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Melensdad
12-21-2007, 05:21 PM
I got this via email from a police officer friend of mine. He's on one of the western Chicago suburban forces, and while not a 'gun guy' he is an advocate of common sense gun laws (which means he hates the gun laws in Illinois) where he lives.
Rules of Gunfighting
You may someday need to apply one or more of these

The absolute First Rule of a Gunfight, in Mark Moritz' brilliantly enunciated aphorism, is "Have a gun!" The rest will supplement that first rule....

Have a gun.

Preferably, have at least two guns.

Bring all of your friends who have guns.
Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.

"Why did you shoot only once? There's no additional paperwork for shooting someone twice!" -- Firearms Instructor P.O.J.D., MOS debriefing after a shooting.
Bring ammo.
The right ammo.
Lots of it.

Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
Proximity negates skill. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun... and a friend with a long gun.
In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading and running.
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 pisses in the flintlock of your musket."
Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.

" If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly."


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.

Have a plan.

Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.

Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
(Consequences of not enough of the above.)
Flank your adversary when possible. Protect your own flank.
Don't drop your guard.
Always perform a tactical reload and then threat scan 360 degrees.
Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)
Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.
The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
Be polite. Be professional. But... have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
Be courteous to everyone. Friendly to no one.
Your number one option for Personal Security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
Do not attend a gun fight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a "4."

Nothing handheld is a reliable stopper.

Carry the same gun in the same place all the time.

k-dog
12-21-2007, 06:14 PM
And remember in a gun fight there is no second place ribbon except for the one that says RIP.

Im Neero
12-30-2007, 10:52 AM
Rule number 1 is my favorite.

Bulldog1401
12-30-2007, 12:40 PM
The attached image says alot.

California
12-30-2007, 03:08 PM
A friend of mine was in Air Force security. He spent four years walking a circle around parked nuclear-equipped aircraft inside continental-US airbases, which gave him plenty of time to think.

He said their rules of engagement required a verbal challenge and a warning shot before a lethal shot.

His unit had the following undocumented interpretation of the rule:

Bang. (intended lethal).

"Halt! Stop and identify yourself!!!"

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang.


Also, off topic - he said the only action he was near was when a member of the squad he supervised shot another member, while horsing around during the unloading routine at the end of a shift. (He wasn't there, but he bore some responsible as their squad leader.) He applied for a transfer after that. He said his whole crew was stir-crazy given the lack of variety in their assignment and he didn't know how to prevent this happening again.