"The Tactical Shotgun" by Gabriel Suarez

• The shotgun is best suited for close range, short duration conflicts that do not require a great deal of firepower (i.e., rounds per target) or extreme penetration.
• The bottom line about firearms is that they are all dangerous. That is how they were intended to be. If they were not, they would be useless. But in reality, it is not the toll that is dangerous, but the careless user of such tools.
• To augment common sense, there are four safety rules -- simple and applicable in any environment -- that an operator must observe while handling weapons.
• All guns are always loaded. Whenever you are handed a firearm, or pick one up for examination, inspect it and, if necessary, unload it.
• Never let the muzzle cover anything (or anyone) that you are not willing to destroy. When handling tactical problems, you do sometimes cover presumed hostiles with your muzzle. Doing so is not a violation of this rule because if you perceive that someone is an enemy, you sure as shit better be willing to destroy him before he does it to you first.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
• Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. Do not shoot at sounds or shadows because they might not be what you think.
• Reality tells us that what the shotgun is loaded with at the beginning of the fight will likely be the type of ammo used to (it is hoped) win that fight.
• For anti-personnel uses, we are limited to birdshot, buckshot, and slugs.
• Keep in mind that the ammunition type selected for the shotgun more than anything else dictates its mission.
• Birdshot would be a foolish choice for anything but a strict home-defense application, where engagement distances will be remarkably close, and over penetration is a major concern. This is the only place where tactical use of birdshot is worthwhile.
• The best choices of birdshot are the #7 ½ or #8 low-base, ⅞ ounce loads.
• Within room combat distances, #7 ½ and #8 birdshot will strike an adversary as a single mass and generally will not over-penetrate.
• The same characteristics that make birdshot the best thing since sliced bread for home defense make it a poor choice for general-purpose deployment. Anytime you take the shotgun out of the house, replace the birdshot with buckshot.
• Buckshot is largely responsible for the shotgun’s reputation as a fight stopper. Buckshot can give you rifle like power and close-quarters performance without the danger of extended range or over penetration, which makes the use of the rifle so risky in congested urban environments.
• It is important to know that buckshot patterns tend to spread out in a conical format as the shot column leaves the barrel and proceeds downrange. The amount of pattern dispersal depends on the type of buckshot used as well as the individual characteristics of the shotgun barrel.
• The best efficiency is obtained by keeping the shot charge together as far as possible, not in spreading it out, as was previously believed.
• A buckshot pellet is not the equivalent of a pistol bullet even if the caliber is the same.
• Buckshot achieves its stopping-power effectiveness by virtue of multiple, simultaneous hits, which increase the quantity of injury and shock effect that a single pistol bullet (or buckshot pellet) cannot match.
• When selecting a load for your particular weapon, you must remember that the larger buckshot loads containing fewer pellets (#000, #00, #0) often exhibit rapidly deteriorating pattern density as the range increases. Conversely, the smaller shot sizes (#1 and #4) may provide better pattern density but at the cost of decreased penetration of the target.
• The third type of anti-personnel ammo is the rifled slug. This load turns the shotgun into a sort of makeshift short-range rifle.
• Rifled slugs are in reality specialty rounds that you bring along in case the typical close-range fight goes beyond the extreme maximum distance of the buckshot load.
• A rifle-sighted shotgun with a high-quality slug can allow an operator to hit targets out to 100 yards.
• One of the rules of combat shotgunning is to know your ammunition -- and know your gun.
• Knowing the patterning characteristics of your particular shotgun-ammunition combination allows you to determine if a particular shot is within your capabilities, or if refraining from taking the shot would be wiser.
• The degree of pattern dispersion may be divided roughly into three zones: A, B and C.
• The A zone generally extends from arm’s length to seven paces. At this distance, the shot pattern has not had enough flight time to expand to any discernible degree, and its strike can be covered by a hand. In this zone you may as well be shooting a rifle bullet because that is exactly what the shot column behaves like. The stopping power of the shotgun at these how-do-you-do distances, with any sort of ammunition, is truly decisive. Accurately placing the still condensed shot pattern on target is facilitated by using the weapon’s sights. An alternate method for extremely close-range reactive shooting is to index the shotgun on target by using the underarm assault position.
• When the engagement distances extend beyond 7 yards, you enter the distance wherein the conventional use of the shotgun can be exploited, the B zone. Here the pattern has had time to expand to the point where you may use the spread to distribute the blow and maximize the damage. Effective use in this zone can only be accomplished by using the weapon’s sights. The expanding pattern allows you to engage and shoot very quickly -- much more so than if you were using a single-projectile weapon. The limit of the B Zone will be reached when the pattern has expanded so much that a human adversary might be able to walk right through it unscathed! That point is usually reached at 20 to 25 yards, depending on the particular shotgun and ammunition in use.
• Using the shotgun beyond its B zone capabilities is virtually impossible with any buckshot. This is the C zone -- the point at which buckshot is no longer useful in a particular shotgun -- and it usually begins at 20 to 25 yards. This is the realm of the rifled slug. The slug allows you to reach out to 100 yards if necessary.
• Any shotgun with any buckshot brand will perform as needed within 10 yards.
• The patterning process begins by firing one round of shot at 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 25 yards. Initially, the shot pattern will exhibit a virtual singular strike exemplified by one ragged hole in the target. When the ragged hole in the target begins to expand to a more conventional pattern, exhibiting holes from individual pellets, you’ve reached the B zone.
• The greatest concern is in determining which ammunition type will allow relatively condensed patterns and for the greatest distance in the B zone. In the B zone, pattern the gun and ammunition at increasing distances until you find that the majority of the pattern is no longer on the target. This is where experimentation with different brands and sizes of buckshot must occur.
• The slug-equipped shotgun must be zeroed in just as a rifle is zeroed in.
• Considering the “real” distances where shotguns will likely be used with slugs, 50 yards is a good point to zero.
• Slug selection is similar to buckshot selection. Group the shotgun at 25 yards with various types of slugs and then select the most accurate.
• There are no guarantees in a gunfight -- particularly with stopping power. The only thing we can really expect to do is stack the deck in our favor as much as we can -- selecting a shotgun goes a long way in the stacking department.
• Of all the small arms available in the tactical inventory, few equal the shotgun in terms of close-range power to end hostilities.
• In The Tactical Pistol, I surmised that there were three factors affecting the possibility of stopping an adversary as a result of gunfire. The first of these is shot placement.
• Shot placement is a result of marksmanship, which is affected, in turn, by training and the ability to remain cool under pressure.
• The probability of hitting is greatly enhanced with a shotgun.
• The second factor for incapacitating an adversary is simply the amount of damage done by the shot(s). The damage, or extent of injury, caused is dependent on how deeply the projectile(s) penetrates and what is actually struck. This performance depends on ammunition design and number of actual hits.
• The third factor to consider is the adversary’s mental state prior to being hit, as well as his psychological reaction to being hit.
• If there is any unalterable rule to stopping power it is that there are no guarantees.
• The human body can, if substantially motivated, take an incredible amount of punishment and still go on to accomplish the mission.
• Failures to stop with a shotgun are not as common as with pistols, but they still do occur. A basic study of physiology and wound mechanics will illustrate that there are two ways that gunshots (of any sort) incapacitate a human being. The first way (and easier in terms of target size) is to cause enough damage and bleeding so that blood pressure drops to a point where the adversary becomes unconscious. This is most easily done with a center-of-mass hit. The second method of incapacitation by a shotgun -- injury to the central nervous system (i.e. brain) -- is quite conclusive.
• In pistolcraft, shooters generally try to place two or three hits in the chest (center of mass) first and proceed to the cranial shot if the prior shots have been ineffective. There are two reasons why we do this: 1) pistols are relatively weak in their inherent ability to put a man down, so we try to enhance the effect by shooting twice, and 2) in a highly charged situation, the first shot may miss…if only by inches. Instantly triggering the second shot takes this possibility into consideration.
• Another reason to consider the headshot is that the nervous system tends to shut off and disregard any subsequent injury or pain after the first hits, so further shots to the body will probably not help. A cranial hit will disrupt the brain and usually result in a no-reflex kill.
• Although the central nervous system includes the spine, this is generally a less ideal target than the head itself because of the spine’s relative size and location within the body (unless the adversary is turned around).
• Don’t shoot your target and then stand there gawking if he doesn’t go down. Even if the head shot solution is not immediately effective, don’t despair -- shoot him again.
• Remember: there are no guarantees in a gunfight.
• The slide-action (or pump-action) shotgun has been in service since the last century. It has many advantages, not the least of which is mechanical reliability. Further, it can operate with ammunition that would choke the most high-tech semi auto shotguns around; it will also do this in varying climatic conditions, or even when proper maintenance has been ignored; it has a capacity of between four and eight rounds and offers a degree of ammunition selection with the appropriate operator technique. It is also one of the more inexpensive weapons that can be added to an arsenal.
• The most prevalent malfunction observed with a slide-action is the operator-induced “short-stroke” -- i.e. not actuating the pump far enough to reload a live round after the expended shell case has been ejected, which results in a click instead of bang!
• Good choices [of shotgun] are the ubiquitous Remington 870, the out-of-production Smith & Wesson 3000, and the Mossbergs in military trim.
• The shotgun is a tool designed for a mission. Any addition that enhances that mission is worthwhile.
• All shotguns need a buttpad. This is not so much to guard against recoil, although it does this well, but rather to keep the shotgun from slipping off the shoulder during firing.
• The two most prevalent methods of keeping extra ammunition on the weapon are the stock-mounted cuff and the receiver-mounted side saddle.
• There are almost as many different types of stock configurations as there are criminals in Los Angeles. The most useful and versatile is the standard stock that comes from the factory.
• Folding stocks are only useful if the shotgun is to be carried and deployed from a small vehicle, carried in a covert format, or used in extremely close quarters. The folder is not nearly as easy or comfortable to use as a standard stock.
• The type of sights you select should be based on your expected use of the shotgun. A simple front bead will suffice from handshake distances out to the end of the B zone.
• If any slug shooting is expected, rifle sights are the answer. Additionally, the installation of rifle sights will not hurt the close-range reaction speed with buckshot. They are a no-lose item. The standard barrel-mounted rifle sights will do, but the ghost ring sights are the best choice by far.
• A choke acts to constrict the shotgun bore and thereby tighten or open the shot pattern. The operating principle is the same as a pressure nozzle constricting the water flow through a garden hose. Too much choke will cause flyers with buckshot and erratic performance with slugs.
• The most popular choke systems are those installed inside the actual barrel by a gunsmith. The two that have been the most successful are the jug choke and the Vang choke. These two choke systems will provide tighter patterns with buckshot without affecting the accuracy of the weapon when using slugs.
• Remember that the tactical shotgun is a tool intended for a particular mission. If an accessory or modification will enhance its capability to handle the mission, then buy it regardless of the cost. But if it does nothing for the weapon's ability to handle its mission, it is only a worthless piece of junk.
• Of far more importance than armament or marksmanship skill is the cultivation of the warriors attitude.
• A fighting man must always be attentive to his surroundings, actually looking for possible enemies, lest he be taken by surprise. Such alertness is not paranoia by any means, just an acceptance of the fact that we live in a violent world.
• Ignoring your surroundings, or being in Condition White, is asking to get blindsided by an attacker.
• Never let your mind drift away when you are out in public. If you do so, no level of skill or amount of ammunition will save you if you are attacked.
• In Condition Yellow you have generally anticipated that a fight might occur, but not when or against whom. You are aware of your surroundings and take particular notice of anything out of the ordinary.
• The appearance of a possible threat propels you to the next level of readiness which is identified as Condition Orange. In Condition Orange you do not know for certain that a fight is imminent, but you have your suspicious -- and the presence of a possible enemy, right there, is reason enough.
• The main difference between the general alertness of Yellow and the specific alertness of Orange is that you are now focused on, and expecting trouble from, one particular source. You are actively looking for the clues that might confirm the ill intent of your potential enemy.
• The instant that you realize and actually accept that a fight is now quite likely, you’ve entered Condition Red.
• In Condition Red you’ve already decided that the situation may require a lethal response, although you may not necessarily need to employ it. You’ve made up your mind to shoot if the enemy commits any life-threatening action, and all systems are go!
• The ability to perceive such a specific and deadly threat, recognize it as such, and react to it is facilitated by the conscious establishment of a “mental trigger.” This mental trigger is a pre-established mental reaction to fight, which is activated by the initiation of any lethal aggression on the part of the adversary.
• A planned response is a decision that has already been made, so there will not be any hesitation before the fact.
• The only programmed response to a threat on your life must be to shoot.
• With practice and correct mental programming, you can respond to a lethal threat with a conditioned reflex. Limiting your response options to a lethal threat will cut down reaction time dramatically.
• To be remorseful requires having done wrong. Successfully defending your country, your loved ones, or yourself (in order of importance) is cause for pride, not sorrow.
• Before the fight we must be alert, ready, and willing to fight -- if we must. During the fight we concentrate fully and exclusively on solving the tactical problem at hand. After the fight we will feel proud at having won, pleased to be alive, and glad that we were suitably armed.
• Optimum performance seems to occur when the heart rate is between 115 and 145 beats per minute (BPM). When 145 BPM is exceeded, fine motor control begins to diminish in the hands.
• When you reach 175 BPM, and your heart rate sounds like a passable imitation of a Browning .50-caliber machine gun, all you have left are simple push-and-pull skills.
• Extreme stress will also affect the ability to make quick critical decision.
• Response options should be kept to a minimum (Hick’s Law).
• For these reasons, fighting techniques must emphasis simple, direct movements that are effective in spite of the possible physical states you might encounter during times of trouble.
• The nervous system connections required to execute a particular movement can be enhanced by extensive repetition.
• When first programming a reflexive motor skill, you must practice it in a step-by-step staccato fashion to ensure that every essential element is included.
• After the static performance becomes comfortable, you may begin to “round off the edges” and make the entire execution more fluid. Speed is not an issue at this juncture, only developing smoothness of action.
• The third phase is dynamic training. At this point, the action is executed at a reasonable speed.
• At this third phase, begin to introduce a threat stimulus, such as the sudden appearance of a hostile target or multiple hostile targets, in order to associate the motor skill with a reaction to a threat.
• Confidence is crucial to shooting success in combat situations.
• Programming the proper physical responses to a threat enables us to react quickly and decisively with ferocity of spirit and violence of action during the fight.
• Mental imagery, or visualization, has been proven to enhance the neural connections used during actual physical performance.
• Simply play out a situation in your head from beginning to end and mentally handle it in the way you would like to do so in real life.
• You are a product of your thoughts and your perceptions of the world.
• Programming canned physical reactions and thought processes -- triggered by your perceptions of danger -- will help your combat efficiency immensely.
• Sling carry is similar in practice to holstered carry for a pistol.
• There are three basic sling carry positions: the American carry, African carry, and tactical carry.
• In the American carry, the shotgun is carried muzzle up with the sling over the dominant-side shoulder and the dominant hand gripping the sling.
• The African carry involves carrying the shotgun muzzle down, slung over the support-side shoulder.
• A third sling carry method that has become popular with the door-kicking crowd is the tactical carry. The tactical carry is undoubtedly the fastest sling carry method from which to deploy the shotgun, and it is suitable for any level of readiness. In this method the shotgun hangs across the chest or to the side in a muzzle-down position from a specially designed sling.
• The primary moderate-risk carry method is called Rhodesian ready. It involves putting both hands on the shotgun in their firing positions. The dominant hand is held more or less at the belt level with the buttstock along the forearm. The support hand grips the fore-end, and the arm is relaxed, depressing the muzzle toward the deck at about the 11:00 position.
• To react to an unexpected threat from the Rhodesian ready, simply move the muzzle toward the perceived threat and mount the shotgun in the standard manner as usual. A better and faster option is the underarm assault position.
• The underarm assault position involves tucking the buttstock high into the armpit against the pectoral muscle, with the butt itself just inside the armpit. Simultaneously orient the muzzle onto the target with both arms bent and the elbows pointed toward the deck. The physical posture is aggressively forward, but not overtly leaning. It is important to keep the master eye directly over the shotgun barrel so that what the eye sees, the muzzle covers. This works admirably for coarse shooting up to 7 meters. Beyond this, conventional shoulder firing and aiming are required.
• The high-ready places the muzzle in an elevated position just under the line of sight, in line with the eye and the target. The buttstock is held at approximately belt level or slightly higher and along the dominant-side forearm. The trigger finger is out of the trigger guard and resting on the safety button prepared to disengage it.
• The high-ready is preferred for negotiating large areas, particularly outdoors where there is no close-quarters/weapon-retention hazard. I’ve found that it is also quite useful for situations where hostilities are likely from higher ground, such as from second- and third-story windows (i.e. urban apartment buildings).
• An alternative to the high-ready is the low-ready. This position already has the shotgun mounted in the shoulder pocket, but the muzzle is lowered from the “on target” position. The degree of muzzle depression depends on the distance to the threat. This is the position to use when you are on the hunt, searching for a hostile.
• The low-ready is best for short-duration close-quarters tactical moving and searching, or when hostiles are expected to be at a lower level than the shooter.
• Except for situations where you can literally touch an adversary with the gun muzzle, using shotgun sight(s) is essential if you hope to hit anything.
• The flash sight picture is a brief glimpse of the front sight through the rear sight for the purpose of verifying the existing alignment of the weapon in relation to the target.
• The flash sight picture used in the snapshot involves the sharp shift of visual focus from the adversary (the source of the threat) to the front sight.
• This is the essence of the snapshot with a shotgun. Your eyes acquire the target, and you begin to move the gun into alignment with it. As the weapon’s sights intercede into the line of sight, your support eye tracks the target as your dominant eye refines the sight picture as needed. Once on target, pause only long enough to verify correct alignment and break the shot.
• The way you look at possible adversaries must be developed and practiced just like your gun handling skills.
• Loading modes for the shotgun may be broken down into three types: administrative loading, tactical reloading, and emergency reloading.
• Administrative loading occurs under secure conditions prior to any sort of tactical contact or activity where such contact is expected.
• The administrative loading process that I recommend is as follows:
• Hold the shotgun in the dominant hand.
• Pull the fore-end back, thereby opening the bolt.
• Retrieve a shell from the belt with the support hand.
• Hold the shell at the base of the fingers and at a 90-degree angle to them.
• Bring the support hand under the receiver and against the open ejection port. It is now a simple matter to allow the round to drop into the ejection port.
• Using the now empty support hand, close the bolt and chamber the round by running the fore-end forward.
• If you wish only to load the magazine, do the following:
• Hold the shotgun in the support hand with the bolt closed.
• Retrieve a shell from the belt pouch and index it in the hand as described earlier.
• Bring the shell under the receiver and at a point just forward of the trigger guard at the loading port.
• Insert the shell forward into the tubular magazine, pushing it into place with your thumb.
• Repeat the process as needed. You will now have a loaded magazine and, if you deleted the first instruction, an empty chamber.
• If you want to chamber a round after loading the magazine, follow these steps:
• Simply reach under the trigger guard with the dominant hand and activate the action-release lever. This will unlock the action and allow you to actuate the fore-end and chamber a round.
• After doing this, you may wish to refill the magazine with an additional round or leave the empty space in the magazine.
• Sometimes you must check the status of a shotgun that you’ve been handed. To do so, simply activate the action release lever and retract the fore-end and bolt just enough to be able to look into the ejection port.
• Actuate the action-release lever and move the fore-end to the rear far enough to begin ejecting the chambered round, yet not far enough to chamber the next round. Secure the chambered round as it emerges from the ejection port. Visually and physically check the chamber to ensure its unloaded status, and close the bolt by moving the fore-end forward. To place the weapon back into tactical storage, dry-fire the empty chamber and place the safety device in its desired position.
• A prudent operator always brings his weapon up to capacity the first chance he gets.
• During the tactical reload there is no urgent need to keep shooting, but you keep the shotgun in a firing position -- just in case.
• Secure the spare ammunition with the support hand and index the shotgun shell along the fingers. Bring the hand under the receiver and insert the shell into the loading port, pushing it into the magazine with the thumb. Repeat this as needed.
• Note that you can shoot at any time during the tactical reload.
• You should never conduct a tactical reload in the kill zone if you can avoid it by getting behind something solid beforehand.
• [If you have an empty shotgun] secure a shell with the support hand and hold it along the base of the four fingers as you always do while reloading. Bring the palm under the receiver and index the heel of the palm at the bottom of the receiver. This will automatically place your hand in a position to drop the fresh shell into the ejection port. After you drop the round in, a simple forward motion of the fore-end will chamber it and get you back into the fight.
• The tactical need to fully load an empty shotgun is a firefight is a fanciful notion.
• The administrative reload is a preparatory loading procedure. The tactical reload is a planned procedure that is executed during a lull in the fight that might signify the conclusion of hostilities. The emergency reload is a reactive, exigent procedure that is executed during a fight because the tempo of the confrontation has escalated beyond your ability to manage your ammunition. The emergency reload must be a conditioned response to the stimulus of suddenly having an empty shotgun.
• The first concern in becoming proficient in tactical shooting is the development of a combat mindset. This will keep you alert and let you know when it is time to fight. Once, you understand that concept, you must develop realistic fighting techniques into conditioned reflexes and then refine those reflexes by extensive use of reactive shooting drills.
• The initial training received by a combatant must encompass the basics of marksmanship, reflexive gun handling, and the combat mindset. But when these are well ingrained, you must strive to develop your reactive shooting skills.
• A slug will be the answer whenever you see a hostile target beyond the limit of the B zone (about 20 yards). Additionally, a slug is the way to go if a greater degree of precision or penetration is desired.
• It is very important to carry the slugs in the same place every time so that you will know where they are located immediately. Additionally, keep them in a separate location from your buckshot.
• It is important to recognize ammunition types by touch. A slug will have the slug tip exposed, whereas a buckshot round will have the crimp at the tip.
• The procedure for a slide-action shotgun is as follows. Keep the shotgun oriented to the target while the dominant hand maintains its hold on the pistol grip of the stock. Bring the slug under the receiver and insert it into the loading port. With the dominant hand, reach under the receiver and activate the action release as the support hand actuates the fore-end, thereby ejecting the chambered buckshot round and chambering the slug.
• One fact of life remains constant regardless of the efficiency of your weapons: anything that is man made can malfunction or break.
• It is important to realize the difference between a simple malfunction or stoppage and a broken weapon.
• The quickest and simplest malfunction drill for the shotgun is to secure or ground the shotgun and produce the pistol to solve the disagreement. If transition to a second weapon is not an option, you must clear the stoppage and get back into the fight.
• You know that you have a position-one stoppage if you hear a click instead of a bang. The immediate solution must be a vigorous cycling of the action through the fore-end pump, or the bolt handle in a semiautomatic shotgun. This will eject the unfired dud and reload with a fresh cartridge.
• Remember to operate the pump briskly and vigorously every time you fire to ensure ejection prior to feeding.
• The second malfunction is the failure to eject, aka position-two stoppage.
• The solution is to pull the fore-end (and bolt) back sharply while simultaneously flipping the weapon to the right (ejection port down). This will usually clear out the problem and get you back into action.
• The third type of malfunction is the feedway stoppage, or position-three stoppage.
• The solution for a pump action is to kneel or squat down and slam the shotgun butt on the deck as you attempt to cycle the action to eject the spent shell and chamber a fresh cartridge.
• During the pre-confrontation phase, if tactical escape is not an option, you must look for something to use as cover.
• It is important to first shoot the man who is the most immediate threat to you.
• You must shoot the man who is most capable of killing you in your present position first and then proceed in a descending order of threat.
• Other than to shoot the most immediate threat first, it is vital to get a hit on each man once and to do so quickly. YOu must shoot each man once and move on to the next once, picking up any remaining hostiles afterword.
• The best course of action is to withdraw, if possible, and if they press the issue -- pick them off singly or in pairs during your tactical escape. If escape is not a viable option for whatever reason, then place them on the defensive and attack immediately.
• While there are a few items that will enhance the individual’s night combat capabilities, it is the ability of the man rather than the advancement of his tools that wins the fight.
• You do not use a flashlight in a tactical situation by just turning it on and strolling through. You must avoid using it until it is absolutely necessary.
• A white-light “accidental discharge” will give you away as surely as if you’d fired a round into the ceiling. Know that as soon as your light goes on, your night vision is history, and it will not return fully for many minutes (a complete loss of night vision takes approximately 30 minutes to recoup).
• When you are scanning an area with light, do it from cover if possible.
• I am a firm advocate of moving away from the original firing location immediately. If you cannot move as you fire the first shot, you should certainly do so after the initial exchange. Your move should be toward cover.
• Movement to cover during firing means a controlled side step or two during your initial shots, followed by a controlled move away afterward.
• Consciousness of cover is a part of being in Condition Yellow. Make it a mental habit to look around you periodically during the day and locate the nearest object that might serve as cover.
• Projectiles of varying ballistic capability will penetrate many parts of an automobile if fired at a perpendicular angle to its surface. As this angle increases, the penetrative capability diminishes, but ricochets increase.
• These ricochets will generally travel parallel to the surface that they’ve hit and a few inches away from it.
• When you shoot from behind cover, the best way is to keep your weapon in a firing position and roll out just enough to clear the cover for your shot(s).
• Try to shoot around the cover instead of from above as this may minimize ricochets as well as expose less of you while you return fire. Do not allow the muzzle to protrude beyond your cover as this may present a weapon-retention problem. Avoid shooting from the support side unless you are wounded.
• If you are under fire, once you’ve reached cover, stay there. The only time it is advisable to leave cover is to prevent a flanking maneuver by an adversary.
• A second reason to emerge from cover is to press your own assault or to attempt the same flanking tactic against our adversary.
• Move only as fast as you can guarantee hitting your adversary.
• If a gunfight is still in business after the first reactive shots are fired, you will want to evacuate your present location, which might very well be in the open. The reason for this is that the people whom you’ve had a disagreement with will initially be shooting at your original location. You might need to execute a quick side step as you fire again to solve the problem.
• By no means do you execute one single side step and lit it go at that. Keep moving with as many steps to the rear and sides as you need to solve the problem unscathed.
• Dealing with a threat to the rear involves stepping forward and across the support-side foot. From this position, you simply pivot 180 degrees, or until you are facing in the opposite direction. It is a simple matter to bring the shotgun up to shoot as you complete the pivot.
• An important concept in personal combat is to maximize your distance from the threat and to minimize your exposure to it.
• Whoever moves first in a close-range gunfight usually wins.
• In close quarters it is critical to move as you shoot and after you shoot. Ideally, after the first exchange, you will move to a covered position.
• You must realize that in most situations where a weapon is taken away from an operator, it will be used against him by the person taking it. Therefore, if someone tries to relieve you of your shotgun, you are quite justified in taking it hard -- hard enough to use the deadliest force you can muster to keep them from taking it!
• Step one is to do whatever you can to get the muzzle covering the would-be grabber. You can imagine what step two is. BOOM. If your shotgun is inoperative because of a malfunction or because it was grabbed before you had a chance to pump the action, then let him have it. That’s right; let him take your inoperative shotgun (you know it is inoperative because you just tried to blow his heart out with it and it didn’t work), and after you obtain your pistol and shoot him, you can take it back.
• Above all, when the fight has started, be violent! The more violent you become ,the less aggressive your adversary will be. You can carry this up to the point dictated by your current rules of engagement.
• Consider also that there may be a situation where you’ve confronted a possible adversary at gunpoint, yet the circumstances did not call for gunfire or buttstrokes. What now? You must do three things in succession to maintain control of the scene:
• Establish scene dominance.
• Disarm the aggressor.
• Secure the aggressor.
• Urban combat principles clearly indicate that built-up areas such as the interior of a building strongly favor the defender. Take every advantage if you hear an intruder or a home invader in the middle of the night.
• It is nearly impossible for a person to safely search an entire building single-handedly.
• Though there are no standard buildings, there are standard methods of movement within a building to minimize the danger to you while you search.
• During a search you want to use angular movement to visually inspect as much of the unsecured spaces as you can before committing to enter.
• A target indicator is anything, however slight, that might indicate the presence of a hostile.
• Never turn your back on anything you have not checked out and never assume that an area is clear unless you’ve seen all four walls as well as the floor and ceiling.
• You cannot shoot what you don’t know is there, but what you don’t know is there can certainly shoot you!
• Don’t be afraid to stop and simply listen to your surroundings, particularly if you’ve just made an accidental noise. Stop and listen for your adversary’s reaction to it.
• Hostage rescue demands surgically precise shooting, and this is better accomplished with a service pistol or a tactical submachine gun.
• You should program the combat data center that is your mind, if you are shot, you will shoot back.
• A man is only defeated when he admits to it himself.
• Success in personal combat is a matter of attitude and equipment.