CHAPTER 10

TACTICS

YOU PERFORM AS YOU TRAIN

I commonly see or hear students that think that once they take a class and apply for a permit they no longer need any practice or additional training. This can cause problems, especially when adult learning theory states that the average adult retains only 25 percent of course information two weeks after the class ends.

Add to this lack of retention the extreme stress of a lethal force situation and the physical nature of gun handling, and it becomes apparent that practice is a vital part of preparedness. You will not rise to the challenge of a gunfight. You will default to your proven abilities. If you cannot shoot consistent nine-inch groups at fifteen yards on the range, what makes you think you can do it in the low-light, stressful, fast, rapidly evolving arena of a gunfight? Practice your skills, but more important than that, practice your skills perfectly. Ingrain into your mind a groove that you can unconsciously slide into when the lead stuff is coming at the red stuff. Practice often so that you do not have to think about your actions.

MOVEMENT

In the Marine Corps, a fighting vehicle had to be able to do three things in order to be considered “live.” It had to be able to shoot, to move, and to communicate. We covered shooting in chapter 9 and communication in chapter 5; now we are briefly going to cover movement.

Besides the live person shooting back at you, and the stress placed upon you, movement is the biggest difference between being on the range and on the street. It is also something that you can practice. I used to be amazed at videos showing instructors moving while shooting from the Isosceles position. Once I tried it at a shooting school I learned that, once you have a stable position to shoot from and have the fundamentals down, it is not really all that hard. If you get into a gunfight, be prepared to make aggressive movements. Move to cover; get something in front of you that can stop bullets, not just conceal you from your attacker’s view.

If you want more training in this area I highly recommend trying out action shooting competitions. If you don’t get so involved in trying to win that you forget proper tactics, IDPA and other clubs provide you with a cost-effective way to get to practice shooting while moving and other tactical skills while having a safety person right behind you.

COVER/CONCEALMENT

There is a difference among the objects you can hide behind. The difference is that some things stop sight, and some things stop bullets. Cover is anything that can protect you from incoming rounds. An Abrams M1A1 tank is a good example. If you have a battle tank between you and Mr. Street Rat, it is unlikely that his 9mm bullets will be able to hurt you.

Concealment, on the other hand, is something that does not stop bullets, but hides you from the view or attention of the attacker. A child hidden under a bed is an example of concealment. A dark corner is another example. Darkness can hide you, so it can be good concealment.

Some objects provide cover from some guns and only concealment from others. I was lucky to be on the range training when my old prison warden brought a salesman down to demonstrate some new bullet-resistant glass. Naturally, since the glass was to cover my workstation, I was interested. The glass could take six rounds at point blank range from a .38 and not even dimple. We were impressed; my wonder at this plastic fantastic faltered a little when a single .223 rifle round not only penetrated the glass, but also did so easily.

You should also be aware that items might have a bullet soaking lifespan. A wall may take four or five rounds and protect you, but that sixth round penetrates due to the weakening of the structure. Also of importance, it has been shown that a round impacting on a solid surface (car hoods were used in the experiments) will raise a few inches and travel along the top of the object. If you use your car as cover, get back from it, and stay as low as possible. While TV stars may use the car hood for support, they also are not being shot at with real bullets.

LOW-LIGHT

Once again we will talk about statistics; the FBI’s uniform crime statistics show that most gunfights occur at times or areas of reduced lighting. Criminals like the dark. The darkness in no way reduces your requirement of target identification. These statistics make it a good idea to learn how to use a flashlight effectively in conjunction with your sidearm.

No matter what technique you use, and there are several more, keep the following in mind:

• Moving to the lowest level of light provides more concealment than staying in brighter areas.

• In a low-light environment you are most visible and vulnerable when backlit.

• Keeping the flashlight on continuously may be reassuring, but it also makes you a target.

• In most cases, constant light should only be used in two situations: when you are backlit and cannot move to a less backlit position and when an attacker has been located and is not an immediate treat.

• Activating the light away from your body, turning it on briefly and at intermittent and irregular intervals, while alternating the light position from low to high, will confuse your attacker while making it harder for them to determine your position.

• When searching for or engaging a known deadly force threat, your gun, flashlight and eyes should be aligned to the same point of focus.

• When you reload in low light encounters, don’t put your flashlight in your back pocket. If turned on it will make you glow like an angel (and cause you to soon be one).

No matter the technique used, do not keep the light on constantly. Turn it on, identify the threat, fire, and turn it off. The light gives your location away.

It is especially important to keep a light near your bedside gun so that you have a ready source of light inside your home.

EXAMPLES OF FLASHLIGHT TECHNIQUES

Harries method. Photo by Oleg Volk.

I prefer two of what I consider the simplest methods.

The first method is called the Harries. It is the earliest of modern combat flashlight techniques. In this technique, the flashlight is carried as a club. The bulb end of the flashlight is held in the support hand near the pinkie finger. The flashlight is then passed under the strong hand so that the palms meet. This technique can become tiring over time, and it does not give a lot of support to the firing hand.

Surefire/Rodgers technique. Photo by Oleg Volk.

I also like the Sure-fire/Rodgers technique. The main drawback to this technique is that it requires a small flashlight with a push-button switch on the tail cap. In this method the flashlight is held between the middle two fingers of the support hand, with the tail switch pressed against the heel of the palm. This allows the support hand to be used in a conventional two-handed grip of the pistol. It also allows the light to be turned on by squeezing the support hand.

RETENTION

I read quite a bit of anti-gun press; they seem stuck on the notion that people should not carry a gun because it can be taken away from the armed citizen and used against him or her. This assumes the citizen will allow the gun to be taken away. While it is possible for a handgun to be wrestled away from the owner, ask yourself a question. Would you attempt to take a handgun away from someone you believed would shoot you if you tried?

When you open a new jar of pickles, do you hold the jar out from your body in a good Isosceles stance? Or do you bring the jar close into your body to use your weight to its full advantage? It is the same for handgun retention. While a good Isosceles or Weaver stance works well for shooting, these stances do not work well at contact distances because they allow the criminal to get closer to your weapon than you can.

Hip Retention Position. Photo by Oleg Volk.

One good weapon retention position keeps the handgun tucked into the strong side of the body. The handgun should be slightly angled, and the slide should be held away from the body with the grip held near the body. This keeps the slide on an automatic from catching in your shirttail or having its movement retarded by your body. This will prevent misfires. The support hand should be up and held in a blocking position. This may sound obvious, but if someone is attempting to disarm you, you are in a physical fight; use all the options, punches, slaps, gouges, and rounds from the handgun. Use any method to get your attacker off and away from you. This is worth practicing on the range; however, in a training situation, keeping your support hand on your chest, with your support elbow tucked into your body, and be very careful about the angle of the gun. You do not want any part of yours or any other person’s body in front of the muzzle during training.

TACTICAL PYRAMID

Temperament and training trump tools and tactics. When I was a child my parents bought a piano. Having access to it did not make me a concert musician; neither did the guitar, clarinet, or drum lessons they paid for. I refused to practice, so I never became competent. Owning a gun does not make you skilled in its use. Guns are tools. You have to learn to use them.

The will is more important than the skill. And the skill is more important than the actual handgun you use.

Start at the base and work upwards.

The mind-set that you will not be a victim is the most important combative tool you can have. Add to that proper training and practice to hone your instincts and abilities. Once you have those two essentials in place you may worry about specific tactics to use in actual situations. If you have these three things in place, you are ready no matter if you are armed with a $50 used revolver or a $2000 custom combat competition handgun.

I am sure that every master carpenter that builds homes has a favorite hammer. But I am equally sure he would still be able to build a home if he had to use someone else’s hammer. Firearms are tools, and it’s the skill and knowledge that makes them work, not the tool alone.