On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 12:20:59 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:00:40 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:28:54 -0400, Wes wrote:

Don Foreman wrote:

That is also why knives can beat guns.

That might depend on who's wielding the blade. A .45ACP round makes
a 21-foot trip in about 0.025 seconds, .357 mag a bit quicker.


I'm speaking of reaction time from when you recognize the threat as real,
get your piece out and accurately fire the first shot. Misses don't count.

Wes

You can react more quickly with a blade? Misses do count if they
motivate an attacker to reconsider. They don't count after a hit or
two. Would you continue to miss at distance where a blade could be
used effectively? There may be a reason why 1911's don't have
bayonet studs... G

Don..Wes is quite correct. If I primed myself, Nerf knife in hand and
attacked you, inside of say..25 feet, I (and most any attacker), can
turn you into sushi, unless you are standing there, gun in hand. Its
a standard drill in cop school as well. Holstered firearm. Even if
you know Im on my way G

No doubt. Took me a while to understand what Wes was saying, as in
who has the knife vs who doesn't have the gun as ready.

(snip)

Remember the Cooper color code?

I do. Payin' attention is the most fundamental form of SD. Anyone can
do it, though a bit of training and experience enables one to do it
better. I've always thought of it as a continuum rather than discrete
levels. I've thought some about how to adapt the concept for my
senior civilian purposes. We don't maintain the level of training
that cops and soldiers do, we're older and slower with less acute
hearing and vision, and we aren't obligated to engage (and shouldn't)
as long as not engaging is possible. I think that makes paying
attention even more important, as is staying out of orange situations
whenever possible -- and it is nearly always possible for the likes of
we. I've been orange only once in the past few years, and that for
only about a minute. Turned out to be a huge raccoon at zero dark
hundred. I doubted that goblins use trained raccoons as nocturnal
decoys. I didn't shoot Bre'r Coon in respect of my neighbors' peaceful
slumbers. He just sorta shuffled off into the night, probably
blinking a bit from the bright light I'd shined on him.

I try to avoid potentially orange places and sits while out and
about. Example: I've recently changed ranges. The place I used to go
had an underground parking ramp, nice in the winter but it has always
felt like a likely ambush venue with me carrying a rangebag containing
guns and ammo. It's one of the very few places I carried locked and
loaded. It's about 10 blox from gang turf. A guy would have to be
purely nuts to attempt an ambush there -- but some druggies are nuts.
I'd do a drivethru in condx yellow lookin' in the shadows before I
parked as close as possible to the range door. When I left, I'd leave
my kit inside and do a quick lookabout before I grabbed my kit and
went to the car. Now I go to a different range that's at least 10
miles from gang turf and where the parking lot is much more open and
well-illuminated. Nicer range, too. I still pay attention. Condition
pastel yellow. Lemon chiffon? G

If/when I find myself in condx orange in my home, my firearm will not
be holstered but I'll use any cover available. I routinely practice
shooting one-handed for that reason. I won't engage unless I must,
but I'll be ready to engage if I must. Job 1 is knowing for certain
sure the location of all friendlies. That's easy with just the two of
us. 911 response time here is typically about 2 minutes but it would
be considerably longer after an event like a tornado touchdown or
extended blackout. Alertness state is elevated during times like
that. In fact, an extended blackout here not long after Katrina was
what got my gray noggin thinkin' about such matters. I felt
vulnerable, and I didn't like it a bit.

Other tactics may be obvious to you, and I'd rather not record mine
for obvious reasons. Suffice it to say that if owning a gun for SD/HD
is prudent, I think it is far from sufficient. Some forethought is
also necessary. Best laid plans and all that, but some forethought
can minimize indecision (and accidents) at a critical time.

I do what I can about preparedness without making a fetish of it. I
would very likely now lose at hand-to-hand combat with a much younger
assailant, and knowing that is part of being prepared. I can and do
maintain a level of proficiency with firearms better than many or most
of the cops I see firing at the range, and I'm continuing to improve.
(I don't see the SWAT guys because they have their own closed range.)
I don't routinely carry because at present I feel no need -- but I am
licensed to carry, I do have a couple of pieces suitable for SD carry
and I practice with them regularly and fairly often. I do that mostly
because I enjoy shooting, but it still counts. Milady shoots too, not
as much or as often as I do but she's definitely competent. She
prefers her .22, but she shoots respectably enough with my 1911 and
particularly well with her .357 magnum revolver.

Some say that practice should be done with the piece and load one
would use for real. I disagree with that guidance for civilians who
have no particular practice regimen or drill. We should practice
with whatever we will practice with. I fire a magazine or cylinder of
full-up loads each session, Milady only occasionally. Don't see any
difference in where they hit in either case. Good regular and
reasonably frequent practice with pleasant-to-shoot light loads forms
and maintains good habits in muscle memory that'll be there when
needed.

Retired folks (and most other folks) tend to do what they enjoy doing
whenever possible, so I keep it enjoyable for both of us. I intend
to take a short CQB course this fall, mostly because I think it'd be
fun and it doesn't cost much.

Ya can't make some prudent activities like going to the dentist fun,
but shooting can be a very enjoyable way to spend an hour or so now
and then. Milady prefers shorter sessions, 30 minutes or so. When
fatigue starts to show or be felt, it's time to call it a day. A nice
lunch out and a visit to the nearby fabric shop is often on the
agenda.