Part One of “A Surge in Violence” discussed a federal law enforcement response and a philosophical commentary.
The violence currently being promoted by Democrat run states, cities and counties is a last ditch effort to create dissatisfaction with the Trump Administration. It’s not even thinly disguised. The Democrats are using black people as puppets (as usual) but when you view the riots in places like Portland, Oregon, most of the communists arsonists and activists are white.
One side benefit of the current situation is that gun store shelves are bare and you will find it nearly impossible to buy ammunition either at a store or on-line. I was recently able to purchase some .454 Cassul, but most calibers are sold out – even in the more obscure and boutique ammo outlets. American citizens are arming themselves in a wave of “defund the police frenzy”. If the police aren’t there to protect you, who is? The answer is that it’s up to you to look to your own defense and that of your family, friends and neighbors.
There are a few things that you need to consider. If you were in the military, or wore a badge, these thoughts will be mundane. If not, maybe they will help.
(1) Understand the difference between cover and concealment. Walk the space around where you live and think tactically on this subject. Cowering behind a bush may offer you some concealment, but it will not offer you any protection. An automobile offers some concealment and cover but many calibers will pass through-and-through. A cinderblock wall offers some cover and concealment but many calibers will pass through and through.
(2) Buy a trauma kit and keep it handy. Study how to apply it in the event you or somebody close to you is hurt.
(3) Most of the people you know will be nearly worthless in a violent confrontation even if they’re armed. They will not think of the people attacking them as simply meat that needs to be harvested. You can’t blame them for this lack. Mental toughness and a willingness to defend that which you love can be developed, but not without training. You can train yourself and you should do that. You will fight the way you train.
(4) Have a plan. Many years ago, when I lived in Orange County, CA (a nice area), I ended up in Los Angeles for work a lot. One concern that I had was that in the event of an earthquake, the freeway overpasses would pancake down and I would have to walk home. Twenty or thirty miles doesn’t sound particularly daunting unless you are considering what you might have to walk through. So I kept my earthquake kit in the trunk of my car. It included boots, water, energy food, clothing that would allow me to blend. I had body armor for work, firearms and ammo, but I knew that I would need more than I usually carried. So my load-out focused on ammunition for my rifle. If it’s a choice between food and ammo, carry ammo. Better to have and not need than need and not have. Make sure that your load bearing gear can bear your load.
(5) Make friends. Even though most of the people you know will be worthless in a fight (see 3 above), fighting as a fire team is better than a solo effort. Go to the range with friends, practice with them, and discuss your plans.
(6) There is a value to weapons blends. It’s not “combined arms” per se, but there are advantages and disadvantages to every single weapon. Range, penetration, rate of fire, capacity to carry ammunition, etc. are all factors that you need to consider if you are fighting alone or as a team.
Heavy weapons are nice to have. A .50 caliber rifle may have a very long range, but it is also good at closer ranges because almost nothing offers cover from a .50 BMG round. A .50 BMG armor piercing round will penetrate 6″ of sloped tank armor at point blank range. From a civilian point of view, it will go through telephone poles, automobile engine blocks, homes, and anything that somebody might be hiding behind. A .50 BMG AP round will go through-and-through a Navy destroyer (big ship) depending on what it meets on its path. A .50 caliber rifle will have a slower rate of fire, it’s heavy to carry and optimally it works as a crew-served fire team with people protecting the shooter and directing the shooter (spotter), but it’s nice to have around.
(7) Thoughts on Ammo – .50 BMG ammunition legally available will stop any light skinned armored vehicle. The same can be said (to a lesser degree) with .30 caliber rifles armed with ammunition developed for that purpose. My point here is that not all ammunition (of the same caliber) is created for the same purpose. Understand what ammunition you have, what your friends have and what its capabilities are.
(8) Store water. If you take medicine, store that too.
(9) Build modular kits based on your particular needs and have them available in duffle bags or backpacks that you can throw into a car or move with as needed.
(10) Train – train – train
If you never have to fire a shot, you’re ahead of the game. If your training never comes into play, that’s a good thing. But pretend that you’re going to need to do all these things so that IF it comes down to it, you’re not worthless and you’re not bowled over by a mob.
Some excellent points made here. Friends you can depend on are important. Lone wolf works great in the movies but real life ain’t the movies.
Being a lone wolf allows you to maneuver much more quickly and take shots that you can’t make as a member of a fire team that is moving in a coordinated way. Which works if you’ve been doing that all your life. But most people haven’t been doing that all their lives and they have something to protect…so they’ll be defending, not aggressively attacking like a berserker.
The killer instinct has been bred out of most human beings over the past thousands of years. That includes the Antifa thugs, who rely on you being afraid and not fighting back. If people were slaughtering Antifa thugs in large numbers, the riots would be over and the media would begin blaggarding those who defended themselves.
Overcoming the natural disposition to not kill requires some effort for most people. Even in the military in combat there are killers, there are fillers (who are there, not doing much) and there are others who would rather run. The ratio varies based on experience, on the actual event, etc.
Most people look on horror at walking through a battlefield and finishing off the enemy wounded (who can still pick up a weapon). But it’s a sound practice.
Not me. I always wonder why they walk past a guy without the coup d’grace.
I expect it to be a plot point, and am often not surprised.
As you say above, the good news for civilians is that the bad guys are mostly cowards who have never even visited a range. It gives a little edge to even poorly trained people, with something to fight for.
I have no illusions about my own skills, but I have seen how the criminal element shoots, back when I lived in what passes for a bad neighborhood in the local city. Most of them were lucky to hit buildings when doing drivebys.
-Kle.
Antifa is comprised of bullies, and if you scratch a bully, you will see that they bleed yellow. They are creatures who thrive in a mob, are encourage by a mob and most mobs have a leader. In any engagement, kill the leader first. It is a doctrine as old as time, but it works as well now as it would have 5,000 years ago. In military combat, a wounded enemy is better than a dead enemy in mob combat, kill them. There are different dynamics at play.
Gang members rarely train. Asian gang members are often found at the range so it’s not a universal truth, and they like to spray and pray, much like Islamic soldiers. It accounts for a lot of bystanders being killed.
I recall standing in front of a pizza joint at a strip mall about thirty years ago, waiting for my pizza to be cooked. I saw the locals move behind pillars, I did the same thing, and a low-rider did a drive-by shooting. They knew about cover. The bullets shattered a few windows and nothing more.
I’m printing this out, hanging it on the wall as a daily reminder.
Maybe go so far as Nolte’s character in Angel Has Fallen and install serious cabin perimeter defenses. hehe.
As a long time hunter and butcher of what I kill, I think this will help in a situation where I will need to put someone down. Dealing with putting down a wounded animal, field dressing large game, etc. enures you to the blood and guts that comes with the territory.
Yes, you have an advantage. A serious advantage. Most hunters don’t worry about cover or returning fire or working in a fire team concentrating on the same target. I know. I hunt. And I’ve worked as a member of a team in combat. It’s similar but it’s different.
One advantage that hunters have is they know when they have a hit. They know how the bullet “plops” as it passes into and through flesh. It may sound weird, but it’s nice to know when your bullet connects. Particularly when the target is splattered. I was looking for some .50 caliber sniper shots on youtube because they show the bodies coming apart. You get a good splatter and it’s the right time to lay down some suppressing fire and move.
https://www.newsweek.com/sniper-shoots-isis-fighter-dead-over-one-mile-away-1069903 British soldier from the Special Air Service shot and killed an ISIS commander from more than a mile away, in what is thought to be the best long-range shot in the regiment’s 77-year history. “…hit the fighter directly in the chest with a shot that blew off the commander’s arm and shoulder….The Islamic State commander was briefing his men, and clearly liked the sound of his own voice because he was standing still for a least 20 minutes while his fighters sat on the ground in front of him,”
Another option is to have ‘somewhere’ to retreat to if required. We’ve done those ‘exercises’ here, and have options planned out. Re bugout, it’s also a good idea to keep the kit updated as the weather changes season to season. Also, beware of the ‘kits’ that these companies sell as ‘complete’. Most of the stuff in them is Chinese junk. Smart planning can get you a decent kit for around $200. And you really need to keep it under 50lbs if possible, unless you regularly do ruck marches with weight.
100% correct.
Thank you both.
We change out our kits in the cars seasonally. It’s also a good time to check the expiration dates on any stored food you have, and rotate/consume/discard as required.
One bad thing about living here is you can’t keep water stored in your car. It freezes, the containers rupture, and you have a mess come warmer weather.
I’ve gone to keeping little single-burner, propane fired “stoves” in the car, along with a few trioxane bars.
You can always melt the snow to keep hydrated.
I have nowhere to bug out to.
If it happens, it will be an Alamo moment.
I live in a brick ranch.
I’m no Seal Team Six, but as long as the wife can reload for me (a la many a frontier wife) they’ll be at bay a while, whoever they are.
You forgot to mention pre digging a few holes up in the north 40 just in case. Saves a lot of time when or if you have to do the three S’s.
It depends. In situations where that happened in Mexico, we left the carcasses to bloat in the sun and be found by narco. If they were Antifa thugs, I’d leave them. I think that cutting off heads and putting them on pikes may be a bit of theater that you could avoid, though.
Thanks- simple instructions are good for simple folks like me.
One thing that strikes me is that unlike most places in the world, American homes are
utterly defenseless against gunfire, just a fancy coffin. 2′ of adobe sounds like sound building practice good these days….
Seattle Police Chief just sent out a letter saying as the City Council will no longer allow them to use less lethal mob control, that they are stepping away from enforcement. She will not put officers in place to protect property , without the tools necessary.
What is your thought on .30 06 AP as a general use round?
2′ of WET adobe is better than 2′ of dry adobe in terms of stopping a bullet. When I was young, I lived in an adobe house in Rural Colorado that stood since 1888. We remodeled it and improved it, but the walls stood. War, in the winter, cool in the summer, I can’t say enough good about adobe. We should never have abandoned it as a key building material. People who make fun of mud bricks are fools. You plaster the outside to keep them intact and nobody knows it’s adobe. So I feel you in that regard.
I think that the 30-06 is an excellent round. Obtain some armor piercing rounds and keep them handy as well. The 30-06 AP is just nice to have (and will cut through a foot of adobe like butter) two feet, I don’t know. But the point is that you keep different rounds for different purposes.
Most police shootings take place at 0-7 feet. It’s just the statistical truth. The ’06 is not the best close quarters battle weapon. So you need that blend. The ’06 has the bullet weight to reach out and touch somebody. I would tend toward the lighter bullet options if you’re buying or hand-loading because their ballistics are better and their energy on contact will be greater. You want the bullet to expend itself inside the target, not pass through and through (as you often get with ’06 ball.
For some reason, I’m reminded of an author who said that civilization rests on a barbarian base that does not understand civilization, and would not appreciate it if they did.
Then he asked the question – what does a civilized man owe to barbarians.
Defining “barbarian” is always an interesting exercise.
I’ll bet there are some text books that go way beyond the bar-bar definition from the Greeks.
The mobs sure seem to be doing a bang up job of imitating barbarians.
Sorry to hear the struggle to get ammo. Long term planning and contingency solutions are needed. I have not heard anyone lacking ammo in this part of the world. Maybe it is possibly to do something?
It was interesting speaking with you about the availability of ammunition in Norway. It might be possible to obtain it locally (proper licenses) through the NAMMO office in Sedalia, MO
Until the past couple of years I spent half my time on the road. Two smaller “day packs” always traveled with me. Between the two, enough supplies and gear to keep me alive. Not comfortable, alive for several days. Easily moved, easily stowed, and always with me. Unremarkable to most eyes.
At my age, options decrease. I do keep a months supply of food in my apartment and both my vehicles always have gas. To me, 3/4 of a tank is empty.
Good advice. Let’s hope we don’t need it.
And, to add, try to keep fit, even if to minimal BFT standard. Important.
“Lone Wolf”? nice theory
United we stand divided we fall works in reality
What are thoughts on melee weapons. Gunfire attracts attention from a ways off.
I keep an ax handle and a machete in my truck. Close to hand. A little grinding and the machete become a stabbing tool. A club is probably oldest weapon on the planet. Well, except for rocks.
Leave a few tree limbs in the back of the truck and it’s “ Goodness no officer , just been clearing the back forty”
Some of it depends on how good you are with a weapon of that sort. A Gladius is a nice stabbing weapon and it has the virtue of having been used with great effect. The same with a Bowie knife. A baseball bat (bring a ball in the car) either metal or wood works too. I still prefer a firearm, though, because if THEY have one, you don’t want to be standing there, having brought a knife to a gun fight.
I hope you all will survive when Grand Master Jay comes to conquer your land. He will start by taking Texas and who knows what the next state will be, Arizona?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cee3FtjbKr8
There is no doubt that John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson (Grand Master Jay) and his negro militia is terrifying. And Texas cowers at his approach (even though so far he hasn’t strayed from Atlanta). But if they marched on Texas, after shooting each other accidentally, there is the hanging question of how many would actually cross the Texas Border?
Given the bragging Grand Master Jay express, I guess there will be no white people left where he has been.
Shouldn’t that man be in jail?
He might run into some difficulties he didn’t forsee if he ever tries to fulfill his threats.
Comments are closed.