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Category: Fieldcraft
| September 3, 2015
You’ve arrived at the campsite with your friends and some cold beer in the cooler, only to realize you left the bottle opener at home. Lucky for you, that’s no problem — you’re a master of improvisation.
Eucalyptus Now
Over at Shooting Times, Rick Mann looks at what he considers to be the four best SHTF rifles — what he terms “Apocalypse-Ready Rifles” — and has devised a test to determine which one is best.
I’m not going to pick holes in his test — it seems quite adequate — and I actually agree with his rationale (e.g. “Granted, cataclysmic conditions of ruin can run the gambit from a camping trip gone bad to total anarchy.” )
As I’m unlikely ever to go on any camping trip which doesn’t include the words “Holiday Inn”, I’m not going to pick two of his choices (the .30-30 lever rifle and the .308 Win boltie), fine weapons though they may be. No, from where I’m sitting, the most likely scenario is civil breakdown and disorder caused by natural disasters (which could likely cause prolonged power outages, food shortages and such), or else a truly bad situation like a BLM- / Antifa-inspired riot. In both cases, what’s needed is something for home / property defense (if caught in a riot), and something which would also allow me to do things like pay a visit to a local supermarket for a little un-monetized food collection (the fancy term for looting).
Well, you all know my first choice:
…and if I ever wanted to get fancy, I could always improve the crappy iron sights on the AK with some kind of red-dot sighting apparatus, thus:
I know, some people are going to prefer the Waffen Durch Plastik AR-15, and while I deplore the choice (I mean, all that plastic… think of the environment, people!), I’ve come to the point of view that you go with what you feel comfortable using — and as most gunnies of my acquaintance have served in the dot.mil (e.g. Doc Russia, Combat Controller etc.), the AR would be a logical choice for them.
(Over The Pond, and following his service in the Paras, Mr. Free Market’s rifle of choice would no doubt be the FN-FAL — or whatever the Brits called it — but sadly, H.M. Government says that the icky things are Just Too Dangerous or some such nonsense, so he’d have to be content with picking off fuzzy-wuzzies from his rooftop with his trusty Blaser R8 .300 Win Mag. I for one would pay money to be able to watch that.)
Where was I? Oh yes, the SHTF rifle choices.
I have to say that for my Readers who live in rural areas, where one could forage for dinner amidst the wild beasties who frolic in the fields, the .308 bolt rifle would be an outstanding choice — although I’d probably choose a .300 Win Mag chambering instead — and if the terrain is heavily wooded, the .30-30 lever rifle would be equally effective.
Mann’s observation about ammo is, I think, quite on the mark:
I’m not going to pick holes in his test — it seems quite adequate — and I actually agree with his rationale (e.g. “Granted, cataclysmic conditions of ruin can run the gambit from a camping trip gone bad to total anarchy.” )
As I’m unlikely ever to go on any camping trip which doesn’t include the words “Holiday Inn”, I’m not going to pick two of his choices (the .30-30 lever rifle and the .308 Win boltie), fine weapons though they may be. No, from where I’m sitting, the most likely scenario is civil breakdown and disorder caused by natural disasters (which could likely cause prolonged power outages, food shortages and such), or else a truly bad situation like a BLM- / Antifa-inspired riot. In both cases, what’s needed is something for home / property defense (if caught in a riot), and something which would also allow me to do things like pay a visit to a local supermarket for a little un-monetized food collection (the fancy term for looting).
Well, you all know my first choice:
…and if I ever wanted to get fancy, I could always improve the crappy iron sights on the AK with some kind of red-dot sighting apparatus, thus:
I know, some people are going to prefer the Waffen Durch Plastik AR-15, and while I deplore the choice (I mean, all that plastic… think of the environment, people!), I’ve come to the point of view that you go with what you feel comfortable using — and as most gunnies of my acquaintance have served in the dot.mil (e.g. Doc Russia, Combat Controller etc.), the AR would be a logical choice for them.
(Over The Pond, and following his service in the Paras, Mr. Free Market’s rifle of choice would no doubt be the FN-FAL — or whatever the Brits called it — but sadly, H.M. Government says that the icky things are Just Too Dangerous or some such nonsense, so he’d have to be content with picking off fuzzy-wuzzies from his rooftop with his trusty Blaser R8 .300 Win Mag. I for one would pay money to be able to watch that.)
Where was I? Oh yes, the SHTF rifle choices.
I have to say that for my Readers who live in rural areas, where one could forage for dinner amidst the wild beasties who frolic in the fields, the .308 bolt rifle would be an outstanding choice — although I’d probably choose a .300 Win Mag chambering instead — and if the terrain is heavily wooded, the .30-30 lever rifle would be equally effective.
Mann’s observation about ammo is, I think, quite on the mark:
Sustainment for months is unlikely, so being able to “pick up” ammo—while potentially important—is not a realistic necessity. What’s more important is how much ammo you can comfortably carry.
Here’s my take: outside the scenario of actual guerilla warfare (ain’t gonna happen, not in this country, Red Dawn fantasies notwithstanding), you aren’t going to run out of ammo. Seriously, if you think you’re going to need more than a couple-three magazines for your rifle, what you need is not more ammo but more people to support you. Myself, I could not see myself taking the AK for an outing with any more than two 20-round magazines. Ammo is heavy, Bubba, and I’m not young and fit anymore. More than two, and I’d keep them in the car instead. The amount of ammo on hand is another story, of course, but you all know my “500” rule — a minimum of 500 rounds per gun (with an exception for exotic calibers like .375 H&H or 7mm Jap).
All this is fun to wargame out, isn’t it? Even though it is an unlikely scenario, I try not to wander too deep into the Gun Dork Forest, because that’s like drawing up a comprehensive financial plan for when you win the $100-million lottery: fun, but after a certain point it’s just wasting time.
I do think, however, that some planning is not only necessary, it’s prudent. You don’t want to be like those morons in New Orleans who, when Hurricane Katrina was about to come calling, arrived at the shelters carrying nothing but a Pepsi Big Gulp. In a dire SHTF situation, my plan involves staying in place and defending the apartment. If that’s untenable, then I’ll be loading my Grab ‘n Go* tubs, emergency water cans and the necessary guns and ammo into the Tiguan, and making my way over to Doc Russia’s fortress house.
Call me unprepared if you will, but I’m not a dummy.
*Yes, I still have them, just with fresh supplies. If anyone’s interested, I’ll post pics of them some other time, after I’ve moved.
Stand Your Ground
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- After being in the firearms self-defense instruction business for over 40 years, I have been asked many times what it the most important skill I could pass on to a new student. It made me think each time it was asked. And the answer has been and still is……. Awareness and mindset.
It never ceases to amaze me that most concealed carry permit holders have never been in a violent encounter or even a fist fight.
I have developed a syllabus that covers awareness and mindset in all our curriculum regardless of the platform. Pistol, shotgun or carbine.
We start with several issues, warrior mindset, both definition and application. Next the OODA Loop, history, and usage. Then on to Color Codes of Awareness of USMC and Jeff Cooper fame. The history and usage. How it applies to everyday use. Then on to the dynamics of a violent encounter or patterns of conflict.
The final piece of this puzzle is to know what the TELLS of a violent encounter with another person looks like. A TELL will give you an idea in advance of a violent encounter. A violent criminal does not start a violent encounter in a vacuum. There are many tell tale signs of the oncoming violent encounter, but you must know the signs or tells.
So here we go:
- Verbalization- “I am going to kick your ass” “So, you think you are a badass?” “You will be sorry” “. Those are easy ones. But they can be very offsetting also. “Hey, can you help me out?” “Have any spare change?” “I need some help” Those are meant to get you to lower your guard, gain sympathy and allow invasion of personal space.
- Visable overt awareness- Visible weapons, unusual nervousness, hidden hands.
- Asumption of a fighter stance or bladed stance.
- Looking around to see if they are alone, no witnesses. Looking for an escape route, a possible assistant assailant. Overall assessing their battle area.
- Invasion of personal space .
- Change in Body Language
- Clenching of jaw muscles, clenching and unclenching of fists.
- Blinking eyes unnaturally or squinting. Eye movement changes from the normal 20 closures a minute. Staring hard at or through you.
- Aggression redirected to other objects or people. Kicking cans, kicking or shoving chairs. Smacking walls, breaking pencils, or glasses and inanimate objects. Yelling at others.
- Sweating
- Flared nostrils, heavier than normal breathing. Lips part showing teeth to intake more breath.
- Tensed up posture.
- Stretching back and arms. Opening and closing elbows. Head rolls and neck stretches.
- Removal of excess clothing.
- Pacing, finger pointing shaking fists, over exaggerated hand, and arm movements.
- Facial discoloration, normally to red.
- Dress, what they wear and how they wear it.
Most of these have been noted in a survey that was done by two researchers from University of Toledo, Richard Johnson and Jasmine Aaron in “Adults’ Beliefs Regarding Nonverbal Cues Predictive of Violence. Criminal Justice and Behavior.
When we notice these TELLs, we want to create space and time to make the attack easier to manage or to Avoid, Evade and Escape.
Always remember violent encounters are a mathematical equation of time and distance. The problem is we do not know the digits until the encounter is over.
Time and distance are your friends or your worst enemies.
About Bob Harvey
Bob is a veteran Marine Corps veteran firearms coach PMI, Marine Security Guard, PPSU Instructor, NRA Training Counselor and Instructor. Owner of both South Florida Gun School and SDK Security Consultants. Subject matter expert, an expert trial witness for firearms and their use.
EEFI – THOSE WHO WANT YOU DEAD ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE GIFT YOU GIVE THEM….
First, what IS ‘EEFI’? As most things military, it’s an acronym, and stands for, ‘Essential Elements of Friendly Information,’ and allows an aggressor to piece together information that’s not secret or protected, to get a picture of what you’re about, what your plans are, what you may have, or what you’re thinking about. Most folks don’t realize when they’re having a great conversation about various subjects that they’re giving away a treasure trove of essential information that will help an enemy out.
Enemies can include criminal home invaders, kidnappers targeting low hanging fruit (kids who’s parents tell everything about them on social media), communist organizations who don’t like you (ANTIFA, ISIS, BAMN, SPLC, etc), and so on.
Today most EEFI is provided by the owner on Social Media and in the commentary of countless blogs and forums. Someone wanting to target a particular person only need find where they post items, and sit back and take notes. Additionally, most EEFI is provided innocently with pure intent, in discussions between, ‘like minded people’ (mostly on-line, but FTF as well) when others are listening. Examples could be a dinner at a local restaurant frequented by extreme liberals and conservatives. Everyone’s having dinner at the same time, and the table next to yours has a few hard core libtards having tofu and hear you start to talk about your ‘armory’ to a good buddy who’s just waking up to what’s likely to go down.
Don’t think it isn’t happening? Think again.
“But DTG,” you say, “It COULD be disinformation being put out!” Sure it could. Live and on-line. But most likely, it’s accurate information, because the people flat out discussing or posting the EEFI are looking for validation from their meat space or on-line ‘friends’ on what they’re doing, what equipment/weapons/preps they have, and so on, and most importantly, are not trained INTEL folks who know how to sew disinformation.
Example: Someone wants you dead for whatever reason, or more realistically, someone wants to pin point those in their immediate proximity who might be able to provide re-supply of ammo, weapons, food, clothing and such, should things, ‘Go South.’ All that person has to do is find out what username or ‘nom de guerre’ the person of interest uses, and what blogs, web sites, and forums they frequent, and simply sit back and take notes.
The following image applies to those who cannot help ‘blabbing’ everything they have, know, and are doing to prepare for hard times. The enemy follows this dictum closely:
Field exercise: Go through comments here and you’ll see folks talk about how many and what type of weapons they have, how much ammo and what type, how much food, and so forth. Then go to other like minded blogs and sites and read what people tell you about themselves. It’s not hard to find them. Really.
Bottom line? When it comes to telling unknown people about what you could do to either survive a bad situation or repel marauders, there’s only one thing to say:
Not. A. Good. Idea.
It’s so prevalent and goes on so much, that when I was training a survival groups, I’d give homework assignments based on certain news articles on first responder organizations and ask them: “What can you tell me about ‘X’ department’s capabilities based on what is in this news article? For the next month, based on the first article, there should be at least two follow up news articles. Whoever puts together the most complete capabilities description wins.”
In one department, we found out how many radios they had, what type they were, what the members thought about them, what a typical response time was, and so on. If we had been ‘bad actors,’ we’d have had a great amount of information based on an ‘open source.’
I also gave an assignment for, “Predict the Probability of an Easy Home Invasion,” by people you know on Social Media who post everything in their lives on the various social media sites. The group was able to find out who wasn’t home, who left their 17 year old daughter alone at home while they went on vacation, where certain families were going to be, when they would be leaving and when they’d return, who had dogs, who had dog sitters, etc, etc, etc, etc.
If you were a bad person, wouldn’t EEFI be your, “Bestie”? Dang Skippy it would.
Now, I’m not an INTEL guy by any stretch of the imagination. However, I was trained to observe, listen, and read what an OPFOR put out as ‘news releases.’
Consider doing a couple things: 1 – When someone posts an article or question on things you might want to have, DO NOT post comments on what you have compared to the article. 2 – When doing your own preps and observing your own AO, actively listen to what those around you say and do. Write it down for future reference. Should something bad happen, you’ll have a better picture of what the folks who might be like minded have to help you help them. If they’re not like minded, and are basically OPFOR, you’ll have a better idea of their capabilities and intent.
Remember, “Trust, but Verify”?
That’s something we should all do before we start giving everything away.
FREE.
If bad people out there want information, make them at LEAST work for it. Don’t make their jobs easier. And make no mistake, there are people out there watching this and many, many, many other sites who wish everyone else in the readership very, very, very bad things, up to, and including death.
Remember that innocent discussions can be gleaned of valuable nuggets of information. Essential information. About you and yours.
Man Killed By Armed PSU Officers Had Valid Concealed Carry Permit
Two of Washington’s colleagues and at least one witness say Washington, 45, was black.
Keyaira Smith, a witness who took video of the moments leading up to Washington’s death, told OPB that he was “trying to be a good Samaritan” by breaking up a fight.
Video footage shows what appears to be a black object attached to Washington’s right side as he’s seen pulling one man off another. Two PSU police officers can also be seen.
“The gun slipped out of the holster when he had fallen, and I think he may have tried to retrieve it,” Smith said. “Then they said ‘gun.’”
That’s when police fired, she said.
Sgt. Brent Laizure, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that Washington had a valid concealed carry permit.
Washington was a Navy veteran and an employee with the United States Postal Service since 1998. He worked with the collections unit as a letter carrier at the main office in downtown Portland, where he also served as the union shop steward.
Washington was married with three kids and one grandchild.
“He loved those kids, he was crazy about them,” said David Norton, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 82. Norton knew Washington for seven years.
“He was a big personality. He always had a lot to say. He kind of had a larger-than-life personality. He was always very animated and exuberant. And if you ever worked with the guy or knew the guy, you would never forget him.”
Norton said Washington was with co-workers the day he was shot.
PSU officials are already preparing to defend the university against a lawsuit. Leaders convened a closed-to-the-public executive session Friday afternoon to discuss potential litigation. The session came even as leaders knew little about the victim, other than that he likely wasn’t a PSU student.
Multiple agencies, including the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and the Portland Police Bureau Homicide Detail, are conducting an investigation into the incident. PSU and PPB have not officially identified Washington or provided many details about the incident.
University President Rahmat Shoureshi said he’s asked the university’s Campus Public Safety Chief to conduct an internal assessment and evaluation of the incident.
The Portland State University Student Union is calling on the University to disarm campus officers with a rally scheduled for Sunday — the three-year anniversary of when the university first armed Campus Public Safety Officers.The university’s board of trustees cast a controversial vote in 2014 to employ sworn armed police officers on campus.
“Everyone who has expressed dissent over the years to the armament of CPSO and creation of a police force knew that one day this decision would result in deadly violence, and we know that it will continue to happen so long as campus security remain a deputized and armed police force,” PSUSU wrote on its Facebook page. “There’s no way around it – this is how policing works.”
Rob Manning and Amelia Templeton contributed to this report
Some of my thoughts
1. When you are under arms, one must think Tactical at all times.
2. I was not there. But unless the fight is totally out of control. I.E Use of say a use of rock or knife. Or that somebody is completely out of the fighting skill league. It is best to let the Cops handle it.
3. A sad fact is that a lot of Cops today are very trigger happy.
4. While it was admirable & honorable to want to help. One has to remember to weight the cost & risks AT ALL TIMES!
Bottom line-I really feel bad for the family. But later on they can take pride in this incontestable fact. That they had a good man in their family. Who tried to do the right thing!
Grumpy
Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2018/05/pistol-shooting-drill-how-to-get-rid-of-your-flinch-video/#ixzz5FxQ5kVIB
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
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Pistol Shooting Drill – How To Get Rid Of Your Flinch [VIDEO]
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Do you want to get rid of your flinch? You know, that one that makes you shoot low and left (if you are right-handed) consistently? Who wouldn’t?
I reached out to two of my good friends who are excellent pistol shooters and top-rated trainers, Steve “Yeti” Fisher of Sentinal Concepts and Chuck Pressburg of Presscheck Consulting. They both told me that I sucked and then gave me some great advice, shoot ball and dummy. A lot.
Disclaimer: There are a TON of types of flinches, not just one. This drill focuses on you noticing the flinch, not diagnosing what kind of flinch you are displaying.
As much as shooters poke fun at other shooters for having a flinch, many time it isn’t because the gun scared us, but instead has a lot to do with bad habits formed after thousands and thousands of rounds shot over several years without formal instruction. Maybe you are trying to mitigate the recoil of the pistol beforethe shot breaks like I was.
Before we go any further, you will need a couple of things to make this drill a ton easier on you:
Dummy rounds – I prefer the Glock brand ones since they are really cheap and I tend to lose one or two each time I do this drill. You can find them on Brownells for about $37 per 50 with an included box but they can go for about $15 cheaper if you happen to catch them on sale.
3″ Bullseyes or Target Pasters – I normally get mine from Amazon where a 25 sheet package with 9 targets per sheet will set you back $14.99 for the 3″ bulls or you can opt for the 1″ paper dots that run $10.00 for 1,000 little brown dots.
Cardboard Targets – You can also use scrap cardboard if you like but I prefer using IPSC/USPSA targets since I have several hundred of the Action Target brand ones tucked in the garage.
Something that I have struggled with for years as a handgun shooter is flinching just prior to the shot breaking. It wasn’t until Rob Letham showed me exactly what I was doing in a pretty unconventional way. He told me to take aim at the target and then proceeded to pull the trigger for me. The result? A nice tight group that I couldn’t have replicated if my life depended on it at that time in shooting career.
Now there are a ton of really old targets out there that will “diagnose” your flinch, but they are really centered around old style bullseye shooting.
When I asked Steve Fisher about the “diagnosis target” he simply replied with “Junk.” When I pressed him for more info he explained it in more detail saying “It’s a carryover from one-handed pistol shooting taught by the military around the same time that bullseye shooting was popular and has little bearing on the modern defensive and ‘gaming’ techniques taught today”
The Drill:
So I already told you that ball and dummy is the name of the drill. As you might guess it involves some ball ammunition and some dummy rounds. The idea is to have someone load your magazines with dummy rounds loaded randomly so that you have no idea where in the magazine they are.
The goal is to have no idea if the round you are pulling the trigger on is live or a dummy. Now if you are by yourself at the range like I often am, just take a ton of magazines and load them all at once randomly and mix them up so you have no idea what is in each mag.
Once you get all loaded up, head to the 3-yard line and start shooting at the 3″ bull or paster. As you come across a dummy round and you flinch, clear the gun and perform 10 dry fires, then reload the gun and continue. Make sure that every time you flinch on a dummy that you take that 10 dry fire penalty.
That is about all there is to the drill. It isn’t super hard but the benefits that I saw with my shooting was incredible after two full range days and 1,000 rounds of 9mm.
A few hundred bucks is well worth taking your shooting skill to a new level.
I want to thank Chuck and Steve for letting me bug them for advice. I strongly encourage you to look into both trainers and see if there is a class in your area, you won’t regret it.
About Patrick R.
Patrick is a firearms enthusiast that values the quest for not only the best possible gear setup, but also pragmatic ways to improve his shooting skills across a wide range of disciplines. He values truthful, honest information above all else and had committed to cutting through marketing fluff to deliver the truth. You can find the rest of his work on FirearmRack.com as well as on the YouTube channel Firearm Rack or Instagram at @thepatrickroberts.
