Gaye Levy
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What is the Prepper’s mantra? Something like beans, bullets and band-aids?
Okay, the beans and band-aids are easy, but what about the bullets? Don’t worry. I am not going to ask you whether you are armed nor am I going to ask you how much ammo you have stashed under your bed. Instead, in today’s blast from the near past, I invite you to read the article, Can Nice People Shoot?.
It was written a couple of years ago, but, as with many of the articles here on Backdoor Survival, the message is timeless. That said, I have come a long way since that article was written. Not only in my personal training but also in my development of a defensive mindset that includes tools beyond my trusty Ruger and Glock. Read the article and let me know what you think.
Can Nice People Shoot?
THE FINAL WORD
From time to time I feature bonus articles that are buried in the Backdoor Survival archives. I hope you enjoy this one.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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Bargain Bin: Just a few related items today for your consideration.
Dorcy LED Wireless Motion Sensor Flood Lite: This light is awesome. I use mine downstairs as well as on my stairway and when I get up in the middle of the night, they come on automatically. They are quite unobtrusive and give off a ton of light. Runs for a year on 3 D size batteries.
Holding Your Ground: Preparing for Defense if it All Falls Apart: This is a really good book from Joe Nobody – a book you should read if you care about defending your homestead.
Sabre Family Home & Property Protection Pepper Spray: This small fire extinguisher-style pepper spray delivers a strong blast covering an entire doorway. Offering extremely practical protection, SABRE provides distance from your threat with its 30 foot range. I like that it includes a wall mount.
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36 Responses to “Could You Really Shoot Someone?”
Something you may want to consider. Don’t practice on bull’s eye targets. Yes, you will improve your shooting skill but practice on half size paper human figures. If you are ever faced with a real shooting situation one’s brain will recognize the target form. Bad guys don’t wear bull’s eyes. This is something the Army learned after WWI and started teaching before WWII. It made a big difference in the fact that the solders would actually shoot a man. Training to shoot is a skill. Training the brain what to shoot is something else.
Excellent advise, Harold!!
Excellent advice. Years ago I was coaching a young man shooting 8″ steel plates at 50 feet. His problem was that the target was too big – after I got him to shoot a 1″ spot in the middle, his scores improved drastically.
So while my comment is tied up in moderation, I’ll say this: Kathryn, you’re not wrong. imho.
Especially when you read headlines like this:
‘Cops Spray Woman’s Vagina With Mace To “Punish” Her’
‘Cops: On Duty Officer Raped Young Woman On Squad Car’
‘High School Student in Critical Condition After Being Tazed by Cops’
Yeesh, it seems like, The World is a Vampire.
Heck, I ain’t afraid of the zombie hoard, I fear the cops and their good intentions.
Even the Doctors are getting in on the action.
I mean, look up these titles:
‘Mother: Flu shot is responsible for death of teenage son’
‘The vaccine mafia and its jury of thugs: your rulers’
Or consider this quote:
“It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of The New England Journal of Medicine.”
(Marcia Angell, MD, “Drug Companies and Doctors: A story of Corruption.” NY Review of Books, Jan. 15, 2009.)
And the Vampire World makes excuse, after excuse, after excuse, to excuse its monster actions.
…And the beat goes on.
Ya, you know, Kathryn, the experts will say it’s hard to shoot someone in the leg or something like that. I don’t think I would find it so hard to do, myself. But, perhaps you don’t know, the cops are trained to shoot ‘center mass’ which means, death. And that’s why the Taser was touted as a great solution,… only, it’s resulted it a whole lot of deaths, too.
Some people say, myself included, that the only real solution is a private peace officer, and we are better off if all police departments are dissolved.
Anyway, I came back here tonight to offer this bit for reflection, something you were most likely never taught in grade school, or any other school:
The Pilgrims’ Real Thanksgiving Lesson
//blog.independent.org/2013/11/24/the-pilgrims-real-thanksgiving-lesson/
I hope everyone reads that, especially our gracious hostess. If she hasn’t’ already.
I’ve known, that the story of Thanksgiving was glorified to keep the tradition alive….as is Christmas, and other holidays (most of which are supposed to be ” God” based ), but these celebrations are traditional….and I might add, fun. It breaks up the year….something to look forward to. The question was could we shoot someone if need be ( paraphrased)? To save myself or my family and home……YES. I would do my damnest. I already answered, I know, and I can see, firearms a very controversial….have been for a long time. Too much to add, so I’ll stop….with this.
P.S look at what’s happening now…….kids/ punks, knocking ANYBODY out, for the fun of it. I mean this is not the way I remember things when I was younger. What the Hello happened?
Enough said….from me.
I have a left-handed question. If police are so well trianed for use of arms, why do they shoot to kill? Why don’t they shoot to disable? I know about the adrenalin and the fear of their own lives, but not everyone is out to get them….some are running, so you shoot them in the back? I don’t understand cops anymore. It seems they’ve gone rabid……am I wrong?
If you have a handgun, you would not need to ask that question. |So find someone willing to take you out and try hitting anything with a handgun. Then try a arm or leg size object, in the heat of the moment, with heart pounding maybe heavy breathing, your lucky to hit a man size object. That’s why they train and remember that’s to help you from being raped and killed. Damn little pay for putting one’s life on the line each day!
There are bad apples in every profession……those who will take advantage of their position. If you are insulted….I’m sorry!! I happen to know at least one bad apple.
“Read the article and let me know what you think.”
One: Those cops always ‘fear for their safety’ and just about always get off scot free. It’s pathetic.
Two: If someone is running away from you…
Three: Yet Again: DON’T Call 911, And DON’T “Help” the Police …
[That’s a title, BTW].
Four: Contrary to those who say, “don’t own a gun if you’re unwilling to shoot someone and unwilling to train for weeks on end”, I told a former girlfriend to just get one and carry it simply to get used to having one and carrying one. To get over the fear of one.
Practice can come later.
Otherwise, it was an interesting read.
What a pile of crap! Cops don’t always get away with shooting someone. They can commit murder like anyone else, if anything is questionable about a shooting it’s investigated no matter what the uniform. How the hell would you like to work with a killer, with a mindless trigger finger? But also try to live with the real concern of that unknown guy your approaching might be armed and with- out any hesitation to kill you? Try it every night for a few years, but you’ll need balls to do that.
I sincerely hope your former girlfriend doesn’t end dead because of your truly wonderful advice.
Too funny, Jim Gibb.
Why do you apologize for our overlords?
If you spent even half a day at freedominourtime.blogspot.com you’d see how misled you are.
Cops always get off, its something like 99 to 1.
But don’t let facts get in the way of a good rant, eh?
@ Kris, do you have the same opinion of driving a car or holding a hammer? A gun is just a tool, having one is not a dangerous thing to do,… it’s the using one that is risky.
OMG! A woman has a nail gun! Run!
OMG! A woman with a kitchen knife! Run!
But don’t run with scissors, right?
Yeesh, Kris, do you think everyone else besides you is an idiot?
And I won’t even mention the dangerous tools women may operate in the workplace everyday.
They should just stay home and make babies, right?
Got-dang, does the sight of an M-80 scare the crap out of you?
Police do not always get off. Every Police shooting is investigated. Many times it’s investigated by the law enforcement agency along with the state Police and your states attorneys office. and sometimes the FBI. If it’s a bad shooting they get fired and depending on the negligence of the shooting. They can be criminally charged as well. The question is whether or not it was a justifiable shooting and is there enough evidence to prosecute.
Train until the ability is refined. Spend the money now. Giving away even one meal under threat is too many.
years Back when in the military, small arms training was manditory,i did ok i was told.now..i’m NOT really worried –but if necessary,i’ll do something to protect my self.
I’m NOT a hunter. my answer to the question.
I can’t imagine shooting anyone……but when faced with kill or be killed, shooting would be almost instinctive. I hate guns but I’m taking a course to carry…..which I won’t , unless I feel threatened. I don’t have a gun myself ( yet ), but my neighbor is letting me borrow his to practice on targets. I think this is extremely generous, but then I am responsible for buying the ammo. My first choice is still my favorite……a cross bow.
Yes, it is called survival. My family group has already prepared if in fact that does happen and we have to. Although we like to think all people are like us and are good. Sadly that is not the case. So one needs to prepare mentally to handle the emotions that will be involved before hand.
Renee trust me when I say you also need to prepare mentally to handle the emotions that will be involved afterwards when you realize you have just snuffed out another human being’s life. Whether they deserved it or not will be immaterial. In a SHTF situation I bet there will be many instances of where a good psychologist would be invaluable but probably unavailable.
THAT is soooo true unfortunately… I really believe that the society we live in will fall apart. I have sooo many moths worth of food (canned and freeze dried)stashed in our crawl space. Alaska does not usually permit the building of basements due to permafrost fracturing the structure. Permafrost even screws up our roads in certain areas. The crawl space is about 3.5 feet high and, I stacked a corner with necessities. I wish it were bigger so I could store more. I know canned food does go bad eventually so I have plenty of freeze dried and vacuum sealed options. Rice and dry beans are also a great staple. They are bland, but they will provide you with some protein and carbohydrates. Our society will cease to exist as we know it. It will catch us off guard. It is always best to be prepared even if it’s a natural disaster such as a flood, hurricane, or a tornado that leaves you stranded. People panicked when Hurricane Katrina hit the coast. Some took to raping and pillaging which is unfortunate. They weren’t prepared for the aftermath of the disaster, and they stole from and killed other people that had been prepared. Martial law was even put into place to stop the killing and help people out of the danger. Our government, economic system, and way of life as we know it WILL cease at some point whether it is in our life time or not. It is best to be prepared for it.
A red head is scary enough, but a red head with a gun. Now that is down right petrifying.
HA! I am a redhead with a 9mm Beretta that I carry daily. Didn’t know I was THAT scary 😛