PREPARING FOR MUMBAI - IN AMERICA

[SeekHer]

Submitted just as received in the e-mail to me from Suarez International

PREPARING FOR MUMBAI - IN AMERICA

There has been a great deal of discussion about what to carry for an event like Mumbai. Gents, let's think about this. If you happen to be caught up in this at its conclusion, facing a dozen riflemen working together as a unit, and you with your Kel-Tec, what do you think your realistic chances of success are? Being real is not being defeatist, but come on.

Now, at the outset of the event, where there may be only one or two adversaries, it gets a little better in terms of odds. But only a little. You have one advantage and that is the advantage of surprise and one target. They, on the other hand have many avenues of danger to cover, only one which is yours. This will be a rapidly moving fluid situation.

One man was saying that using a cell phone to photograph the bad guys would be good. Pictures of the bad guys on your cell phone? Come on....seriously? If you have the ability to take their picture, you also have the ability to take their life, or GTFOT (get the f*** out of there) so get out of the evidence collecting mindset.

Number two, some guys were discussing carrying a special bag with them with all manner of weapons and gear to facilitate such a fight. Keeping a Bug Out Bag in the office or in the car is a wise move, but I doubt many of us are going to walk around fully kitted out all the time, so I think this will be limited to what you have on your person. Know what....you'll carry your tango bag everywhere until you get sick of it and leave it in the car one day and then, that will be the day and you will fight with what you have on your person anyway.

Those of you with little bitty guns (snubbies and Glock 27s and such), I suggest you rethink your weapon choices. I can run a mini-Glock pretty good, but not as good as a full sized gun. What do I carry? A Glock 22 when at home and a Glock 17 when away. 15 rounds or 17 rounds respectively.

Yes, the bigger gun is harder to hide. Yes, I have to choose my clothing more carefully. Yes, its heavier. All of those things they tell you are true. But when you NEED THE MOTHER F'ING GUN NOW, those uber-comfortable pocket chain guns so popular with the CCW crowd will never allow you to fight as well as a full-sized gun.

Calibers - Please! I will take a 40 or a 9mm over a 45 any day of the week for the simple fact of the matter that I can fight much longer with one than I can with a seven or eight shot weapon. It may have been a caliber edge in 1976 when the only thing going was marginal hollow point ammo, but not today bwana. Ask any of those metro-sexual gun instructors if they want to get shot in the face with my "45 set on stun".
Magazine capacity is not an asset, it is a blessing.

Engagement Dynamics - Short range, run and gun, point shooting is an essential skill and must be prioritized for the urban ambush gunfight. However, for anti-terrorist activity, if you find yourself just outside or arm's length with a doped up, combat-trained AK-armed tango, you have already stepped into it. You can still fight, but wouldn't it be far better to be able to ice these monkeys from 25, 50 or even 100 yards?

Read the reports boys. There are folks who had an eye on the action from a distance. "If only I had a gun" was one of the Brit reporters said. The ability to hit out at these distances is not hard at all. But it must be learned and trained. And, your gear must support your ability to do it.

Those uber-court-proof heavy triggers promoted as essential by the lawyer-instructors are trash. Get rid of them. You don't need a hair trigger on your pistol, but you do need a manageable trigger. My Glocks for example all use the standard 5# connector set up and give me a crisp release that is conducive to accuracy. You don't need the 3# target connector, but good heavens don't add one of the abominable New York triggers.

Those big fat close range sights? If you can hit at 100 yards with them, drive on. I cannot, so I use sharply defined black iron sights like the Heines, and the Trijicons. Those of you with eye issues that can't use the irons well enough, invest in one of the Docter red dot sights. Yep....a red dot sight on your pistol. It is small enough to carry around and bright enough that even Mr. Magoo can hit at 100 meters with it.

Another thing - Usually after one of those events I will hear "By golly if I had been there I would have pulled out my custom model 29 and..." That is usually spoken by a guy who hasn't done any physical training since high school, would have a heart attack if he had to run ten feet to cover, and is so out of condition he could not fight his way out of a Sierra Club Tea Party In San Francisco. I'm not trying to offend anyone here but its not just about marksmanship and your ammo choices. If you are already a good shot, you need to get away from the range and into the gym or the street and train your out of shape shooter's body so you will be able to fight not just shoot.

And finally, without which all else is wasted, develop the will to kill. It is hard for some to sneak up on a man and shoot him in the back of the head unannounced, regardless of what the man has done, or is about to do. You need to get over that if you want to be a player at this level. it is not about capturing, or about bringing to justice, or about "stopping the action". it is about getting the drop on a terrorist from a distance, unseen and undetected, putting your sights on his ear, controlling your heartbeat, and then pressing that trigger without a moment's hesitation.

Gabe Suarez

[Combat Controller]

Gabe Suarez is making me cry....

I carry a watch chain gun most of the time, I guess the terrorists know and are mocking me.

[jetfxr69]

CC, we'd believe you about the crying if we didn't know you were a member of the Irish Mob.

Oh, and the whole badass thing helps too.

[Kommander]

Mr. Surez is confusing the roles of a CCW holder and a Cop. As a citizen your job is not to engage tangos at 100 yds with a handgun or anything like that. Your job is to get the hell out. Surez seems to be envisioning some "Blood Diamond" type scenario where you have to fight your way past dozens of guys with AKs and technicals armed only with a handgun. More realistically you're only going to need to punch through one or two guys to reach safety.

He is also ignoring that these attack are quite rare. A small gun, such as the one CC often carries and Surez apparently despises, will suffice for the vast majority of situations a citizen is likely to encounter. In situations where a small gun is not enough often nothing short of a rifle will save the day. Also most gunfights occur at close range where the big glowy sights are a big help. Again if your trying to shoot someone at 100 yards with a handgun, regardless of sights, your doing it wrong. He also ignores the fact that many carry small guns not due to choice but due to the dictations of circumstances.

So once again we have another great "my way is the only way" article from everyone's favorite AK enthusiast. If hes that worried about this stuff perhaps he should just carry a SBR AK all day.

[clyde621]

My take on this is he is thinking that if you are there when the event goes down you are to engage all of the targets that are there. As a citizen you are to get yourself and loved ones out of harms way. You are not the police and you are not authorized nor expected to take action. I know this sounds callus or maybe chicken hearted but to do so is to put yourself in great danger from the responding authorties. "Who is this guy shooting, is he one of the bad guys?" I know I would have a hard time from retreating due to my background but if I was in the situation with the wife and grandkids with me I know what I would do, alone well that may be another story.

[Drone 7 of lots more]

...You are not the police and you are not authorized nor expected to take action...

authorized? I've got all the $@%#^& *authorized* I need, thank you very much.

[clyde621]

Drone: I guess "authorized" was a poor choice of word. I really couldn't come up with an appropiate one at the time. What I was trying to get across no one expects "civies" as you will and I am not trying or suggesting anyone neglect their duty for NOT coming to the aid of others. I am trying to express that everyone should be very careful in what action they do take. As Gabe seem to be expressing that one could and maybe should be lurking around and taking 75 and 100 yard shots when the incident occurs. This is a tough call for me and I expect others to make. No one knows exactly what they would do until that time and circumstance occurs. Wasn't trying to inflame anyone here.

[FastRope71]

Given a 100 yd scenario, I'd like to think that I would at least attempt to get a hit on the bad guys. More important than that, though would be unassing the area intact, and/or getting something a little more appropriate for the task at hand.

I am unable to practice shooting a .45 at that range due to rifle club rules on the 100 yd range. I know that the trajectory resembles a rainbow from a high altitude thunderhead. It would be a risky proposition, but one that might at least distract them long enough to save a life or two, and remove them from the fight in a best case scenario.

Suarez's point about fitness is well taken, however. I am not in good shape. That's why I carry a gun as opposed to a baton (that and TX law).

[Whirlibird]

A .45 ball at 830fps with a 25Y zero drops @ 27" at 100Y.
Not so bad, aim for the top of the head and drop 'em in the beltline.

[Factfind]

One of the often unspoken dangers in Law Enforcement is the accidental shooting of undercover officers by uniformed officers on raids and man with a gun calls. When the adrenalin is pumping and there is an unknown person with unknown intent holding a firearm there is serious danger for all and most of all for the gunholder.
When the local PD rolls up on a man with a gun you have one second to make the right decision and you had better be ready to drop your favorite piece and watch it go clattering across the sidewalk. If you turn with that gun in your hand you are going to get shot, if you don't drop that gun immediately you are going to get shot. This is not let's make a deal.

Today more than ever,Police aren't playing with armed unknowns. If there is a terrorist attack and you are not in immediate danger the best thing you can do is leave the area. You don't have to like it, but if you want to stay alive its your best bet.