When I was in the Combat Arms Course at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas I met some great people. One was Master Sergeant White. MSgt White had done a few combat tours and had a good grasp in combat arms. He also was a great teacher who taught us how to teach shooting. The other half of this course was taught mostly by Jeff Cooper of the famed orange Gunsite. This was by far the best school I’ve ever attended in the military. I enjoyed EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) school and jump school, but I guess my heart is in shooting. MSgt White taught us the rules of a gunfight. They are great wisdom and food for thought. I submit them to you, with my comments, for your consideration.
1. Bring a gun. Preferably, two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.
The more the merrier. When I go anywhere I’d like to have a primary combat rifle and a secondary handgun. Unfortunately, society would think I was a terrorist so I opt for some less politically-incorrect, yet law abiding, weapons.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap – life is expensive.
Hence the double tap.
3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
Training trumps gear.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you’re probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
A gunfight usually is fast and furious. You must move quickly, find cover and engage.
5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
Remember the 21 foot rule. A man can cover 21 feet in about 1.5 seconds. Most weapons draws take 1.5 seconds or more. Keep people out of your 21 foot space to be safe. If it’s you who is attacking I would say “Close, and engage.” Don’t let someone do this to you!
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.
As I said above, a battle rifle is my weapon of choice. A handgun is what you fight your way to your rifle with.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
This is true.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.
Most of the military training I received had the mantra of “Shoot, move, communicate”.
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be 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 blows the powder from the flintlock of your musket.”
A firefight is scary. Everyone involved will be shooting crazy and more worried about finding cover than anything else. What you must concentrate on after finding cover is, making sure your weapon works (no malfunctions) and has ammo (reloading), THEN accuracy comes into play.
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
Unlike the movies, I would never give up my gun for any reason. A gun is for your protection and for others protection. How can you protect anyone without a gun? I guess there are other ways, but none that I know of will cure a gunfight. Retention of your weapon is very important. Retention is holding on to your gun but also keeping it in your holster before it’s in your hand!
11. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
This is one that some LDS members, or others, may have a problem with. We’re already taking about violence, and violence seems the opposite of what Mormons are about. Usually that is true. But if you are using force on force, use any means to win because this is life threatening. Take targets of opportunity.
12. Have a plan.
Think quickly. You shouldn’t have been surprised because you were practicing good situational awareness. The OODA loop says that we are constantly going through Observing, Orienting, Deciding, Acting. Always. Usually we can go through this loop quickly. What we have to do is interrupt our opponents loop. To do this we must have a plan.
13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won’t work.
See 12 above.
14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
Know the difference between concealment and cover. Be actively looking for cover where ever you go. Train yourself to find cover quickly. There is much more concealment than cover out there. Also, there are some false ideas of cover such as a car door or an interior wall or even a desk. Learn what cover is and is not before you find yourself in a firefight. Take, or fight to, cover.
15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
This is a military term that should be understood. Flank means to attack an enemy or an enemy unit from the side, or to maneuver to do so. This goes along with the flying term “check 6” meaning to be aware of what’s behind you.
16. Don’t drop your guard.
Ever see one of those 80’s slasher movies? The killer falls out a second story window after having acid thrown in his face. The victim looks out the window to see the killers body and he’s not there! He keeps coming back. Well, your situation may be the same. The difference is, you are dealing with a human that you are almost sure you shot 4 times. The human body is an amazing thing, it can take a lot. I’ve heard many stories where police have shot the perp multiple times yet he still has enough left to kill an officer who thought the danger was over. The threat has to be REALLY stopped.
17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.
See 16 above. Situational awareness is always important. Often in a combat situation you will get tunnel vision. If you are swiveling 360 degrees that can break you out of that tunnel vision. Tactical reload is the action of reloading a weapon that has only fired a few rounds out of its magazine, and retaining the original magazine. An example is an infantryman reloading before entering a hostile building, concerned about ammunition. Tactical doctrine states that one should always have a full magazine before entering a building or hostile situation, but it is also a bad practice to throw away ammunition in case it is needed. If I have a rifle that accepts 30 round magazines, it’s a good practice to under load it with 29 rounds. Not all magazines need this, but you don’t want to find out during a firefight with a malfunction that your magazines need this. Also, to reload like this takes a lot of practice. Reload from behind cover.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)
This is true in every situation.
19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
This has to do with mindset. Stop the threat effectively with just enough. But make sure the threat is neutralized.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
This is related to 19 above. Do what you must do quickly and end the threat with no collateral or personal damage.
You’re in a gun fight: If you’re not shooting, you should be loading. If you’re not loading, you should be moving.
You cannot save the world, but you may be able to save yourself and your family.
“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Be trained, be careful, be safe, be aware, be secure.
Semper Paratus
Burn
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