RetiredUSNChief
Member
I'm not so sure about all those rules. Seems to me that they're all subject to situational circumstances which may make them not so much "rules" as "dreams" or "story-book plots".
This isn't to say that there is no wisdom in them, however, so don't think I'm putting them down ad hoc.
A "rule" is "one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere". Rules are thus generally thought of as inviolable, or unchanging. But there is a problem with this way of thinking.
A gunfight is a battle...and anybody who has been in a battle can tell you that no battle plan survives the battle intact. So things which we call "rules" are really "training flexibilities".
When we train, most especially when we train by ourselves or in small groups, we train using set rules with set expectations in predetermined circumstances that are known and which do not change.
For example, the targets on the range are typically static, of a known size, distance, and location. Our starting points and finishing points as shooters are known. The targets don't shoot back, nor do they taunt or posture. Even in IDPA shoots are literally a "course of fire" with targets that don't shoot back, don't actually initiate any confrontations, and don't sneak up on you.
All of this means that "rules" are actually almost always "generalities" by which people can train and adapt to circumstances as required. Hence my reference to rules earlier as "training flexibilities".
In a real gunfight, you'll do whatever it takes to survive and ideally whatever training you've conducted will give you the tools you need to navigate to that goal. To that end, you must "improvise, adapt, and overcome".
What is you DON'T have a gun? Like it or not, having a gun isn't always an option. And even if it was...what if you lose it?
When in doubt, whip it out. Uh...no, sir, not a good mantra. I'm sure we could banter back and forth on this, but I won't. If it comes to that, then let's just say that you and I don't agree and leave it at that. That said, there IS some merit to "whipping it out", provided the circumstances actually warrant it.
Reloading every chance and counting shots...what if you don't have any reloads? Or what if you only have one reload? Or any number of other "what ifs". Reload when it makes sense, as the circumstances dictate, not automatically as some kind of fixed doctrine.
Again...there is a lot of merit to your "rules". However, do NOT think of them as fixed in stone, by any means.
This isn't to say that there is no wisdom in them, however, so don't think I'm putting them down ad hoc.
A "rule" is "one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere". Rules are thus generally thought of as inviolable, or unchanging. But there is a problem with this way of thinking.
A gunfight is a battle...and anybody who has been in a battle can tell you that no battle plan survives the battle intact. So things which we call "rules" are really "training flexibilities".
When we train, most especially when we train by ourselves or in small groups, we train using set rules with set expectations in predetermined circumstances that are known and which do not change.
For example, the targets on the range are typically static, of a known size, distance, and location. Our starting points and finishing points as shooters are known. The targets don't shoot back, nor do they taunt or posture. Even in IDPA shoots are literally a "course of fire" with targets that don't shoot back, don't actually initiate any confrontations, and don't sneak up on you.
All of this means that "rules" are actually almost always "generalities" by which people can train and adapt to circumstances as required. Hence my reference to rules earlier as "training flexibilities".
In a real gunfight, you'll do whatever it takes to survive and ideally whatever training you've conducted will give you the tools you need to navigate to that goal. To that end, you must "improvise, adapt, and overcome".
What is you DON'T have a gun? Like it or not, having a gun isn't always an option. And even if it was...what if you lose it?
When in doubt, whip it out. Uh...no, sir, not a good mantra. I'm sure we could banter back and forth on this, but I won't. If it comes to that, then let's just say that you and I don't agree and leave it at that. That said, there IS some merit to "whipping it out", provided the circumstances actually warrant it.
Reloading every chance and counting shots...what if you don't have any reloads? Or what if you only have one reload? Or any number of other "what ifs". Reload when it makes sense, as the circumstances dictate, not automatically as some kind of fixed doctrine.
Again...there is a lot of merit to your "rules". However, do NOT think of them as fixed in stone, by any means.
