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(For all you bitter clingers out there) The Rules of Gunfighting

Field and Stream ^ | Feb. 04, 2009 | David Petzel

Posted on by yankeedame

Petzal: The Rules of Gunfighting

Normally, this blog is dedicated to peaceful pursuits. However, SFC Frick speaks much wisdom. I am giving him a meritorious promotion to Command Sergeant Major (E-9).

Drill Sergeant Joe B. Fricks Rules For A Gunfight

1. Forget about knives, bats and fists. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns. Bring four times the ammunition you think you could ever need.

2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammunition is cheap - life is expensive. If you shoot inside, buckshot is your friend. A new wall is cheap - funerals are expensive

3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.

4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.

5. Move away from your attacker and go to cover. Distance is your friend. (Bulletproof cover and diagonal or lateral movement are preferred.)

6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a semi or full-automatic long gun and a friend with a long gun.

7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.

8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running. Yell "Fire!" Why "Fire"? Cops will come with the Fire Department, sirens often scare off the bad guys, or at least cause then to lose concentration and will.... and who is going to summon help if you yell "Intruder," "Glock" or "Winchester?"

9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun.

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.

11. Stretch the rules. Always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.

12. Have a plan.

13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work. "No battle plan ever survives 10 seconds past first contact with an enemy."

14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible, but remember, sheetrock walls and the like stop nothing but your pulse when bullets tear through them.

15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.

16. Don't drop your guard.

17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees. Practice reloading one-handed and off-hand shooting. That's how you live if hit in your "good" side.

18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. Smiles, frowns and other facial expressions don't (In God we trust. Everyone else keep your hands where I can see them.)

19. Decide NOW to always be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.

20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.

21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet if necessary, because they may want to kill you.

22. Be courteous to everyone, overly friendly to no one.

23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.

24. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller than "4".

25. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the flintlock of your musket." At a practice session, throw you gun into the mud, then make sure it still works. You can clean it later.

26. Practice shooting in the dark, with someone shouting at you, when out of breath, etc.

27. Regardless of whether justified of not, you will feel sad about killing another human being. It is better to be sad than to be room temperature.

28. The only thing you EVER say afterwards is, "He said he was going to kill me. I believed him. I'm sorry, Officer, but I'm very upset now. I can't say anything more. Please speak with my attorney."

Finally, Drill Sergeant Frick's Rules For Un-armed Combat.

1. Never be unarmed.



TOPICS:

Education

Miscellaneous

KEYWORDS:

banglist

gunfight

gunfighting

homedefense

selfdefense





To: yankeedame

see tag line............>



by 2 posted onby spokeshave (Soft Power...bringing shaved ice to a gunfight)

To: yankeedame

Number 24 needs grammar corrected. ( I think) I think it technically says not to use guns in gunfights unless the caliber is smaller than a 40. That’s not what it was meant to say.



by 3 posted onby mamelukesabre (Give me Liberty or give me something to aim at)

To: yankeedame

That’s good! Reminds me of an old Lazarus Long quote:

“Get a shot off fast. This upsets him long enough to let you make your second shot perfect.”



by 4 posted onby 50cal Smokepole (Hey Al Gore! Get your fat carcass over here and shovel all this global warming off my driveway!)

To: yankeedame

#24 needs to be re-written but I agree with the sentiment. I might the observation that the first party that recognizes a fight is about to start most often wins.



To: mamelukesabre

Oh yeah? My four caliber gun is, well, it could take an eye out!



To: Arthur Wildfire! March

Really? What’s it shoot? Needles? One at a time?



by 7 posted onby mamelukesabre (Give me Liberty or give me something to aim at)

To: yankeedame

#1 says bring 4 times the ammo you could ever need. I am getting close to 3000 rounds. The husband is beginning to give me “the look” when I buy ammo. I believe there is no such thing as too much ammo. Could I ever need more than 3000 rounds on hand at the same time? Comments welcome... #24 says don’t bring anything with less than a 4 in the first number of the caliber. Is there an exception for .357sig? Probably not. I never could follow directions- sorry sir. How about if I had the .45acp and the .357sig as my back up, would that be OK? Comments welcome.... Finally, thanks for posting a great article. It is so wonderful to read the banglist and leave the depressing news alone for a while. Carry On!



by 8 posted onby TheConservativeParty (That's Mrs.Chief Master Sgt. to you sonny.)

To: yankeedame

All superbly excellent points. One I would add, as pounded into me by my instructor was “Never give up.” Just because you have been shot it doesn’t mean you are going to die.



To: TheConservativeParty

“Comments welcome....” Yeah, I want you with me at the next gunfight.



To: yankeedame

Well with all that in mind, some more food for thought



by 11 posted onby SkyDancer ("Talent Without Ambition Is Sad, Ambition Without Talent Is Worse")

To: yankeedame; Squantos

Ping in case you missed it.



To: mamelukesabre; muir_redwoods; TheConservativeParty

Could be it means .40 or bigger, or it could just be a clever way to separate the non-calibers (.22, .32, .380) from the legitimate big 3 (.40, .45, and 9mm all start with a 4 or bigger). I guess you could squeeze the .357 Sig in under the label “9mm Magnum”. Ditto for 10mm. .357 Magnum seems to be the only problem, but then again if you have any choice in the matter you don’t want to be defending yourself with a revolver.



To: TheConservativeParty

Could I ever need more than 3000 rounds on hand at the same time?



Probably not, but zombies could attack so why take chances? Next time he gives you 'the look' remind him he's a lucky man to have a wife who appreciates a good ammo stash.



How about if I had the .45acp and the .357sig as my back up, would that be OK?



Better a .357sig you're comfortable with than a more powerful caliber you don't handle as well, at least my humble opinion. If I were a bad guy, I'd rather be missed with a .45 than hit with a .357sig.



by 14 posted onby javachip (TARP - proof there is no situation so bad that government can't make it worse.)

To: yazoo

I think my husband is secretly proud of me for being ready for trouble. He is the one who trained me after all. I can’t blame him for noticing my buying more guns and a whole lotta ammo since November. He teases me and calls me “Freeper”. I take that as a compliment of course.



by 15 posted onby TheConservativeParty (That's Mrs.Chief Master Sgt. to you sonny.)

To: yankeedame

They screwed up rule #24 again. (I wish one of the many guys who copied this would correct it.) 24. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller than "4". Should read: 24. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which starts with a number less than "4".



To: yankeedame

28. The only thing you EVER say afterwards is, "He said he was going to kill me. I believed him. I'm sorry, Officer, but I'm very upset now. I can't say anything more. Please speak with my attorney." I cannot emphasize this enough!!!



by 17 posted onby investigateworld ( Abortion stops a beating heart)

To: SkyDancer

That was fabulous! Don’t know why but #6 made me laugh. “When unholstering your weapon, it’s customary to say ‘Excuse me while I whip this out’.” The whole list is a keeper.



by 18 posted onby TheConservativeParty (That's Mrs.Chief Master Sgt. to you sonny.)

To: TheConservativeParty

Thanks - when I don't have a scheduled flight to do and I'm tucked away in the wilderness here in WA, I'm on the computer a lot so I run across things that might be useful later ... like now. LOL It reminded me too of the scene in "Blazing Saddles" where the sheriff was gonna whip something out ... a paper I think.



by 19 posted onby SkyDancer ("Talent Without Ambition Is Sad, Ambition Without Talent Is Worse")

To: javachip

LOL. When I picked up my P226 Sig last week and got 6 boxes of ammo, the husband rolled his eyes and shook his head. I just said well, would you rather have me drive back here a few times, or just get it all at once? I did leave the 7th box that was there on the shelf for other customers. To take all 7 boxes would have been selfish. I’ll tell him I need the 3000 total rounds incase Zombies attack. More likely The ObamaNation will attack. Any brownshirts at my door, other than the UPS man whom we love, will be met with my little friends, all 3005 of them. Better dead than red still applies.



by 20 posted onby TheConservativeParty (That's Mrs.Chief Master Sgt. to you sonny.)

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