Protection and survival

[farmer]

Here are some links to sites with actual professionals who know what they are talking about. After reading pams thread wanting advice I figure this was needed. Keep in mind a good bunch of these folks are pro's and have seen the "Elephant" first hand. A few of the members at gotx are quite well known for there exploits as contractors in the G.W.O.T. The best advice is to keep eyes and ears open and mouth shut on some of these forums. You will likely have little to add in their respective sphere's. Also remember they are generally not churchy if you know what I mean.

Larry Vickers & Vickers Tactical | Firearms Training | Tactical Impact | Tactical Arms |

LiveCloud Login This is my "go to" site for all things fighting and survival.

Sniper's Hide Forums - Forums powered by UBB.threads™ Another fave. Mostly long range stuff but there is a ton of common rifle info as well as gear reviews.

Suarez International USA, Inc. Good vids on youtube. fighting rifle and pistol.

usrsog.org :: Index Good survival forum

[Akita]

I would like to add that I would be happy to chime in and assist anyone on firearms and related questions. I am a retired police officer and former SWAT for a small-medium sized southern county. I am somewhat new to this Preparedness thing, but have found some excellent posts here on the subject. My prepping education is also coming from some wonderful ladies at my local Bishop's Storehouse/Cannery(i help out there but am not a LDS member) who have opened my eyes to the need to prepare more.

[farmer]

Welcome. If it would not be to uncomfortable for you I think it would be interesting for all here if you could tell us what goes through your mind just before the fight and how your body reacts to high stress. What problems did you encounter when the first fight came? Were there changes in the way you look at things? How did you change your training if at all? Did you encounter many misconceptions? etc.

Most folks here I believe NEED to hear this stuff. They NEED to hear the truth about how our bodies function in high stress situations. They NEED to hear the truth about how a real gun fight goes down and what is required to win it. They NEED to know that a fifteen minute response time is an absolute eternity not to mention a death sentence to the unprepared. You get my drift.

Use this thread if you like or start a new one if you decide to proceed. And again welcome my friend.

[Akita]

Thank You for the kind welcome, farmer. & I'm always happy to open my mouth and show folks how much I dont know.

"When seconds count, the police are only minutes away"

Unfortunately thats usually true. What you will do in those minutes is something you should decide now while you are not under life-threatening stress. Will you choose to fight, be it with a firearm, fists, golfclub, baseball bat, or whatever is at hand? Or will you try to run away? Perhaps you have a 'safe' room or storm shelter you can hide or barricade yourself in. None of the options are very appealing when evil stalks you, and all of them have their drawbacks. This is a very personal decision that should not be taken lightly. Whatever your decision, think about it Now before the crisis hits. Not to choose a path of action makes it a certainty that you have chosen to be a victim. Placing your trust in God is one thing; placing your trust in a criminal is entirely different. Truely Evil people walk this earth. I have met one; only one in my career. A killer without remorse, a torturer for the entertainment of it. And he is up for parole in about 8 years. I'm sure there's more. Please dont choose to be a victim.

If it would not be to uncomfortable for you I think it would be interesting for all here if you could tell us what goes through your mind just before the fight and how your body reacts to high stress. What problems did you encounter when the first fight came?

I still recall my first SWAT callout vividly. Felony drug house, meth cookers/users/dealers known to carry firearms. Now I had years and years of law enforcement experience before this and umpteen hours of training, including pretty much everything you see on COPS (which is very realistic btw).

I have drawn my weapons on many felons (but i never discharged a round in my career), and been in my share of chases and fights, but I still remember that feeling on the ride to the house. 'This is it. I could die today. Concentrate. Do Your Job. Remember your training. Do Your Job. Concentrate'. I was excited, I could feel the adrenaline flowing and things did seem to happen in slow motion(just a little) as we took down the house and occupants with no incident. Post raid, I was pretty 'bouncy' from the adrenaline for a couple of hours.

As I have never actually been in a gun battle, I can only relate what friends who have been there/done that have told me. Things slow down, you get tunnel vision, your hearing goes away, you fire, you wonder why he isnt going down immediately, you dont think, you revert to your training. That last one is very important. I have found this to be true in many endeavors. When under stress, you Will fall back on your training.

I dont remember my first fight with a criminal but I was far from an inexperienced fighter from my ice hockey days. The difference when you are fighting 'for real' instead of 'for fun' (did i just say that? i sure didnt mean it that way!) is a mindset that you KNOW you must win. When in a life threatening confrontation, all the rules are off and you should do whatever it takes to protect your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Did I answer your question? I just reread my post and it seemed kind of rambling. Hope it helps.

Edited September 11, 2009 by Akita

[BenRaines]

Farmer and Akita, thank you for your contributions to this thread. Something that I have mentioned here over the years. Combat mindset is what it is.

I too have never been in a shootout even after hours and hours of training for just that situation. I have watched countless hours of training videos of officers who have. I watch to learn what could I do better or what did they do right and where could they have improved on their actions.

Always it is interesting how gunfights turn out. All parties often firing many rounds and no one hit. One cannot judge what it is like until they have been there.

I have done many house searches for burglars or open doors. The adrenaline rush is amazing, not on purpose, but the anticipation of finding someone and all nerves on end as you search through a dark house where you suspect someone is hiding. No one can know what that is like until they have done it.

The idea of an average homeowner who buys a gun, keeps it between the mattress, for just in case, and them being able to do anything other than shoot themselves in the foot is laughable.

Thank you both for your input.

Ben Raines

[farmer]

Good posts. I've been fired on but never returned fire. From that experience I can say for me I had good rush going however I felt fairly calm in my thoughts and was actually more concerned that by standers were not hurt. I do recall time slowing but no selective hearing or tunnel vision in that particular instance. Whats funny is when I saw the gun in the dudes hand from about 40' my mind instantly "took a photo " so to speak and I new the make and model INSTANTLY. I carry "10 in the clip and 1 in the hole" EVERYWHERE I go due to some experiences I have had. It would absolutely destroy me if something happened and I was unable to intervene.

People tend to think "How hard could it be? just point and pull the trig" but they don't even understand basic concepts of marksmanship and tactics. My hopes are that a thread like this will at least bring about awareness that there is so much more involved. For instance just by googleing key words such as s.u.l position, blading, cutting the pie and trigger reset will open up a entire new world for most folks.

The below vid has several parts and is worth listening to.

[BenRaines]

Our range master was a fan of Jeff Cooper. Ride tall, shoot straight and always speak the truth, Good book about combat mindset for the novice.

While I don't carry a 45 it is good reading.

There are a lot of fans of various experts. Find what works for you and train, train and train.

Ben Raines