by Galia Berry
Having completed Lethal Force Institute's LFI-I course last year,
which covers the legal, ethical, moral, and judicious use of handguns
in self-defense, I decided to take the level 2 course this summer.
Taught by world-renowned gun maven Massad Ayoob (author of In
The Gravest Extreme as well as many other articles for various
gun magazines, champion shooter, expert witness, LEO, and educator),
this course dealt more intensively with threat management on a
fairly advanced level.
My first surprise was the makeup of those attending the class.
There were 28 of us taking LFI-II, and I was the only woman. The
overwhelming majority of students were either LEOs (law enforcement
officers) sent by various police departments from around the country,
or ex-military personnel. One, a professor of law, had come all
the way from England to take the course. But only a handful of
people were businessmen/professionals. Certainly, I was the only
housewife! (Translation: there was a heavy overdose of testosterone
in LFI-II, and the course would most definitely have benefitted
from the presence of additional women. Some of the more machismo
types taking LFI-II needed to see that as a woman, I was not unique,
or worse, a "freak" or "wannabee warrior,"
in my desire to pursue advanced training to increase my skills
in armed self defense.)
There were three major skills acquired from this course: combat
shotgun shooting, pistol shooting under adverse conditions, and
weapon retention and disarmament.
We shot about 75 rounds of slugs and 25 rounds of 00 buckshot.
Most of this shooting was done rapid-fire. We learned several
different grip and mounting techniques for shooting heavy loads
quickly and accurately which absorbed recoil and reduced chance
of recoil-related injury. The only people who got bruised were
those who didn't follow instructions carefully, and except for
one particular technique which utilized a ballistic vest, none
required special padding or clothing.
The LEOs found the combat shotgun drills invaluable for their
day-to-day responsibilities while on duty (several were on SWAT
teams). As a civilian, I found these drills less relevant, but
was glad to have learned a new skill and now know that I can manage
a heavy load accurately and effectively. (I must confess I used
my 20 ga. shotgun because it has a smaller frame than my husband's
12 ga. and therefore fits me more comfortably, so I didn't use
the 00 buckshot, as only #3 buck is commercially available for
20 ga.)
Especially useful was the time spent pistol shooting under adverse
conditions, live fire. We learned techniques for reloading and
shooting one-handed and weak-handed in compromised positions (lying
down on our side, behind cover, on our backs, on our stomachs,
and even shooting upside down and behind us, while on our backs!).
We also learned to shoot while moving. One exercise involved shooting
while moving AND being hit with a stun gun at the same time. The
object was to show that we could recover and shoot accurately
and effectively under the most stressful, and even painful, conditions.
Obviously these exercises are impossible to duplicate at the range,
since they are inherently unsafe for bystanders; they were performed
at LFI-II under the strictest conditions and with extreme safety
precautions. Curiously, the
more compromised the conditions were, the more accurate the shots
hit the target. This was because the exercises demanded tremendous
concentration and focus, more than some of the "easier"
shooting where shooters sometimes let their focus - - and resulting
accuracy - - slip.
We also learned the difficulty of holding someone at gunpoint
for long periods of time until help arrives. In the role-playing
scenario we enacted, the perpetrator was engaging us in dialogue,
increasing the difficulty of the exercise. Try this at home: with
your gun carefully checked and unloaded, try holding an inanimate
object at gunpoint for 5 to 8 minutes, all the while gripping
the handgun properly and firmly and never wavering with the front
sight on target. Your arms will start to get very tired! We learned
various techniques to alleviate this fatigue.
We were required to meet two qualifications. The LFI Rapid-Fire
Drill involved shooting quickly and accurately from various distances
both single and two-handed, in both standing and crouching positions,
utilizing different stances (Chapman, Weaver,
and Isosceles), and required several rapid reloads. We also took
a police qualification course approved by the New Hampshire Police
Standards and Training Academy. While similar to the above qualification,
it required shooting from behind cover at 25 yards. Much to the
dismay of the ex-Marines and LEOs, I outshot them with a score
of 294 out of 300 (but was by no means the top shooter).
One real challenge was in maintaining proper safety techniques
and awareness throughout the duration and continual bombardment
of a very full 8 or 9 hour day of shooting under stressful conditions
(and it is with great humility that I mention this; I think it
is symptomatic of everyone but few are willing to admit it!).
It is frighteningly easy to get careless or sloppy, and this class
made me all too aware of this danger. (No, I didn't have any AD's
(accidental discharge), but one time I did not follow a range
command properly, and during the gun grab with the dummy gun,
my finger fell to the trigger.) I also learned that having a high
shooting score on a paper target would not help me in a confrontation
if I forgot to take advantage of any available cover: thinking
tactically was crucial to surviving a lethal encounter.
Perhaps the most valuable thing acquired at LFI-II was the Lindell
Method of Weapon Retention and Disarmament. We paired off, with
the "good" guy being armed with a dummy gun, and the
"bad" guy attempting to grab it away. The techniques
learned are not simple and do not come easily or automatically,
so they required many, many practice sessions. My biggest problem
was in finding a "partner" - - the men in the class
didn't want to "hurt" me, and they (and I!) thought
that I was too "wimpy" to try to grab the gun from them.
The truth is, these exercises are very demanding physically, and
EVERYONE in the class was covered with bruised arms and swollen
wrists by the end of the second day. But after finally getting
the technique and rhythm correct, I must confess that the Wicked
Woman in me did get a certain perverse pleasure in bringing a
gun-grabbing 6'3", 250 lb. macho "bad guy" to the
ground!
We saw several videos that are used by various police and sheriff's
departments around the country as training aids. The most haunting
was an actual encounter filmed from a dashboard- mounted video
camera, audio on, from the patrol car of a North Carolina State
Highway Trooper. In what was a routine stop for a minor traffic
violation, the suspect turned suddenly violent without provocation.
The trooper was a former Marine, 6' tall and very fit; he was
wearing a ballistic vest. His assailant was a man without any
previous criminal record, who was short and obese. When the perpetrator
drew a hidden .22 derringer, and began assaulting the officer,
the State Trooper fired 5 shots from his .357 into the perpetrator.
All were good shots (one missed an
artery by only 1/4", and the man's obesity was a factor in
his surviving the shots), but the man lived. As the trooper reached
for his radio to signal for help, the man shot the officer under
his arm. That single .22 shot penetrated his arm and the bullet
found its way to his aorta, mortally wounding the officer. He
was dead within 2 minutes. (When the paramedics got there, they
had difficulty even locating the entry wound, it was so small.)
The perpetrator is serving life in prison.
As we sat, horrified, watching the State Trooper die by the side
of the highway, we learned that there is certainly no dignity
in this kind of death. Also, that sometimes, even with all the
odds in your favor, there are no "winners". . . but
that we have an obligation, for the sake of ourselves and our
loved ones, to be able to at least try to protect ourselves responsibly
and effectively, against those for whom respect for the life of
others is nil.
If you have any questions regarding this article, you can contact
the author. e-mail Galia Berry
Read an interview with one of the LFI "thugs."
Copyright © 1996 - Galia Berry, All Rights Reserved, Reprinted
with permission
For more information, contact:
Lethal Force Institute
P.O. Box 122
Concord, NH 03301