The Tactical Edge – February

Concealed Carry and Armed Confrontation

Previously on the blog, we have covered the fundamentals of shooting. We have also touched on situational awareness and how it can affect you. This month, I want to make you think about the ramifications of carrying your concealed weapon. Having a carry permit allows you to carry a firearm. It brings along with it the requirements that you not only act in a safe and responsible manner for yourself but also anyone else around you. Part of that responsibility also mandates that you avoid or minimize situations that could develop into armed confrontations. In most cases of flight or fight, common sense and your defense attorney should tell you that flight is your best option. That being said, the situation itself, not you, normally will determine what your possible options will be.

Several studies have been done that found that people who carry guns are between 2 and 4 times likelier to be shot than people who are unarmed. Some of the thinking here says that the type of people who carry guns are more apt to be involved in tense situations compared with unarmed citizens. Also, carrying a firearm gives one a sense of security to visit neighborhoods and situations that an unarmed citizen would avoid. Studies are all well and good up to a point. Common sense should tell us that if we would avoid these situations when unarmed, we definitely should avoid them when we are armed. Getting shot is painful but shooting someone else can be just as painful if not more so. You would have to live the rest of your life with the consequences of your actions. I would like to bring up a thought here that I’ve had in the past when training new police officers. Some people are mentally and emotionally not equipped to take a life. That is a good thing and is probably how it is with the majority of people. Taking a life is a traumatic situation. If you carry a firearm, at some point down the road you may have to deal with the possibility that you might have to kill someone. We don’t say kill, all of our training says that we act to stop the person. But, a lot of the time that person can or will die. If this is something that you’re not capable of doing, then you should definitely not be carrying a firearm. It could get you seriously injured if you are unable to react to a violent situation. It could also cause bystanders to be hurt. In this case, the safest place for your firearm is in your gun safe unless you’re just going to the range.

Let’s look at a common scenario. You have taken the CC class, purchased your firearm, and received your permit. You’ve been out to the firing range several times and filled paper targets with multiple holes. Are you now ready to carry a concealed weapon? Most people would say yes. I and most of the instructors that I’ve worked with will tell you emphatically NO. There is a lot more to concealed carry then this. If you get into an armed confrontation with someone who is intent on harming you, it could go down before you even realize that it started. Without the proper mental and physical training that is required, you won’t have a chance. An armed attacker, who is within 21 feet of you, can be on top of you in 1.5 seconds. You won’t even have time to think before it’s over. If he has a firearm and intends to shoot you, your reaction window is now down approaching zero. You need to have the training both mentally and physically to give yourself the edge to survive this. Shooting paper targets does nothing to prepare your mind to react to this type of the situation. Someone intent on shooting you is going to do everything in his power to get the job done. You will need to have the mental and physical skill set to stop him. If you haven’t taken the classes on tactical and defensive shooting skills, I highly recommend that you find a good instructor and take them. It could save your life. This isn’t just a one time training either. It is something that you have to do ongoing to hone the skills and refine them. As you go about your daily life, you need to have situational awareness of everything going on around you so that should a threat suddenly appear you will already be thinking of a plan of action to eliminate it. You should always be thinking, if something were to happen right now, how do I avoid it or react to it? Go back to my earlier blog on situational awareness to refresh your memory.

Once you determine that a threat to your life is imminent, and retreat is not possible, you need to react with extreme haste and extreme violence. Your goal at this point is to win at all costs, overwhelming the senses of the bad guy. Salt Lake City Police Department Sergeant Dennis Tueller is a law enforcement trainer and contributor to SWAT magazine. He has stated that a person, with weapons other than a firearm, is in your danger zone when he is within 21 feet. The more proficient you are with your firearm, the closer your danger zone can be. He suggests you draw your weapon as soon as the danger clearly exists. There is no point in waiting until the last possible second to play "Quick-Draw McGraw" if you recognize the threat early on. Also, the sight of your "Equalizer" may be sufficient to terminate the action then and there. Sergeant Tueller has developed a training drill that everyone should try in their training called the Tueller Drill so you can determine how close is TOO CLOSE in your case, based on your skills.  You can look it up online.

The goal of the Tueller Drill is very basic. At the sound of the buzzer, draw your gun from concealment and get the first shot off, all in 1.5 seconds. Sounds simple right? Trust me, it’s not. The Tueller Drill can be set up and run in a number of different ways.

·         Have a runner and a shooter stand back to back. On the go command, the runner sprints away from the shooter as fast as he can. The shooter draws and fires one shot at a target 21 feet away. The shooter is successful if the runner did not cover 21 feet.

·         Another way is to position the runner 21 feet behind the shooter. On the go command, the runner sprints towards the shooter with the intent to tap the shooter on the back. The shooter must draw and fire one shot at a target 21 feet away. The shooter is successful if he is able to get the shot off before being tapped from behind. This can add more stress to the shooter since they don’t know when the tap is coming.

·         If you have a SIRT Pistol or other inert training gun, a full contact drill could be run. Have an attacker start 21 feet away from the shooter. On the go command, the attacker runs at the shooter and the shooter must draw and “shoot” the running attacker before they get to them and touch them. Another variation of this is to have a target that can move at the shooter and do the same thing, only live fire since it’s a target.

·         If you are lucky enough to have a local gun range with a programmable target carrier system and allows draw from the holster, you can run the drill yourself. Program a delayed random start time, a return to zero from 21 feet and a turn to face at the beginning. When the target turns and advances, draw and fire.

·         If you can draw from the holster at your range, use a shot timer. Your goal is to draw and fire at a target 21 feet away in under 1.5 seconds.

Alright, we have determined what the threat zone is and you have decided that your immediate action is needed. At that point you should explode into action and not stop until the threat is ended. What happens if you get shot during this time? The simple answer is “if you ain’t dead you ain’t done”. 85% of people that get shot and get to the hospital within two hours will survive. The exception to this would be headshots and spinal cord injuries. With everything else you will still have a chance to fight back and WIN. This will require you to overcome your injury and continue your explosive reaction force. Your adrenaline will be surging but if you’re conscious, you can still react by breathing deeply and focusing on your attacker. Speed is urgent now since if you’re shot, you’re most likely bleeding profusely. The quicker you stop your assailant, the quicker you will get to medical help. There are no rules here. You bring all the violence that your body is capable of committing to bear on the attacker.

Here is a little information to lighten the seriousness of the mood for a minute. It contains some good ideas for you along with a little humor.

Rules of Gun Fighting:

·         Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. 

·         Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive. 

·         Only hits count. Close doesn’t count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss. 

·         If your shooting stance is good, you’re probably not moving fast enough, nor using cover correctly. 

·         Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.) 

·         If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun. 

·         In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived and who didn’t. 

·         If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running. 

·         Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting is more dependent on “pucker factor” than the inherent accuracy of the gun. 

·         Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. “All skill is in vain when an Angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket.” 

·         Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty. 

·         In combat, there are no rules, always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose. 

·         Have a plan. 

·         Have a back-up plan, because the first one won’t work. 

·         Use cover or concealment as much as possible. The visible target should be in FRONT of your gun. 

·         Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours. 

·         Don’t drop your guard. 

·         Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees. 

·         Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them). 

·         Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH. 

·         The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get. 

·         Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

·         Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one. 

·         Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation. 

·         Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with a “4.” 

Training and defensive tactics are critical in these high stress threat situations. The amount of time you have to stop an attack requires a lot of skill and muscle memory. Remember, if you shoot too early, you will most likely be defending yourself in court on a murder charge. If you wait too long, your survivors will be attending your funeral. There is a fine line between shoot and don’t shoot. The differences in how much training and practice you have had. Watching DVDs or reading will not give you the skills you will need for survival. I highly recommend that everyone reading this find a good instructor and take live training. It will further prepare you for your concealed carry and potential situations that arise.

Black Mamba Tactical is going to be starting up a new series of live fire and simulator classes in Self-Defense Shooting, Tactical Shooting, and Combat Shooting. You will be able to find these classes on our website when we have them ready to go. Our classes are run under the supervision of a highly skilled and extensively trained tactical instructor. I can personally attest to his ability as one of his students and as a former police instructor myself.

Well that wraps up another month’s issue of the blog.  We hope you’re reading it, enjoying it, and most of all, benefiting from it.  If you have comments, please send them to us.  We love to get email.  In the meantime, keep your gun clean and your powder dry and take someone to the shooting range or training class with you. You owe it to them to improve their skills.