25 things an armed person needs to be good at to be well prepared for armed self-defense

[Paladin]

You have to be focused enough to avoid potentially bad places, events, etc.
You have to have a gun with you.
You have to be aware enough of your surroundings to notice that something isn’t right.
You have to assess what’s not right to determine if it’s a threat.
You have to – in real time – decide if it’s a deadly force threat.
You have to act on the threat. Most people freeze or don’t believe what’s actually happening. You have to employ appropriate tactics such as moving, sheltering a loved one, etc. Of course you have to be aware of your environment to make the best choice here (see 1. above).
You have to give appropriate instructions to anyone with you.
You have to access your weapon in time.
You have to employ effective challenging techniques, if appropriate.
You have to track the BG’s movements in real time – we’re talking fractions of a second here – to understand what he’s really doing at that exact fraction of a second.
You have to track what’s behind the BG so you don’t potentially hit an innocent.
You have to be aware of anyone else in the area with a gun who might mistake you for a BG with a gun.
If you have to shoot, you have to hit the BG, preferably COM.
You have to track the just-shot BG to make sure his weapon is out of reach and prevent same weapon from falling into the hands of his buddies or a bystander.
You have to communicate effectively with the now-shocked/hysterical bystanders to keep them safe, let them know what just happened, and make it clear that you – the guy that just shot someone – is in fact a good guy.
You have to get yourself and loved ones to safety.
You have to get your gun out of sight.
You have to call 911 while making it clear that you are the good guy. Included in that call, among other things, has to be a description of you so that responding cops know who you are. You want to do this yourself for what I hope are obvious reasons. Also of course, you have to know everything else to say and what to include in this critical call.
You have to initiate first aid to any innocent injured.
You have to make sure you’re not shot by responding police.
You have to know how to interact with responding police: how to act, what to say, what not to say, etc.
You have to call your lawyer. Do you know who’ll you’ll call? Bail will come later.
You have to call your spouse, partner, parents, whomever, if they aren’t with you to let them know you’re OK and won’t be home for dinner. Or maybe for a few days. And to let them know that the press will soon be pounding on their door. And how to handle that, if you haven’t already discussed it.
You have to call some trusted, competent third party to go and be with your spouse, partner, whomever to help them through this stressful time and to deal with the jackals in the press.
You have to be able to articulate a clear self-defense case to your attorney. This assumes that you know what those elements are, and what things (witnesses, etc.) need to be tracked down pronto because they will disappear in short order.

link

[JRG]

Great info sir!

[Caliber]

I'll add to that, you may or may not agree.

I don't believe you can bypass the flight, fight, or freeze response ("FFF") (which causes tunnel vision, etc.), it's part of our human brain. However, I do believe that you can mitigate the response in two ways:
1. Muscle memory. You can train yourself to automatically move a certain way when the FFF response occurs. For example, when FFF occurs, you immediately create distance by moving off the "X" and away from the possible threat.
2. Train to get out of the FFF mode as soon as you can. I believe this one is more difficult. You have to train yourself to realize that you are in FFF mode and that you need to get out of that mode so that you can make decisions. For example, FFF mode occurs with tunnel vision. You need to get out of FFF mode (out of tunnel vision) to look for accomplices.

Personally, I have been able to master number one, but number 2 is really-really difficult.

[allisji]

You have to assess what’s not right to determine if it’s a threat.
You have to – in real time – decide if it’s a deadly force threat.

These two sentences to me would seem to be critical point.

To hesitate could get you or a loved one killed. But a "bad shoot" and you are charged with murder.

The decision in most deadly force situations, I suspect, is one that would be made for you by the BG.

However, it's nonetheless frequent for an otherwise seemingly "ordinary" contact to escalate into a deadly force situation.

I use the word ordinary in quotation marks, because as everyone knows, a potential threat is much different from an active threat. I am thinking of the stranger at the gas pump or the grocery store parking lot asking for spare change, or for a ride, or for directions... but there are infinite ways that a similar situation can occur. The best possible outcome is nobody gets hurt. Training, planning, SA, and critical (and quick) thinking are the key to getting out of this situation with the best possible outcome which is nobody gets hurt.

My wife was approached by a man at the grocery store last year after dark and he was asking for a ride. He kept approaching her and was persistent, even when she was clearly trying to get away. She was alone and she was able to get in the car and get away. She doesn't have CC and has no weapon in the car. She usually has pepper spray in her purse. Her only mistake in this situation was that she didn't call the police immediately after she got to safety. It took both of us awhile to process how serious the threat could have been not just for her but for the next woman he approached. I learned a lesson from her experience that I will not soon forget.

[Paladin]

I'll add to that, you may or may not agree.

I don't believe you can bypass the flight, fight, or freeze response ("FFF") (which causes tunnel vision, etc.), it's part of our human brain. However, I do believe that you can mitigate the response in two ways:
1. Muscle memory. You can train yourself to automatically move a certain way when the FFF response occurs. For example, when FFF occurs, you immediately create distance by moving off the "X" and away from the possible threat.
2. Train to get out of the FFF mode as soon as you can. I believe this one is more difficult. You have to train yourself to realize that you are in FFF mode and that you need to get out of that mode so that you can make decisions. For example, FFF mode occurs with tunnel vision. You need to get out of FFF mode (out of tunnel vision) to look for accomplices.

Personally, I have been able to master number one, but number 2 is really-really difficult.

There is no doubt that a life and death encounter will have psychological can psychological effects. To overcome them the Army has an equation:

SKILL x WILL x DRILL

Practice until it becomes perfection and instinct.

Inducing pressure like time, social pressure, and physical stressors helps replicate some of #2.

I believe that discussion of these factors and strategies to deal with them teamed with Force-on-Force training is the best way to go to deal with #2

[Paladin]

One thing I like about the list is it breaks down relevant components of the OODA loop to LTCs:



You can't win a fight if you are not aware, understand what is going on, can make proper decisions, and execute proper and timely actions.