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Rob- Introduction- Welcome to episode 95 of Self-Defense Gun Stories. This podcast is for people who might want a firearm, and for those who already have one and want to know how to use it. I’m your host, Rob Morse. We have firearms instructor Tony Simon with us as co-host this week..
Hi, Tony. How have you been?
Tony- Hi, Rob. I’ve been at home sick. I’ve been getting our training schedule and the Diversity Shoot schedule ready for 2018. And building “Rob’s Rifle“ a AR15 especially dedicated to introducing new shooters to the rifle at our events.
Rob- Tony, please introduce our podcast.
Tony- Each week we study three recent examples of armed defense to see what we can learn. Our first story took place last week in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Here is what happened.
Rob- First story- Are you armed at home?
You are at home with your family. You’ve cleaned up after dinner. You hear your son shout. He says a stranger just came in and walked upstairs. You believe him. You say hide, and the kids scatter. You dash upstairs and get your gun. Then, you go door to door looking for someone who doesn’t belong here. You find him in your daughter’s room. The stranger took his clothes off. You order him to show his hands. His hands are empty. You order him to lie down and he complies. Your wife calls police. They arrive in minutes.
Police say the man has mental problems and had broken into several other homes.
Tony, what can we learn from this?
Tony- This is every parents nightmare. Good that he was armed with the mindset and tools to defend his home.
Rob- What would happen if dad didn’t have a gun?
Tony- Dad would have had to defend himself with his bare hands or a random item that he picked up as he searched his home for an intruder. That’s a horrible self-defense plan. He and his family seemed to have had a plan that was realistic. During the day his family was scattered throughout the home. The plan that you have for a midnight break in, when your entire family is in one part of the home, can’t be the same plan as when they’re in multiple areas.
Rob- So Dad had to go door to door to find the bad guy.
Tony- I think his son told him that the intruder went into his sister’s room. There are a few things the family could have done better.
Rob- Tell me what do you see.
Tony- Develop a culture of safety and security in your home. That starts with locking your doors. Many families have fire extinguishers that everyone knows how to use. Some even practice fire drills. Locking the doors is the easiest step in keeping out unwanted guest. It may be a pain to have to keep unlocking the door with kids running around but imagine what could have happened if no one saw the stranger enter the home. He was nude and in the daughter’s room.
Rob- I think you’re right.
Tony- Also, POGO (Pants On, Gun On). Keeping your firearm on you should be a part of your security plan. Here’s statistical data that’s easy to remember 100% of home invasions take place inside the home. Everyone chuckles when I say that in classes but it is an obvious fact. There may not be a warning that a bad guy has entered your home. In this case dad would have to choose to leave his family with a dangerous naked man to go to get his firearm or stay and fight a naked man. I work in prison, even trained officers don’t want to fight the naked guy.
Rob- So dad was lucky.
Tony- Dad did a lot of the right things. We can learn from him and do even better.
Rob- Lots of people got guns for Christmas. Many of them made a new year’s resolution to learn self-defense. Talk to me about living with kids and guns in the same house.
Tony- Your self-defense guns should be loaded and on your body. If they are not on your body they should be secured in a quick access safe, secured in Concealment Furniture or secured so they can’t be picked up.
Tony- Our second story happened last week in Amarillo, Texas.
Rob- Second Story- Are you armed at work?
You’re the assistant manager at a small restaurant. It is late at night, but not that late. You’re usually open until 1AM. You hear one of your cooks shout from the back of the kitchen. You peak in and expect to deliver the usual lecture about horseplay. Instead, you see two strangers. One of them has ahold of one of your young cooks, and the second stranger is coming through the back doorway. They have a gun pointed at your cook. You’re armed. You shoot twice. The attacker lets go of your cook, but still has his gun. You shoot again. The robber drops his gun and falls to the floor. You look for the second robber, but he’s gone out the back door the way he came.
Tony- Not only did our good guy have a gun, he had it exactly when, where he needed it and had the skills needed to end a hostage situation.
Rob- So he carried. It wasn’t in the back office or on top of the safe.
Tony- Yes he carried and most likely he practiced.
Rob- Tell me more.
Tony- Many people hear this story and think it’s simple. See bad guy. Shoot bad guy. End of scenario. Not true at all. First the manager got his carry permit then carried the firearm on his person at all times. He truly believed that he needed to carry his life saving tool on him. I’m assuming that he got more training than a carry class because of how he handled himself. He heard “a shout” from the kitchen, that could have been anything, a hot pan burning someone or horseplay. He walked in the room to two bad guys and a hostage situation. He recognized that this was a life threatening situation, not a practical joke or a YouTube video. Drew from concealment, shot the bad guy, accessed the situation, saw the bad guy was still was a threat and shot him some more.
Rob- that is a lot to think about.
Tony- Yes and it takes forethought and practice to be able to take in information, process that information, determine your course of action then perform that action. Along with follow-up action if necessary.
Rob- And our manager did all that?
Tony- He did it like a champ. He shot an armed person that was holding another person hostage in a crowded kitchen. This wasn’t a range day or a class. This was his job. He had to snap into the correct mindset immediately.
Rob- That is what you teach your students?
Tony- We teach using the crawl – walk- run method. After you leave class it’s up to them to practice what they learned. Dry fire practice and regular range practice helps develop the skills used by the manager.
Rob- Like driving a car or riding a bicycle. You practice until it becomes an unconscious reflex.
Tony- Exactly.
Rob- Let’s go on.
Tony- Our third story happened last week in Jefferson, West Virginia.
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Rob- Third story- Are you armed when you’re around your home?
You are 82 years old and you’re working in your garage. You hear a crash behind you. A young stranger broke through your garage window. He shouts at you to give him your keys and your wallet. You step back. You’re armed. Your attacker steps toward you. You draw your gun and fire. Now the attacker stops. You step into your house and call the police.
Tony- A 24 year old man shouldn’t have a problem taking anything he wants from any 82 year old. Colt firearms had an advertisement for the Colt Peacemaker in the 1870’s “God created all men, Colonel Colt made them equal”. An armed victim isn’t a victim for long.
Rob- Why would an 82 year old man go armed in his garage early in the morning?
Tony- Because 100% of home invasions take place inside the home. By 82 most people have a good read on what they can and can’t do. Fighting off bad guys by hand is one of those things that will be on my “don’t do” list well before I’m 82.
Rob- Your garage early in the morning isn’t some place dangerous.
Tony- It was this morning.
Exit- Rob- That wraps up this episode. Tony, thank you for helping us today. Where can we learn more about you?
Tony- I teach firearms safety and armed-self defense courses in New Jersey. Our listeners can contact me on Facebook at Simon Says Train. My classes are listed at BlackBagResources.com I’m also at SimonSaysTrain on Instagram and at The Second is for Everyone.
Rob- You can share your thoughts with us by leaving a message on the podcast facebook page.
Tony- We share this podcast with you for free. Our number of downloads dropped over the hollicays, so please share this podcast with a friend. Leave us a rating on I-Tunes and Stitcher. We’re also available on Google Play Music.
Rob- I’m Rob Morse. We’ll be back next week with more Self-Defense Gun Stories.
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