As promised last week, I shall discuss offensive considerations for STAYING.  Offensive measures for a static location are referred to in the military as defensive in nature. For the purpose of this segment, I am discussing active measures that will allow you to protect yourself and your family should you choose to occupy one location. Occupying one location can mean staying in your home, designated bunker facility, or perhaps you are occupying a location left by someone else that you feel suits your needs.

Staying in one location creates some exciting methods of defending yourself from unwanted guests.  Again, UNWANTED GUESTS are those that wish to relieve you of your supplies. The easiest method involves incorporating weapons into your defensive plan. The incorporation of weapons into defending your homestead defines what I wish to discuss as offensive measures for staying.

The simplest offensive measure deals with firearms.  Personally, I prefer revolvers over automatic handguns if I plan on storing a weapon in an area that will be hidden.  Why a revolver?  Revolvers do not use a spring loaded magazine to feed bullets into the chamber.  Automatic pistols must have a round, or bullet, chambered (loaded) in order to work.  If you place an automatic pistol in a secret location and pull it out to fire several months later, the magazine spring may be weak and fail to allow the bullets to travel up the magazine.  Notice I said “placing it in a secret location.” In other words, I have hidden this pistol to use in an emergency. The other disadvantage of an automatic pistol is if it is hidden, you may have not lubricated it regularly.  Automatic pistols require regular lubrication. Hiding a firearm means you have a plan to get to it and use it when necessary.

Firearms should only be part of your plan.  Think about all the things you have around the house that can be incorporated. These spontaneous weapons are often recognized as “weapons of opportunity.”  Kitchen knives come to mind.  But don’t forget about things like fireplace tools.  That log poker by the fireplace can be real effective against an intruder.  Frying pans are outstanding devices to use against attackers.  Swinging that glass coffee pot can do lots of damage to the head/face of an assailant. Broom handles, baseball bats, golf clubs, you name it, it can be used as a weapon.  But you need to develop a plan that involves knowing where these things are in relation to where you are in the room or house.  Strategically place items around the house that are easily accessible.

Far- fetched though it may sound, discuss these things with your family or any other person staying in the place you are.  I suggest going so far as to rehearse the utilization of these items. Rehearsals may be as simple as talking through a given scenario (i.e. someone coming through the side window of the bathroom) or as complex as enacting a certain situation in which you physically rehearse engaging an attacker by retrieving a weapon around the room. Remember, if members of your family don’t know how to use weapons that are part of your plan, you are creating a liability and possibly jeopardizing the lives of your loved ones.  Once a weapon is involved in an attack, the weapon has the potential to be taken away and utilized by anyone in the vicinity of it. Ever watch a movie scene where the gun gets knocked to the floor and someone else picks it up? Be prepared to react accordingly.

Knowing how to react doesn’t mean you are ready to react.  Your plan to protect yourself and your family needs to be simple, and more importantly, flexible.  Things change.  As mentioned in a previous segment, plans get complicated all by themselves.  Stay calm, rehearse, and openly discuss the “What if” with your family. Should you wish to explore or discuss “your” plan, feel free to email me privately if the topic is something you feel is not meant in a public forum.

Next week, Part 4 will conclude the STAYING Segments.  Part 4 will explore the needs of roles and responsibilities of everyone staying at your location.

Author: Read Omohundro ([email protected])
Photo credit: mmp-stock