC. If your range doesn't allow something you'd like to work on, unload your firearm and dry-fire practice at home, with magazine reloads and snap caps. Invest in a laser cartridge system to help with marksmanship. You can practice a lot at home to get the feel for the procedures. The only thing you'll miss out on is recoil management. But 80% practice is better than none.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
With my dad being in WW2 I started shooting when I was young with him and my uncle, who was also in WW2. They really stressed hitting targets at distance not up close. I joined the Army when I was 17 and shooting style taught to me was also distance. I was really good at distance shooting but after first assignment I got good at up and personal style shooting. To this day I still prefer to shoot distance and really happy to to have targets not shoot back. I did have to use a pistol at close range in Iraq and its remarkable how the mind remembers how to perform. Now after 23 years of service, 3 Army, 20 Air Force the most exciting shooting is target blowing in the wind.
 
To this day, I have never faced a single and/or unarmed opponent in real life. So I train likewise. This article is a good start to learning how to deal with that, among other things. It’s worth multiple readings, IMO.
 
Being prepared and something talked about often, “situational awareness” are something I’ve worked hard to develop.
It’s been a couple months now that what I’ve worked on saved me from becoming a victim.
Open parking lot.
Early morning.
Roughly 18 feet away.
3 people in a car.
I had seen them from afar walking back to my truck across the parking lot pushing my shopping cart, something didn’t seam “right”
As soon as I got to my truck and unlocked the doors 2 got out on the passenger side one clearly holding a gun. I had kept my eyes on them the whole time and was able to draw my gun and started yelling very loudly.
I guess not expecting to be confronted they quickly got back in their car and drove away.
Luck? No.
Being prepared and ready to react? Yes.
Knowing my surroundings? Definitely.
Not panicking? Absolutely.

Was I haunted by what happened? No but for a few days I had some sleepless nights.

Great article. Practice, practice, practice.
 
Last edited:
Bassbob said:
You should be far more scared about the millions of armed street thugs who not only have no training, but they have stolen guns and no fear of using them.

I have heard this argument here many times about all these new gun owners who may or may not have sought training. Some have even argued it should be mandatory. So far no one has been able to back up this irrational fear with any kind of meaningful statistics. Just because most of us are training junkies doesn't mean people who don't take courses regularly are dangerous. No doubt lots of training has made me infinitely more prepared, but when I got my first handgun I wasn't dangerous. Lack of formal training doesn't equal pulling out your gun and shooting at inappropriate times or at inappropriate targets. Stupidity does. Same goes for ND. I guess we could argue for a bill stripping stupid people of their 2A rights, but frankly I think allowing them to vote is infinitely more dangerous than letting them have guns.
Click to expand...
I definitely am not in the "make training mandatory" category. All I can do is try to impact any new firearm owners in my sphere of influence and offer to accompany them to the range, etc. My concern (perhaps a better word than fear) is based on the laws of probability. And I absolutely believe we are in more danger from criminals wielding stolen weapons than wet are from new firearm owners. Still, people continue to shoot there firearms in the air on fourth of July and new Year's, so...
 
Mr. Untactical said:
I definitely am not in the "make training mandatory" category. All I can do is try to impact any new firearm owners in my sphere of influence and offer to accompany them to the range, etc. My concern (perhaps a better word than fear) is based on the laws of probability. And I absolutely believe we are in more danger from criminals wielding stolen weapons than wet are from new firearm owners. Still, people continue to shoot there firearms in the air on fourth of July and new Year's, so...
Click to expand...
In the city of St. Louis on New Year’s Eve roving bands of hood rats drive around shooting stray dogs and cats, buildings, parked cars, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top