Active Shooter Response Rifle
Rob PincusDescription
Rob Pincus discusses the optimal setup for an active shooter response rifle for corporate or school security, college campus police, or anyone interested in building a dedicated rifle to defend against an armed attacker in a crowded public environment. In such a demanding situation, a rifle needs to be capable of extreme precision, but versatile enough to deal with a typical close-quarters threat. Various aiming aids and other design features are covered.
Here comes another important tip from the Personal Defense Network. Now, if you get caught in a public environment active shooter situation, the best you can probably hope for is that you actually have your good subcompact up to full-size defensive handgun with you. But you'd be a lot better prepared if you had something like this. Now, this is specifically an active shooter response rifle. This is exactly the way that we recommend that private security that are interested in their corporate campus security having an active shooter response. This is how we recommend they set them up. For patrol rifles that are gonna be in supervisors' cars, that are going to be deployed, dispatched to an active shooter situation, this again is a great option for active shooter response. Now, it's probably not the way you wanna set up your home defense gun and it's probably not the way you wanna set up a generic patrol response rifle. But it is going to be a very specialized and very capable tool in an active shooter response scenario. So again, let's imagine that you're a private security guy who has a patrol vehicle, you're not supposed to be armed, you're not supposed to be carrying around a rifle certainly in your everyday moment of doing your security around a corporate campus. But if there's an active shooter situation in the cafeteria, in the manufacturing space, in the parking lot, in an assembly area, wherever it may be, this is the kind of thing that you're going to wanna bring to that situation. We have a traditional glass optic, a regular magnifying scope. Now, we don't need it to be a 10 or 20 times magnification. This particular one is adjustable from 1.5 times up to six times, and it just uses a simple, thick duplex reticle. If we think about the kind of shooting that we're gonna have to do in and amongst other people, maybe across a warehouse floor, maybe across the manufacturing floor, across the parking lot, something like 50 to 100 yards, a lot of people around. Maybe at 15 or 20 yards, but with people in the background, people in the foreground, maybe even something that develops into a hostage situation, having that magnifying optic for a precise shot is incredibly important. So a traditional glass scope is the way that I'm gonna recommend that people go. Because the traditional glass scope is not going to allow us to as easily engage a threat who just pops around a corner or is inside of a room, or for us to shoot very, very rapidly when we have a close quarters immediate threat and there aren't any bystanders around. If we happen to be isolated with the shooter, we're gonna wanna have some type of an offset optic. All right, now of course this firearm is unloaded, the magazine in here is empty, and I just wanna give you an idea of what that is. If I'm here and I'm thinking about coming up and using the scope, when I'm actually gonna be doing is rotating that elbow up, and now I'm using the iron sight. So I'm here, I'm thinking about shooting off in a long distance or I'm thinking about shooting in a long distance here. Bad guy pops up, bad guy, threat, pops up. I'm gonna come up, instead of traditionally coming up and then not being able to see anything through that magnified optic, it's simply a raise of the elbow. And then boom, I've got that one o'clock optic right there in that way. The other thing that I've got on here, so I've got three optics actually. Remember, primary defensive alignment is gonna be done kinesthetically. Four points of contact, primary aiming, bringing the gun up, both eyes open, focused on the threat, bang, bang, bang. The primary optic on this particular firearm is the magnified glass. Secondary optic is the one o'clock iron site. And I've got a laser set far forward on the gun for a couple of different reasons. One, in an extreme close quarters situation where I actually have to drop the gun and bring it back because I'm worried about someone being able to reach out and grab my firearm but I'm not close enough for contact shooting where I'm actually in contact with the bad guy. I can use that laser as an indicator. The other thing I can do with this laser is I might be able to use it to indicate the location of a threat to some other person who's on my team. Again, if I'm private security, if I'm part of a law enforcement response, I might be able to use that laser to indicate, hey, there's the bad guy, bad guy's over here behind that door, that kind of thing. Actually use it as a signaling device. The other thing I can do with that laser is potentially use it to distract the bad guy. So let's say I'm in a situation where I can't take the shot. There's too many bystanders, there's too much movement. I might be able to turn that laser on, start aiming for the eyes of the bad guy, distract him, get his attention, maybe get him to freeze long enough for me to then transition right to that shot with the magnified optic. So a couple of different things I can do with a laser in an environment with an active shooter. So we've primarily got three things set up here. The magnifying optic, the iron site and the laser all as options for both tactical use or actual aiming devices in an active shooter environment. A couple of other things I've got going on here, I've got a good, comfortable stock. I may need to be very, very precise. This is gonna be a high quality firearm capable of delivering precise shots, good high quality stock that I can get a good cheek weld on, a good, consistent cheek weld on to be able to take maximum advantage of this glass optic. The other thing is a sling. You're gonna need to have some kind of a sling. You don't wanna grab this rifle, and then after the shooting, what are you gonna do with the rifle? Put it down on the ground? There's gonna be people to help, there's gonna be people that you have to escort out. There may be people that you need to control and make sure that they're not gonna run around and hurt themselves, they're not gonna go disturb the evidence of the bad guy, if you are in a law enforcement or a security capacity. There's all kinds of things you're gonna wanna do after the shooting, and you're not gonna wanna just set the gun down, let it hang on your body. If you can go to a two point and get even more administrative, that's even better. So make sure you have some kind of a sling that you can grab the rifle and go with. Now I've got a place to put the rifle while I'm dealing with other people, while I'm administering medical assistance, whatever it is I might also be doing. If you're in a situation that allows you to prepare ahead of time in your workplace or in your professional role, thinking about how to set up an active shooter response rifle is part of your active shooter response strategy. Be sure to check out the Personal Defense Network for more important tips just like that one.
I see all of the posts with some good points. I think the point of the video is from the very beginning is that when someone, any one who can stand between my kid or co-worker, these are some things one can do to save lives. Another point in my humble mind can eeke out is, if a person has taken the time and money to find, subscribe and view content from these fine people, it may be safe to deduced that this brave person, who by this time has not ran, is not a "Kindergarten Cop"! Excuse my spelling, punctuation and/or grammar I don't proofread or spell check. I went to government schools and was only an E-6 in a joint service military unit in the 80's Rant over!
At the college where I work, almost all of the Security Officers are retired LE. Several were Firearms Instructors. Some of us were members of our respective department's SRT. I have actively shot competition and 3 gun for several years. I agree not every school has officers trained or capable of this level of response. And if the officers don't have the training, they shouldn't be given that task of performing under those conditions. They may be a bigger danger to all involved. I work with a few that are probably better suited to bevthe one to go call 911.
Good set-up, but it could be better. The magnifying optic is good, but one with an illuminated reticle is better for precise aim in reduced light. The optic should routinely be deployed with the minimum setting, in this case 1.5X for widest field of view. Crank it up only when the precise shot is required. Finally, the laser is good, but a combination of laser and light, either in one unit or with separate devices would be much better for low-light situations. Finally, the selection of ammunition that will fragment easily will lesson the risk to bystanders.
I think this platform has a lot to offer and the recommended glass optics with a one o'clock iron site and forward switched laser is excellent advice. My personal choices may differ in the arrangements of these components, but the recommendation is very sound. A guard is not necessarily untrained. Bystanders make assumptions based on what they see of the overt "security theater" of malls, parking lots, and housing etc. And many guards are tasked with day-to-day unarmed deterrent and customer service/concierge assignments. Armed guards are trained (in most states) to at least a standard on par with rookie police. Any guard hired to work armed guard sites and/or active shooter assignments tend to be on par with skilled tactical police. These guards compete in matches, train on their own dime (that's how they get the higher paying armed gigs), and usually have shoot-house/Simunitions based on-going refresher training. This is seldom noticed by passers by.
So very wrong. A guard will not have the training or skill to use an USPSA three gun rifle. With the few rounds that a guard has to shoot to learn, it will never work. To complicated. Looks more like a corporate sale pitch than an actual weapon system for a guard.