It’s 3 AM on a freezing cold morning. For the second time this week, a skinny teenager is trying to cut through the fence that closes off the end of your residential street. You could kill him, but that might upset the refugees he lives among in the regional park. You raise a shotgun and fire a rubber slug.. He falls and rolls to his side before jumping up and running away, clutching his belly. Back in a tent next to the playground, his mother says “You’re lucky they only used a rubber bullet.” This scenario illustrates a conundrum that the SHTF survivor will have to face; balance of force. Under the circumstances, an intruder might well be justifiably shot trying to penetrate a perimeter. Yet in this case, there is a risk of a riot from his fellow refugees who might find it overkill. Neighbors might disagree with the harshness of lethal force. Having a less-lethal option to discourage and deter bad guys is prudent. Less-lethal impact munitions Impact munitions (less-lethal ones) can be thought of remotely delivering a staggering blow to a person using a firearm or launcher. These projectiles are intended to cause pain through blunt force trauma to elicit compliance. Injuries typically include bruises, welts, and lacerations. Of these, the most common injuries are bruising and abrasions, though they may be severe, followed by lacerations. Penetration is uncommon. Less-lethal is the preferred term (over “non-lethal” and “less-than-lethal”) because these weapons can cause death in extreme cases.[1] Some rounds may penetrate the skin, hit vital areas, and can cause serious injuries. They can penetrate clothing and damage commonly carried objects. Headshots that don’t penetrate can still cause concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). One legal note; usage of less-lethal impact munitions in ordinary times is not recommended for civilian use. Using a firearm, even if it has an orange stock and is pumping out bean bags, is still a firearm. The projectile is less-lethal, not non-lethal, and firearms are still firearms capable of inflicting death and firing lethal ammunition. Usage these days could be construed as assault with a deadly weapon to murder in the off-chance someone is killed. The items discussed here are generally only for post-SHTF employment. All the factors used when firing a lethal shot are involved when firing a less-lethal one, from trigger discipline to legal justification. A variety of less-lethal impact munitions are available for use. This includes:
37/40mm impact rounds and projectiles are not illegal, however, manufacturers and retailers typically only sell such products to law enforcement. Empty shells are often sold freely to civilian launcher owners to build or reload their own cartridges. Attempting to create one’s own less-lethal projectile for these (or any) weapons should be left to owners who are experienced reloaders in dire end-of-the-world emergencies only. 37/40mm launchers should only be used in defensive roles by trained and experienced owners. Training rounds (chalk rounds) should not be employed against persons. True NFA regulated 40mm grenade launcher owners may be able to more easily purchase controlled specialty ammo. Such owners should take additional training or seek a qualified law enforcement/military user to employ these rounds in a tactical situation. I do not recommend 37/40mm launchers to average citizens without extensive firearms knowledge and experience. Common 37mm launcher rounds that would be useful and easily available are distraction pyrotechnic rounds that can deliver flashbang effects into a crowd from a safe standoff distance. Usage of surplus plastic bullet ammunition is not recommended. “Rubber bullets” have a negative connotation and these cartridges are intended for usage in training, not as anti-personnel weapons. The velocity of these bullets can cause serious injury or death. Usage of a regular, unmodified firearm firing at people, even with plastic bullets, may cause confusion as to what is going on, potentially creating a more dangerous situation than before. 12 gauge less-lethal shotguns and shells For the average citizen defender, 12 gauge shotguns and less-lethal shells will be the most common impact munitions available. Construction is usually of a durable, yet sturdy material such as rubber, plastics (Zytel or Nylon), or Kevlar and lead bean bags. There is a wide variety of shells available, including non-impact distraction type shells, as well as the legion of individual shotgun models than can be adapted for a less-lethal mission. Shotguns are near the top end of the less-lethal distance spectrum (versus Tasers and OC/pepper spray) with a maximum range of about 40 yards, depending on ammunition type. Weapons specially designated for less-lethal employment should be equipped with bright orange furniture to provide a visual signal to both user and potential targets that the weapon is not being employed as a lethal weapon. Note that less-lethal shotguns have no permanent modifications to prevent loading of lethal ammo, so color and ammo segregation is important. LAPD uses unique green (almost teal) stocks for its less-lethal shotguns, however, orange shotgun furniture is more common. Orange is also universally recognized as a warning color and more easily understood as a less-lethal platform than other colors. Green in particular can be confused for “zombie green” that was a fad in years past, a custom paintjob, or even a toy gun. Note the barrels remain unpainted in black as they are still potentially lethal and legally firearms. Weapon choice Note that most less-lethal 12 gauge rounds do not create enough velocity to reliability cycle semi-automatic shotguns. Less-lethal shells should not be used in semi-autos and preferably only in pump action shotguns. I am familiar with 14” smoothbore barrel Remington 870s equipped with a sidesaddle. The length was adequate from what I could tell and handy in tight quarters. Ultimately, I think the decision to go with this length had more to do with the fact it fit easily in the Crown Victoria trunk rack more than anything else. LAPD uses Remington 870s with rifled barrels (18 ½” long & 1-35” twist) firing CTS Model LAPD 2588, also known as the “Super-Sock” bean bag. This is a cloth tail stabilized bean bag round. These are firearms dedicated to a single ammunition type; do not attempt to use other ammunition types (shot or slugs) in rifled barrels unless the ammo manufacturer specifically approves rifled barrels. It is worth noting that bean bags can be used in smoothbore barrels or even with paradox rifling. Longer barrels are most optimal for proper projectile and shell separation as well as accuracy. Effective deployment on-target may be dependent on velocity and rifling-imparted spin depending on the exact product used. Barrel length does seem to dramatically affect accuracy at ranges of 10-50 feet. Even 10” barrels will perform adequately at under 50 feet, but 18” have been shown to be the most accurate at all ranges and up to 80 feet. 14” may be an optimal compromise up to 50 feet, after which its performance falls off substantially.[2] 18” seems to be fairly standard but short-barreled shotguns (SBS) are also common within law enforcement. The National Firearms Act (NFA) complicates citizen procurement of SBSs. Mossberg Shockwave type weapons (essentially a 14” shoulder stock-less shotgun) can be used and equipped with standard Mossberg accessories (legality may change depending on what you put on). As of this writing, Shockwave type weapons are not NFA regulated and legal in many states. Ordinary shotguns can be repurposed to less-lethal duties. This would typically involve replacing the furniture with orange furniture or using labels, stenciling, and orange tape to indicate the weapon is to be employed as a less-lethal weapon. Smoothbore single and double barrel break-open shotguns can also be cheaply repurposed to less-lethal. If at all possible, lethal and non-lethal ammunition should not be mixed or used in the same weapon. Less-lethal shells should only be used in less-lethal only shotguns and vise versa. Ammunition characteristics Less-lethal shotgun ammunition comes in three main forms: rubber or plastic slugs, bean bags, or rubber/plastic shot (or pellets). Some variations exist, such as single or double balls or plastic “stars” that resemble a child’s squishy Koosh ball. Accuracy in decreasing order is rubber/plastic slugs > bean bags > rubber/plastic shot. Some manufacturers make shells that are intended specifically for use against animals (bears) that are not suitable for use on humans. Civilian marketed ammo is typically intended for wildlife control and not for anti-personnel use. Ammunition for this purpose may have higher velocities to give extra engagement distance and provide more terminal force on thick hides. No one wants to get close to a bear. These differences in “formulation” may prove lethal or extra injurious to a human. Note: if employing less-lethal ammunition in a shotgun, do not attempt to mix less-lethal and lethal rounds in the same weapon. Keep the two separate and not even on the same person. Shotgun proponents tout their versatility but mixing less-lethal shells with buckshot or slugs is a recipe for a tragic, fatal mistake. Minimum recommended engagement range is 10 feet, though they can be fired at 5 feet to 45 yards (or more, if the particular shell has the range). Optimal ranges for a balance of safety and terminal effectiveness is 7-25 yards. There is no minimum distance, though very close distances may produce more serious injuries or risk a greater chance of death. A majority of less-lethal engagements take place within at vary close range, often within 7 yards (during police engagements). Multiple rounds may need to be fired to be effective, as the projectiles may not impact properly or the target may be pain tolerant. Most engagements are resolved with less than three shots fired and a little less than half require just one shot.[3] Effectiveness of the munition will depend on more than just the type of projectile used. If the target is wearing thick clothing, padding, or body armor the impact will be absorbed by those items. Fit, muscular persons and fat, flabby people will react differently than an average person. Someone who is under the influence may not react as desired. On the other hand, the psychological effect of being “shot” may do wonders to someone who isn’t prepared for a less-lethal hit. Bean bags Bean bags are so named because they are a ballistic fiber pouch filled with pellets of (usually) lead. This is the most common 12 gauge less-lethal round used by American law enforcement. Bean bags generally won’t break vehicle windows that have been tinted or windshields, although they may break standard building glass without special laminating films. Bean bags come in square “pads” or “sock” versions. Most projectiles now are in “sock” configuration and will appear as a round, bulbous tear-drop shape. They may or may not be drag stabilized with a tail of material behind them. Modern “sock” designs do not require a minimum distance to unfold or stabilize. With traditional bean bags (square or rectangular “flat” profiles) or “pads,” these are coiled into cylinders to fit the shotgun shell. They then are supposed to expand to a bag shape in flight. Yaw in flight is responsible for their profile on impacting the target, meaning that they can fail to hit with the proper square profile for optimal affect. A narrower profile can also increase the chance of penetration, serious injury, and death. Studies have shown that rifled barrels provided nearly 100% proper deployment of the bag. Smoothbore barrels only had about 20% effectiveness. The centrifugal force spin imparted by the rifling is responsible for the bag opening properly. Accuracy at 40 feet was approximately 7” inch groups.[4] Another test found 3.8" drop and a spread of 5.5" inches.[5] Manufacturer instructions and warnings should be closely adhered to. Note that many manufacturers of civilian marketed less-lethal shells are often smaller shops that may not have the reliability of large ammo makers or law enforcement oriented manufacturers. Do not mix various types of less-lethal ammunition in a shotgun (or lethal shells either). Slugs and single hard projectiles Rubber or plastic slugs are typically in an exaggerated rocket ship shape with a fat front end and a molded tailfin section. Some of these projectiles can have a cavity containing a chemical irritant but civilian rounds most commonly are solid, intended for pain compliance. Cavity rounds are typically not sold to the general public. Rubber or plastic rounds (slugs or shot) are often made from rubber, PVC, or other plastics. Hardness may vary. Low temperatures can cause the rubber or plastic material to harden. Fiocchi hourglass shaped rubber baton rounds have been reported to work well at below freezing temperatures without causing significant injuries to bears.[6] Rubber slugs tend to deliver the most terminal energy to targets due to their weight and construction. Such solid rubber or plastic rounds are typically designed not to deform on impact. These stand a greater chance of penetration than other projectile types but will give the most range. Large rubber balls, often singly or doubly loaded into shells, have a more aerodynamic shape than slugs and retain velocity better than other types of projectiles. Star shaped rounds are low mass and impact at high velocity. Upon impact, the material compresses and transfer its energy into the target. One manufacturer advertises that it imparts its available energy across a larger surface area than other projectile types. They claim that the star causes less injury that other types.[7] Rubber/plastic shot Rubber shot can be employed as lead buckshot would be (preferably aimed away from the face and other vital areas) or fired at the pavement or another surface to skip the pellets into the target’s legs. Shot can be also used against groups as the individual projectiles will disperse in flight. Due to its dispersal characteristics, use against crowds or closely clustered individuals is an ideal usage. When used against a human, the spread of the projectiles is used to provide more pain over a wider area than a bean bag or slug. However, the impact area size is dependent on the spread of the shot in flight, which is less at close distance and larger at long distance. And while the area that hurts may be larger in size, the overall pain and any associated “stunning” effect may be less due to lesser terminal velocity delivered as a function of the shot’s lower mass. Anecdotal reports show that less-lethal shot exhibits extreme spread, perhaps up to several feet. At close range, the spread seems to be enough to cause many hits to a torso sized target. Rubber shot should be patterned on a paper target from the intended shotgun prior to contingency usage. Rock salt and bird shot Rock salt has a very low mass, so the muzzle velocity will be high, but it will also loose velocity quickly and have little to impart to the target. Videos of firing shows that it often creates a large white cloud. Effective range is believed to be 20-50 feet. Firing at closer ranges may cause serious injury. Rock salt at close distance will typically penetrate ordinary clothing. Penetration into flesh is likely to occur. Tests have found ¼ inch penetration into ballistic gel of large crystals after going through clothing and up to 1 and ½ inches in bare gelatin.[8] Anecdotal reports indicate that skin typically stops any deep penetration of crystals into subcutaneous tissue. Close employment (room distance) will cause more serious injuries. Rock salt also comes with more risk that chunks will hit the eyes or other sensitive body part, causing serious injury. Birdshot should never be used as less-lethal ammunition because it can be quite lethal at near ranges. Should it be employed without an intent to kill, it must only be done as a last resort when there is no rule of law and circumstances dictate that if death were to occur, it would be morally and tactically justifiable. Employment of birdshot in such a role will not be discussed here. When to use? A friend who recently retired from law enforcement and I were discussing the pros and cons of less-lethal shotgun usage by the average citizen. In defensive situations, outside of very rare one-offs that are unlikely to occur, we couldn’t think of a single good example. Where it would be useful always required that the SHTF already, things were very dangerous outside, and there was no rule of law (or police). Then, and only in stand-off type situations, did we deem their usage conceivable. Normal times or SHTF times, you are likely not going to be dealing with suicidal subjects or with persons resisting arrest. You will be concerned with shooting bad guys or driving them off. A less-lethal shotgun is in the “drive them off” tool box. If you are planning for SHTF and especially if you have a defensive group drawn up for your neighborhood or homestead, why not put another tool in your toolbox? I am going to focus my scenarios on a without the rule of law situation (WROL), that is, there are no police to respond and no courts to prosecute you. If there are, they are totally ineffective to help you, deter the bad guys, or come after you for using excessive force. Wider use of less-lethal ammunition may be made where it is necessary or desirable to kinetically dissuade someone but not kill them. Further discussion regarding WROL employment of less-lethal weapons can be found in my book Suburban Defense. In WROL, less-lethal shotguns should only be employed when a lethal shot would be justified. This covers any potential legal ground as well as moral grounds. Because the weapons are still firearms and may kill, you need to treat firing a less-lethal shot just as firing a lead one. There may be a rare circumstance when killing the person is legally justifiable, but not desirable, and it is tactically permissible to use less-lethal force. Lethal cover (another person with a deadly firearm aimed at the target) must be present and ready to stop any deadly threat. Typically, in ordinary life less-lethal ammo usage should be avoided. Less-lethal force is not a substitute for lethal force, when morally and legally justified. I envision it being used when the attitudes of your homestead, neighborhood, or community may make it difficult to outright shoot someone. Mowing down a crowd of rioters, even if they deserve it, presents a lot of problems. You may also feel bad shooting a really determined and desperate father stealing from your garden. If a 12 gauge rubber slug can send them away and keep them away, it helps avoid you being labeled a murderer or war criminal. Violent crowd control
Deployment The less-lethal bearer should not have a lethal firearm at the ready; lethal weapons need to be holstered or slung out of the way. He should not be trying to juggle an AR-15 and a less-lethal shotgun. If at all possible, the less-lethal bearer should not also be armed with a lethal shotgun, nor should he have any lethal shotgun shells on his person, to avoid mix-ups. “Less-lethal ready/up!” is the announcement the less-lethal bearer is in position and ready to fire. “Less-lethal, standby!” is the incident commander or primary team member delegating the authority to fire. It also serves as a warning to those around that a less-lethal weapon will be fired. “Less-lethal out,” should be yelled and/or radioed after the shot or string of shots so distant team members know what happened. Other variations can be used as long as they are clear and unambiguous. Additionally, the type of less-lethal ammunition can be substituted for specificity, i.e. “bean bag.” Note that circumstances may necessitate immediate deployment based on the less-lethal bearer’s observations of the situation. Good communication should be maintained with the details for the need of the weapon going out so that upon hearing a gun shot, distant team members don’t mistake it for an incoming shot.
Aimpoint: lower center of torso (belly) or more specifically the belt line to the navel. Aim for large muscle groups, abdomen and below. Arms and legs should be avoided when in proximity to vital areas. The preferred dorsal target area is the legs (away from the lower spine). Avoid: head, neck, sternum (upper chest), spine, kidneys, and genitals. When firing at the target from behind, do not aim for the center of the back due to the risk of spinal cord damage. Firing at bare skin should be avoided when possible. Do not fire at pregnant women, young women, or the elderly if at all possible. Do not fire a target who may fall from height or into dangerous areas. Minimum safe range: 5 feet Minimum recommended range: 10 feet Optimal safe minimum range: 21 feet Maximum recommended range: 50 feet Optimal engagement distances: 7-25 yards Average maximum range: 40 yards
Conclusion Now in ordinary life you’re probably never going to use less-lethal ammunition against a human. I would recommend against it, actually. If you’re going to shoot them, make sure you can legally use lethal force and preferably use lead to make sure the threat is stopped. If you aren’t going to shoot them, it’s easier and less legally risky to punch them, shoot them with a Taser, or give them a face full of OC spray. But then again, the Second Amendment was written for those outside contingencies. Disclaimer: I am not an attorney nor an expert. This should not be taken as legal or expert advice. Get specialized training before using less-lethal ammunition and any action taken is at your own risk. You probably shouldn’t be using this kind of ammo against humans unless the world has really ended. [1] I personally saw a man, high on meth, shot with a bean bag round die from excited delirium. He was already in an excited state as he refused commands while attempting to hack through a windshield with a metal traffic barricade. This kind of death is not uncommon among drug addicts and is not limited to any one particular less-lethal weapon. [2] Charlie Mesloh et al., "Modular 12 Gauge Shotgun Beanbag Accuracy Study," Journal of Testing and Evaluation, Vol. 36, No. 5, 2008. [3] Chris Sciba, San Jose Police Department, "Projectile Impact Weapons," (undated). [4] LAPD study data from: Doreen Hudson, "A Flexible and Effective Beanbag Platform," LAPD, undated PowerPoint presentation, https://aele.org/lapd-beanbag.pdf. [5] Ibid. Mesloh. [6] Polar Bear Deterrent - Training Manual, Instructor Guidelines, Module 4, US Fish and Wildlife Service, undated. [7] Lightfield Ammunition product advertisements. [8] “Seasonings Greeting: Testing Rock Salt Shotgun Shells”, https://www.ammoman.com/blog/rock-salt-shotgun-shells/ Note: this an adaptation of an except from my non-fiction book Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF.
A lot of us have given thought to independent operations, small-unit tactics, and guerilla warfare. One area I seem to notice that has been left out of discussion is riot/crowd control. 2020 was the year of the mass riot that made its way into residential neighborhoods. We saw ad hoc groups spring up in defense, but just standing around openly carrying isn’t always going to turn the tide. Bad guys will call your bluff and suburbanites to rural defenders need to consider proper riot/crowd control techniques and equipment. Goals of your anti-riot/anti-mob efforts Your goals in any effort to keep riots or mobs from causing havoc in your neighborhood or on your street should be:
Crowd control measures Crowd control (versus riot suppression) is limiting the growth of the crowd, controlling its geographical spread, and dissolving it. These three means are isolation, show of force, and dispersal. Arrests are not included as you will not be making them since you have no where to “drag” arrestees to (see dispersal). Dealing with the crowd (making the bad people go away) comes before using force (riot suppression) on violent/destructive mobs. Isolation Isolating a crowd will be difficult for a small team to do. The goal is to prevent new additions from joining the group to stop or slow its growth. This can be done by creating physical barriers or having a second team isolate newcomers from the main body. This can be risky for the defenders as rioters may react when boxed into a corner. If possible, leave a route for them to escape from where it is unlikely reinforcements would enter from. Show of force A show of force is essentially a warning and a threat that destruction and violence will be met with force (not necessarily kinetic). Crowds may be deterred from their propensity to become rowdy if they are faced with a large number of opponents who may use force. We have seen plenty of instances (discussed elsewhere) where open carry groups have caused rioters, protesters, and looters to pass by simply by standing ready. Place armed people at your perimeter; this is to intimidate the crowd and ideally deter them from choosing your neighborhood. Hopefully their “protest” continues by or they stand a good way off jeering at you until they are tired or bored. However, one should never assume a show of force alone will be effective. Individual antagonists and the group itself may be willing to escalate. They may have their own ability to react violently to a use of force, which we have seen to some extent already (particularly in the Portland area). You must be prepared to back up your exhibition with actual and sufficient force to halt any resistance. In the civilian’s case, a small number of armed defenders and limited barricades may be enough to persuade a gun-shy mob to pass by. They may not be seeking any real trouble. Others may seek undefended targets. Whatever the case, be prepared to react and do not bluff. Much of a show of force for civilians is a gamble. The fallback is not arrests and dispersal like police, it is using force or taking shelter until the attack passes. Nonetheless, in many cases involving less-aggressive groups, a show of force may be entirely effective. Dispersal Dispersal (without force) is not the best tool in the toolbox of the civilian defender. Rioters are removed from the scene by police through two methods: drive and drag. Dragging them away means that they are arrested, handed over to the booking team, and transported to jail, thus removing them from the area. Driving them away involves the suggestion or the actual use of force to get people to leave. This can be physically encroaching on the crowd so they feel uncomfortable and move away, hopefully dispersing entirely. Or it can be by application of force to dispel a crowd to make them run away out of fear of being subjected to the pain of riot control weapons. Civilians will rarely have the numbers to effectively move rioters away. Leaving one’s defensive perimeter and pushing a crowd away is dangerous. Should you need to use a human formation to push rioters away, attempt to do so by moving your defenses outward. A heavy barricade can be lifted and pushed outward into the crowd, forcing them back, while the defenders stay behind the moving barricade. Alternatively, vehicles can approach in a line abreast and drive at the crowd, but armed defenders have to be able to stop anyone attacking the cars or trying to sneak through. This is far more dangerous to the driver, the crowd, and for liability reasons (a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision). Dispersal orders and warnings should be given. Make multiple warnings from as close to the crowd as possible and in multiple locations if necessary. Use a megaphone to ensure everyone hears the order in a noisy environment. Do not bluff. There is no need to read “the riot act” or say something specific, but I would make it clear that this order is to be obeyed immediately and force will be used to disperse the crowd if it is ignored. Keep your distance from mobs. Never wade into the crowd or let them mingle among you if you can at all help it. Physical barriers help maintain this distance. Don’t let rioters get behind you or your group or between members of your group. We’ve seen too many images of someone trying to plead or negotiate with rioters only to be bushwhacked from behind and killed. Tips
Rescues Should a member of your defensive team or a non-defender neighbor be surrounded or attacked by the mob, an immediate rescue has to be mounted to limit the chance the mob has to inflict injury on that person. Depending on the precariousness of the situation, this could be serious injury, death, kidnapping, or rape.
Avoid Avoid engaging in verbal altercations. Yelling insults or waving political flags or signs won’t help. Be quiet, be impassive. The only communication with the crowd should be stern, but polite, commands necessary to keep the peace. Remove any loudmouths on your side from contact with the crowd. Don’t bang on things like cops do with their batons against shields. Ancient people (and remote tribes today) used the rhythm of drums to stir up morale before a battle. It will probably be incendiary rather than intimidating. Non-kinetic riot control Many of the characteristics of a riot can be exploited to break them up before they get out of hand by disrupting the growth process. Unfortunately, politics is such now that protests that start as loud and only blocking traffic serve as a catalyst for worse because police can’t intervene (legally or politically) at that point. This is why early intervention is your best policy. If you can break it up early, you will disrupt the catalyst for the protest to turn into a riot.
Suburban defense continuum For the private citizen, in a non-life threatening situation reasonable self-defense force is that which ends the criminal action. Using the standard of reasonableness, this would mean the least amount of force necessary to get the person to stop is used. Therefore, if you are physically able to grab and escort a vandal off your property, that would be far more reasonable than pepper spraying them in the face. Of course, legal standards and laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I am making suggestions that would be appropriate for a civilian engaging in suburban defense during a time when police will not or cannot control the situation. Note that “aimed weapon” means not just a gun with sights, but any weapon or device, lethal or not, that is targeted against a specific individual.” “Area weapon” is also not a gun (although it could be) but is something that affects a specific area and multiple individuals in that area, such as tear gas would be. Passive measures These aren’t force at all, but things that might keep an interaction from occurring. Such things would be fencing, barricades, and security cameras. The defender doesn’t have to interact with the aggressor at all. Deterrence and warnings Threat: none specific, but the possibility trouble could develop. This includes non-kinetic forms of crowd and riot control, like setting up barricades, openly carrying weapons, making your presence known to the crowd, and issuing warnings. Your goal with this method is to make anyone who does not want trouble to pass by and those who do want trouble to think twice and remain peaceful. Shows of force will probably be the best tactic in times of a functioning legal system as it is hard to screw up and do something illegal just standing there. A lot of potential troublemakers expecting no resistance will be headed off if they know they will face resistance. Defensive physical force Threat: small-scale criminal acts occurring or the threat of escalation to greater crimes. Physical contact with a mob should be avoided unless no other option exists. Using physical defensive force would be with your body to stop a crowd from crossing your defensive line, entering your yard, etc. In extreme situations physically dispersing the crowd may be called for. Non-contact forms of less-lethal force to stop criminal acts or interrupt things before they get worse could be used like megaphone sirens, bright lights, laser intimidation (not blinding), or stink bombs. Less-lethal force Threat: someone will sustain less-serious injuries or major property damage. Anything that could potentially cause injury, but not death, should be placed in this category. This would include airsoft “sting” grenades, paintballs, flashbangs, pyrotechnics, Tasers, fire hoses, etc. In non-WROL situations, this would be to immediately overcome physical force to prevent injury or damage to property in-line with your state’s self-defense laws. In a WROL situation, less-lethal force could be used to disperse a crowd before it reaches critical mass or to break up an attack. Lethal force Threat: someone will be killed or seriously wounded if you do not neutralize the aggressor immediately. Use of firearms will be the most likely threat and the reciprocal use of force in this category. Remember, lethal force is typically permitted in most places to stop an imminent fatal or serious injury, something horrific like rape or kidnapping, or forced entry to a home. This may apply from a lone shooter in a mob to an armed bandit attack on the neighborhood. Lethal and non-lethal force Non-lethal
Intermediate less-lethal
Lethal
When do you use force on members of a mob (lethal or non-lethal)?
Considerations Before using force, consider the following:
Best practices Self-defense and justifiable homicide laws should be obeyed as much as possible.
Buy the book: Suburban Defense Note: this an adaptation from my non-fiction book Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF. If it can be seen, it can be hit. If it can be hit, it can be killed. If you can be seen, you can be hit. If you can be hit, you can be killed. Concealment is something that hides you from view, thus the root word of conceal. Concealment typically does not provide protection from bullets. Cover is something that can protect you from penetrating gun fire. Concealment can deflect bullets, but it will not stop them. For instance, shooting through thick brush or foliage may cause bullets to miss, but if you are on the receiving end of fire, don’t count on it. Just because you can’t see your target doesn’t mean that your bullets won’t hit him. If you need to kill someone and they are hiding behind something, odds are you can try shooting through it. Cinder blocks appear to be solid and capable of stopping bullets, but they aren’t. One example of this is from an instructor of mine who received a shot from a suspect from behind a cinder block wall. My instructor knew where the suspect was hiding and shooting from, so my instructor fired his .357 Magnum through the wall (where the shooter’s head/chest would be). His first shots cracked the hollow blocks and the remaining four hit and killed the suspect. Your suburban home will not offer true cover. The best you can hope for in a stucco or siding and wood home is great deflection and energy depletion of bullets. That is why getting low and far away from where bullets might come from is vital. Luck plays a part here and anything in the way of a bullet before it reaches the cover you are hiding behind gives you a better chance of survival. The Marine Corps has the following to say regarding weapon penetration in urban areas. The most likely threat will be from the AR-15’s 5.56mm round. b. Weapon Penetration. The penetration that can be achieved with a 5.56-mm round depends on the range to the target and the type of material being fired against. Single 5.56-mm rounds are not effective against structural materials (as opposed to partitions) when fired at close range—the closer the range, the less the penetration. 7.62mm rounds have greater energy and greater penetration, but at short ranges tend to exhibit penetration characteristics similar to 5.56. 9mm and other pistol bullets will have even less energy to penetrate. Regardless of the caliber, it should be assumed that all bullets will penetrate anything other than substantial cover or correctly rated body armor for that caliber. Bullet penetration of suburban homes Several formal and informal studies of the bullet resistance of homes have been done. The results show that while homes aren’t truly “invisible” to bullets, their ballistic resistance is not enough to provide comfortable protection against aimed fire or “lucky” stray rounds. Gun bloggers performed tests with typical home defense weapons. This was against the individual construction elements (bricks and boards) and not an actual building or simulated wall. Tested against gypsum drywall (Sheetrock), .22 LR cartridges penetrated eight inches, while higher velocity and larger calibers, like .22 Magnum or 9mm and .45, penetrated up to 12 inches. Note that each panel is usually 5/8ths of an inch thick. Against cinder block, only bullets larger than 9mm caused structural damage. It took multiple shots to crack the block. One .357 Magnum round would “chunk” the brick and multiple rounds caused the brick to fail. Various sources have reported that anything smaller than 9mm will not seriously damage cinder block, but multiple shots from larger calibers may damage the block sufficiently to penetrate. Shotgun slugs easily penetrated drywall and destroyed cinder blocks; shot tended to ricochet off the blocks without causing damage. Buckshot penetrated 12 inches of drywall and birdshot penetrated two inches.[2] Canadian researchers fired .38 Special, 9mm, and .40 caliber rounds from handguns and found a third to two-thirds loss of velocity after bullets exited a simulated stucco exterior wall. Wood and vinyl siding covered walls caused about a 15% loss of velocity after penetration. Stucco walls were the most durable, which would slow a standard range type bullet down to about half-velocity.[3] However, bullets traveling at even 500-700 feet per second are deadly. Using the blogger’s test data above, a .38 Special round traveling at 700 feet per second penetrated six inches of drywall; more than enough velocity to go through five walls. It is beneficial that interior walls do have studs and wiring inside as well as other household decorations and furniture that could further deflect or slow the bullet. Rifle bullets, like the ubiquitous AR-15’s 5.56mm bullet, actually penetrates less building materials than handgun bullets, due to the rifle bullet’s unique characteristics; yet this is cold comfort. AR-15 bullets penetrated into ballistic gelatin (which simulates human tissue) about seven inches or a third of the distance that handgun bullets did after penetrating a typical interior wall. Pistol bullets went in about 20 inches.[4] Seven inches of penetration would easily cause serious injuries or death to someone on the other side of the wall. The Blog Box O’Truth found that 5.56 rounds “deviated so much from its course after the first wall, that it was almost impossible to hit the other walls to test penetration.” So they built bigger wall panels and standard M193 bullets went through four drywall panels. Insulation made no difference, but for 5.56 rounds, the air gap of a room may make a difference.[5] Their tests show that the bullets “keyholed” or turned sideways as they tumbled in flight end over end (after penetration), making the eponymous mark. The air gap of a room means more time to tumble and lose velocity. However, these walls were simulated interior walls spaced ten feet apart, not exterior walls. Velocity was not recorded, but death or injuries can’t be excluded from probability of a bullet that made it through.[6] A video from Paul Harrell, an ex-US Army marksman, demonstrated that .30 Carbine and 5.56mm bullets penetrated a simulated exterior walls of wood sheathing, plywood, and drywall, firing first through four panels of drywall before the exterior wall was contacted. He also noted the 5.56 rounds keyholing.[7] A Canadian study found that .223 (5.56) and .308 bullets went through one simulated typical stucco wall. The .223 bullet was believed to have fragmented through the wall while the .308 bullet retained sufficient energy to wound or kill. 12 gauge buckshot was stopped while the slugs penetrated easily. Tests against vinyl siding walls showed the bullets going through both walls, when shot at a corner. 9mm and .40 pistol bullets also penetrated the wall. Clay and concrete bricks (solid) exhibited strong bullet resistance. Large-caliber high-velocity hunting rounds (7mm-.30 caliber) created holes and cracks but did not penetrate. This is consistent with US military testing that multiple rounds centered in one place were required to penetrate solid blocks.[8] What does all this mean? The further away from where the shooter is, the better chance of survival you have. That is why I recommend that anyone taking cover inside the house do so furthest away from the street or wherever the shooter outside is. More material means more energy loss to the bullet and a greater chance for it to be deflected. A typical home has all sorts of stuff in and on the walls, plus furniture and decorations, which might make a bullet go in a harmless direction. On the other hand, random chance could send it into you. For someone at the back of the house, down low, a stray bullet is not much of a danger. Intentional, aimed fire is, however. The greatest danger is a bullet going through a window and continuing undeflected through multiple interior walls. Many people killed in drive-by shootings of homes were struck when bullets passed through windows.
[1] USMC, Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT), MCWP 3-35.3, 1998, pp. B3-4 [2] Gun-Tests.com, “Handgun Bullets: How Do They Penetrate in Home Materials?”, originally published October 13, 2015, updated March 19, 2020, retrieved 06/15/2021. https://www.gun-tests.com/ammo/handgun-bullets-how-do-they-penetrate-in-home-materials-4/ [3] R. W. Schiefke, Canadian Police Research Centre, TR-11-09 “Penetration of Exterior House Walls by Modern Police Ammunition,” October 1997. [4] Gary K. Roberts, “The Wounding Effects of 5.56MM/.223 Law Enforcement General Purpose Shoulder Fired Carbines Compared with 12 GA. Shotguns and Pistol Caliber Weapons Using 10% Gelatin as Tissue Simulant,” Would Ballistics Review, Vol. 3 No. 4, 1998 [5] [5] The Box O’ Truth, "#14 – Rifles, Shotguns, and Walls," undated, retrieved 6/15/21, https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-12-insulated-walls/ [6] The Box O’ Truth, "#14 – Rifles, Shotguns, and Walls," undated, retrieved 6/15/21, https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-14-rifles-shotguns-and-walls/ [7] Paul Harrell, YouTube, March 1, 2020, retrieved 6/15/21, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw8IiRgSMFQ [8] Scott D. Kashuba, et al., Resistance of Exterior Walls to High Velocity Projectiles, Canadian Masonry Institute, Jan. 2001. Note: this an adaptation from my non-fiction book Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF. A lot of us have given thought to independent operations, small-unit tactics, and guerilla warfare. One area I seem to notice that has been left out of discussion is riot/crowd control. 2020 was the year of the mass riot that made its way into residential neighborhoods. Sure, guns are cool and all but tactics consisting a two-position switch of “open carry” and “kill everybody” will not work for every situation. You may need to face off with a riot or mob in a situation where lethal for is not permissible or advisable. Here are some considerations regarding riot/crowd control, some devices commercially available to the general public, and how they might be employed. Goals of your anti-riot/anti-mob efforts Your goals in any effort to keep riots or mobs from causing havoc in your neighborhood or on your street should be:
Considerations Before using force, consider the following:
Employment of riot control devices Grenades generally Here we’re discussing civilian legal (and easy to purchase for non-law enforcement people) grenades, mainly from the airsoft world. Odds are you won’t have fragmentation grenades (I pray we never get that far) or military/SWAT grade flashbangs. Smoke Smoke grenades are available to civilians, but sourcing can be difficult. Military issue or civilian versions of military smoke grenades are hard to come by, but not impossible. The easiest sources are airsoft supply stores. Models that have about the same burn time and create a large smoke cloud, like military models, exist. For concealment usage, several grenades might need to be deployed due to small dispersal patterns or wind. You aren’t going to get tear gas. Smoke grenades will work better if the crowd is stupid, panicky, and it helps if you yell “gas, gas, gas” before lobbing a white smoke (while you wear gas masks for psychological effect) and deploy pepper spray to dupe the unwary. Flashbangs and pyrotechnics Also from the airsoft world are flashbangs. Flashbangs, also known as stun grenades or distraction devices, basically make a deafening boom and a bright flash of light to disorient and distract bad guys. Military/law enforcement models will not be sold to you, even if they are legal to possess. Airsoft versions come in two models; CO2 and pyrotechnic. The CO2 models are basically a small BB gun CO2 cylinder in a grenade body. The gas expands a plastic “balloon” that pops very loudly. The pyrotechnic versions are basically firecrackers in a grenade shaped cardboard carton. These are louder and do produce something of a flash (nowhere near the brightness of a real one) and also blow apart the carboard container. I would highly recommend this latter version. Yes, you can use firecrackers and other fireworks based items, including smoke. I would advise against those as they need to be lit with a match or lighter versus most of the airsoft models that work like a regular grenade. Just pull the pin and toss. 37mm flare launchers and specialty 12 gauge ammo 37mm flare launchers resemble the slightly larger 40mm M203 grenade launcher (which is why California and other states ban them; they look scary). These launchers are not capable of firing grenades. Instead, they fire large marine flares or other ammunition. One common type of cartridge is a pyrotechnic round under various names that is essentially a firework; a loud bang and lots of “stars.” A variation is a flashbang type that bangs and flashes, but without the star effect. Some just make noise. Smoke rockets are also available, allowing you to deploy smoke out to 50 yards, further than you can throw. Tear gas and baton rounds are not commonly available to the public (law enforcement only). Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also called oleoresin capsicum (OC in police parlance), is everyone’s favorite spicy spray. It burns when on your skin or in your eyes as if you splashed yourself with hot sauce or rubbed a very hot pepper on your face. When inhaled, it causes a burning sensation in the lungs, coughing, copious snot, and occasionally respiratory distress. Older chemical formulations that act in a similar fashion are “Mace” and CN sprays. Your typical discount store “impulse shelf” purchase of a pocket or purse sized canister is worthless. Get a Mark III 1.5oz canister belt-sized can. Larger models exist up to the Mark IX “riot size” ones that come with a pistol grip, which you will recall from “bear Mace” products. Always buy OC that is formulated for humans, not bears. The 10% law enforcement formulas are MUCH more effective than the normal 2% civilian sprays. I would carry a Mark III or Mark IV canister on my body for limited use. For riot control, I would have several Mark IX canisters ready to douse the crowd. Pepper spray grenades are basically aerosol cans like the handheld stuff, but with a valve that continuously sprays until the pressure supply is exhausted. These are unidirectional cone sprays. Once you press that button, it starts spraying until empty, usually for about 10-15 seconds. Though pepper spray grenades are often sold only to law enforcement, some suppliers are willing to sell them to the general public. Paintball, airsoft, and airguns Paintball guns can be a good crowd control weapon. The balls not only hurt to get struck with, but I have been unable to find any instance of anyone dying or having lasting damage done. The worst I can imagine is hitting an eye directly and causing major trauma to it. Paint can be used to “mark” certain individuals. Frozen paintballs have been known to cause a lot more pain. Even pepper [spray] ball products are sold, though bulk pepper balls may only be sold to law enforcement. Firing paintballs into a crowd could be a good way to cause pain to a crowd and startle them enough to leave the area without causing serious injury. Hoppers of paintball guns can hold hundreds of balls. Specific individuals can be targeted and repeatedly shot until they leave or stop doing whatever bad thing they are doing. Fire could be kept up for a long time with trigger discipline. Lights and lasers Bright lights work as non-lethal weapons by disorienting someone through temporarily blinding them and producing that deep sense of discomfort one gets when staring at the sun. Lights also have the advantage of aiding identification and denying the cover of darkness.[1] When I say blinding lights, I mean super bright spotlights at close range, like millions of candlepower. The handheld spotlights that can produce truly blinding levels of light usually have to be connected to power, like a 12 volt socket. Of course, as a counter measure all someone has to do is close their eyes and turn their head, but the light can disorient someone. Strobe flashlights can also be used to disorient people. You need to be close and it needs to be very dark for these things to have maximum effect. Lasers are another good tool. The little red dot of a weapon laser can be a persuasive tool when you can shoot but don’t want to. To someone who sees the laser and doesn’t have a death wish, it is a picture in a thousand words moment warning them “back off or die.” Shields and protective equipment Wear a helmet of some sort to protect from thrown objects. A hard hat or bike helmet will do, but if it doesn’t have a chinstrap, it can be knocked off. Don’t forget ballistic rated eye protection. Consider that your enemy may be well-prepared with helmets, goggles, masks, face and handheld shields. Shields can be used to protect from blows or flying objects when rescuing someone from the mob or when defensive activities require you to be in within range of thrown objects. You will not be using them to shove rioters except in an emergency, such as a rescue. The shields should be used by dedicated bearers to shelter a downed person or provide cover for weapon bearers against crowd-thrown objects. Not every man is going to, or should, have one. In the event you really need a shield, you should be taking shelter inside or returning fire (lethally or otherwise). Makeshift riot shields can be made of plywood or OSB with the corners rounded down and a bin pull or other handle added. Sections of 55 gallon plastic barrels are also popular choices. Plexiglass is also sold by the sheet which can be made into a homemade shield. Proper use of shields should be learned and practiced; tutorials are available online. Batons and melee weapons? Going hand-to-hand with anyone should be a last resort. Batons can be easily snatched away and used on you. Using clubs or other melee weapons are suited for physically fit, trained fighters. Hand-to-hand combat is essentially individual combat, but in numbers, and your side will probably be outnumbered. Also using melee type weapons will likely cause serious or fatal injuries. [1] See SINCC under the section regarding flashlights, described in the “Firearms.” Note: this an adaptation from my non-fiction book Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF, available on Amazon. Get off my lawn Since 2020 was the year of the riot, some that spilled over into suburban residential neighborhoods. In times of unrest to SHTF, groups of intruders large and small will be a problem for you. You should also be concerned about the burglar who hopes no one notices him coming up the walk. American suburbs are just the kind of thing any army of bad guys would want to see from the Romans tearing Carthage down to Genghis Kahn and the Mongols sweeping into Europe. Freeways turn into wide, arterial streets that feed neighborhoods built mostly on a grid pattern. Our streets, let alone the individual lots, are very rarely defensible. In many neighborhoods, rural or urban, there is nothing stopping a bad guy from walking right up to a house. Our modern homes are flammable, not bullet resistant, weak, and filled with lots of easy access points. Examine the structure of your home. Bullets easily penetrate most suburban construction and burglars commonly exploit windows, doors, and locks. For most Americans, anyone can simply walk up to your door without any sort of gate or other obstacle stopping them. It’s time to change that. The ideal battle is the one that is never fought; the same goes for the forced entry that never is attempted. By taking simple steps you can enhance the likelihood that an angry mob, burglars, looters, or bandits will simply pass right by for an easier target. With preparation and some luck, your house’s windows and locks will never be tested. We start with the principle that layered security is the key and the first layer is your yard.
If you can keep them out of the yard, you’ve also just won the battle of keeping them out of the house. Let’s focus on that. Passive defense is anything that makes it difficult or less desirable to enter your property. Examples:
All of these things discourage entry either by the danger of apprehension or materially making access difficult. Even signs and cameras signal that you are paying attention to your defense, which incentivize a bad guy to find someone less aware. Remember, we’re exploiting psychology and laziness here. Creating a physical and psychological boundary is important. Physical boundaries are barriers that have to be traversed to cross. Fences are obvious, and if tall and sturdy enough, serve as a strong physical barrier. Psychological boundaries are things that break up public spaces from private ones like decorative fences, hedges, or even landscaping that most people wouldn’t want to walk through or across. Keeping them off your lawn, the front yard If you have an open lawn up to your house, large crowds fanning out across the street will treat the open ground as a thoroughfare. Even if the person/group is just passing through, wouldn’t you rather have them do it thirty feet away instead of just outside your windows? What kind of mischief might they get up to if they had the temptation of the home so close? This is basically crowd control. People take the path of least resistance. If cops don’t want people walking in an area, they put up those metal barricades because people don’t want to deal with jumping them. Deterrence is easy and mostly psychological in many cases. People tend to stick to paths even if the adjoining ground is just as easy to walk on. It serves as a guide for them. They might not even be aware of the effect it’s having on their subconscious navigation. Angry mobs might unconsciously pass by and target the house with no protected yard and not even realize that they made that decision. Defensive landscaping doesn’t have to be ugly. Ideally, you would want to set up a sturdy fence with thorny plants (like roses) for several feet in front so any jumper lands in thorns. That idea might not work due to design, space, taste, or local codes. You can keep your lawn, but maybe if you don’t want a fence, rip up a two-foot section of grass along the sidewalk, put in some large decorative rocks, and then plant roses in between. Using the idea of psychology, you could build a landscaped funnel through a path to the front door. Instead of someone cutting up the side of your yard, give them the obvious path where it is to your advantage (where you can see them from the window or where your cameras are). That way, if someone wants to sneak, they’ll have to navigate the landscaping and will stick out like a sore thumb going through the roses for no good reason. While we’re on the topic of landscaping, don’t create areas for bad guys to hide. Rose bushes are great because generally you can see a person hiding behind them. A dense hedge could entirely conceal a bad guy who could be crouching on the sidewalk with a rifle ready to shoot you the moment you open the front door. You want to be the one behind the bushes ready in ambush. Securing the driveway is more of a problem. The new trend in superdense housing tracts are driveways too small to actually park in. In older homes or pricier developments, the driveways can actually park cars. Some homes have yards where a simple chain can be stretched across the driveway. Other tracts were built so the only way to secure the driveway would be to build a fence and install a long gate across the two-plus car drive. Again, not something you really see outside of the inner city. Low fences are about deterring people; not keeping people out. Fencing and landscaping can funnel people into areas where they might be faced with a real gate. This gate might secure your front courtyard or it might be your security screen on your front door. An open lawn creates a wide path to the front door; a single gate from the driveway to the front walk makes only one access point. One final tip for keeping people out of “denied” areas: motion activated sprinklers. Usually these are to scare deer out of gardens, but just imagine the surprise a miscreant would get when suddenly, out of the dark, there is a hiss and a jet of water soaks them until they run away. The sound of the sprinkler or a surprised yell might also alert you. It's enough to either buy you a few seconds or convince the unserious to go elsewhere. In-ground sprinklers can also be turned on as a mob approaches to create a soft denied area.
If you are concerned about vehicles driving through your yard, several different approaches can be adapted to stop them. Strategic placement of decorative boulders of several hundred pounds about two feet tall will stop most cars, assuming they can’t squeeze through. The same applies to concrete filled flowerpots. Block walls that have a concrete foundation and are rebar reinforced can also stop vehicles.
More ideas on protecting your home from mobs, burglars, and more can be found in Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF, available on Amazon. Note: this an adaptation from my non-fiction book Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF, available on Amazon.
Night vision is a force multiplier If SHTF happens, darkness will be the bad guys’ friend. Most Americans have no idea how dark night really is. New York and Las Vegas are bright enough to blot out virtually all stars. Total darkness is hard to get but can come in the right circumstances. Being able to see clearly in the dark becomes a necessary tool for survival. Your situation may never be as dire as I’ve written about my novels, but it could. You can turn around the darkness advantage and make it yours by employing night vision devices. If you cannot see in the darkness, you don’t know what’s out there. Seems so simple it’s cliché, right? Think about the average person’s feelings in the dark. Ever whistle to keep yourself company while taking the trash out at night? Night vision allows you to turn that feeling of discomfort around and use it to your advantage against bad guys. The goal is to be one step ahead of the bad guys. If a threat doesn’t know you can see him, he’s going to sneak up right through the bushes as you watch. Then when he’s at the final line of bushes before the open ground, you can light him up and neutralize him. The alternative is that you don’t know he’s there until he starts shooting at you or is rushing your position. By revealing what the darkness cloaks you can engage more persons, at a greater distance, over a wider field of fire. You can detect and identify threats earlier than they can observe you. Night vision allows you to do several things white lights will do but without detection. That initialism is SIN: S – Search I – Identify (friend or foe) N – Navigate These three are all passive uses of your night vision gear. Identification and navigation (marking waypoints) can be boosted by use of infrared markers such as reflectors, glow sticks, strobes, or IR flashlights. The latter will also enable you to control and communicate just as you could with a white light. Types and employment There are three kinds of Night vision Optical Devices (NODs). The first are image intensification tubes that amplify ambient light. Gen III is the current military issue stuff. The picture is basically what you’re familiar with from recent movies showing night vision (13 Hours is a great example). The next category is thermal vision, or FLIR (a brand). These display the world in different shades of color, or black and white, depending on the temperature. The final category is digital night vision. This is not so great. It basically is an image sensor from a digital camera that amplifies light. Probably the best brand out there is Sionyx. I don’t recommend it, even though these devices are cheaper. Buy once, cry once. If you’re using night vision for shooting, you cannot physically get your eyes down on a rifle to look down the sights with a NOD on your face. The NOD must be mounted on the weapon, often in conjunction with a night vision compatible sight. What a “night vision compatible” red dot sight means is that if you mount your PVS-14 on the rail with the scope, the dot won’t wash out the amplified picture. That is, the dot has a dimmer switch. Again, unless you’re rich and can buy multiple devices, I don’t recommend this. You can’t use a rifle mounted NOD to navigate while moving around. So that means a head-worn NOD, like the PVS-14 monocular. This requires an infrared laser, mounted on the weapon, to aim. Unless the bad guy has night vision (and they probably won’t), you will be the only one seeing the infrared dot appear on the bad guy in your NOD. Don’t have night vision? Don’t have/can’t afford NODs? Use your eye’s natural night vision. First, allow about 30 minutes in darkness for your eyes to adapt to the dark. If you have to turn on a light, close one eye tightly to preserve night vision in that eye. Make sure you are well rested as vision tends to deteriorate with fatigue. Have you ever noticed that if you try to look directly at something in the dark it “disappears”? Your eyes are only able to focus on an area of about 2-3 degrees with your sharp central vision (fovea); the rest of what you see is peripheral vision. Try looking indirectly, that is just away from the object, and you will be able to see it again. This phenomenon is known as averted vision. Averted vision is possible because your eyeball’s rod cells, which don’t distinguish color, are far more sensitive than your eye’s cone cells. Cone cells are responsible for color vision and are used primarily in bright light. Rods are roughly 100 times more sensitive to light than cone cells but produce blurrier vision (or else everyone would have great peripheral vision). To visually scan areas you are watching at night, use averted vision by moving your eyes in a pattern. Scan in a grid: up and down, left to right. This will allow you to see things off to the side of your fovea and avoid the problem of looking directly at an unidentified something only to have it disappear. If you are going to be exposed to bright light, such as muzzle flash, headlights, etc. close one eye to preserve night vision in that eye until the light is gone. Use red lights or filters to preserve your night vision. Your depth perception and ability to distinguish outlines will be affected after dark. Distance tends to be underestimated by up to a quarter; dark objects app ear further away while light objects seem closer. Hats, hoods, and helmets reduce your field of view, especially at night. If you’re the only with NODs in your neighborhood, you will act as a target designator. If it’s totally dark and a “weapons free” situation, you should be firing exclusively tracer rounds (which look like laser beams). What you can do is identify a target, pop off a couple of tracers in the direction everyone should fire, then the group directs its fire that way until you can see the target is neutralized. Own the night. If you’ve got food, weapons, and basic necessities squared away, night vision might make all the difference. You can find more details about night vision and survival in my book Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF, available on Amazon. |
Author Don ShiftDon Shift is a veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and avid fan of post-apocalyptic literature and film who has pushed a black and white for a mile or two. He is a student of disasters, history, and current events. Archives
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