Gunfighters
Gun Fighters Are you the Predator or the Victim? Only You can Decide!
1. A gunfighter has chosen to step into the arena, don’t tread lightly. This is a “no shit” situation. Training instructors will not be there to coach you. There won’t be a re-test or a warm-up.
2. 20 minutes of quality dry or live fire training every week beats 4 hours of firing hundreds of rounds into paper once or twice a month.
3. Either you have it or you don’t. If you don’t, get a new job or stay in the office.
4. Confidence, dominance, and well placed shots will allow you to live. Never rely on having more ammo. Treat each magazine as if it were your only one.
5. A perfect range score only means that you take too much time to shoot. Vanity kills in real life shootouts! That perfect score will only get you a nice certificate. Speed and reasonably good accuracy are what allows you to live.
6. A good shooting stance will always seem right during a training course, but will never be perfect in real life. Get over it, fight through it, and get the shot off…now!
7. MINDSET wins the fight…and DOMINATION of the situation deals death!
8. Stand your ground, but take cover if needed. Moving away or backwards can make you a victim.
9. Advance on the threat to gain the psychological advantage. Victims run, predators engage! In case you haven’t figured it out yet, you should be a predator!
10. If you cannot choose what kind of gun to bring to a gunfight, but given the chance, bring one you can shoot well along with a lot of friends…or just say fuck it and don’t show up.
11. Shoot first, shoot fast, shoot well, then communicate and/or move. Unless your partner is an idiot, he or she will know what is going down.
12. Accuracy is relative. No person can outshoot a quality gun. Most “out of the box” quality guns will always be more accurate than you can possibly shoot. Train with and trust your gear!
13. When your gun runs dry, use everything available to your advantage. Do not give up, ever!
14. Use cover or concealment as the situation dictates, but remember when hiding behind cover, you are not DOMINATING the situation.
15. Keep both goddamn eyes open; forget the “academy” firearm instructors. You ain’t shooting for a perfect score…you are shooting to live!
16. If hit, ignore it until you can render self aid, you probably won’t even feel it if you are “into” the fight.
17. Decide to be AGGRESSIVE enough, QUICKLY enough. Indecisiveness and will cause you to die.
18. Remember, there is ALWAYS somebody faster….but age and treachery beat youth and vigor 9 out of 10 times!
19. Some will tell you that “winning” is the goal. Wrong! “Living” is the goal. Discretion is the better part of valor.
20. Be prepared to write a report justifying what and why you did.
Copyright© 2004. All rights reserved.
a treatise on how to live. amen
January 25, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Very good information. Thanks
November 28, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Our pleasure.
November 28, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Though I would slightly change a few things he said, he does say a lot of good points.
This also brings up a “conflict” I see in civilian training. In the military, we do small and large scenarios for training, and believe in “train like you fight, because you will fight like you train.” Now civilians, they (we) “train” be shooting stationary paper targets. Um what part of real life is that mimicking? Well, maybe if there is a paraplalegic shooter in a convalescent home. No, VG Tech, Columbine HS, the mall, they were all run and gun shooters. Where is the trainging for that?
I have a gun at home, but it’s not to protect me from deer or paper targets. I need to train as I should fight, God forbid, if it comes to that.
May 8, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Force-on-force isn’t perfect, but it is very valuable and a real eye-opener.
December 16, 2010 at 11:27 am
Very true, hecate.
December 16, 2010 at 11:48 am
Hell Yeah!
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October 20, 2011 at 3:55 pm
yes, look for crusaderceo.
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October 21, 2011 at 12:30 am
It’s arduous to seek out knowledgeable folks on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
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January 30, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Awesome thread. awesome advice. And by all means, words to LIVE by.
Thank you
March 12, 2012 at 12:59 am
With 16 years Navy SF experience and a lot of shooting and training others to shoot, one of the biggest points that I throw at every student is “When was the last time you ever heard of anyone getting attacked by a paper target?”. With the right instruction a student can achieve excellent results with action style shooting while shooting at paper with different drills. Every indoor range I have seen has many rules for obvious reasons and one of those rules is “no advanced shooting” which means no holster draws, rapid fire, combat reloads etc. Location for advanced training is vital for movement but for fine tuning accuracy using what is available it is possible to get valuable training at an indoor range on a paper target, with the right instructor.
Different people have different views on combat situations (as far as reactions, actions, force advancement etc.) and every one of us will have an opinion. I speak from experience and picking the brains of many awesome instructors and continuing to pick the brains of awesome instructors. Advanced marksmanship training does exist but the liability in the training is great and some of the students that enroll actually believe that they will be the next “rambo” in every stressful situation and that is not the case. Once that reality arises they quit, complaining that they didnt learn anything. This is what makes it difficult for the average public to seek and gain advanced knowledge. More research may be needed to find someone in your area that can provide top-notch training for the styles and end results that are needed or desired.
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May 11, 2012 at 2:30 am