Winning the Gunfight
What does it take to win a gunfight? When you standing face to face with an adversary who is armed how do you respond? You are facing a masked man inside your home in low light conditions with your combat light and .45 in your hands and you have 1.5 seconds to decide to shoot/no shoot.
Culturally and societally, we have bred masculinity out of our men. Force of arms, strength and physical prowess are no longer considered noble, honorable or sensible. Yet when faced with a question of life or death, there is no room for talk, no room for negotiation. It is a down and dirty, in your face adrenaline rushing moment where you will live or die. And you will only succeed if you have what it takes to win the gunfight.
You've heard me say it before but I will say it again. Ability makes no difference if you do not have the intent to use that ability. You may have a decked out wonder-gun with all the raccessor rails and 3-dot tritium night sights and the clip-on under-the-barrel while light. You may go to the range three times a week and you can put hundreds of rounds downrange through the x-ring a week. But if you do not have the intent to use that ability you will not come out alive.
As for the religious questions of taking a life, there is some misconception as to what the 10 Commandments say. According to the true translation it says "Thou shall not murder", not "thou shall not kill". There are plenty of instances of the righteous killing of others. There is absolutely no scripture to back up that killing someone righteously, in self defense, or in defense of an innocent, is proscribed by the Bible. You will not go to hell for defending your life.
Step ONE, and the step that really matters when it comes to winning a gunfight is having the will to win. You MUST have the will to win. Before ever engaging in a ginfight you MUST tell yourself that you will win at all costs. That means no matter how bruised and battered, how scraped and bumped you may be, you will not lose. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit.
This means preparing yourself for all types of situation. You must be prepared to use your white light in a shoot/no shoot situation. This means having your light nearby to take with you when you hear movement or glass breaking in your house. Use it often and know it well. Be confident in the tools of your trade. I'm very confident in my .45 automatic and my SureFire white light. I have no doubt that I will win the ginfight with my tools in the toolbox.
You must train for all situations. This means contact shots. This means push-off shots. This means around the corner shots. This means shooting from a kneeling position. This means shooting off hand. This means means shooting strong side and weakside. This means combat magazine changes. You must not only know how to do these things, but you must have confidence in doing them. There must be no question in your mind that you will win.
Rule 1: You must decide beforehand that you will win. You are more dangerous to yourself and to your family if you lack the confidence, the intent and the will to win a gunfight.
Rule 2: Never bring a knife to a gun fight. The magic number in most states is 11 ft. If you are faced with an assailant who is less than 11 ft. who is armed with a knife, that constitutes a viable, real threat to your life. You have the right to respond with equal force. This means deadly force people. You must know the law. Ignorance is not an esxcuse.
Rule 3: All the toys in the world don't mean anything if they don't work. I'm more confident in my .45 automatic and my Surefire than I am in some wondergun with all the toys and gadgets. Why? Because I know they work. Because I have confidence in them. I know they will work when I bring them to bear.
These are good rules to start with. When you get right down to it though you must have the will to win. You will carry out that will by training, by putting rounds through the x-ring downrange and by being mentally prepared to win the gunfight.
There are no second chances in this situation. If you are faced with an armed assailant and must defend your family and your own life, there is only one opportunity to get it right. Make no mistake, he will kill you if you don't kill him first. Fight like you train. Train in your home. Train for close-quarters engagements. Train. Train. Train.
But when you get to the bottom line. It comes down to force of will, violence of action and the killer instinct. You will not lose. You will not hesitate. When the time comes, you sight the target, you pull the trigger. You follow through with another one or two shots, because if he's worth shooting once, he's worth shooting three or four times.
Prepare. Train. Be ready. Be vigilant. Know your rights. Know your responsibilities.
Good Luck.
Culturally and societally, we have bred masculinity out of our men. Force of arms, strength and physical prowess are no longer considered noble, honorable or sensible. Yet when faced with a question of life or death, there is no room for talk, no room for negotiation. It is a down and dirty, in your face adrenaline rushing moment where you will live or die. And you will only succeed if you have what it takes to win the gunfight.
You've heard me say it before but I will say it again. Ability makes no difference if you do not have the intent to use that ability. You may have a decked out wonder-gun with all the raccessor rails and 3-dot tritium night sights and the clip-on under-the-barrel while light. You may go to the range three times a week and you can put hundreds of rounds downrange through the x-ring a week. But if you do not have the intent to use that ability you will not come out alive.
As for the religious questions of taking a life, there is some misconception as to what the 10 Commandments say. According to the true translation it says "Thou shall not murder", not "thou shall not kill". There are plenty of instances of the righteous killing of others. There is absolutely no scripture to back up that killing someone righteously, in self defense, or in defense of an innocent, is proscribed by the Bible. You will not go to hell for defending your life.
Step ONE, and the step that really matters when it comes to winning a gunfight is having the will to win. You MUST have the will to win. Before ever engaging in a ginfight you MUST tell yourself that you will win at all costs. That means no matter how bruised and battered, how scraped and bumped you may be, you will not lose. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit.
This means preparing yourself for all types of situation. You must be prepared to use your white light in a shoot/no shoot situation. This means having your light nearby to take with you when you hear movement or glass breaking in your house. Use it often and know it well. Be confident in the tools of your trade. I'm very confident in my .45 automatic and my SureFire white light. I have no doubt that I will win the ginfight with my tools in the toolbox.
You must train for all situations. This means contact shots. This means push-off shots. This means around the corner shots. This means shooting from a kneeling position. This means shooting off hand. This means means shooting strong side and weakside. This means combat magazine changes. You must not only know how to do these things, but you must have confidence in doing them. There must be no question in your mind that you will win.
Rule 1: You must decide beforehand that you will win. You are more dangerous to yourself and to your family if you lack the confidence, the intent and the will to win a gunfight.
Rule 2: Never bring a knife to a gun fight. The magic number in most states is 11 ft. If you are faced with an assailant who is less than 11 ft. who is armed with a knife, that constitutes a viable, real threat to your life. You have the right to respond with equal force. This means deadly force people. You must know the law. Ignorance is not an esxcuse.
Rule 3: All the toys in the world don't mean anything if they don't work. I'm more confident in my .45 automatic and my Surefire than I am in some wondergun with all the toys and gadgets. Why? Because I know they work. Because I have confidence in them. I know they will work when I bring them to bear.
These are good rules to start with. When you get right down to it though you must have the will to win. You will carry out that will by training, by putting rounds through the x-ring downrange and by being mentally prepared to win the gunfight.
There are no second chances in this situation. If you are faced with an armed assailant and must defend your family and your own life, there is only one opportunity to get it right. Make no mistake, he will kill you if you don't kill him first. Fight like you train. Train in your home. Train for close-quarters engagements. Train. Train. Train.
But when you get to the bottom line. It comes down to force of will, violence of action and the killer instinct. You will not lose. You will not hesitate. When the time comes, you sight the target, you pull the trigger. You follow through with another one or two shots, because if he's worth shooting once, he's worth shooting three or four times.
Prepare. Train. Be ready. Be vigilant. Know your rights. Know your responsibilities.
Good Luck.
posted by Jim at 9/10/2004 09:51:00 PM
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