Author: Berge Avesian

This week in St. Louis, a couple found their home surrounded by an angry mob marching though the neighborhood. I don’t know the particulars of the mob’s demands nor their purpose. Its not relevant to this subject.

What is relevant is the nature of response by the couple. They came out loaded for bear. The husband with his AR-15 (was that a 20” barrel and fixed stock?!?) and the wife with her PPK. Now, much fun has been poked at these two and I would say it is wholly undeserved. These people were thrust into a potentially violent situation that would have most people quaking in their boots. They felt threatened and they reacted.

I’m quite certain that if you had asked them last year what they would do if an angry mob showed up on their doorstep the husband would chuckle and remark that’s why he has his rifle and that would be the extent of the planning and training he undertook to prepare for that event. He probably thought the idea so far fetched it would be nothing more than a joke to him. We now know it wasn’t so far fetched.

Now my point is not that everyone should be training and prepping for an angry mob to show up at their doorstep. No, my point is that you need to train for the likelihood of having to use your firearm and that means understanding how to use it and when to use it.

This couple came out of their homes, firearms in hand and ordered the mob off their lawn. I want to be clear: They did nothing wrong and were well within the law to do so. I don’t know the particulars and I am not going to armchair quarterback their action. What I do want is to try and give you a couple more option to think about as you prepare your plan of action in the event of the threat of violence (you are preparing a plan, aren’t you?)

A firearm is a tool of last resort. Once it comes out of the holster, once its unslung from the shoulder, once it is leveled at another human being, the world changes very quickly. You are now in a gun fight. The very real possibility that a life will be taken is now on the table. You need to prepare mentally for this and decide now how you are going to act in such a situation.

Tactically speaking, keep a barrier between you and the aggressor. Communicate to them to leave at once in a stern (read loud) voice. I have no doubt profanity will be used. In the case of this couple, no one appeared to approach them and they were outside but I didn’t see them make use of cover. In a situation like this cover is useful not only for protecting from incoming fire but also to allow them to conceal their arms till they need to make it know. It may be that introducing a gun in the situation prematurely could escalate the situation, keeping it hidden but ready to use may be the best course of action.

If the gun needs to come out, don’t delay. Get on target and order the aggressors to leave at once. Keep an eye on your avenues of escape, on how many attackers you can see, on your surroundings (don’t get tunnel vision, move that head!) and how close you are going to let your aggressor get to you before you engage. You have to draw a mental line in the sand and yell out that if they come closer you will be forced to shoot. If they get too close and you don’t act you could end up in a fight over the gun and that is never good thing.

I want to stress that I am not advocating for the use of deadly force in protection of property, this is not permitted, but deadly force in the protection of life and limb is! As for this couple, they have an affirmative defense of acting in protection of their lives. They can articulate that they did fear for their lives, an angry mob could cut through them like a hot knife through butter. They did a service for the rest of us in their actions.

We can see what they did learn from it and take the good and leave the bad. As much as we teach to our students that being aware of your surroundings will keep you out of a fight most of the time, in these odd days its is entirely possible the fight will come looking for you as it did these folks. Plan now so you don’t have to plan as you go.

Stay frosty.

Living in the Great State of Michigan it is said that you are never more than 20 miles from a major body of water; fresh water to boot! The Great Lake State has fresh water that is the envy of the world, and rightly so. Its beautiful, fun and vitally critical to life as we know it; but sometimes we take that last part for granted!

If you haven’t considered what you’d do if the water suddenly stopped flowing through your taps I’d encourage you to look into it. Keep & Bear has a wonderful Emergency Preparedness class that addresses the need for clean H2O. It is an important topic but I want to talk about something else that can be overlooked: How do you get clean water on the move?

My wife and I enjoy traveling. To date we have been to some beautiful places. In our travels we rarely go the ‘tourist resort’ route and routinely find ourselves in places lacking in the creature comforts of most of
the USA. Clean water is chief among them.

While bottled water can be available, carrying the amount needed isn’t always practical. The rivers, lakes, streams, and waterfalls may be all around, but they are often teaming with microscopic organisms hostile to the human digestive tract. The solution is finding a way to filter out the bad and keep the good.

Thankfully you and I don’t have to figure out how to do this (at least in its basic form). The wonders of the free market have done it for us. Prior to our last trip to South America my wife researched and purchased a water purification bottle. She settled on the Grayl Ultralight Compact Purifier. This bottle was designed to fit in backpacks and be easily transported. With a 16 ounce capacity it could filtered out waterborne pathogens (viruses, bacteria, protozoan cysts), including Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Giardiasis, Cryptosporidium, E. Coli, Cholera, Salmonella, Dysentery along with pesticides and heavy metals. It could turn contaminated water in to drinking water in 15 seconds! Its filter is good for 40 gallons and is replaceable when its limit is reached.

Using the bottle is simple. From as clean a water source as can be found, fill the “cup” part of the device to the fill line. Place it on a firm surface, then insert the inner assembly. The o-rings at the bottom keep the water from simply displacing up and out of the cup. The downward force the user puts on the inner assembly forces the water through the orange filter housing and filter. The filtered water is then forced into the clear reservoir area where it is stored until used. The bottom o-rings and the lip at the top ensure unfiltered water doesn’t have a sneak path along the outside of the inner assembly and into one’s mouth when tilted up to drink.

With this little bottle we were able to climb Machu Picchu, hang out in Cusco, and explore the Sacred Valley of Peru. We never had to worry about our water or risked getting sick! For traveling I can’t think of a better thing to bring along. Of course its not limited to just traveling. There are many instances where something has happened to the local water supply (broken water main, contaminates in the system, Flint…) where having an effective water purifier on had would be invaluable.

I use Grayl and its line of purifiers, whether this works for you or not, I highly recommend you find one for yourself!

What to do when your concealed pistol isn’t as concealed as you thought…

In our classes we always tell the students that if you are carrying concealed properly nobody else should know.  Last Sunday, in church no less (I am authorized to carry there), I let a few people know and it was an oopsie on my part! As I sat in the pews I thought nothing was amiss.  My Sig P226 was secured snugly to my side in a slim pancake holster covered by my sport coat. It was a nice new sport coat that fit well and has a cut that lent itself to great concealment.  It also had a 4 inch slit in tail of the coat that I thought nothing of as I shifted in the pew. The service was nearly over and I rose to walk up and take communion.

As I returned to my seat I noticed my friend in the next row.  Wide eyed and almost in a panic he silently mouthed ‘Your GUN!’ At first I was confused then I realized I was exposed! It seemed the handle of the pistol had poked through the slit in the tail as I shifted in my seat, when I rose it was pinning the sport coat to my body fully exposing itself on my right hip!  Now, thankfully I attend a church where the pastor is very happy to have me carry during service and there are other law enforcement officers that attend as well. No one who saw was too concerned. I quickly covered up and had a chuckle with my fellow LEO after service about what I just did. I’m not excusing my mistake, but it happens.  Here are some pointers to keep in mind should you commit this CPL faux pas.  

Regain concealment

If you are in a public setting (out on the street, in a store or the like) and you realize your pistol is exposed, or worse yet, have someone tell you it is, don’t panic!  Nothing has gone terribly wrong at this point. Chances are not too many people, if any noticed it. Its a sad fact that many of our fellow citizens go through their lives unaware of those around them.  Simply covering your pistol and straightening your clothes might be all you need to do. Do it quickly but in a manner not to draw attention to yourself.

Concealing and securing your pistol is priority one.

Deescalate

Generally speaking those folks that are weapon adverse that happen to notice it probably won’t make a scene so much as quickly exit the area.  If they are sticking around, you may become the center of their attention. You may have garnered the attention of some anti-gunners who believe it is their civic duty to accost and harangue you in public for your decision to peacefully and legally exercise your rights. Here is where it is very important to keep your cool.  If you are confronted by such a person this is not the time to have an argument. Someone confronting you in such a manner is not interested in opposing view. They are just interested in virtue signaling to all in earshot that they believe such and such and anyone who doesn’t is worse than Hitler.

Don’t give them the satisfaction of a confrontation.  Remember that everyone has a phone with a camera. Anything out of the ordinary will find its way to the Interwebs! Be kind, be courteous and go about your business. If they press a confrontation, remember it is not worth your aggravation, and simply leave. This isn’t about right or wrong, its about taking the most prudent course of action.

Mitigate unwanted response

You may have garnered the attention of someone who calls 911.  If the police arrive, stay calm; they are responding to a situation they have little information on and may act in a manner you perceive to be belligerent.  Don’t argue at that point. Their primary purpose at that point is to secure the situation and ensure their safety. If you comply the situation, if it was escalated, will quickly de-escalate. 

Thankfully the great state of Michigan recognizes that carrying a pistol is a right. While in the past the police could be hostile to this idea, that is not the case today. Most police officers are very enthusiastic about the private citizen being armed.  To that end they will simply ask you some simple questions to establish who you are and what is going on. Its a no-harm no-foul situation. You may get advised to keep that pistol concealed, but beyond that they will simply take your information (to confirm that they indeed made contact with you) and be on their way. 

Dealing with unintended separation

If, in the process of carrying, you physically get separated from you pistol (it came out of the holster, fell on the ground, or the worst: you left it somewhere), your first duty is to reacquire and secure that pistol. In a public setting if it hits the ground, heads are going to turn! Quickly and deliberately get control of that pistol in a manner that doesn’t endanger those around you.  If someone else should pick it up, using an authoritative voice, calmly and firmly instruct them to give the pistol back to you. Of all situation this is the one with the most risk. Hopefully they will comply quickly. If they do not, I cannot advise you on the proper course of action other than to say that you are responsible for that pistol and you need it to be safely in your possession. 

To that end you might have to do something. People will be watching and more than likely the authorities will be called. At the conclusion of such and incident, and God willing nothing bad has happened, you will need to re-evaluate how you carry and take deliberate and effective steps to ensure this occurrence is not repeated.

If you carry and do so responsibly, chances are nothing like the above will happen to you, but in the event something doesn’t go as planned, remember that you assumed the responsibility for concealment, there are cameras everywhere, and the best way to make up for irresponsible actions is to assume that responsibility immediately.

Stay Frosty!