Using a Vehicle for Bullet Protection

Here's another important video from the Personal Defense Network. So we've taken a look at what could happen inside of the vehicle, but what about around the vehicle? What if we did make it out, we were heading to the vehicle, or this isn't even our vehicle, it just happens to be in our environment when we're in the middle of a dynamic critical situation? When you think about shooting in an unorthodox position, shooting around a vehicle is certainly gonna be one of those times. We wouldn't wanna just stand up here and take those shots that we were taking towards a bad guy who was trying to hurt us when we could utilize some of the heavy, reinforced areas of the vehicle to give us as much protection as we can. Similarly, these flat surface areas are gonna take the rounds and absorb a lot of the energy. And in fact, if the rounds come in at oblique angles, they'll follow these lines and just go straight away from you. So if you happen to be caught at this point and have a threat, say, in front of the car, just simply coming down to a position where you can shoot in between the car door and this A pillar is gonna give you a lotta protection you wouldn't have had if you were just standing up in a standard shooting position. This may not look all that unorthodox as soon as we explain it, but if you're not practicing and thinking about these kinds of things in your training, you won't recognize the opportunity or the need to use these types of positions. Let's assume we're away from the car, and we actually take a look of the engine block area. Now obviously this is a pretty boxy simulated car. For training purposes, this is gonna do just fine. The reality is this would probably be sloped down. Course, there'd be a big, heavy wheel right here with a tire around it. I want you to think about which parts of the car are actually gonna stop rounds from coming at us. If we're being attacked from someone down towards the rear of the car and we happen to be towards the front, we wouldn't wanna place ourselves in a position here where we were shooting over this large, flat, sloped surface. Any rounds that hit in this area that wouldn't have otherwise hit us are gonna follow this flat plane straight down into where we would be. Similarly, anything coming down the side of the car is gonna follow that parallel line also. So it's important when we get over into this position, we think about, if I were to get down as low as I can under the hood and not extend out beyond the car, if a target were to appear out behind, I could engage from this position. Now you notice it's not exactly easy to find the most position in the world where you're down this low. Sure, I could lay down and get into this kind of a thing, and then if the target were to appear, so that's obviously a much more stable platform for me to get multiple shots off and things like that. But one of the things you need to remember is that this flat surface you're driving a car on is probably gonna be concrete or asphalt or something else very hard. Rounds that hit it are gonna follow that plane also. So if the person at the back of the car were to shoot low and I'm under the car, those rounds are gonna follow this surface. If I get hit in the foot or the knee or the ankle, it's not gonna be nearly as bad as if I'm laying down on the ground and taking those shots in the torso, obviously. So if I can stay off the ground a little bit and be here, this is a much better platform to be in if I can get the hit I need to get. The balance of speed and precision is always an important part of our shooting. If I can't get the hit that I need to get in this kind of a position and I need to get more stable, I'm gonna need to get into a more stable position. But what's nice about being here or here is I can quickly get up and maneuver and leave this area to a safer spot or to another place that I need to go to protect my family, to get an angle on the target that's trying to hurt me, whatever the situation may be. What's important is that you find the right position for you that maximizes your defensive abilities without compromising your ability to significantly affect the target's ability to present a lethal threat with your defensive firearm. Check out more videos just like this one at the Personal Defense Network.