Impact Weapons

Stephen said...

What are your thoughts on impact weapons? While a always carry my concealed sidearm, when I am walking in a more urban area, I also carry a Cold Steel City Stick (pistol grip model). While an edged weapon certainly has its own advantages, the fact that my walking stick is already in my hand ready to go in an instant, gives me much comfort. Split seconds count for everything at such close ranges, and short of walking around with a large knife in your hand (not a good idea), I see a sturdy walking stick as the best alternative for my situation. Potential predators, unless they have no other targets to choose from, may also decide to find easier prey when seeing a walking stick. A concealed knife has no such advantage. Another factor is that carrying a concealed knife has legal implications that a walking stick does not have. I can also carry my walking stick with me right through any security checkpoint and not worry about it at all. I am not trying to "sell" anyone on my choice, but rather am looking for honest comments either pro or con. Thanks!

April 9, 2010 12:31 PM

Hi Stephen,
I don’t favor impact weapons much.

I do have a few batons, broke a couple and know that they have their uses but I much prefer a blade.

As a defensive weapon, the knife combined with some training means you control your immediate space, and it does that better than any other weapon ever created. 3 guys will have a hard time pinning a strong adult armed with a knife without getting cut. A gun places shots on one point, a club sweeps in arcs but you need a) Enough space and distance to gain momentum 2) You need to deliver a blow per person. The knife can be used to cut arcs and sweeps all around you, you don’t need much space and you can cut several body parts/persons if they are bunched together.

If you’re going for a walking stick, go for the strongest one you can get, one with good weight and preferably a steel or metal head, and ornamented silver piece would look fancy and work well too.

Unlike edged weapons, you need powerful strikes, you need to strike hard enough to break bones in order to stop someone, otherwise you’ll just leave a bruise. You don’t notice bruises in a fight, you see them later but they don’t stop you in a fight.

Cold Steel’s City stick is a very good choice. I like the Irish Blackthorn walking stick too.

It is true that a good walking stick, cane or baton is already at hand is immediately available. With enough awareness that’s a big advantage.

FerFAL

“Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight…”

…will say the tactical guy, hero of many Call of Duty and Medal of Honor battles.
Even worse, you sometimes hear that coming out of the mouth of people that actually get paid to train others.
The truth is that within contact distance up to a 3 yard radius, it doesn’t matter if you have a gun, bazooka or bear trap, if the other guy has a knife, like it or not you’re in a knife fight and odds are not in your favor. And if the blade is already drawn, you are in a world of trouble. The Tueller Drill extends that range to 7 yards, so within 3 yards you have almost no chance. Most likely, you’ll get cut, and if you have poor training or none at all, you’ll get killed.

So the “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight” gets flushed down the toilet pretty quickly.
Today in Buenos Aires, two senior citizens got stabbed to death during a home invasion. Yesterday a women got killed with a knife too by an assistant of hers that was robbing her belongings.
It may be a surprise to some, but knife attacks are usually more lethal than gun shot wounds. I’ve read on several places that they are 20% more lethal than handguns.
Mind you, just like with guns, not all knives are created equal.
Stab me with a small table steak knife instead of a big butcher knife any day of the week.
In my book I wrote extensively about knives and the best way to use them but in a nutshell you want a long and thick blade, with a good piercing tip. This is very much the description of most big kitchen knives or butcher knives.

I’m not saying that knives are better weapons than handguns, remember we want to stop our attackers, mortality rates alone won’t help us much on self defense. The gun also gives you range, and you want to be as far away as you can from your attacker.
But we can’t ignore the fact that in most cases, fights and attacks occur well within the typical 7 yard range. Today you have to talk about “sidewalk” ranges. Guy walking down right the middle? Even if you get used to walking as far away as possible form others you’re talking about a couple yards alone at best on the widest sidewalks.

Ranges are close, too close, both on the street and indoors. Carry your gun, carry your knife, learn to use both and understand the potential lethality of such an simple, widely available tool.
You may think you are unarmed at home. If you have a big Chef’s knife you may want to rethink that.

PS: This is a knife I bought yesterday. At first I thought it was a Bowie but its more of a Facon. The blade is 14” long, 5mm thick, it was made using an old Sheffield (England) blade, dated 1867 . Maybe from a larger knife of some sort.
Unlike other more ornamented models, this one is purely functional with a bone handle and brass cross piece.

Here's another Facon, this one was made a few years ago, made using an old Collins made in USA machete blade, silver cross, piece, handle and other detials.

FerFAL

Jefes y Jefas?‏

Ferfal,

I read the following on the web today and am interested in your opinion
on this program. Thanks.

Jon


/When Argentina faced a severe financial, economic, and social crisis
early this decade, it quickly created the “Jefes y Jefas” program in
which the federal government provided funding for labor and a portion of
materials costs for highly decentralized projects, most of which created
community service jobs. The program was targeted to heads of households
of poor families with children, allowing each to choose one parent to
participate in paid work. The program was up-and-running in a matter of
four months, creating jobs for 14% of the labor force-a remarkable
achievement. It helped to stabilize the economy and to pull it out of
crisis./

Hi,
Man... “Jefes and Jefas”. That’s the official story.
The other side of this story is that the program is administered by the local K leaders of the different neighborhoods and poor settlements, and its only given to the different bosses that round up people for the many K support rallies and marches.
Its’ well known and often the topic of news reports that for those that really need this help, its not available, only for the K foot soldiers.
Its common knowledge that in some cases for example, a local K boss will have several Jefes y Jefas plans to his name, or his wife and kids.
In other cases its collected by others, subordinates, but they have to give a % to the leader that got it for them.
It’s just another way of paying for the muscle and masses we see supporting the government on the rallies.
They pay these people to go to the marches, pick them up at the different “villas”, give then 20 or 30 pesos, sometimes even drug of booze.
But hey, its all “redistribution” of wealth. If you don’t want to redistribute your part of the problem, not the solution, correct?

Someone asked in a previous comment why I talk about politics in a survival blog. This is why. The wrong politics will ruin your country and cause the worst kind of disasters, the kind that last for decades, or simply forever.
Its not politics when having the wrong person in charge of your country means your salary only buys ½ the amount of food it got you last year. It’s clearly a matter of survival.
Avoid this by voting wisely and supporting politicians like Ron Paul.


FerFAL

The five circles of preparedness

Sometimes it’s hard to organize and define your needs in terms of survival and preparedness.
I’m using the word preparedness here as well because in many cases these problems we face and deal with aren’t life or death matters, but simply inconveniences which we find that preparing for in advance makes life easier.
Not everything is black and white, but problems are just anecdotal when you’re ready.
The market its flooded with products, and even the information is sometimes too much. Its easy to end up buying that 27th gun you absolutely need for SHTF, 200 body bags (for the 200 raiders you’ll be killing, of course) or reading about making chess pieces with dog poop. Nice skills to know, but given that funds and time are both limited, they fall way down in the priority list.

It’s also clear to me now that there’s two sides to this coin.
On one side we have survival and preparedness regarding dealing with the different problems and inconveniences of all sorts that life throws our way. The essence here is 1) recognizing the potential problem 2) Preparing accordingly.
On the other side of the coin we, have something that I still find hard to describe. I’d say it’s a way of life, a belief we hold dear regarding the ability to cope with problems, live free and hold dear things such as individuality, the ability to think for ourselves and stick to our values. Pass the torch to our children and anyone that seems capable of getting it.

When it comes to preparedness specifically, sometimes its hard to differentiate the “nice to haves” from the “must haves”, and what role each item plays.
We’ve talked about body armor in a previous post. Do you keep it handy in case you have to put it on at 2 AM when a junky tried to break in ? Or does it stay at the bottom of you BOB (bug out bag) for when the end of the war is declared?
I’m using the word circle here as a away to describe different groups.


1)The 1st circle refers to your head, your knowledge and mindset. The knowledge being the set of tools, the software you use to deal with different situations.

2)The 2nd circle is one that expands a bit more, and includes your body as well. Your physical capabilities. Are you physically fit and in good health? Can you honestly say you’re doing what you can to stay in shape, healthy? If its within you age and physical possibilities, do you train and work out so as to be able to defend yourself with nothing more than your body? Do you have the physical strength to perform various task, carrying loads, etc?
Surprisingly enough. These two are the most important and often the ones that are most overlooked since its not about buying stuff with your credit card on the net, but actually sweating and physically working to achieve them.

3)The 3rd circle expands just a little bit and includes the first layer of gear. Your clothes and gear that you carry with you on daily basis.
There’s several posts in the blog discussing this.
This circle is important because speaking of worst case scenarios, what you have with you at all times is what you’ll have when you need it the most. If you’re lucky enough you may get other supplies you had stored elsewhere, but its not kosher to count on being lucky during emergencies.
What kind of clothes you wear? Maybe you can’t avoid wearing a suit because of your job, but are your shoes just for looks, or can they be used to walk greater distances if needed? If you can dress more informally, are the clothes you’re wearing the ones you’d choose if you had to make your way through rubble, or wear them an entire week or more? You can find clothes that look good, are fashionable and yet allow you to perform such a task better than most other alternatives.
Do you use shades? Are they just sunglasses or do they provide eye protection as well? What about the shoes you wear? What about your shoes? Safety working shoes are usually less expensive that the latest trendy ones, and the more expensive models of the working shoe line usually look nice too.
What do you have in your pockets, your keychain? Do you carry a gun, cell phone, enough spare cash for emergencies in case ATMs aren’t working or go empty. Do you have the basics you should never leave home without? Wallet, cell phone, gun, knife, flashlight and lighter?
Even better, do you have a bag that you carry with you on daily basis with the minimum EDC gear that allows you to move comfortably yet have certain tools and supplies with you in case you need them? A bottle of water and some snack, a few other items as well.

4)The 4th circle expands some more and now includes the gear you keep in your car, your office or some other cache. This falls into the “I’ll get to it IF I’m luck” but its always a good idea to have this gear, specially in the car that usually stays pretty close to you. Here you may keep extra food, water and spare set of clothes per family member, maybe a better weapon and more ammo and a bigger emergency kit.

5)The 5th circle reaches your house, the place where you live. This may not be available to you in a worse case scenario but you do spend a good amount of time there and there’s a good chance you may be able to get there unless forced out because of some reason such as fire, flood, town evacuation, etc.
Do you have your food, supplies and gear set? Is it organized so that you know where everything is, enough water, enough food?
There’s a know on your door, it’s the police telling you that you have to leave immediately, the wind is sending a spreading fire your way and you have just one minute to grab a jacket and leave. Consider yourself lucky that you at least had that warning. What do you carry? You grab the kids, the cat, your wallet… and? Do you have a bug out bag, an emergency kit for such a situation? Do you have a waterproof bag with the important documents, titles, accounts, birth certificates, your stash of cash, a few family photos, flash drive with important documents or some family video clips ?

Certain things will vary a bit given the personal lifestyle each of us has but these different groups work on every individual and will help you prioritize.
Thanks guys and take care.

FerFAL

Gun registration + riots = gun grab ?‏

Hi Fernando,

You strongly advocate gun ownership for self-defense. My concern here in France is about gun registration : only side-by-side and over/under shotguns, and black powder weapons aren't registered (since the 2005 riots, 22LR rifles must be registered). For instance, I could own a Glock 17 but that would mean being on THE list. You must count on the thinly spread police forces for your security. No CCW allowed.

What happen if the policemen knock at our door and ask for our guns during or after riots ? A totalitarian government (whose acts might be the cause of the riots) could leave us naked to defend ourselves. Katrina-like...

What are Argentina's gun laws concerning registration ? Do you fear an hypothetical gun grab ?

I'd wish we had a "2nd Amendment" in my country but we don't. When the French people overthrew and executed their king in 1793, they got themselves a Declaration of Human's and Citizen's Rights where one could read :
"Article 27 - May any individual usurping the sovereignty [of the French people] be instantly killed by the free men."
Of course, this article disappeared from the following versions of the declaration :-D

Bye,
Etienne

Hi Etienne,

Yes, I strongly advocate responsible gun ownership for self defense because I've seen how being armed when you need it, combined with good awareness and proper defensive shooting training, it can indeed save your life.

Its serious business because if there's no other choice you have to be ready to stop the threat any way you can, dealing with the moral and legal consequences.
There's been more than enough cases where the bad guy's friends and family kept harassing and attacking the family, forcing them to move out.
Something similar happens when the "bad guys" gunned down turned out to be cops or ex LEOs making a few bucks on the side. Unfortunately, it happens often in South America.

You have to accept this as a possibility, its not just making up your mind about not having a problem regarding shooting someone in self defense. The legal and economical problems are usually greater than the moral dilemma.

I believe that you can fix everything except death and/or a ruined family by rape, torture or other kind of abuses. Those things will destroy you and your family and there’s no going back in time to change things, the rest can be solved.
Money can be earned again, you move and settle somewhere else, but at least the family is ok.

You are right about the possibility of a "gun grab". That's why its a pretty good idea to have guns that don’t have a paper trail going back to you if you can do it legally. I believe it can be done in the States with face to face purchases from individual owners in some states. Do some research to be sure. That would be ideal because that way, at least that firearm isn't listed if they come knocking.

For countries or states where that's not possible, there's still things you can do.
For example you can decide to go on "vacations" often to your hunting cabin, weekend home or maybe some friend's house when you see the possibility or hear rumors of gun confiscations. Its not illegal to visit grandpa at the other side of the State as far as I know.
Of course this is all theoretical, and its not that hard to track someone down but when these operations are enforced in such a large scale, they mostly settle for the ones that are home and have no other option than to give their guns up.
Some people burry a handgun and a few boxes of ammo in buckets caches for such a scenario. Of course the gun buried shouldn't have any paper trail.

In your case, I'd get a couple extra short barreled shotguns " coach guns" for self defense under the radar. Given the political context in Europe, I'd buy a couple extra coach guns NOW (Stoeger Iga makes good cheap coach guns last time I checked) and burry them with several boxes of ammo, pellet, buckshot and slugs. Worst case scenario, IF LEGAL IN YOUR COUNTRY (not legal in France as far as I know) , you can cut down the barrel in one of them, and have a "coach gun" shotgun and a double barrel handgun a la Mad Max. Not pretty, not accurate, but a gun that somewhat conceals and can be used for short range self defense none the less. Again, far from ideal compared to modern auto pistols or revolvers, but much better than none at all.

This may all sound paranoid and far fetched, and it is far fetched thinking it could happen all over USA, but you can't deny that it has happened not that long ago, during Katrina, when people needed to defend themselves the most form looters.

Being in a list or not, the priority for me is having the tool to defend yourself.
Being on a list sure is a disadvantage, but its even worse to be unarmed.


FerFAL