Brave New World: It's Not Safe

Our world has changed - BE ALERT 

Caught off guard, and shot dead. 

No matter where you live, where you're, or what you're doing you are at risk. 

You are not safe:

At Home 
Shopping
At the office
Getting gasoline
Enjoying a movie
Working outdoors

Regardless of the time or place, there are crazies, druggies, criminals and terrorists who want to hurt you or kill you.  So you cannot afford to oblivious to your surroundings.  You must pay attention to the people around you. 

Be alert to your surroundings  

Joe Chamblin, USMC Scout Sniper Instructor retired, author of Into Infamy, A Marine Sniper's War and tactics trainer at Frontier Firearms Family Shooting Center in Kingston TN shared this, “For most, awareness of one's surroundings is not innate behavior.  It takes training and practice to learn to be conscious of your surroundings." 

How does one train and practice to be more aware?

Chamblin relates his own experience. "At first it seems easy. You think all you have to do is look around but there's more to it than simply keeping your head up and eyes open, but there's a lot more to it than that. The trick and the hard part is making awareness of your surroundings second nature and to learn to spot potential threats."

There are many things one can do to reduce the risk of becoming someone's victim. When walking into a room, quickly scan around before sitting down. Pay attention to who is nearby and attempt to assess any threat they may pose. Always look for hard cover, places that could shield you from gun fire and exits.
When walking down a sidewalk stay to the inside near the buildings so you have less area to scan for danger.  Glance in windows as you walk to see who may be walking behind you.  Be observant of the people around you. Simple awareness of the people nearby gives you a serious edge over being oblivious of your surroundings.

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

~ Gen. James Mattis

Take a class in self-defense mindset

Chamblin also suggests stepping up your awareness training through more specific observation. For instance, he suggests taking note of who may be armed or is acting out of the ordinary.  Then mentally play what if scenarios. "What if that guy pulled a gun?  What if those kids attacked me?  What if a robber came in? What if someone busted-in my front door?"  Develop mental plans and play them out in your head.  To illustrate his point, Chamblin likes to quote this generations most revered Marine, Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis, "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

Everyone should consider taking a class in situational awareness and self-defense mindset. According to Brant Williams, founder of Frontier Firearms, "with the growing number of deadly shootings and random attacks it became obvious we needed a course specifically designed to teach civilians situational awareness and to have a mindset that allows them to react before becoming victims."  

Williams explains why he recently tapped Chamblin to develop a course for civilian men and women on the basics of the self-defense mindset including how to decrease the chances of becoming a victim and how to react appropriately to any threat.   "I wanted a real-world 'X-Rated' course taught by a man who had been - there done that, a man who understands the stakes, a man whose job it was to keep his men and himself safe and who knows what it's like to fight for one's life - up close and personal.  Chamblin fits that bill," related Williams.

New course in self-defense mindset to be announced

Carry for Life© - Situational Awareness and the Self-Defense Mindset

Frontier Firearms will be announcing the new course, dates and time very soon. In the meantime, take time to train yourself to become more aware of your surroundings. Pay more attention to what is happening near by, your life depends on it.

www.Frontierfirearm.us 

865-376-0793

CONCEALED CARRY LESSONS: Unarmed Man Disarms Legally Armed Man

Carrying A Handgun Can Be Dangerous.  Are You Prepared?

A.T.M. = Awareness - Training - Mindset

More and more of us have taken our concealed carry classes and decided to legally carry a handgun for self-defense. As a result the odds of seeing someone in public with a gun or you being spotted with a gun are high.  Are you prepared for this reality of concealed carry?

Beyond the debate about open carry, one must consider the ramifications of concealed carry and the good possibility another citizen will see your firearm in public.  While in many states it is legal to carry open and it is legal for your concealed carry gun to "flash" (become temporarily visible) or remain partially visible at all times, one must be aware of the problems that arise when others see your self-defense weapon. 

We all know about citizens calling the police whenever they spot others exercising their open carry right, but what about cases were the sharp eyed citizen takes matters into their own hands.  What about times when a citizen is legally carrying concealed and is attacked because his or her gun was spotted? 

In such cases, we cannot assume others will think of us as a good guy with a gun. In the video below we see Florence Daniels (green shirt) entering a Florida Walmart with his concealed carry gun on his right hip concealed beneath his shirt.  At the time Daniels did not know that when he got out of his car Michael Foster (black shirt) saw him holster his handgun and tuck it under his shirt.

Foster followed Daniels into the Walmart and tackled him while yelling, "He's got gun!"  As you see in the video several bystanders entered the fray to help disarm Daniels, who was shouting, "I have a permit!  I have a permit!"

[Before proceeding it should be noted that Foster was arrested and charge with assault.]

The video tells us a great deal and gives us much to think about as we carry our guns for self defense or when we see others carrying their handguns in public.

Is everyone you see with a gun in public a bad guy?  

Conversely are folks carrying guns in public always good guys with guns?  

How do you tell and what do you do?  How much worse could this situation have been had Foster also been armed and had drawn his own gun on Daniels? Instead of a wrestling match, a shootout could have occurred .

What about the fact that in a matter of seconds an unarmed man took-down and disarmed a concealed carry permit holder.  At Frontier Firearms in Kingston, Tennessee thousands of people have taken the Handgun Carry Permit Class but aren't really prepared for the reality of day to day carry.  Frontier Firearms owner explains, "We see far too many people who believe carrying a firearm will make them invincible.  This simple is not the case."

AWARENESS - If you are going to carry a gun, you must:

• Always take steps to ensure no one sees your handgun or that you are armed.
• Always be aware of your surroundings - what is in front, to the side, and behind you.
• Always be apprehensive and aware that simply carrying a firearm does not make you safe from attack and certainly does not make you invincible.

What if the unarmed attacker, Foster had had a knife and wanted to kill Daniels instead of disarming him.  In all likelihood Daniels would be dead. Daniels had not trained himself to fend off an attacker long enough to engage him.

TRAINING - If you are going to carry a gun, you must:

• Learn how to carry without the casual observer seeing that you are armed
• Learn how to fend off an attacker long enough to deploy your own weapon
• Learn how to protect your weapon so an attacker cannot easily disarm you.
• Learn how to deploy your backup weapon(s) while protecting your primary.

What did Daniels do when he was attacked?  He heard Foster yell, "He's got a gun!" and began shouting back, "I've got a permit!"  Did Daniels protests stop Foster from disarming him? No!  One must always be prepared to meet any attack head-on with force, with deadly force if necessary.  With the correct mindset, Daniels could have fought back as if his life depended on it.  

MINDSET -  Be ready to fight for your life:

• Teach yourself to flip the switch, to go from peace to battle mode the moment you are attacked.
• Understand that when you are carrying a firearm any attack is a gunfight and should be fought as if it is to the death
• Be willing do what ever it takes to protect your life, the life your loved ones and your firearm.

In this video we see that Daniels simply was not prepared for an attack.  He had no plan and no back up plan or weapons.  Anytime someone goes for your gun it is a matter of life and death but Daniels did not fight back as if his life were at stake.   

Watch this clip and think about what you would do if you were Daniels the legal concealed carry permit holder or if you were Foster.

Remember A.T.M. - Awareness, Training, Mindset

Guns Not Welcome Here

If you see either one of these two signs on a building, business, or premises in Tennessee, gun owners are not welcomed.  

39-17-1359             Possession On Posted Property and Certain Meetings

(b) (1) Notice of the prohibition permitted by subsection (a) shall be accomplished by displaying one (1) or both of the notices described in subdivision (b)(3) in prominent locations, including all entrances primarily used by persons entering the property, building, or portion of the property or building where weapon possession is prohibited. Either form of notice used shall be of a size that is plainly visible to the average person entering the building, property, or portion of the building or property, posted.

(2) The notice required by this section shall be in English, but a duplicate notice may also be posted in any language used by patrons, customers or persons who frequent the place where weapon possession is prohibited.

(3) (A) If a sign is used as the method of posting, it shall contain language substantially similar to the following:  AS AUTHORIZED BY T.C.A. § 39-17-1359, POSSESSION OF A WEAPON ON POSTED PROPERTY OR IN A POSTED BUILDING IS PROHIBITED AND IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

(C) A building, property or a portion of a building or property, shall be considered properly posted in accordance with this section if one (1) or both of the following is displayed in prominent locations, including all entrances primarily used by persons entering the property, building, or portion of the property or building where weapon possession is prohibited:

(i) The international circle and slash symbolizing the prohibition of the item within the circle; or

(ii) The posting sign described in this subdivision (b)(3)