Posted by beeenbag:...the bad guys around here 99 times out of 100 are your ordinary run of the mill punks.
The most recent home invasion in which a homeowner was killed in our area involved two teenage males. What's your point?
It's amazing to me that whenever this subject comes up, someone without a whole lot of training professes to know more about what to do than those who have received and delivered training and those among those categories who have in fact enforced the law for a living.
I've never participated in FoF training relevant to the subject at hand. I base my judgments on knowledge imparted by experienced experts and on basic analysis and common sense.
Posted by Robert101: Even though the smart tactical thing to do is just wait for the police, I would have to attempt to walk down those stairs and defend my property and life.
????
How would exposing oneself to being shot contribute to defending one's life? Wouldn't the "smart, tactical thing to do" serve more effectively toward that end?
I have to assume that if they are that bold to rob my house with me in it, then they will have no problem in attempting to killing all occupants to better avoid prosecution.
Much more likely that they will kill to avoid being killed or captured, I should think.
I know it seems better to always walk away, but sometimes you just can't.
Huh?
Posted by shockwave: Real life, on the other hand, isn't a scenario, isn't a force-on-force simulation.
Force on force simulation is just that--something intended to
simulate "real life". That's true whether one is simulating street attacks, hostage rescue, or house clearing--or air combat, for that matter. Take out the "FoF" and simulation is used in flight training to simulate power loss, fire, wind shear, vortex-induced sudden inversion; nuclear power plant emergencies; space launch sequences and operations to be undertaken during extra-vehicle-activity; and other things in which relevant real life experience is either too infrequent, too dangerous, or too expensive.
It is used not only to train but to develop successful tactics. When the occasion demands, the tactics work, if the participants absorbed the training and act properly.
The people breaking in are after something.
Obviously, but one of their objectives will be to not get caught or shot.
They aren't going to be playing games, and they aren't going to be trained expert SWAT team members; they won't be crack Spetsnaz commandos. So what will they be?...Statistically they will most likely be teenagers looking for a quick buck, addicts, invaders from across the tracks, part of the crew that did some home contracting work on your house, and very rarely might be some kind of professional thieves....But 9 times out of 10 it won't be people with loaded weapons pointed and ready to kill everything on sight.
I suggest that
if they came in knowing that you were home, there are probably more than one of them, they are most probably armed, their adrenalin levels will be very high indeed, and they will be more than ready and willing to shoot on sight.
So if you have some kind of IPSC training, some level of practice shooting on the run, acquiring targets in pop-up situations, and if you've practiced and drilled that sort of thing under pressure, you are probably skilled far in excess of the jerkballs you'll be likely to encounter.
I tend to agree. However, that would not make me want to squander the significant advantage of fighting from a defensive position and putting myself out in the open.
If you care to take the time to read the other threads on this, you will find several recurrent themes, Among them are (1) I know
my house, he doesn't; (2) "punks" can't beat
me in a gunfight; (3)
I know more than all of the experts combined; (4) the simulations don't apply to me; and (5) "hiding" is cowardly.
Incidentally, Number 5 was one of the bitter complaints of British officers about the Minutemen as their numbers were thinned during the march back from Concord Bridge.
You will also find that while the NTI training involved only skilled shooters, the training that hso participated in was open to ordinary people. Repeated from a post above, here's one of hso's observations:
Even though it was "our" house we would find ourselves taking hits because there just is no way to cover all the angles by yourself. Regardless of whether you know the position of ever stick of furniture and every shadow there just isn't any way to pick LEFT and RIGHT at the same time as your FIRST direction to look. The idea that you can safely clear your own home by yourself is self delusion.
As it turns out, I once suffered under that same delusion. But no more. I choose to learn from those who know what they are doing.
I thank Ayoob, fiddletown, hso, mbt2001, my CCW instructor Dan Smith, A County Police Lieutenant who once commanded the SWAT Team, and many others for setting me straight on this. I apologize for omissions here.