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Showing posts with label defense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label defense. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2016
Monday, November 14, 2016
Future Preparedness: Cities in 2030
Pretty interesting video supposedly leaked from the Pentagon.
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Worst case scenario home invasion shooting
The video is an interview of
“Baby” Etchecopar. This guy is a jorunalist/actor that was involved in a pretty
brutal home invasion in Buenos Aires.
The video is in Spanish
unfortunately but it he explains how he survived during the kind of nightmare
many of us often think about for hours: What do you do when you see a guy walk
into your kitchen, Glock 9mm in hand and tells you they have your family
hostage upstairs. Baby was eating chicken in his kitchen when that happened.
At gunpoint he’s forced upstairs, pushed and
pistol whipped over the head, as the criminal takes him upstairs he tells him
they will rape his daughter. Upstairs the nightmare continues. In the bedroom
he finds two more men, along with his son and his girlfriend, his wife and his
pregnant daughter. One of them is hitting his daughter on the belly while
putting a gun to his son’s head. The other one also threatens them with a gun
while beating his wife. As soon as the two criminals in the room see Baby one
of them recognizes him. He has a tv and radio show and is often outspoken about
the crime problem in the country and the importance of self defense. “That’s
Etchecopar, shoot him!” one of them says. The criminal that keeps him at
gunpoint pulls the trigger but nothing happens. He hits Etchecopar with the
pistol in the throat and Baby goes down. The criminal racks the slide and a
round drops to the ground. Etchecopar hears a shot being fired. He doesn’t know
due to the confusion but his son was just shot. As Etchcopar falls he goes for a
gun he keeps in a night table. 14 years ago a former guerilla commander bought
it for him as a present “You need a gun. One day it will save your life”. The
man that said that was Rodolfo Galimberti, former Montonero, an Argentine
leftist urban guerrilla and subversive group. Etchecopar (a right wing conservative)
had heavily criticized Galimberti in his show but one day they met and started
talking. Galimberti said he heard what Etchecopar had said about him and that
he was right in his claims. They ended up becoming friends and went to the
range where Galimberti bought the gun for Etchecopar. The Glock .40 was then
loaded and left in the night table, not a round fired.
Etchecopar picks the Glock
from the night table and starts shooting. He fires ten shots and hits one
criminal eight times. The other criminals shoot back as they retreat, wounding
Etchecopar in both legs and one hand. As Etchecopar goes down his son picks a 357
magnum revolver and chases the criminals. As he leaves the bedroom and walks
into the dresser he’s received by a volley of gunfire, getting hit multiple
times. He walks back into the room, blood squirting from a chest wound.
Etchecopar drags himself towards the fleeing criminals but stops when he
notices one of his legs is barely attached through some strings of flesh and
tendons. Probably shot with the 357 magnum, his leg was almost blown off with
an exposed fracture, nearly amputating the leg.
A total of 37 rounds where
fired by Etchecopar and the criminals. Some time afterwards a police officer
arrives. Etchecopar is still conscious and asks for a tourniquet, which the
police officer improvises with a shirt, saving his life. His son was shot four
times and has a punctured lung, but survives after being hospitalized for 15
days. The criminal shot by Etchecopar died and the ones that escaped were
captured later.
Some points:
*Etchecopar had the right
tool for the job but no proper training other than some shooting instructions
he got for a movie he did where blanks were fired. In spite of that, Etchecopar
performed very well given the hopeless circumstance he was in.
*Etchecopar says he felt as
in a movie. It didn’t seem real, but he vividly remembers the smell of
gunpowder, the smell of blood, the plaster blowing off the walls as rounds
impact around him
*His son almost died for
chasing after fleeing criminals. Not a good idea. Once criminals are on the run
and escaping, let the police handle it. Don’t chase them.
*Etchecopar says he died a
little bit himself that day because of the life he took. At the same time he
admits there was nothing he could have done better. The criminals started
shooting after he had given them everything he had.
FerFAL
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Defensive Tools for Women and Seniors
Hello,
I enjoy reading your blog and have followed much of your advice.
My question
Do you have a suggestion of a defensive tool that would be appropriate for a senior woman who lives in a country where a gun would not be the answer.
Knives would be too easily turned against me, and has you have pointed out, are very serious in a close fight and hard to defend against.
Thanks for any suggestions and would bet that other women would benefit.
D.V.
Thanks D.V.
Whenever possible I recommend having a handgun, but I do understand sometimes this is not possible, especially for defense out of your home.
As you correctly state, a knife requires a certain physical strength to be used effectively for defense. Women are more than capable of doing so but they are at a disadvantage compared to men when it comes to size and physical strength, and that difference can increase as years go by.
Knives can be very effective defensive tools, but some physical strength is required.
Defense for Seniors
The first line of defense here is the same no matter how old or young you are: Avoid confrontation whenever possible. Avoid dangerous areas and try not to wear expensive watches or jewelry in places where it may cause trouble.
When it comes to physically confronting attackers there’s a couple things to understand about a criminal’s psychology: Like any other living being, criminals don’t like getting killed or hurt. Put a gun to their face and they will not like it. More often than not they turn and flee. Something similar happens with knives, but we’ve already gone through the limitations of such a tool for some people. OC spray may not kill, but it does hurt and burn, another stimulus pretty much every living being tries to avoid. A criminal may not be as scared when facing OC spray, but a blast will burn his eyes and make it hard to breathe and see, giving you the time to escape or get help. As of recommended brands, Sabre Red has a well-deserved reputation for being effective. In places where pepper spray many not be legal, there may be other alternatives. In some cases you can still find spray that is intended for bears or dogs. These may be legal in your area and would work as well.
Still looking into what criminals don’t like, there’s one thing that doesn’t get discussed as much but it is very much true: Criminals don’t want attention while committing crimes. May that be trying to break into a house or mugging someone on the street, they don’t want people noticing them or approaching them during their criminal acts. Here’s where a small personal panic alarm may be very effective. The device produces a 130dB ear-piercing alarm when pulled from the keyring. This can be very effective when screaming or blowing a whistle isn’t possible due to being attacked or even frozen by panic.
Finally, as part of the often recommended EDC, a bright flashlight can be very helpful as well. Flashlights are legal everywhere, and a bright flashlight (+200 lumens) can be used to light up anyone engaged in suspicious behavior. Remember, criminals do not like being in the “spotlight” and literally doing so will surprise them and may make them feel uncomfortable enough about the hole thing that they may go looking for a more defenseless victim. Tactical flashlights that have a strobe more are powerful enough to momentarily blind and cause confusion. Cops know well how a flashlight shined into a person’s face puts you in a more advantageous position, both physically and psychologically. For specific tactical/defensive use application, the Surefire E1D is a good option. The small Eagletac D25C that I favor works well too, with a mode that turns on on high with a strobe just one click away, yet unscrewing the head of the flashlight it enters the most commonly used modes for utility use.
Stun guns may be another option as well. The electric cracking can be intimidating as well as effective. Some models resemble tactical flashlights combining both the advantage of a tactical light and a stun gun in one tool.
FerFAL
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Why are Glocks Best and which Model should you Get
Fernando
Thank you for the excellent website and videos. I find your
information more useful and realistic than any survival sites out
there.
You and others have convinced me about glocks. Maybe you could
recommend
Model no/ details for personal defense.
I would also be intrerested in comparison of US states to relocate.
Thanks for all your excellent work
Manny
Thank you for the excellent website and videos. I find your
information more useful and realistic than any survival sites out
there.
You and others have convinced me about glocks. Maybe you could
recommend
Model no/ details for personal defense.
I would also be intrerested in comparison of US states to relocate.
Thanks for all your excellent work
Manny
Own several guns but master one: The Glock 17
Hi Manny!
Regarding your question
about American States, I will write a post about that but I did cover it to
some extent in my book “Bugging Out and Relocating”. I go through some of the
USA States I like the most, explain why and include charts ranking some of the
most important categories. Throughout the book I explain the methodology and
criteria to be used to relocate anywhere, within USA or abroad.
Regarding your first
question…
As a Licensed Firearms
Collector and firearms instructor telling people to own just one gun may sound
crazy but if you keep reading you’ll see I have some valid points. Before
continuing I’d like to lay down some ground rules. I’m not talking here about
collecting firearms. For gun collectors the sky is the limit. Gun collectors
can have literally hundreds of guns and still be honestly sure they are still
missing a few. Something similar will happen for people that want to hunt
different kind of animals and simply can’t do it all with one gun. While a 22LR
works well for a great variety of small game animals, it is not suited for hog
hunting and the same goes the other way around: You can kill pretty much
anything that walks on planet Earth with a 458 Win. Mag. rifle but you can’t go
bird hunting with the thing.
In this case though, I’m talking
about the needs of a modern survivalist strictly interested in personal defense.
The gun will be carried concealed for defense, taken to shooting classes, maybe
used for pistol action shooting sports. While carbines sit in the safe, the
handgun will be the only gun available when you need it the most so you should
strive to master it. Here we aren’t talking of course about a comprehensive gun
battery but the basic sidearm for personal defense, which is likely all the gun
you’ll ever need in your life for defensive purposes.
After years of shooting,
training for defense and collecting firearms these are the points I think you
should keep in mind:
1)Gun Advertising and Marketing
Just like with any other
industry, the firearms industry has marketing teams and they spend millions
each year on advertising. This isn’t the “evil gun lobby” liberals try to scare
the masses with, but the sales branch of a firm, just like any other firm,
trying to place products in the market. A gun that is 1mm shorter or 1/100 ounce lighter, anything at all
may be used to convince you that you just need whatever gun just made it to the
cover Guns&Ammo. 99.9% of the new guns you see aren’t innovations but the
product of marketing and it is important for you to understand that. Pepsi,
Coke, countless sports drinks and energy drinks, billions spent in publicity
yet at the end of the day you still know that by a WIDE margin the best most
healthy thing to drink is pure water. You should have the same attitude towards
the weapon you’ll spent the rest of your life mastering.
2)Time and Money
That’s right. I said the
rest of your life. You see, we all have limited resources when it comes to time
and money. How much money can you spend trying different guns, shooting different
calibers and taking each new gun you want to try out to a new class? People
will usually start with some cheaper gun, because they are just getting started
right? no need for a fancy Glock. Then they realize the Taurus they just bought
isnt that good so they finally buy a Glock and like it much better. Then they read
the latest Guns&Ammo and realize spec ops operators use HK Mark 23 45ACP (SOCOM)
so they go and buy that. Now we’re talking. After having a custom IWB holster
made for the thing, they carry it for two days before leaving it behind and
start saving money for the compact version of that same gun, better suited for
concealed carry. So now our gun guy has a HK 45 Compact Tactical. Awesome
firearm. Too bad he has to sell a kidney to buy a spare magazine (careful about
dropping those!) and finding a good IWB holster is pretty much impossible. Its “tactical”
but it breaks more often and is more prone to failure than the Glock the guy
next to him is using… and shooting better than him. Maybe our gun enthusiast
need more trigger time… but 45 is expensive, let alone buys 5 spare $100
magazines… and it still fails more often than the Glock… and the guy with the
stock Glock 17 next to our gun enthusiast is shooting circles around him by
now.
Focus on what’s practical,
what has proven to work and what most professional shooters seem to be happy
with.
3)To truly master your
weapon
So as to achieve the level
of proficiency you should strive for with a handgun you don’t need to buy five
$1000 guns. You need to buy a $600 one and spend the rest on ammo and training.
You need to get to know that weapon intimately, know exactly where it hits, perfectly
control the trigger, reload without thinking an d draw in the blink of an eye.
You don’t achieve that by having a gun you take for tactical classes + an action
shooting race gun+ your cowboy shooting revolver +your subcompact pistol for
real conceal carry. You do that by having a gun for carry, training and
competition. One for all until you know it as well as you know yourself. Own several guns if you wish, but master one.
One night a few years ago I
was taking my firearms instructors class. We were doing precision shooting,
trying to shoot as accurately as possible, some having a better night than
others and overall having a good time while learning. This guy dropped by to
visit, he was an instructor from Venezuela who also worked as a bodyguard. He picked
up a Glock 17 from one of the students and put one shot over the other at 7
yard. It wasn’t just a ragged hole, it was a SMALL hole, just a tad larger than
the 9mm projectile that made it. This was a man that shot, worked and competed
with the same Glock. As the saying goes, be careful of the man with only one
gun.
4)Commonality/Availability
Glocks have the advantage of
being as common as they get. Any accessory, any spare magazine, any holster it
all revolves around the Glock 17. It’s the most common handgun for military and
law enforcement around the world. Hi Powers are still very common. Berettas still float around, so do some 1911s
but for anything that isnt half a century old surplus the new standard is the
Glock pistol. Anywhere in the world, walk into any range or armed force and
chances are you will be handed over a Glock, most likely a Glock 17.
5)The best gun
So why is the Glock so
common to being with? Because it works. Because at the end of the day, its the
gun that has been copied by all other manufacturers for the last two decades.
Its simple, light, accurate, takes a beating like no other and is easy to
repair. You can learn to disassemble and replace anything broken in a Glock in
a couple hours. For all the mumbo jumbo about special forces and hardcore
operators using this or that gun, no other handgun is used as much by
experienced shooters as the Glock.
If you want to become a proficient
handgun shooter, just avoid the path taken by most and go straight for a Glock
17. With cheap 9mm you’ll be able to shoot as much as needed to get to know the
platform well. Even if you never buy another handgun, that same G17 loaded with
good 9mm ammo will perform very well in defense use roles. If you want to go
the extra step and go for a bit more power, the Glock 31 in 357 SIG provides
that, while basically being a Glock 22 , the only thing different being the 357
SIG barrel rather than the .40 barrel. Change barrels and you can shoot either
round, without having to change anything else.
FerFAL
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Gun Instructor Killed: What Went Wrong?
The purpose of this article
is not to criticize the man that died in this extremely unfortunate event but
to learn about it so as to try to avoid similar tragedies. I write this from
the perspective of a firearms instructor and a father that taught his son to
shoot at a very early age.
The wrong idea in the first
place
The anti-gun groups are out
for blood and it’s sad to see gun owners also attacking SSG Charles Vacca.
Although some mistakes were made in this tragedy, the problem starts with the
kind of establishment in the first place. “Burgers and Bullets” was intended as
a fun gun range, kind of like a theme park with guns. That’s the problem right
there. You can teach children safe gun handling, but that doesn’t mean gun
ranges can be turned into theme parks. Shooting firearms is serious business,
and when you try to make it a careless fun activity for all the family you have
problems. A child should be VERY well instructed along a long process that will
eventually allow him to handle a firearm. You start with airguns, then you
instruct on the use of firearms, mostly rifles. After extensive instruction and
dry fire practice only then you use some small caliber live ammunition. Handing
over a 9mm sub-machinegun to an inexperienced 9 year old is complete madness
and a recipe for disaster. You can’t have everything in life, and one of the
things you can’t have is a Disneyland with guns. It’s as insane and as
incompatible as a Disney hospital where kids operate on people for the very
first time… and eat great burgers. You might as well go for a Biological
warfare lab theme park.
Using the right gun
Shooters should start with
proper instruction, dry fire and then live ammo shooting. Once you start with
live ammo, you are better suited using a bolt action or single shot long arm,
in a small bore caliber such as 22LR. Only after a good amount of practice
should you move to handguns and big bore calibers. A full auto Uzi is probably
the most dangerous weapon you could hand over to a child. Not because it’s
particularly deadly, there are plenty of bigger calibers, but because of the
size (smaller being more dangerous and harder to control) and the difficulty of
handling full auto bursts, even for experts.
In this case, the folding
stock seems to have disengaged and folded to the right as the girl fired the burst,
losing control of the weapon.
Dealing with inexperienced
shooters
An instructor has to be all
over his student, even more so very young ones like this little girl. In this
case the instructor should have stood to the right and not to the left, behind
the 180º angle in front of the shooter, with his left hand over the girl’s
right shoulder, his right hand ready to control the weapon if needed. New
shooters make mistakes. It just happens. They move around, get distracted, move
the muzzle of the gun all over the place and the risk of an accidental discharge
is significant. Inexperienced shooters may even get scared and drop the gun
after firing the first time. That happens a lot. Even experienced shooters may
try to grab the gun as it falls or slips from their hands, accidentally
discharging it. This is why you are taught to let the gun fall if it ever slips
out of your hand during more advanced firearms training that involves movement
and single handed shooting.
Not all Instructors are
alike
Before trusting an
instructor with your life, and the life of your loved ones, know who you’re
dealing with. Not all instructors are alike so its important to learn about
their reputation, talk with them and ultimately decide yourself it this is a person you can trust. I’ve sat there in
class with my best poker face while a certified NRA firearms instructor explained
to me how Glock pistols have hidden, internal hammers that strike the firing
pin and that the first trigger pull of a Glock is in double action while the
ones that follow are fired in lighter single action. I asked again because I couldn’t
believe such incompetence, but didn’t bother to correct the instructor in front
of the class when I was reassured such facts about Gaston Glock design. Not all
instructors are good. You can be an Olympic medal winning shooter or a Navy
SEAL operator and still lack the pedagogical skills to be a good firearms instructor.
Guns can be fun to shoot
folks, but toys they are not and shooting firearms is serious business.
Dead
serious.
FerFAL
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