Brains Over Ballistics

Modern gear, while impressive, is still limited by the operator’s will and decision making.

Both of my grandfathers were lawmen, one a deputy sheriff. My mom’s dad was with the Huntsville, Ala. police department; he eventually became assistant chief. Times were different then, especially the equipment officers carried. I still have their revolvers, badges, aluminum “knuc’s” and yes, blackjacks. And yet, while much has changed, the principles to victory are still the same. It’s all about being mentally ready. This is even more true for self-defense.

Concealed carry is a more contemporary concept. In the “old days” not many people carried firearms for defense. Sure, lots of folks had a pistol at home, but few carried them concealed, ready for protection. In lots of states, it was difficult to obtain a carry permit. All began to change in the mid and late 1980s. Those who did carry usually had a small frame revolver — a J-Frame Smith or a Colt Detective — shoved into a pocket. It was extremely rare to see a semi-auto in a holster.

Get the necessary training necessary to apply your weapons. It’s
impossible to acquire new skills in the middle of the fight.

Outgunned, Not

Concealed carry is much more common today, and the hardware has evolved. Semi-automatics are the norm, especially small, compact pistols which are easily concealed and extremely reliable. But some things never change. Defense is still about being smarter than the threat. Sure, sometimes force is necessary. Solving the problem, as safely and efficiently as possible, still involves using your brain.

I remember my mom and grandmother telling the story about how bootleggers hoped to ambush my grandfather late one night as he returned home. (He refused their bribes.) While they sat outside the house, armed with Thompson machine guns, Gramps, one of the smartest men I’ve ever known, simply slipped around the back alleys and snuck into the house through the basement. He left the same way, the bad guys never aware. Outgunned? Sure, but not outsmarted.

Responding to danger is about problem solving, often at high speed. Trouble appears. You’re forced to make life-and-death decisions in fractions of a second. The entire fight will probably only last a few seconds total. The key is Boyd’s O.O.D.A. Loop.

Equipment my grandfathers carried as law-enforcement officers.
It was a different time, but then and now, the key is to quickly solve problems.

Action Strategy

Many consider Boyd, a fighter pilot, to be the Sun Tzu of contemporary times. His sphere of influence was enormous, but he’s best known for the O.O.D.A. Loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Pay attention, all of this applies to everyday life, too.

You “Observe” a problem. Next, you “Orient,” gathering details about the situation. After considering possible actions, you “Decide,” choosing the appropriate response. Finally, you “Act.” In a conflict, the person who makes the quickest decisions and acts is the one who wins.

Most people agree action beats reaction. Which is true, but only on a very simplistic level. Fighting is not a simple act/react sequence; it’s more like a chess game. White always moves first, but this doesn’t mean they win.

Initially, you’re reacting — they started the fight. As soon as possible you have to make the threat to react to you, force them back to the beginning of their loop, the “Observe” stage. Moving is one of the best ways to achieve this. This buys you a little more time to gather another detail or two and immediately apply your next action. The goal is to never let the opponent get back to the “Act” phase of their loop.

When it comes to hardware for self-defense, yes, things have evolved. Today it’s rare to see someone carrying a revolver. Yet, wheelguns are still an outstanding choice for defensive use. When you look at the data on defensive shootings — not counting law enforcement engagements — the most common numbers of shots fired are three and four. It’s unusual to see high round counts; often just the presence of a firearm, along with verbal commands, solves the problem.

The point is, it’s all about the software side, or the state of one’s mind and heart. Having the ability to mentally solve the problem, and the willingness to do the “hard thing” is much more important than what you’re armed with. Who knows how weapon technology will evolve in the future. Or, if the gun control advocates have their way, devolve or dissolve. We may all be carrying wheel guns.

Regardless of what the future brings, it will still be the person behind the weapon as opposed to the technology in front of them.

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