Unarmed But Still Dangerous
Leaving Your Gun at Home Doesn’t Mean Being Vulnerable
We always admonish readers to “carry a gun” whenever possible, but what if that’s not possible, by choice or statute?
Read on for some thoughts about how to protect yourself even when you’ve been figuratively defanged!
We, the self-appointed experts of all things tacti-cool, are constantly preaching the old adage: the first rule of a gunfight is to bring a gun. This is great advice and something we constantly harp on to our friends, family, co-workers, and random passing strangers. Having a gun doesn’t automatically guarantee success during dangerous confrontations, but it’s a damn sight better than a big rock.
But what if a big rock is the only item in your arsenal?
No Guns Allowed
For all the talk of carry guns, it’s a simple fact that there are many places where carrying any type of weapon is forbidden. We call these “target-enhanced zones,” but in certain cases where the law is especially robust in this regard — courts, airports, jails, schools — even I adhere to the rules, as I don’t want to find out if the Terre Haute, Indiana, Federal Penitentiary actually serves a good pepper steak.
Typically, I try to stay away from such disarming places whenever possible, but there are limits to any vow. For example, I’ve been to Europe for business, and I’m pretty sure they don’t allow carrying anything deadlier than a withering stare. Other times, I have chosen to voluntarily go “unstrapped” in certain instances, such as when heading out for a few cocktails with friends, as alcohol and gunpowder are a terrible combination. Regardless of why and when, realistically, there are times when we simply can’t carry a gun. Fortunately, there are things we can do to shore up the odds when we’re not packing Old Betsy.
Simply being aware of your surroundings at all times is easy, yet most folks aren’t. Even if someone looks wildly out of place
and exceedingly suspicious, like in this photo illustration, most people don’t notice — until it’s too late.
Stay Alert
The first and most important concept is decidedly less sexy than anything MacGyver might fashion, so you’ll rarely read about it on other websites and YouTube channels catering primarily to the Walter Mitty gamer community. This top-tier, top-secret Tier-One idea? Situational awareness.
Heck, being aware of your surroundings is actually important even if you are strapped and ready to go “John Wick” on 50 highly-cinematic terrorists, but that’s a different kettle of stew.
When unarmed, you cannot be unaware. This is because avoidance is far and away the best safety strategy when you cannot match bullet-for-bullet or blade-for-blade with an adversary.
Of course, what can we say about situational awareness that hasn’t already been beaten into the ground? I’ve found that either someone “gets it” or they don’t. Those who’ve experienced bad people or circumstances actively trying to cancel their lifetime memberships generally understand the idea. The rest of Youse need to figure it out — it can happen to you, so either blindly accept being a victim of life or make a vow to maintain an edge over fate and kismet.
Remaining relaxed yet alert about the people, places, and nuances of the things around you is arguably the number one key to a long and relatively quiet life. You can’t become so enthralled with your phone, the basketball game, or the school play in which your offspring is currently singing loudly off-key that you forget to do a periodic quick scan of your surroundings. Live life, enjoy yourself, but remember there is every chance evil is hiding in the faces around you. By staying a tiny bit wary, you’ll be one of the first to notice if the unthinkable happens.
If so, you have given yourself more choices aside from “wild panic.”
Bunny Run
Maintaining vigilance is so important because ultimately, you and I need to run like scared little bunnies whenever trouble starts. To put this idea in sexier gun-magazine-worthy tactical parlance: “Your highest order of battle as a ‘civilian’ is to disengage from an adversary and create distance.” In other words, when things get weird, get the hell out of dodge. You’ll be glad you did.
We “real earth people” don’t have a moral or legal duty to “stand and fight,” much less try to apprehend evildoers and bring them to justice. Our job is to survive and assist our friends and family in doing likewise. If you can choose to do more, fine, but never ignore your most important responsibility.
It should be second nature to always know where the exits are located, whether you’re shopping, dining, traveling,
or otherwise going through your day. If someone suddenly pulls a shotgun on the cashier of this convenience store
or a car accidentally rams through the front door, the back door is where you should be headed
in a split second — assuming you noted it previously!
Of course, you can’t escape if you haven’t figured out where to go beforehand. For both attack and “routine” disaster/emergency purposes, it should be second nature to automatically consider the general layout and possible escape points of any location where you find yourself. Regardless of whether inside a massive arena, a hotel, a friend’s apartment building or riding a bus, you should know both a primary and secondary exit in case one is blocked by fire, accident, an armed gunman, or the worst-of-the-worst scenario — people soliciting money.
Plan B
Now, suppose circumstances dictate that running is out of the question. This, in the words of Chesty Puller, “that simplifies the matter.” Your choice is to either hide or face your attacker. Personally, I think experts and authorities promote hiding as it’s the easiest, but it’s also a prime way to become a whimpering victim. I choose not to be a sheep herded into a slaughter.
For me, if trapped, I’ll probably choose to hide somewhere, but always with the idea of finding a location where I can take advantage of circumstances to set up a warm reception for Mr. Active Shooter. It’s not as good as escaping to the Caribbean, and certainly not as good as having a ready firearm, but given no other option, I’ll be ready behind a blind corner in a storeroom or office with a broom, pipe or fire extinguisher.
So, if you are pushed into a situation where your only rational option is to pick up something handy nearby and charge into the brink, we should discuss the fun stuff that will increase this story’s search engine ranking and simultaneously excite all those kombat kiddies — improvised weapons.
Office supply or improvised weapon? Broken compact discs make a passable razor blade and have been used by prison inmates to kill.
Your workplace might have a strict no weapons policy, but nobody would question a broken CD stuck in a drawer.
Ignore The Marquess of Queensbury
As a graduate of a number of formal “improvised weapons” training classes, having worked in both the jail and as a street cop, and possessing a thoroughly deviant mind, I have a pretty good handle on how to turn everyday objects into weapons. However, anyone with a creative bent can likewise come up with innumerable possibilities. This isn’t rocket surgery!
I will note that if you can attend qualified improvised weapons training, you’ll enjoy it because you’ll have your eyes opened to possibilities you never thought of. In fact, if you’re like me, you’ll be a little alarmed at how much you’ll enjoy it!
There is also a considerable body of literature available on the subject, but I’ll caution that much of it is written by internet commandos who have only used such homemade weapons in their imagination. I’ll submit the “DIY paper bow & arrow” as Exhibit One.
Generally speaking, improvised weapons fall into broad categories rather than trying to develop a specific technique for every single gewgaw and gimcrack. If you consider the dynamic nature of life coupled with the variability of “everything” you find in the world, it would be impossible to wargame every situation, so you need to think on your feet.
But a little preplanning doesn’t hurt, either.
K.I.S.S.
There are many schools of thought on the subject, but to keep things simple, my own belief is that you should concentrate on two main types of weapons: impact and stabbing/cutting.
There are a myriad of possibilities in your surroundings right now. Have you thought about using a full drink bottle or even a laptop computer to club a miscreant into submission? A stout flashlight doesn’t look like a weapon, but trust me, it is quite effective at putting people in a different frame of mind. There is always the old prison standby of putting batteries, rocks, or a handful of bolts in a sock and using it like a blackjack.
The DeSantis City Slicker is a handy change purse and legal nearly everywhere,
but it packs a mean punch when fully loaded and swung by its strap as shown here.
In this regard, I may or may not carry a leather “change purse” full of challenge coins when traveling. The only time I encountered trouble was passing through TSA when the young agent hinted that he’d like one of the coins!
Talk a Walk
The granddaddy of all clubbing weapons is the common walking stick. I have several good friends who wouldn’t think about sauntering around without a good briar staff in hand. Fortunately, the older you get, the less unusual it appears. It can also look quite dapper if you want to incorporate a nice affectation into your wardrobe.
A walking stick or cane is great for defense and useful in many different ways, yet few people look at it as a potential weapon.
Lest you think a cane is only useful for bruising shins, I took a walking stick defense class, and it made me a believer. Deep bone bruises have a way of doing that!
Stabbing or cutting weapons are legion; just ask any correctional officer for a graduate-level course. Hand tools, broken pieces of glass or plastic, stiff wire, sharpened hairbrush handles, ink pens, pencils, car keys, bottle openers, and even tightly rolled-up magazines have been used to effectively penetrate soft tissue.
A standard umbrella can also create a nasty wound when aimed at the face or throat. It might not drop someone like that. 44 hollow points to the brainpan, but it might buy you time to do something else — like attempt a disarm or flee — or at least let your adversary know you mean business, and it might dissuade the less motivated to move along to greener pastures.
A fire extinguisher makes a great bludgeon and a wonderful distraction device,
and they can even put out fires! What a great multi-purpose tool!
Limitless Choices
Roy Huntington loves fire extinguishers as both a distraction device and an impact weapon. A folding chair is fairly easy to swing and makes a nice bludgeon; just ask any professional wrestler. Did you know a rolled-up towel or shirt is effective at trapping knives if your opponent is unskilled (most are)? A recent homicide in our community featured a screwdriver as the murder weapon, and I don’t know of any place aside from the airport where a screwdriver gets any scrutiny. And then, and then, and then ….
Sorry, I was getting a little hot and frothy thinking about all the fun possibilities, but we’ll stop here. As mentioned earlier, I’m not trying to write a comprehensive treatise on the subject but simply exhorting the reader to stay alert, have some type of formative strategy for the unlikely event of trouble, and spend a few minutes considering the improvised weapons you have at hand. My hope is more folks will understand that if you stay fully aware and deviously creative, you might be unarmed, but you can always be dangerous to those who mean you harm.
Want more online exclusives from GUNS delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our FREE weekly email newsletters.
