Tactical Talk

I'm not one to ignore the potential of other people's ideas. Terry Pitman's list of the five elements needed to survive the self-defense legal challenges is interesting. Imminent danger, agree? They are: 1) Innocent: not the initial aggressor, 2) Imminence: the threats must be happening now or immediately about to happen , 3) Proportionality: the force you use must not be greater than the force used against you, 4) Avoidance: do you live in a stand your ground state or a duty to retreat state, 5) Reasonable: your actions and decisions must be both subjectively and objectively reasonable. Number 1, Innocence, was covered in a previous posting. Let's talk about number 2, Imminence. I find it interesting that imminence and avoidance are linked. Avoidance is a great option and I'll have some ideas later. I...

But your Honor!....Part 1

Terry Pitman recently published a link on Facebook to his article on surviving the legal challenges of self-defense. It's a good idea. Too many instructors and students focus on the mechanical aspects: the draw, reload, Mozambique drill, moving and shooting - that’s where the fun is. But it is very likely you'll put yourself in expensive lawyer trouble if you are unprepared for the legal challenges, both civil and criminal. Your car. What do you want to do and what should you do? What you do could put you in jail. Let's look at his five elements of self-defense; 1) Innocent: not the initial aggressor, 2) Imminence: the threats must be happening now or immediately about to happen 3) Proportionality: the force you use must not be greater than the force used against you 4) ...

Tueller Drill Revisited

I've made some minor changes to this post on 19 April 2026. Why? I'll tell you later. Read it over again and perhaps you'll challenge some of your tactical assumptions. A child might ask a parent, “How do I tell if someone is trying to just frighten or really harm me?” It is an excellent question and one not simply answered. There are many excellent articles on pre-attack behavior, concealed weapon indicators, verbal judo to de-escalate, and tactics to give you the ‘higher ground’ advantage, effectively giving you a greater disparity of force. The list goes on and on. But none of them actually address the question, "How do I distinguish between someone trying to frighten me and someone attempting to harm me?” Making yourself seem more dangerous is a common strategy in nature. So much so that cartoonist Gary Larson makes fun of it. One way to answer this question is to break it down into a flow sheet of questions with either a yes or no answe...

But Your Honor! Part 3

I'd like to cover Terry Pitman's number 3, Proportionality. It this a proportional response? Proportionality is a difficult subject. It, like these other topics does not exist in a vacuum and is tied to other factors. Most of us want it to be tied to a weapon or act. "Can I use a 12 gauge slug in my house to defend myself? Can I carry a .44 magnum for defense? Can I booby trap the inside of the barn?" You get the idea. Actually, the last one is the easiest. No, you can't booby trap the barn or house and claim self-defense. Courts have in multiple cases said, no, setting lethal or less-lethal traps for people is illegal. Full Stop! on that. The best rational for using any weapon is, it's what I had on hand when my life was placed in lethal danger. Proportionality also deals with disparity of force. American law seems to want to addre...

The Cardboard Whisperer

Stay....Stay.....Easy boy!...

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