Run and Gun Defense

When you’re just plinking at the range, it’s no big deal to just stand and fire away, but in a self-defense situation, the very first thing you should do is move. Moving helps turn the tables on your attacker by forcing them to react to what you’re doing. It also makes you much harder to hit, should they decide to start shooting. You have two goals when making that shot while moving.

First, don’t trip. That might cause you to shoot yourself, or someone else.

Second: You want to keep as stable as possible shooting platform, so you can hit what you’re aiming at. The easiest way to do that is to act like a tank, but be a fast tank.

Another thing to think about is the use of airsoft (not covered in this video) to go head to head against someone. Play it out in scenario based such as street muggings, active shooter response, etc..

What are your thoughts on this type of training and let us know below in the comment section.

Video Transcription
Tom McHale: When you’re just plinking at the range, it’s no big deal to just stand and fire away, but in a self-defense situation, the very first thing you should do is move. Moving helps turn the tables on your attacker by forcing them to react to what you’re doing. It also makes you much harder to hit, should they decide to start shooting. You have two goals when making that shot while moving.

First, don’t trip. That might cause you to shoot yourself, or someone else.

Second: You want to keep as stable as possible shooting platform, so you can hit what you’re aiming at. The easiest way to do that is to act like a tank. Let’s look at how to move laterally, and forward and backward, separately.

The conventional method for lateral movement has you taking a large step to the side, and then moving your other foot partway to that step. This method is safe, deliberate, and stable. And I absolutely hate it. I don’t know about you, but if someone ever starts shooting at me, I can pretty much guarantee you that my brain isn’t going to issue such unnatural commands to my hands and feet. But you’ll have to try it out for yourself, to see if it works for you.

I prefer a more natural, but still controlled movement that I’m far more likely to adopt under stress.

Using a heel-to-toe technique, you can maintain a surprisingly stable platform while moving quickly, and minimizing the risk of tripping. Basically, you’re setting your lower body in motion in the direction you want to go. Your waist has a really nifty design feature: It can rotate. So take advantage of that. While walking heel to toe, just rotate your upper body in the direction you want to shoot.

Notice I’m not crossing my feet over one-another, which might lead to tripping. I’m walking naturally, just turning my torso towards the target, like a tank turret.

To maintain stability, plant your leading heel while your trailing toe is still on the ground. If you need to move forward or backward, the same technique can get you moving quickly without a lot of bouncing up and down. If you have access to a suitable range, try a controlled heel-to-toe walk while aiming at a stationary target. Be sure to practice moving sideways, forward, and backward, since you never know what you’ll need in a real-life situation.

So remember, if you ever have to run-and-gun, move like a tank to make that shot.

Sources: Range365