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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
Gun Disarms & Carjack Counters 101
By Phil Elmore
Let’s be honest: When someone points a
gun at you, the chances that you will be shot no matter what you do are
very high. You must decide, when facing a firearm, if you should comply
or if you must resist. Know that any time you attempt a firearm counter
you are risking grave personal injury or death. Proceed accordingly.
Your only options for dealing with a firearm at distance are to
comply, to flee, or to rush the weapon. If the attacker is too far away
to reach with a lunge, you’re basically out of luck. If you’re so far
away that you can run, following an erratic course and taking advantage of
environmental cover (cars, trees, corners, etc.), you have a chance. If
you’re far enough away that you can’t reach the attacker and you can’t run
without being shot, you can only rush the gunman and hope to reach him before
he shoots you down. None of these are particularly pleasant
propositions.
Held up from this distance you’re basically out of
luck.
Anyone stupid enough to point a
gun at you at extremely close range (almost touching you, for example) is
doing you a favor. If you can touch the gunman, you can attempt a
defense. The basic counters shown here are not really disarms as such,
because we’re not focusing on taking possession of the gun. Instead, we
seek only to control the barrel of the weapon as we deal with the assault.
There’s something else you must consider when contemplating
firearms counters, too. If you redirect the barrel of an attacker’s
weapon and that weapon discharges, that bullet is going to go somewhere other
than into you. This could mean innocent bystanders will be shot with
bullets intended for you. There are moral implications here that you
must consider.
WARNING!
Firearms are gravely dangerous. Do not attempt any
firearms training with real weapons. Always use appropriate training
tools and understand the risks of the techniques you are learning.
STICK ‘EM UP
From the typical “stick
’em up” position we’ll discuss two basic techniques. In the first, seen
below, my teacher Dave points his pistol at me and demands my wallet. My
hands are up and my day is ruined. Reasoning that he’ll kill me no
matter what I do, I decide to fight.
“Cup and saucer” grip is something you’ll see people
do in real life. It’s a
corruption of a proper Weaver stance. Oh, and I’m being held up.
Help!
When fired, the pistol is dangerous in only one direction:
directly in front of the barrel. I must, therefore, twist my body and
shove the barrel off line at the same time in order to increase my chances of
avoiding that dangerous straight line.
Using the arm closest to the weapon (my left hand, in this
case), I shove the weapon off line as I twist my torso to provide more
clearance. This is spectacularly dangerous because I’m sweeping my own
body with the barrel, if only for an instance. We’ve shown the pistol
here with the hammer cocked Dave’s finger on the trigger for a reason. I
could be shot at any time before or during my move.
Turning and shoving the weapon’s barrel off line.
Provided I don’t get shot dead, I counterattack as I maintain
my death-grip on the pistol. This must happen very fast, very viciously,
and very ruthlessly. I should be trying to hit almost simultaneously
(though obviously it will take an instant to perform this) for maximum effect.
Clutching the weapon in a death grip, I counterattack
as viciously as possible.
The other basic option we’ll demonstrate here was taught to me
by Dan Webre. From the same
“stick ’em up” position, I use my left hand again to clear the weapon, this
time simply slapping the weapon away to the outside. I could try to grip
it or I could simply be trying to shove the arm (though if I have no control
over the weapon the danger to me increases). Simultaneously as I do
this, I drive forward and shoot a web-of-hand blow to the gunman’s throat.
It is this vicious attack that makes the technique viable; they must
occur at exactly the same instant.
Simultaneous clearing of weapon with web-of-hand
attack to the throat.
One other technique we’ll cover is for the stick-up from
behind. If a gunman points a weapon at your back, especially if he
obligingly pokes you with the barrel to prove that it is there, you could
try an extremely risk torso twist to clear the weapon as you counterattack.
This is wildly risky and you’ll probably be shot doing it.
Dave again demands my wallet. I am about to do
something very stupid.
This is me doing something very stupid. It
might work, but it probably won’t.
In the United States it is still legal for private citizens to
carry firearms in many places. I am one such CCW license-holder.
Turning the tables briefly, Dave and I thought it might be fun to illustrate
the preferred defense for a mugging at knifepoint.
Dave approaches and tries to mug me at knifepoint.
I’m indexing my weapon even as he does it.
Because I have to reach
behind my body, I put out my off hand in a warding gesture.
I know have him covered. If he doesn’t give up
I
must shoot because he can close and stab me
very quickly at this distance.
The point here is that outside close range, the pistol will
trump the blade. This does not mean you shot not train with or carry
both (provided you can do so legally). It simply means you must be aware
of the advantages and disadvantages of the weapons you wield and the weapons
you face.
CARJACKING
Moving on to basic carjacking scenarios, Dave becomes the
innocent motorist and I play the role of carjacker. If you are sitting
in your car and someone tries to take it (or you) at gunpoint, the best thing
you can do is duck-and-drive, flooring the accelerator and trying not to get
shot. You may not be able to do this without ramming another car or
driving into cross-traffic, however which means you often won’t be able to
drive anywhere. Smart carjackers will target you when and where
you are boxed in.
Whenever possible, do not wait inside a parked car.
You are begging to be carjacked in that position. Outside a coffee shop
where I’ve waited many times, there was a carjacking at almost precisely the
spot where I was parked a week previously. Carjackers are lazy thieves
who never learned how to break in and hotwire vehicles. They’re looking
for drivers in-vehicle whom they can threaten.
If you must sit inside a vehicle, of course, the best defense
is a handgun of your own.
If that handgun cannot be readied and fired with one hand, you
are at a disadvantage. Associate Editor Lawrence Keeney described
this very scenario in a previous issue.
Next we’ll look at two possible unarmed defenses against a
carjacking. In the first, drive Dave is at a heavy disadvantage because
I’ve approached him from behind and at an angle.
Dave is approached from behind and at an awkward
angle.
He hasn’t got a great set of choices available. One
response is to stomp on the gas. Another is opening his door as quickly
as possible, followed by a counterattack.
He whips his door open with as much force and speed
as he can,
taking me by surprise. This is very dangerous for him.
Surging forward, he attempts to exit the vehicle to
counterattack. Could he make it?
The chances aren’t good, but they’re better than sitting and waiting for the
bullet if he
thinks I won’t be satisfied taking his money or his car.
From a slightly better angle, Dave can try to pin the weapon
against the door in pushing the barrel off line. He can then yank the
weapon forward, counter-attacking.
I approach Dave from the front of the vehicle.
For whatever reason he thinks he
will be killed even if he complies.
From the hands-up posture he quickly shoves the
barrel out of line, perhaps shoving
his body back if he can. If the gun goes off that bullet is going to
travel through the
passenger-side window and possibly into other people.
He yanks me into the vehicle to deliver a savage
counterattack.
For the technique to work, , the carjacker must put his firearm
in range. If he’s out of range and you cannot move your vehicle at all,
you’re out of luck.
PROJECTILES ARE DOUBLE-EDGED
A firearm is a very effective, very powerful self-defense tool.
It is also an extremely serious threat when pointed in your direction.
No counter to an armed confrontation is without extreme risk. You may
hot have a choice, though, given the situation. In call cases you must
weigh the possibility of death against the benefits or liabilities of
compliance with an assailant’s demands.
Keep your wits about you and do what you must.