Moderator: Van Canna
Walt Rauch was a Special Agent in the US Army Intelligence and the Secret Service and a founder of USPSA and IDPA. He is a firearms instructor and writer and these are his Rauch's Rules for the Real World from his book Practically Speaking: An Illustrated Guide.
1. All predators are always killers. When they attack, your options for self-defense are very limited
2. The predator is smarter than you. Act and react accordingly.
3. Predators will use all the force necessary (and then some) to achieve their goals, without regard to consequences.
4. Predators evaluate their targets before attacking. If you are attacked, the predator has determined he will succeed without a heavy cost to himself.
5. If you are about to become a victim, you have already made serious mistakes.
6. Believe what you see; don’t go into denial. Your attacker wont.
7. In a lethal confrontation, you will only have time to choose one course of action- and your life depends on making the right choice.
8. Predators rarely act alone, although the ones that do are the most dangerous. (If there’s one, look for two, if there are two, look for three; etc)
9. Fear is the predator’s friend… and your enemy.
10. Talk and negotiations rarely work.
11. Predators do not have a conscience. Don’t waste time and effort appealing to any sense of mercy or kindness.
12. Some people cannot be frightened or intimidated. Displaying a weapon may well not solve-and in some cases, may exacerbate- the problem. Be prepared for this.
13. “Bullets don’t work” …Gene Zink, a federal law enforcement trainer. No hand-held firearm fires a guaranteed “one-shot-stop” round. Anticipate needing follow-up shots.
14. “Stay plugged in. Stay in the fight”…Clint Smith, Director, Thunder Ranch.
15. Firearms don’t work all the time and may well not work when you need them the most.
16. Don’t be overly concerned about caliber. No one wants to “leak” or have holes put in them.
17. Carry only the biggest caliber gun you can control.
18. Carry a reload.
19. Carry a 2nd gun.
20. Be able to get to both handguns with either hand.
21. Don’t assume you can prevail in the conflict due to your superior tactics and training. The predator only has to be lucky once. Avoiding him is the best defense.
22. The honest citizen pitted against a predator is an unequal contest. The predator is a professional. Most honest citizens are amateurs.
23. No competition or training, no matter how well learned or practiced, can equal hands-on experience.
24. Predators constantly validate their training with hands-on experience.
25. Getting hands-on experience can be fatal, but survivors learn their lessons well!
26. Expect to get shot!
27. When shot, don’t expect to die.
28. If you are going to die, take him with you!
The legal standard is "what would a reasonable and prudent person have done, in the exact same situation, knowing what the defendant knew?" The cornerstone of the defense will be to show that your actions were reasonable and prudent; opposing counsel will argue that someone under the influence cannot BE reasonable and prudent.
I've noticed lately that the BG's tactics are changing with the times..If I'm the BG I am going to assume (because 38-40 states have "shall issue" laws) that whoever it is that I choose to assault for whatever reason that they ARE armed. I will have a plan, a place and a time to do whatever evil I choose to do with minimal risk but I will attempt my evil, thinking that whoever is my target is going to be armed.
I wont go it alone, there will be backup and it will be fast, intrusive, forceful and meant to disorientate, confuse, and cause fear. The BG's aren't stupid they will adapt, it is survival. Overwhelming force is the objective to obtain what it is I want..You will see more and more of this as they realize that people are arming themselves.
2 BG's coming at you and your family with Glock 19's, then what?? and you with a 6 shooter..If I'm the BG,you just lost the fight, BG's dont operate in singles anymore, it's pairs and 3's usually for backup..Sorry to say that society has degenerated to such a point that going anywhere alone without another armed companion is taking a risk, but it has.
Suarez IntnlMany years ago (I'm embarrassed to admit exactly HOW many! ) I found myself walking on a dark street where I encountered a number of... uh.... undesirable sorts. It was, ironically, the very first time I'd ever carried a handgun on my person, and this was more by happenstance than intent (my car had broken down in a bad neighborhood as I'd been coming home from a late-night college astronomy lab, and I had chosen to walk home; I simply hadn't wanted to leave my handgun in an unattended vehicle).
The individuals I encountered made it very clear - through movement and the display of improvised weapons - that I was to be badly injured or even killed. After a frozen moment of panic in which my brain crashed to a halt at the realization that I had become the target of a mugging, I suddenly remembered that I had a handgun with me, and I drew it out into a (forgive me for I did not know what I was doing) a low ready position.
The sight of their would-be victim drawing a .41 Magnum revolver was too much for my would-be playmates and they scattered....but not before the obvious leader - armed with a pretty nasty looking butterfly knife - bawled: "That's not FAIR!!!" before he himself took to his heels.
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