Using Long Guns in Confined Spaces

Here's another important video from the Personal Defense Network. Now let's take a closer look at movement through a very confined space with a long gun. Again, in a defensive scenario we're going to be in our home, perhaps around our vehicle but very unlikely to be in a wide open space with a rifle where we need to actually defend ourselves. There wouldn't be a better option of simply staying put or escaping. So in this case, we've moved through this kitchen area or moved to the kitchen area at this point.

And now we're gonna go further into the house to get to either our safe room, to get to our point of escape or to get to where other family members are to ensure their safety. The reactionary gap that we talk about is sometimes imagined to be this space that you put up constantly between you and somebody else or some place else. The reality is that you can only have a reactionary gap when it's appropriate. So if I'm in this position coming up to the door, I can bring my rifle up and shoot through the door without actually protruding past it. If I were to bring the rifle up in this position and come passed the doorframe, this is technically incorrect.

Anything here is technically correct. As long as I'm back behind this doorframe relative to anyone who could reach out and grab the rifle. The truth is I'm just as good to be back here or even further back into the room as I am to be right about here as far as the shooting capability goes. But that reactionary gap is improved tenfold, if I increase the distance by 10 times. As long as I can still see the same thing I'm not losing anything, tactically there's no disadvantage to being further back from a corner or from cover as you approach it or as you prepare to go through.

As come up to the door I'm gonna have to lose that reactionary gap. That's just part of what happens when you are moving forward. If you're moving forward to escape something behind you, if you're moving forward to protect something in front of you, you've gotta be prepared to lose that reactionary gap. This is much harder with a long gun than it is with a pistol. If I had a pistol right now, I'd be in my high compressed ready.

I'd bring my offhand out to shield and I would certainly be able to address any problem as I even approach and go through the door. With the long gun I can't do that. Even if I were to cheat the long gun back over my shoulder or under my shoulder is only so far back I can go. And there's only so much I could do with this hand to defend and still be able to have that reactionary gap. Eventually I get to the point where someone can grab or compromise the end of the rifle without me being able to do anything about it, except pull back, try to get the muzzle on the threat if they presented themselves as intending to hurt me or someone else in a way that justifies shooting, shooting or taking the rifle back.

This is one time when having the sling can be a great advantage if you actually have a pistol on, you can let go of this putting the safety selector, switch onto safe, go to your pistol and deal with the threat. On the hand, if someone's faster and stronger and maybe lucky has better technique, they can certainly pull you around by the sling and move you around also so you need to be prepared for that. Slings are infinitely greater advantage than they are disadvantaged but this is one time when you want to be aware someone getting leverage on this long gun can affect your balance and your posture and your strength and your position and your ability to stop them from hurting you or someone else by putting pressure on you using the sling. Let's take a look at how we would go through this door. As we approach, we're going to have our muzzle depressed.

We would only come up if we knew there was a threat and we recognized it. We've got our muzzle down and we're going to slice the pie, we're gonna move into a position where we can see if there's anything here that would affect us as we came through the doorway. Seeing that there isn't anything there, we now can move forward. As I come through this doorway I need to be worried about my next danger area which of course is the doorway up ahead to my left. Remember that by keeping my muzzle depressed I get more of a reactionary gap in tight spaces.

What I mean by that is it's harder for somebody to reach out and grab the rifle down here than it is if it's up here because it's further away from my body. Of course, it also takes me longer to be able to get the rifle onto a target whether I go straight up into a good shooting position. I slide back up over my shoulder or I slide under my arm, depending on the sling and the type of rifle you're using, one or the other of those may be the better option. What is definite is that by keeping my muzzle depressed I run less risk of pointing a rifle at somebody that I don't want to point it out. When I'm here in the back, further away I can keep my rifle up because I'm pointing it at this wall.

Maybe I can get a little more lead time if there was to be someone in this corner threatening me or someone coming through that doorway as I move. But as I get closer again, and can't see, especially as I'm pointed at an unknown area like that open doorway I'm going to lower it back down. Either way, I'm certainly not going to go through up here with a rifle here. This affects my field of vision and guarantees I'm pointing the rifle at anybody who shows up. With a rifle down here.

I get a better reactionary gap and I'm less likely to point the rifle at someone who means me harm. It's important to remember that you're not in a military role. You're not in a police role where you're looking for a bad guy. You're not in a role where you expect to find trouble around every corner. You're in a role where you're trying to get out.

You're trying to get to your family. You're trying to get your family out and you're prepared for trouble around every corner, it's an important difference. As I approached the doorway, once again, I'm going to keep a reactionary gap and slice the pie. Remember this whole time, I can't worry about what's behind me. If I'm moving forward towards where I think a threat is hurting my family, or if I believe there may be a threat between me and my barricade area or my escape route that's when I have to focus on, I can't afford to what if and be doing this all the time, not paying attention to what I'm doing.

If I have two areas that are equally as likely to pose a threat, that's exactly what I need to do. And as always, I need to orient the rifle with my line of sight as I move through the building Check out more videos, just like this one at the Personal Defense Network