Tactics Question

[tacops]

 

 

Professional quality training is probably the most important investment we could choose to make.

 

 

 

Absolutely agree with you Prag.  Just a few trips with a reputable professional will teach you the fundamentals. Then it is up to you to practice, practice, practice.  

 

I did not go into muscle memory in my post but Dolomite is absolutely correct that once you have practiced actions such as grip, trigger squeeze, drawing from holster, shooting, target assessment, (shoot/ don't shoot), reloads, failure drills, clearing jams and stovepipes etc. to the point of developing "muscle memory" you no longer have to consciously think about the action and this is crucial in times of stress.

 

I was hoping some others would add to this thread with some good info for those that are achieving a new awareness.

[tacops]

When I mentioned "devious and ingenious" delay measures above I did not mean to imply "booby traps".  Dolomite is correct that one can subject themselves to unwanted or needed civil liability by the use of measures intended to harm.  Thanks to Dolomite for bringing this up.  I went back and read my post and saw why he mentioned it and realized I was not clear on that point.  What I was thinking when I mentioned abstract additional measures was more on the line of assorted noise makers that are frequently activated by "trip-wire" configurations to alert the presence supporting early detection.  To do so, one runs the risk of actually tripping someone resulting in injury and it may not be an intruder with bad intentions.  This is why I did not go into detail above as to such.  However, wireless IR motion sensors or beam interrupt activated sensors are recommended and are very affordable these days.  

[jgradyc]

It's just me and my wife. Our plan is for her to stay in the bedroom, call 911 and our neighbor who is with TBI, and arm herself with the 40 caliber carbine. I'll check out the bump in the nights.  In case we're not in the bedroom, I keep a loaded gun in every room of the house and a long gun near every door.

 

I didn't see this mentioned, so maybe I missed it...

 

With kids the equation changes a lot. I would not trust today's kids around firearms. I would not have firearms around if their friends came to visit. The risk of AD is just too high compared to the risk of an armed break in.

 

I'd have a fingerprint safe in the bedroom and in another room if the bedroom was too far or inaccessible. The rest of my firearms would be locked up like Fort Knox. 

 

My opinion might change depending on the kids, their ages, and their training. 

[Guest jcs327]

That is a subject that can be "what if"'d to death, but here are a few basics that need to be taken into consideration and some questions you can ask yourself that will help you develop a home defense plan. there are a million different scenarios that can be played out, but maybe this will give you a littlefoundation to build on.

 

1. threat assessment: rough neighborhood? Intercity or rural? Distance from neighbors? level of criminal activity in the area?

 

2. Avenue of approach: How will they get to my house from the nearest main road, street, etc.? Do they have concealment preventing me from seeing their approach? will they come through my driveway/garage or through my backyard? Hou many ways can they get in my house? Is there a way into my home between my bedroom and the kids' bedrooms? Do I have a weapon aceesible at each end of the home?

 

3. Sectors of fire: If the situation requires, can I safely engage the threat before they enter the confines of my house without hitting other houses? Do they have cover from theyard to engage me from? Can I engage threats from all four sides of my home or do I have a side with no widows or doors and no visibility? one should be able to defend the outside of your home 360 degrees from the inside of your home. when they reach the inside of your home, your chances of winning the fight are cut in half.

 

4. Cover: what inside my house will stop a bullet? door jambs? rounds will penetrate walls like paper. Door jambs are a little more solid because the wood is double/triple layered and thicker on each side of the door. What can my family use for cover? Many preppers line their kid's closet walls and inside the closet door about 4-5ft high with ceramic tile and then 1/2 steel plating over the tile.  Much like ceramic SAPPI plates iin body armour, the ceramic tiles will absorb alot of the kinetic energy of the round before the round strikes the skill. Steel is pricey but I have seen folks do this to build a "safe room" for their kids to hide in when the shooting starts. Also there are commercially made products like this that are sold to schools for active shooter situations but they are expensive.

 

5. Training? if you are defending your family andyou are wounded, do they know what to do? Can they safely pick up a weapon and fire it? Are there older kids or significant other that I can arm and use as a force multiplier? Can my kids apply a tourniquet, chest seal, or pack a wound to keep me alive if I am injured in the fight? 

Put yourself in the criminals shoes. with no one home, leave your house then drive back to the area as if you are the bad guy intending to kill everyone in your home. Sneak up to your own house, with all doors locked, and see how much intellegence you can gather from a distance about how to get inside the home, then break into your own home fast and violenty just as a criminal would. You will be surprised how much doing that little drill will open your eyes about your home security.  this will help identify your best methods of defense and you will find the answer to your question if you should crawl, stand, etc.

 

6. Mitigation: Remove as much cover and concealment as possibe in the criminal's avenue of approach.  Make sure he has nothing to hide behind and you have plenty of time to engage him from inside your home before he ever sets foot inside. Don't leave lawn tools unsecured!  rakes, shovels, and even metal flower hangars and outside light fixtures make good breaching tools for bad guys. Make your windows hard to get into but easy to get out of in case of a fire.  I do not reccommend doing this with kids, but you will be surprised how affective a few razor blades purchased at wal mart glued to the bottom of the window seal and a few fish hooks are at slowing someone down from climbing through a window. be careful though, this is illegal in some areas. Keep your key fob near you at all times in the home. set the alarm off on your car to make noise. fire shots if you have neighbors, even if you can't see the bad guy but know they are inside, A few rounds fired through the floor into the ground will still get the neighbors attention and get help on the way. Some people will argue that you don't want to give away your position. I promise you, when they enter your house, they already know you are there. When you fire first it does two things: alerts neighbors and flips the mental switch of the aggressor. most criminals want to remain in control and keep it as quiet as possible, so when you make baby go boom boom first, you cause the bad guy to be caught off guard and you now have the advantage. But remember, know where your round is going before you squeeze the trigger.

 

7. practice!  good operators practice until they get it right,  operators that are still alive practice until they can't get it wrong.  your adrenaline will be flowing and you will lose your near focuse (hard to focus on front sight) and your fine motor skills, so using keys, safetys on weapons, and even dialing 911 will be difficult. On dialing 911, put your phone on speaker phone when you call. that way the dispatcher can hear everything that is going on, even if you are wounded and unable to talk.

 

i know it is a ton of information for a short question, but before you take advice from anyone (including me), try some of these things and identify what method works best for you. the tacticool idiots will try their best to tell you I'm wrong, or that you can't do this or that a certain way.  don't listen to any BS from someone who has never been in a firefight. Your goal is to stay alive and keep your family alive. Nothing more. base all of your training on that fact alone. find what works for you and practice it until it becomes muscle memory, and have your family do the same, then keep practicing. 

 

Hope I haven't bored you or thrown too much out there. just wanted to give you a perspective from someone who has actual experience in this sort of thing before the youtube rangers give you too much bad info.

Edited March 19, 2016 by jcs327

[Jamie Jackson]

Excellent and informative post jcs.

 

From your profile I see you are a Paramedic. (Thanks for your work and service first off!)

 

I think you and most folks in Law Enforcement may well agree that possessing Medical Skills, especially regarding Self Care / Buddy Care are often overlooked, or only considered in passing, by members of the shooting community. But they are potentially one of the most important skill sets one may need.

 

I don't know of any agency that will allow EMS to enter into an active shooter situation until the scene is secured by Law Enforcement...nor should that as the potential for further injuries or death is too great.

 

There is the old postulate of the "Golden Hour & Platinum 10 minutes". The thoughts being that one could easily succumb to their untreated wounds (i.e. bleed out)within the first 10 minutes after their injury (being shot) and that if definitive advanced medical care is reached with the first hour (60 minutes) the survival rate is remarkably high.

Having the knowledge and tools available, or knowledge available to improvise said tools, helps you extend that Platinum 10 minutes, increasing your survivability dramatically.

 

fwiw I carry a pocket trauma kit always. It's simply an Emergency Bandage, PriMed Gauze & gloves in a plastic pouch wrapped in duct tape along with a CAT tourniquet. This kit rides in my right hip pocket and is accessible by either hand. I consider it every bit as important as my other self defense/survival tools. But even more so is the knowledge to use it.

 

(I admit bias as I work in the Medical field. I have spent my hard earned money on several med classes and feel it was more than worth it.)

 

This training, self care/buddy care, was a rarity as little as a decade ago, but is readily available by the vast majority of professional training schools and instructors these days. It truly is worth the time and money to invest on this folks.

 

It's also quite easy to incorporate med training into your range sessions. Best to anticipate and practice instead of trying to learn on the fly...

Edited March 21, 2016 by prag

[Cruel Hand Luke]

Preach it Brother Prag....

 

Med skills are just as important as gun skills and honestly I have used med skills to solve more problems than I have solved with my gun. You might be using them at the scene of a wreck , wilderness injury , or even just a home or business accident. Being able to keep people from bleeding out is just as important as being able to cause them to bleed out.

 

 In fact I feel it is so important I teach both Suarez International's Tac Med class and I also teach a one day med class geared specifically for CCW (with the able assistance of medical professional Prag). Training to plug holes is just as important as training to make holes. MOst gun carriers only ever envision the bad guys getting injured....not themselves or their families. Watching a loved one die for lack of a little medical skill would be a horrible thing to have to live with. 

[felinesNfreedom]

I don't know if this has been mentioned but if you have never experienced gun fire in an enclosed environment without ear protection it can be a rude awakening for you. I would not recommend experiencing this event multiple times but I think it's well worth it once so you know what you are getting into.

[Jamie Jackson]

I'm a believer in staying alive my friend.

 

Obviously I'm biased and in no way mean this to be self-promoting...but Cruel Hand Luke (Randy) is one of the best instructors I've known. I contribute in only a small way, but I'm honored to do so.

 

I strongly encourage everyone to take some form of first aid training, the more advanced (obviously) the better. Over the past 30 years or so I have stopped along the highway innumerable times to give first aid, given first aid to friends and neighbors, and done CPR more times than I can count. I've only drawn my handgun twice.

 

While I've not trained with Kerry Davis nor Caleb Causey, I have trained with "Doc Gunn" under John Farnam. There are Wilderness First Aid classes available and good old American Red Cross first Aid classes in almost everyone's area. The military's Combat Lifesaver and TCCC class programs are quite good as well.

 

Purchase a tourniquet and learn to use it. Then carry it!

 

All of our local EMS services now carry CAT Tourniquets in their trucks. I've used my personally owned Tourniquets twice in our ER. We now stock CAT Tourniquets in our Trauma Rooms.

 

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I am passionate about this. Too many good guys and gals are lost needlessly. This can be changed with knowledge and a little effort.