Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Because it’s time

It’s time to repeat, folks, since it has been popping up in search engine results…

Rules for a Gunfight

1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.

2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap - life is expensive.

3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.

4. If your shooting stance is good, you’re probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.

5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)

6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.

7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.

8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.

9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on “pucker factor” than the inherent accuracy of the gun. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. “All skill is in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the flintlock of your musket.”

10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.

11. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.

12. Have a plan.

13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won’t work. Be thinking about a back-up to the back-up, just in case.

14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.

15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.

16. Don’t drop your guard.

17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.

18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)

19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.

20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.

21. Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.

23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.

24. Do not attend a gun fight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller than “4”.

25. You can’t miss fast enough to win.

***

This is the law:

* The purpose of fighting is to win.
* There is no possible victory in defense.
* The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either.
* The final weapon is the brain.
* All else is supplemental.

- John Steinbeck

UPDATE: Whoops! I forgot a few!

26. The .32 in your boot is infinitely more effective than the .45 in your gunsafe at home.

27. Two in the chest and one in the head always leaves the target dead. Don’t turn your back on them just because you think they’re harmless. Remember all of those movies where the bad guy kept getting up? Take the extra second to make sure, one way or another.

28. Don’t point your weapon at anything you are not prepared to instantly kill, because you will almost certainly have to after having pointed a weapon at them.

29. If you have to draw your weapon, you will have almost certainly completely lost control over the situation.

Any others?