The World According To Clint
Clint Smith, director of Thunder Ranch, is part drill instructor, part stand-up comic. Here are a few of his observations on tactics, firearms, self defense and life as we know it in the civilized world.
Tactics:
"So a guy says, Im good! I move, I shoot, I communicate. Yeah, but can you do it on the ground? Because thats where youre gonna be in a fight."
Gunfights:
"Its real different when the bad guy shoots back. It doesnt mean youre going to lose, it just makes the story more interesting afterward."
Caution:
"The best example of good training is to never get in a fight."
Defensive Driving:
"If youre accosted, dont get out of the car. Put it in some other gear and put both feet on the gas. Clints school of driving-add power!"
Running Out Of Ammo:
"If pointing an empty gun at your opponent makes him duck, you may live for an extra two seconds-and who knows? I may find another gun, the bad guy may give up, or the ammo fairy may drop me a magazine."
Target Recognition:
"If were going down a hall and I see the end of a double barrel shotgun, I better communicate to my partner, cause I can be pretty sure its not the Easter bunny on the other end."
Marksmanship:
"Open up the ground between you and the threat. At arms distance, you opponent doesnt have to be good, he just has to be lucky."
Coordination:
"It doesnt do me any good to have a partner and shoot em-although Ive had some partners Id like to shoot."
Verbal Skills:
"You better learn to communicate real well, because when youre out there on the street, youll have to talk to a lot more people than youll have to shoot, or at least thats the way I think its supposed to work."
Big Bore Sixguns:
"...He asked, Did you hit him? Hey, I dont know, but he was smokin when he ran outta here."
Counting Your Shots:
"Its our experience that in a fight you will continue to shoot the gun until the threat goes away or until the gun is empty."
Hesitation:
"Dont be a deer caught in the headlights of the Kenworth of life!"
Long Guns Vs. Handguns:
"They say you cant use a rifle or shotgun indoors because a bad guy will grab the barrel. Yeah? Well, he better hang on, cause Im gonna light him up and itll definitely be an "E" ticket ride."
Conserving Ammo:
"People ask, What do you do if the guys on drugs? Shoot em! But what if it doesnt work? Shoot em some more!"
The Defensive Mindset:
"The only reason we would plant our feet is to dig em real good so we can run, cause were about to get the hell out of here."
The Survival Instinct:
"Anyone can understand shooting to protect themselves. You give me five minutes and Ill make anyone on this planet mad enough to shoot me. The real question is, will they have that much time in a fight? You need to make that decision before you start to fight-only you life depends on it."
More:
"The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was going to a fight. Id choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an atomic bomb instead."
"The two most important rules in a gunfight are: always cheat and always win."
"Every time I teach a class, I discover I dont know something."
"Dont forget, incoming fire has the right of way."
"Make (your attacker) advance through a wall of bullets. I may get killed with my own gun, bet hes gonna have to beat me to death with it, cause its going to be empty."
"If youre not shootin, you should be loadin. If youre not loadin, you should be movin. If youre not movin, someones gonna cut your head off and put it on a stick."
"When you reload (in low light encounters), dont put your flashlight in your back pocket. If you light yourself up, youll look like an angel or the tooth fairy - and youre gonna be one of em pretty soon."
"Do something. It may be wrong, but do something."
"Nothing adds a little class to a sniper course like a babe in a ghille suit."
"Shoot whats available, as long as its available, until something else becomes available."
"If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. Thats ridiculous. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid about?"
"Dont shoot fast, shoot good."
"You can say stop or alto or use any other word you think will work, but Ive found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someones head is pretty much the universal language."
"You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it."
"You cannot save the planet. You may be able to save yourself and your family."
"(Thunder Ranch) will be here as long as youll have us or until someone makes us go away, and either way itll be exciting."
http://www.thunderranchinc.com/articles/quotes.htm
And my favorite, "Anybody worth shooting once is worth shooting twice."
The only item that I could add is:
The Only 'Fair Fights' are the ones that you walk away from !! !!
(btw: do you know a Trainer named Buford ?)
Unless the "threat" is the one wearing the badge!
12. Remember the Three 'S' Rule; shoot, shovel, and shut up.
"Never corner a coward"
Just because he is a coward doesn't mean he can't fight. Always leave him an escape route.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of calibre, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
and
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
The bold part pretty well sums up the entire thing IMO.
You can't miss fast enough to win a gun fight.
Excellent Post!
Gadsen
It's better to have a knife than nothing at all, but I would rather carry extra ammunition than a knife.
I would not underestimate a man with a knife either. A knife in the hands of someone who can use it may close and kill you before you even have a chance to get your gun out. Ballistic armor won't stop a knife unless you have trauma plate.