Post by Diz on Oct 28, 2014 11:50:28 GMT -5
This was down in another sub-forum but I wanted to bring it up here and say a few words.
First off, I just wanted to say that I really don't know what kind of mag change will be required in a violent confrontation. After it's all said and done, I don't think anyone has any idea of what kind of actual violent confrontation they may wind up in. We all have pre-set notions of what may come up, but in the end, nobody knows what will actually happen.
So all this noise about I'll probably do it this way, or that way, may be totally irrelevant to what you actually end up doing. I have said in the past that I believe in re-loading with retention, whenever possible. And I still believe that way. HOWEVER, I also acknowledge the fact that what may be necessary, may be entirely different.
This has become such a fur ball at times. Perhaps we need to step back and really think about it some more, within the context of how will we respond, and what we consider expendable, in a gunfight. In martial arts, there are some schools that teach you a multitude of pre-set responses to an armed assault. If he does this, you do that, etc. While that may be a starting point, I believe that each and every situation is unique, and you need to move beyond such a simplistic approach. Instead of going through a catalog of canned responses in your mind, you just react to the situation, and do what it requires of you. This is a higher level of martial arts, as taught by James Williams among others. If we adapt this principle to our gunfight training, then we move past any canned response and just do what the situation requires of us.
The question is, what is expendable in a fight. We expend rounds. We expend brass. Do we also expend magazines? The answer is a definite maybe. When it is all said and done, anything I have, up to and including my skivvies is expendable in a gunfight. I will not risk my life to save some pet piece of Gucci gear, including weapons and equipment. If they have to be jettisoned for me to E&E out of there, so be it. BUT, with that being said, I will endeavor to hold on to every piece of kit that I can, and return home with it, if at all possible.
Are mags then expendable? Yes, but it will all depend on the actual situation. Quite frankly, it is not up to any pet theory of mine, or yours, or any one else. You can say based on prior experience (yours or someone else's), I think this will happen, or that. But do you really know exactly what situation you may find yourself in? Anyone who thinks so is foolish, IMHO. There are just too variables out there. Perhaps you can say this is most likely, or this isn't very likely, but again who knows?
I think we have all been nibbling around the truth here, but we get a little defensive as well, and this clouds the issue. When you are in a gunfight, you just do what the situation requires of you. Without labels, if you need to reload your rifle very quickly, then you just let the empty drop to deck and insert a fresh mag. If you have time to retrieve it, do so. If not, don't worry about it. On the other hand, if you have time, you stow the empty mag before/during/after you load a fresh one.
On a related note, if you need to switch up to an alternate weapon, be it handgun, stick, knife, etc. you do that.
This whole argument is much like the old fable of the three blind monks who each feel a different part of an elephant and then argue about what they perceive. Every one out there has these pre-conceived notions of what their gunfight will look like, and that colors their judgment. But if we step back and endeavor to see the whole "elephant" then perhaps we can put our preconceived notions aside and face our fight with a free mind to just do what's necessary.
First off, I just wanted to say that I really don't know what kind of mag change will be required in a violent confrontation. After it's all said and done, I don't think anyone has any idea of what kind of actual violent confrontation they may wind up in. We all have pre-set notions of what may come up, but in the end, nobody knows what will actually happen.
So all this noise about I'll probably do it this way, or that way, may be totally irrelevant to what you actually end up doing. I have said in the past that I believe in re-loading with retention, whenever possible. And I still believe that way. HOWEVER, I also acknowledge the fact that what may be necessary, may be entirely different.
This has become such a fur ball at times. Perhaps we need to step back and really think about it some more, within the context of how will we respond, and what we consider expendable, in a gunfight. In martial arts, there are some schools that teach you a multitude of pre-set responses to an armed assault. If he does this, you do that, etc. While that may be a starting point, I believe that each and every situation is unique, and you need to move beyond such a simplistic approach. Instead of going through a catalog of canned responses in your mind, you just react to the situation, and do what it requires of you. This is a higher level of martial arts, as taught by James Williams among others. If we adapt this principle to our gunfight training, then we move past any canned response and just do what the situation requires of us.
The question is, what is expendable in a fight. We expend rounds. We expend brass. Do we also expend magazines? The answer is a definite maybe. When it is all said and done, anything I have, up to and including my skivvies is expendable in a gunfight. I will not risk my life to save some pet piece of Gucci gear, including weapons and equipment. If they have to be jettisoned for me to E&E out of there, so be it. BUT, with that being said, I will endeavor to hold on to every piece of kit that I can, and return home with it, if at all possible.
Are mags then expendable? Yes, but it will all depend on the actual situation. Quite frankly, it is not up to any pet theory of mine, or yours, or any one else. You can say based on prior experience (yours or someone else's), I think this will happen, or that. But do you really know exactly what situation you may find yourself in? Anyone who thinks so is foolish, IMHO. There are just too variables out there. Perhaps you can say this is most likely, or this isn't very likely, but again who knows?
I think we have all been nibbling around the truth here, but we get a little defensive as well, and this clouds the issue. When you are in a gunfight, you just do what the situation requires of you. Without labels, if you need to reload your rifle very quickly, then you just let the empty drop to deck and insert a fresh mag. If you have time to retrieve it, do so. If not, don't worry about it. On the other hand, if you have time, you stow the empty mag before/during/after you load a fresh one.
On a related note, if you need to switch up to an alternate weapon, be it handgun, stick, knife, etc. you do that.
This whole argument is much like the old fable of the three blind monks who each feel a different part of an elephant and then argue about what they perceive. Every one out there has these pre-conceived notions of what their gunfight will look like, and that colors their judgment. But if we step back and endeavor to see the whole "elephant" then perhaps we can put our preconceived notions aside and face our fight with a free mind to just do what's necessary.