Why in the world would I need to know how to pick locks? I'm not planning on stealing a car or breaking into someone's house! I'm not considering a career change as a locksmith either.
However in a SHTF situation I may find a need for my family to take shelter in an abandoned vehicle or house. I will willingly break the law if it means protecting or providing for my family. I'm quite certain you would too.
The reason I have decided to write about this today is that I recently attended an abbreviated training course through a company called SEREPICK. And here at the outset let me say that Serepick only teaches the lawful use of these skills to MIL,LE, and Security professionals.
I love being "wowed" when it comes to learning new things, because honestly, I've been around. Tactical and law enforcement training is not new to me, so when I learn a new skill set that I have not previously even considered, I thoroughly enjoy it. I learned how to fabricate new keys by taking a key impression, successfully "jiggled" open a car door, and found out just how easy it is to bypass most padlocks. (To my L.E. readers - someone needs to invent a truly secure set of handcuffs, just saying)
I learned so much cool stuff in this short 4 hour course that I will absolutely be taking a 4 Day course through SEREPICK as soon as time and funds allow. Within days of learning my new skills they were put to the test due to a friend of mine locking his keys in his truck. Picked the lock in under ten seconds! No joke. I was only slightly less surprised than he was. Every single door lock has become interesting to me all of a sudden. So far I can't break in to my own house, but I'm chalking that up to tiny, almost unusable pick tools. (my hands are somewhat large) I'll be ordering a proper pick set soon and then I believe the job will be much easier. (update: I can now defeat my front door deadbolt)
Being interested in grey man tactics, I hope you see the relevance of this skill set for your preparedness and personal security. I have been able to identify quite a few probable scenarios and situations where knowing how to silently and quickly gain entry into vehicles and buildings would be very handy. Not just handy, they could save my life or that of my family. Here's a video from Imminent Threat Solutions to peak your interest. Enjoy! ITS Lockpicking
Here's a brief book review on Clint Emerson's 100 Deadly Skills.
Let me start by saying that I purchased this in the audio book format. If the paperback book contains photos and illustrations I have no knowledge of them.
This book contains 100 skills that are undeniably helpful for the tactical minded. The author talks about eluding pursuers, escape and evasion techniques, lock picking, personal security, hand to hand combat and many other topics. The point of this book review is simply to state whether I think it's worth your time and money and also to make note of what you can expect from a "form and function" standpoint.
I am a common sense thinker (read unintelligent if you want) to a fault sometimes. So when I read or listen to a book, I need to take away some information or skills that I can immediately put into practice without having any prior knowledge of the ideas or concepts.
The 100 skills mentioned in this book are excellent food-for-thought items that everyone should consider when developing a personal security plan or training regimen. The problem is that very little time is spent explaining them in a more detailed fashion. I consider myself a fairly well trained individual yet many of these skills were difficult for me to comprehend. Some of them, military in nature, were obviously foreign to me as I have never been a Navy SEAL like the author. I guess my point is just to say that, if you are wanting a step by step instructional book, then this will not satisfy. It's very vague. The author may have done this intentionally due to the sensitive nature of much of this information.
What you will take away from this book is an extensive list of things you may not have thought about as it relates to grey man strategies or personal security. It is Not a disappointment. I do Not regret purchasing the book. Is it worth your time and money? I would say yes unless you already have a fairly high level of training with firearms, self defense, lock picking, camouflage, escape and evasion, evasive driving techniques, etc.
This time of year in a snowy state can literally suck the life out of you. If you are like me and don't really have any winter outdoor hobbies, then waiting on a warm day to do some firearm training can be annoying. So why not move it indoors?
Rule number 1 - always make sure your firearm is absolutely, completely, and unmistakably Unloaded!
Rule number 2 - revisit rule number one.
Now that the safety clause is out of the way let's discuss what types of things you can do to further your training with guns while indoors. By the way, I like to use the SIRT laser pistol for indoor training sessions. *Worth every penny. Blue guns can also be used.
1. Proper use of cover
This short article is not meant to be a "how to" piece, so I'm not going to teach you all the details of properly using cover in a household. Believe me there's a lot to it. I'm going to give you a few tips to get you started with the hope that you will seek out competent training on the subject.
First, you need to understand that most pistol bullets will travel through multiple sheets of drywall. Therefore your bedroom wall is not sufficient cover under most circumstances. So what does constitute useable cover? Think about things that bullets likely will not pass all the way through. Things like your refrigerator, a bookcase full of books, a large chest of drawers, a section of wall with multiple studs (usually corners), etc. Nothing is 100% guaranteed to stop these rounds, but these items stand a better chance than drywall, hollow core doors, mirrors, and the like.
Second, learn to back away from your cover. Humans love to feel secure and safe. When bullets start flying it seems like the best course of action to get as close to your cover as possible. Actually the reverse can often be helpful. Think about the angles and try this at home. Have a family member (aka - bad guy) stand in the center of a bedroom. Now while standing right up against your cover, slowly peek out around the corner of the doorway and take notice of how much of your body is exposed to the bad guy before you can get your gun on them. Now that you've finished that, step back from your cover as far as your open space will allow and slowly move/peek around the corner. Again taking note of how much of your body is visible to the bad guy before you can cover them with your gun. If done properly, this latter option should expose a lot less of your body to the bad guy while still being able to get a bead on them.
Yup, random but effective
2. Slicing the pie
The "slow peeking" around cover I was talking about has an official name, it's called slicing the pie. Visualize with me how humans cut pies or pizzas typically. One of the easiest ways to evenly divide a round object of food is to cut it into pieces using multiple intersecting perpendicular lines. See the picture below if you're having trouble.
The way we go about "peeking" around our cover looks a lot like the angles associated with this pizza image. We move around the corner slowly controlling small chunks of real estate until we finally get an eye on our target. It's important to move slowly and deliberately. It's also important to pay attention to your hips, knees, and feet as they tend to protrude further around our cover than our head does. Don't give the bad guy a target if at all possible.
3. Stairs
Ask anyone who has ever had to clear stairs with a gun where a dangerous threat might be present, stairs suck! If you have a small team of people they can be cleared in an efficient manner, but as a single individual, there really isn't a completely safe way to do this. Take stairs much the same way as slicing the pie. Slow and deliberate is best. If your stairs turn and have multiple flights, you will find yourself almost going backwards as you ascend. (see pic) This technique typically gives you the best sight lines above you, and also allows you to quickly snap shoot any bad guy sneaking up from below you.
4. Room clearing
One thing is absolutely true, speed and violence of action are the keys to success here. Once you have sliced the pie, you will still have several corners in the room that you were unable to see into. You never hang out in the middle of the doorway. This is called the fatal funnel for a reason; anyone waiting inside to ambush you only has to aim for the center of the doorway and slap the trigger when your silhouette fills the gap. You have to move quickly into the room and keep moving laterally while preparing for the bad guy to be hidden around the corner. Fast continuous movement is what you want.
<< This video from Ruger is one of the better ones I've seen that illustrates what a single individual should do to clear their home.
Again, this short article is not meant to teach you every aspect of the tactics required for close quarters combat, but instead to give you just enough information to begin incorporating some indoor techniques to your firearms training regimen. Now go scotch tape some paper targets to the wall and get to work!
-ME
* - I'm not getting paid by Next Level Training/SIRT or Ruger Firearms.
What you need to know at the outset is that the concept of ethics in hunting has no formal definition. There's no governing body for this stuff, and no company or organization leading the way. At least not one that hunters recognize as an authority. These statements will anger some people and I'm ok with that.
The problem, and it's not really a problem, is that hunters are a freedom loving breed. We don't like anyone telling us what we can shoot and how to go about shooting the game we love to pursue. This being said, the point of this article is not to bash ethics or the people who take it seriously. I think some of what these folks profess is important.
This is usually how an ethical argument on hunting goes these days -
Hunter: I shot an elk at 800 yards.
Ethics Nerd: Oh my gosh, how can you possibly get a good, clean, one-shot-kill on an animal at that distance? No one should be shooting animals from that far away!
Hunter: I'm comfortable taking these shots because I've trained a long time and can make first round hits at this distance almost every time.
Ethics Nerd: I don't care, do you even understand the ballistics of the round you're shooting? Do you know how much energy is lost at that range? You're just going to mortally wound the animal and it's going to die a painful death, and you're never going to recover it!
Hunter: As a matter of fact I do know a lot about the ballistics of my 300 win mag. Believe me, that distance is a chip shot for this caliber and the retained energy is still massive at that range. If I hit the animal, it will die quickly.
This goes on and on. You get the idea. For me personally I feel very comfortable taking shots on large game out to 600 yards. At my skill level, a first round hit and kill at that range is highly probable. So for me this becomes my ethical barrier. As my skill level and experience increase, my ethical barrier adjusts as well. Obviously what I'm saying is that this discussion is all relative. While my ethical barrier may be 600 yards, yours may only be 300 yards. There are well known hunters that take shots out past 1000 yards on large game. Go watch anything from Gunwerks on YouTube and you'll see what I mean.
What is your ethical barrier? What's the max distance you are comfortable taking game? Where do you land on this discussion? Comment below.
Have you ever injured your back? I mean hurt it to the point that you really had trouble moving? Ever considered how your personal defense strategies might change given the reality of your injury?
A few years ago while my family was on a camping trip in Colorado, I tried to lift the back of a side by side UTV. (large multi person atv) Thinking back on it, all I heard at first was a pop. By that night I was in such excruciating pain that I couldn't lay down, or sit up, or sleep. The only position that didn't cause too much pain was sitting behind the steering wheel, so we cut our trip short and headed home so I could get some help. The short version of this story ends with ruptured disc, chiropractor, rehab, and lots of prayer.
I hurt my back again yesterday. Not as severely, but still causing me a lot of pain as I move. I know I'm weak right now and it got me thinking about my ability to protect my family. If I'm attacked up close and personal, I know I will not have the strength to physically punch, kick, or wrestle the bandit. It could be considered reasonable use of force for me to go straight to guns given my current condition. Similar to how a woman could use a firearm against a much larger male attacker if she felt her life was in danger. Women, the elderly, and the injured usually have more freedom to defend themselves with deadly force than strong, healthy men do. The courts don't expect these groups to physically fight or flee first.
I'm erring on the side of caution and just staying in the house as much as possible. When I do have to venture out, you can be sure my situational awareness game will be heightened. I'm still going to carry my sidearm; nothing changes in that regard. Carry on. Do your best.
What are your thoughts on personal defense while injured? What do you think about the courts allowing women to use deadly force earlier in a fight than men?
