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Every Gun Owner Needs Stress Response Training

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Shooting at paper targets is great; it’s going to help your accuracy, your muscle memory, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Unfortunately, when it comes to real-world self-defense those paper targets aren’t preparing you for the stressful realities of what it really takes to draw your weapon in defense.

When training, you need to consider every aspect of a self-defense situation that would require you to draw your firearm. That means going beyond just shooting; in fact, in this article I’m not going to talk about shooting at all, but instead the things you’ve probably never spent time on — things like re-holstering your sidearm, calling the police while keeping your firearm on your target, and how to handle the stress of the situation so you don’t make a deadly mistake.

Everything but firing your gun…

Firearms Training Drill

While the mainstream media and Hollywood movies like to portray gun owners and Wild West gunslingers, just looking to get into a gunfight, reality is not quite so exciting. The fact of the matter is most events that require you to draw your firearm probably won’t require you to even take a shot. Unfortunately, not many training courses prepare you for those types of scenarios, the kind of scenario where you draw your weapon to subdue an attacker until police arrive.

While this might sound like routine, business, during a stressful situation a lot can go wrong. The adrenaline running through your body can cause you to make deadly mistakes, especially if you’re not prepared to react during these types of situations.

The boring, but very necessary training drills you should be doing.

Handgun in Holster

Drawing your firearm on the move

If you shoot, then you’ve probably drawn your firearm a countless number of times at the range, but how many times have you drawn your firearm while on the move? During a self-defense situation, you’re probably not going to be standing there in perfect Weaver or Isosceles stance, staring right at the target.

You need to go through a number of different drills:

  • Drawing your firearm while on the move.
  • Drawing your firearm while backing up.
  • Drawing your firearm inside your vehicle and while exiting your vehicle.

Firearm tranming on the ground

Drawing your firearm from multiple positions

When I was younger, just starting out in martial arts, an instructor gave me a valuable piece of advice. He told me that when looking for an instructor, if someone ever told me that by learning his martial art I would never end up on the ground, to walk right the hell out that door and find a teacher who’s actually been in a real-world fight. Statistically, 90% of all fights end up on the ground, making ground fighting an essential skill that any good school should be teaching — the same is true for firearms training.

When training, you need to learn how to quickly and effectively draw your firearm from multiple positions, including being able to draw and fire from the ground.

  • Have you practiced drawing your firearm in your vehicle?
  • Have you practiced having to reach over and unbuckle your belt while holding the firearm on your attacker?
  • These are all things that can happen in the real world, they’re also things people rarely prepare for.

Re-holstering firearm

Re-holstering your firearm

This may sound odd, especially for those who think they know it all, but this is one area of training that is often overlooked; resulting in mistakes that can be deadly during a stressful situation.

Far too many people fail to train for the immediate moments after a situation has been contained. Whether it’s re-holstering your firearm after an attacker has been neutralized, or safely putting your firearm on the ground and raising your hands when law enforcement arrives on the scene, adrenaline can and will make things go bad if you haven’t practiced these scenarios.

Once the situation has been contained, adrenaline can do funny things to your body. Shaking hands, tunnel vision, and fumbling around trying to safely secure your firearm are very common things that need to be prepared for.

Holding Firearm

Training with your weak hand.

Whether it’s having to dial 911 while holding an attacker at gunpoint, or dialing the police after a shooting, you need to be prepared to use your weak hand to perform these tasks.

Practice reaching for your phone, flashlight, or any other tools you may need to grab during an attack, while also keeping your gun focused on your target. During a stressful situation, these things that might seem small and easy can be your downfall if you haven’t practiced them. Don’t believe me; give it a try.

During your next round of training see how many times you fumble around. Now think about doing these same procedures during a stressful situation where nothing goes as planned.

Blue Guns: Training with safety guns.

Blue Gun

I think everyone should have a safety/blue gun. It allows you to develop your muscle memory, and drill through these types of scenarios is a safe and non-lethal way. While you will eventually want to move these into shooting type drills, in the beginning, and while practicing at home, you should always use a blue gun.

Preparedness is the key to coming out alive.

Life doesn’t always go as planned, and self-defense situations are never going to be textbook scenarios. The importance of drilling these basics and training with added stressors is something you cannot afford to ignore.

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self-defense

Protecting Against Garage Door Break-Ins — A Favorite Entry-point for Thieves

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Thieves know it, but not many home owners know how easy it is to gain access into a home through a traditional garage door.

Garage Door Opened by a Theif

The second that garage door closes, most home owners mistakenly assume that their home is secure, protected from the bad guys. Unfortunately, it’s often one of the first place criminals will check; but don’t worry, there are a couple things you can do to make it even more secure.

Your Garage Door is a Major Weak-point in your Home Security

One of the weakest points of your garage door is the opener itself. Every garage door opener has an emergency release — something that comes in handy should the power ever go out, but also something that is a major flaw in your home’s security.

The problem with these emergency door releases is most criminals know how to use them to their advantage. By simply running a wire through the top of your garage door – in the same way thieves used to jimmy old car locks with a Slim Jim – a thief can easily pull the emergency release and gain entry into your home in seconds.

How a criminal can easily break into a garage

To prevent break-ins through your garage door, there are a couple of things you can do:

Zip Tie your Emergency Release Shut

How to Use a Zip Tie to Secure your Garage Door

Simply running a Zip Tie through the holes in your emergency release switch will make it almost impossible for a thief to use the jimmy method.

Keep in mind that the zip tie should only be used when you are going on vacation. I probably would not keep it on there when actually in the home, because during an emergency situation where you need to quickly evacuate having it on the emergency release could be dangerous.

Install a Vacation Lock

A Garage Door Vacation Lock

A Heavy Duty Vacation Garage Door Deadlock is a great solution for securing any garage door. They are easy to install, can be found for under $10, and make it that much harder on the bad guy to gain entry through your garage door. The Lever slides right through the garage door track, making it almost impossible for the door to be raised once the lock is engaged.

For a quick DIY solution, for those that haven’t purchased a vacation lock yet, simply run a bolt through the track right above one of the track wheels. The only downside to this solution is it takes a bit longer to pull them on and off, so again this is only a solution for when going on vacation. The actual Vacation Lock is a good permanent solution that keeps quick evacuations in mind.

Garage Door Track with a Bolt Lock

Install Security Cameras; Even Fake ones will Work!

fake security camera

Criminals are looking for easy targets where they can quickly get away without being noticed; because of this they are often on the lookout for home security systems and cameras. While a full video surveillance system is always your best bet, even installing some fake dummy cameras can be an effective deterrent. Check out some of these cheap Fake Security Cameras.

Install a Bulldog

The Bulldog Garage/ Roller Shutter Door Lock is about as rock-solid as it gets. While it will require you to do some drilling into your garage floor, once installed this thing is pretty hard to beat.

Check out my book, The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide

In The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide you’ll find:

  • More Home Security Tips and Safety Advice.
  • Checklists and step-by-step instructions with information on surviving disasters, man-made threats, criminal attacks, economic troubles and social unrest.
  • Up-to-date survival information for 21st century threats, including the most likely threats you and your loved ones will face.
  • Step-by-step instructions for creating home safety plans, evacuation plans, stockpiling emergency supplies and securing your home from criminals.

The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide is available on Amazon.

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Staying Safe at Large Events

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Large, planned events can attract tens of thousands of people and the potential for chaos.

Security planning for major sports events has become a major concern for the security industry; with so many people packed into one area, these events are an attractive target for lunatics who are looking to make a political statement. Pack 20,000 people into a concert venue or hundreds of thousands of people into a NASCAR race and the possibility for an emergency situation is nothing to laugh off.

In the aftermath of the chaos in Ferguson and Baltimore, and in the shadow of the Boston Bombing, large events and rallies need to be a source of consideration when thinking about threats to your personal security. High-profile sporting events, political rallies, and social justice protests are all a major cause for concern, as terrorists and those looking to spread chaos are increasingly targeting these events.

Be aware that large events can be an evacuation nightmare:

When it comes to safety concerns at a large event, one of the largest post-disaster threats is what happens during an evacuation. Even a relatively small disaster – one that doesn’t pose a large-scale threat to the crowd – can quickly spiral out of control. Panic alone can cause a crowd to stampede exits, causing a dangerous situation or providing a secondary target in the case of a terrorist attack.

Large scale events are often logistical nightmares, and a person can easily be caught off-guard and find themselves in the middle of the chaos without a quick way to get out.

Some problems to keep in mind when attending large events:

  • Roadways around the event will likely be blocked off or flooded with vehicles trying to flee the scene.
  • Exit routes will quickly become chokepoints, filled with panicking people who will likely make the situation even worse.
  • Oftentimes large venues have safety protocols in place; these protocols might not always be the safest thing to follow. You should always be looking for alternative ways out, even if everyone else is being told to go a certain direction. In the case of a terrorist attack, an attacker might look for these chokepoints in order to inflict mass casualties by attacking exits.

Even those who stay home could be affected by large events:

Even those of us who avoid these large events might not be able to avoid the dangers associated with them. During any large-scale event that happens near your home, you should always be alert and have a plan to deal with emergencies.

Some problems to keep in mind for those who stay home:

  • If something happens at one of these events that cause people to evacuate, the roads near your home will quickly become clogged. You need to have multiple routes mapped out in case your normal Bug Out routes become compromised.
  • Large events are targets. Political rallies, social justice marches and protests all invite problems. As we’ve numerous times lately, these rallies and events can quickly grow violent; they can also spread into nearby neighborhoods putting even those who stayed home at risk.

Tips for staying safe at large events:

Safety starts with researching the event: One of the best ways to stay safe at any event is to be situationally aware of what’s going on around you; that process starts by knowing exactly what you’re getting into.

  • How many people are expected at the event?
  • Where are the exit points at the venue? This is something you should know ahead of time. Also, take note of all secondary exit points where less people will be likely to head.
  • Jump on social media and see what people are saying about the event. Have threats been made towards the event? Is the event controversial in any way?

Scan the area: Once you’re at the event you need to stay aware of your surroundings.

  • Take note of emergency exits, restrooms and exit routes.
  • Familiarize yourself with the venue’s layout. Pay attention to the location of medical tents or first aid stations.
  • Have a plan on where you will head if an emergency happens.

Stay aware of your surroundings at all times. If you get the slightest feeling that something may be wrong, you need to listen to your instincts and act fast.

  • Keep an eye on the crowd. If you notice an abnormal increase in the number of people pouring into your area, or if you notice a loner that doesn’t seem to belong in the area, this could be the first sign that something isn’t right. If you see something that doesn’t seem right, it’s probably a good time to make your exit.
  • Check out our article on surviving a riot; it will give you some good tips on what to do should violence erupt at or around the event.

Have a meetup plan: Should something happen at the event, everyone in your group should have an evacuation plan and an area to head to when trouble starts.

  • Choose a meeting spot for your family, in case anyone gets separated from the group.
  • Have a contact outside the event that can be called to coordinate planning should something go wrong at the event.

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Should you buy a firearm? The Pros & Cons of Gun Ownership

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There are over 310 million privately-owned firearms in America; a number that works out to roughly 1 gun for every man women and child in this country. While the anti-gun crowd would like you to believe that guns are evil and that there’s a so-called epidemic of mass shootings in this country, the truth is, as gun sales have skyrocketed in recent years, gun crimes have actually dropped.

Holding a Rifle

Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens actually stop the bad guys from committing these heinous crimes.

So what’s the truth about guns? Should everyone own one?

Well, before we jump into the reasons why owning a firearm is a smart idea, let’s look at some of the downsides to gun ownership. Yes, the downsides.

While I’m about as Pro-Second Amendment as it gets, I do feel like it is our responsibility as responsible, law-abiding gun owners to tell the truth about firearms; and the truth is some people probably shouldn’t own them.

Guns are not for everyone!

display of handguns

While I 100% believe that a gun in the hands of a responsible, trained gun owner is a good thing, one in the hands of some guy who has never bothered to take a firearms safety course, or learn how to use that firearm in a self-defense situation is downright dangerous.

There are far too many people who put their lives at risk, and their family’s lives in danger, by not taking gun safety and training seriously. Before you ever buy your first gun, you need to learn:

Having a gun DOES NOT Guarantee your safety.

Firearms Training at the Range

Again, this really comes down to proper training. Far too many gun owners have the mentality that because they have or carry a firearm they are somehow protected from bad guys and violence.

While having a firearm levels the playing field, having one without taking the proper training courses is going to get you killed.

When I’m at the range, I often hear some loudmouth say something like, “no one will ever get the drop on me,” or “I’d like to see that guy break into my house.” That’s usually when I take a break because it’s usually the same guy who the range officer singles out because he’s doing something that is a danger to himself and everyone on the range.

Keep this in mind: While you’re at work trying to pay the bills, the bad guys are out perfecting their criminal lifestyle. The one or two times you hit the range every year is nothing compared to the training these criminals receive on a daily basis. When that bad guy breaks into your house, there’s a pretty good chance he’s broken into at least a dozen before yours, and he has probably been in hundreds of hand-to-hand street fights. Still think you’re ready?

In order to stop a bad guy, you need to train in realistic self-defense situations — including knowing how to defend yourself without your gun. Yes, without your gun.

Carrying a firearm without self-defense training is a recipe for disaster.

Firearms Range Training

The reality of a real-world attack is no matter how fast and accurate you are with your firearm, there are going to be certain situations where you’re firearm will not prevent the attack. Think about it; if firearms were the end-all and be-all, why would our military forces train in hand-to-hand combat?

In close quarters combat, the chances of being able to unholster your firearm and return fire on an attacker is actually pretty slim. To be truly prepared, you need to be able to take out an attacker without your gun – or at least slow him down so you can draw your weapon.

If you’re still not convinced, check out this research on the use of a firearm in a close-quarter attack.

Why everyone should have a firearm: The Pros of gun ownership.

Holding a AK47 style rifle

Now that we discussed the important stuff – because when it comes down to it preparedness is all about training and having the right knowledge – let’s look at some of the many reasons a person has for buying a firearm.

Quite simply, Firearms Save Lives

Firearms in the hands of a law-abiding citizen can save lives, and the numbers show it.

Woman holding a handgun
Every year, somewhere around 205,000 women use a firearm to protect themselves from sexual abuse; in 89.6% of violent crimes directed against women, the offender does not have a gun.

Every year, law-abiding citizens draw their guns over 2.5 million times in personal defense, saving a countless number of lives and serving as a serious deterrent to criminals. Often times, the mere presence of a firearm is enough to stop a criminal dead in his tracks, without ever having to fire a single round.

But comes on, aren’t those NRA number?

Well, for those of you that don’t trust the NRA, how about numbers from Bill Clinton?

Even the notoriously Anti-Gun Clinton administration had to admit that while he was President, guns were used at least 1.5 million times a year for self-defense. The numbers came directly from the Clinton Justice Department, who hired anti-gun criminologists Philip Cook and Jens Ludwig to conduct the study.

Because Gun Control Laws will NEVER Stop a Criminal from committing Gun Crimes.

Gun-Free Zone Sign

While the government and the media would like you to believe that banning guns will somehow solve the world’s problems, the truth is, criminals by their very nature don’t follow the law. Anti-gun laws do very little good when you’re staring down the barrel of some psychopath’s gun.

But what about all those mass shootings, couldn’t they have been prevented by passing more gun control bills?

Since 1950, all but two of this country’s mass shootings have taken place in a designated gun-free zone.

Yes, the criminals had guns; the good guys didn’t! The law and all those fancy gun-free zone signs did nothing to stop the bad guys from killing people. The only thing that could have made a difference in these cases would have been a law-abiding citizen allowed to lawfully carry his gun in these areas.

Because Cops and Marines are really heavy!

Carrying a Marine

It always amazes me how some people can be so caviler with their family’s lives. In my opinion, if you have a family you should have and know how to use a gun.

We often hear the anti-gun crowd say things like, “people don’t need firearms, that’s why we have cops.” Well, those guys can get kind of heavy to carry around.

But in all seriousness, when seconds count, you simply can’t count on 911 to keep you safe. Law enforcement does not have a legal obligation to protect you from criminals.

In 2005, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that police officers do not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm. The ruling backed up an earlier court case, Warren v. District of Columbia, where the Court ruled that official police personnel and the government employing them owes no duty to victims of criminal acts and thus are not liable for a failure to provide adequate police protection.

Protecting yourself and your family from Home Invasions

Front of a House

According to FBI crime numbers, over 1.5 million homes are burglarized each and every year. The criminals who commit these crimes are often armed; and when people are home, these home invasions can quickly turn violent.

When it comes to preparedness related threats, a home invasion is one of the most likely threats you will face. When it comes to protecting yourself from that threat, you are the only person who can do something to stop the crime and put down the threat.

You cannot count on law enforcement to respond in time to protect you from the chaos.

According to the Department of Justice, police response times range from 4 minutes for the best in the country to the worst clocking in at over an hour. The national average response time for law enforcement responding to a high-priority call is 11 minutes.

Nationwide Police Response times to Crime Chart

Now here is the part that should concern you. The average interaction time between a criminal and a victim is 90 seconds. That means even if you somehow had the opportunity to dial 911, the chances of anyone being able to respond in time to save you is pretty slim.

Because I have Insurance and a Fire Extinguisher.

Fire Extinguisher used to fight a fire

Like most things, I look at firearms from a preparedness point of view. And from that lens, owning a firearm is no different than buying fire insurance or a fire extinguisher. While I hope I never need to use either one of them, when the time comes not having those items could be catastrophic.

For many first-time firearm buyers, buying a gun can be an overwhelming experience – one that can often cause people to make the wrong decision. If you’re ready to buy one and understand that safety is gong to be one of your primary concerns, check out our tips on what to look for when buying your first gun.

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