When teaching defensive and shooting tactics to students, we often remind them to stay in the fight. That means when your gun runs empty and you need to reload—or have a malfunction, get injured or any of a number of other things that can happen—you stay in the fight. Do what you must to overcome the roadblock, whatever it might be, and pour it on your attacker. Just remember when we say “stay in the fight,” we aren’t just talking about equipment failure.
In 1900, legendary Southwestern lawman Jeff Milton was working for Wells Fargo as an express agent and security guard. He was just shy of his 40th birthday. When the train pulled into an Arizona town, it was met by an outlaw band set on robbing Milton’s express car. During the fight, where Milton fatally wounded one of the outlaws, he was hit in the area of the left elbow by a rifle bullet fired by another criminal. Doctors were able to save the arm by removing quite a bit of damaged bone. Milton still had a left arm, but it wasn’t much use for anything—or so it seemed.
After his recovery, Milton became a mounted inspector for the U.S. Immigration Department. By himself, he rode the entire Southern border of Arizona and often into California. That means that he had to saddle his own horse and pack horse, make camp by himself, cut firewood and be able to operate his Winchester rifle. How he did it with a virtually useless left arm, I’ll never know. But he did it. In more ways than one, Milton stayed in the fight.
A few years ago, a student showed up at one of the major defensive schools and it was observed that he only had one or two fingers on each hand, possibly due to a birth defect. It quickly became clear that, while he might be physically challenged, he certainly wasn’t handicapped. An instructor was assigned to work one-on-one with this shooter, and between them, they worked out ways for him to run his gun, do reloads and clear malfunctions. It wasn’t as fast as everyone else and it wasn’t pretty, but it worked and made him a harder target. Here was a guy who didn’t focus on what he didn’t have, but instead focused on what he did have and what he could learn to do with it—just another guy who stayed in the fight.
Another fellow I know has been wheelchair-bound ever since I’ve known him. Multiple sclerosis, I think. Instead of crying about life not being fair, he made an in-depth study of the various models of handguns with an eye for what he can best manage. He also had methods for carrying that gun on his person or in his chair. Furthermore, he has worked out ways to make his home more secure from a home invasion and determined tactics that he can use for defense, given his situation.
It’s true, life isn’t fair. So, OK, we’ve said it; now, what are we going to do about it? The only thing we can really do—and the one that makes the most sense—is to just work out ways to harden ourselves as targets, whatever that might be.
In that regard, we are fortunate that there are so many different defensive handguns available. It is highly possible to sort through several and find the one that best fits our needs. Just a few days ago, I was visiting an internet chat page where one writer informed us he was wheelchair-bound and wanted to talk about whether a revolver or semi-auto would be best for him. Almost immediately, another wheelchair-bound individual who had more experience responded, and they shared ideas and experiences. Life isn’t fair, but you stay in the fight.
So, there are some things about our physical situation we can’t change, and we just have to figure out ways to work around them. But, there are also a whole lot of things we can change, if we just will. These usually have to do with eating less and exercising more. I can guarantee you the better you feel and the better your physical condition, the better you will shoot. And the better your physical condition, the better you will be able to handle the huge stress that comes with dealing with a criminal attack; I assure you that it is a lot.
We all accept the fact that life isn’t fair, and we make the commitment to stay in the fight because that is the smart thing to do and a good road map for survival. We change what we can, and we figure out how to work around what we can’t. I’d write more on the subject, but I’m starting my walking program this evening and it’s time to get with it. Old sheriffs have to stay in the fight, too.
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