The following information is directly form the book "Nuclear War Survival Skills" written by Cresson Kearney. It is used as he required, that nothing be changed in any way from his directions. If you use this information please abide by his request.
I have been asked many times..."How do I know when things are getting bad, and what do I do?" Well the old adage he/she who has ears to hear, let them hear applies here. Things seldom are as cut and dried as the book may state, but by what Mr. Kearney says here and making a type and a shadow along with inspiration received by prayer and meditation, you will know what to do.
IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE WARNING
When Hiroshima and Nagasaki were blasted by the first nuclear weapons ever to be used in war, very few of the tens of thousands of Japanese killed or injured were inside their numerous air raid shelters. The single-plane attacks caught them by surprise. People are not saved by having shelters nearby unless they receive warning in time to reach their shelters and unless they heed that warning.
TYPES OF WARNINGS Warnings are of two types, strategic and tactical.
° Strategic warning is based on observed enemy actions that are believed to be preparations for an attack. For example, we would have strategic warning if powerful Russian armies were advancing into western Europe and Soviet leaders were threatening massive nuclear destruction if the resisting nations should begin to use tactical nuclear weapons. With strategic warning being given by news broadcasts and newspapers over a period of days, Americans in areas that are probably targeted would have time to evacuate. Given a day or more of warning, tens of millions of us could build or improve shelters and in other ways improve our chances of surviving the feared attack. By doing so, we also would help decrease the risk of attack.
° Tactical warning ofa nuclear attack on the United States 'would be received by our highest officials a few minutes after missiles or other nuclear weapons had been launched against our country. Radar, satellites and other sophisticated means of detection would begin to feed information into our military warning systems almost at once. This raw information would have to be evaluated, and top- level decisions would have to be made. Then attack warnings would have to be transmitted down to communities all over America.
Tactical warning (attack warning) of an out-of- the-blue, Pearl-Harbor-type attack would be less likely to be received by the average American than would an attack warning given after recognized strategic warning. However, the short time (only 15 to 40 minutes) that would elapse between missile launchings and the resultant first explosions on targets in the United States would make it difficult for even an excellent warning system to alert the majority of Americans in time for them to reach the best available nearby shelter.
Strengths and weaknesses of the present official warning system are summarized in the following two sections. Then the life-saving warnings that the first nuclear explosions would give, especially to informed people, are described.
OFFICIAL WARNING SYSTEM The U.S. official warning system is designed to give civilians timely warning by means of siren signals and radio and television announcements. The National Warning System (NAWAS) is a wire-line network which is to provide attack information to official warning points nationwide. NAWAS is not protected against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects from nuclear explosions. When the information is received at warning points by the officials who are responsible, they will sound local sirens and initiate radio and TV emergency broadcasts - if power has not failed. Officials at NAWAS warning points include many local civil defense directors. NAWAS receives information from ourconstantly improving military warning and communications systems.
Book Page: 23
SIREN WARNINGS The Attack Warning Signal is a wavering, wailing sound on the sirens lasting three to five minutes, or a series of short blasts on whistles or horns. After a brief pause, it is repeated. This signal means only one thing: take protective action- go promptly to the best available shelter. Do not try to telephone for information; get information from a radio broadcast after you reach shelter. It is Federal policy that the Attack Warning Signal will not be sounded unless an enemy attack on the United States has been detected. However, since local authorities may not follow this policy, the reader is advised to check the plans in his community before a crisis arises.
The following limitations of attack warnings given by sirens and broadcasting stations should be recognized:
° Only a relatively small fraction of urban Americans could hear the sirens in the present city systems, especially if most urban citizens had evacuated during a crisis.
° Except in a crisis threatening the outbreak of nuclear war at any moment, most people who would hear the attack warning signal either would not recognize it or would not believe it was a warning of actual attack.
° A coordinated enemy attack may include the detonation of a few' submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) at high altitudes over the United States within a few minutes of the launching of hundreds of SLBMs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Such high-altitude bursts would produce electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects primarily intended to knock out or disrupt U.S. military communications. These EMP effects also could knock out the public power necessary to sound sirens and could put most unprotected broadcasting stations off the air.
Radio warnings and emergency communications to the general public will be broadcast by the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS). This system uses AM broadcasting stations as the primary means to reach the public; selected FM and TV stations are included for backup. All stations during a crisis plan to use their normal broadcast frequencies.
EBS stations that are not put off the air by EMP or other effects of early explosions will attempt to confirm the siren warnings of a nuclear attack. They will try to give information to listeners in the extensive areas where sirens and whistles cannot be heard. However, EMP effects on telephones are likely to limit the information available to the stations. The functioning EBS stations should be able to warn listeners to seek the best available nearby shelter in time for most of these listeners to reach such shelter before ICBMs begin to explode. Limitations of the Emergency Broadcasting System in February 1986 included the fact that EMP protection had been completed for only 125 of the approximately 2,771 radio stations in the Emergency Broadcast System. One hundred and ten of 3,000 existing Emergency Operating Centers also had been protected against EMP effects. Many of the protected stations would be knocked out by blast; most do not afford their operating personnel fallout protection that is adequate for continuing broadcasts for long in areas subjected to heavy fallout.
WARNINGS GIVEN BY THE ATTACK ITSELF The great majority of Americans would not be injured by the first explosions of a nuclear attack. In an all-out attack, the early explosions would give sufficient warning for most people to reach nearby shelter in time. Fifteen minutes or more before big intercontinental ballistic missiles (lCBMs) blasted our cities, missile sites, and other extensive areas, most citizens would see the sky lit up to an astounding brightness, would hear the thunderous sounds of distant explosions, or would note the sudden outage of electric power and most communications. These reliable attack warnings would result from the explosion of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). These are smaller than many ICBMs. The SLBM warheads would explode on Strategic Air Command bases and on many civilian airport runways that are long enough to be used by our big bombers. Some naval bases and high-priority military command and communication centers would also be targeted.
The vast majority of Americans do not know how to use these warnings from explosions to help them save their lives. Neither are they informed about the probable strategies of an enemy nuclear attack.
One of the first objectives of a coordinated enemy attack would be to destroy our long-range bombers, because each surviving U.S. bomber would be one of our most deadly retaliatory weapons. Once bombers are airborne and well away from their runways, they arc difficult to destroy.
Book Page: 24 To destroy our bombers before they could get away, the first SLBMs would be launched at the same time that ICBMs would be fired from their silos in Europe and Asia. U.S. surveillance systems would detect launchings and transmit warnings within a very few minutes. Since some enemy submarines would be only a few hundred miles from their targets, some SLBMs would explode on American targets about 15 or 20 minutes before the first lCBMs would hit.
Some SLBMs would strike civilian airport runways that are at least 7000 Ft long. This is the minimum length required by B-52s; there were 210 such runways in the U.S. in 1977. During a crisis, big bombers would be dispersed to many of these long runways, and enemy SLBMs would be likely to target and hit these runways in an effort to destroy the maximum number of bombers.
Today most Soviet SLBMs have warheadsbetween 100 kilotons and one megaton.See Jane's Weapon Systems, 1987-88. Within 10 to 15 minutes of the beginning of an attack, runways 7000 feet or longer are likely to be hit by airbursts, to destroy U.S. aircraft and airport facilities. Later cratering explosions may be used to destroy surviving long runways, or at least to produce local fallout so heavy that they could not be used for several days for rearming and refueling our bombers. Therefore, homes within about 4 miles of a runway at least 7000 ft long are likely to be destroyed before residents receive warning or have time to reach blast shelters away from their homes. Homes six miles away could be lightly damaged by such a warhead, with the blast wave from a 1-megaton explosion arriving about 22 seconds after the warning light. Some windows would be broken 40 miles away. But the large majority of citizens would not be injured by these early SLBM attacks. These explosions would be life-saving "take cover warnings to most Americans, if they have been properly informed.
Sudden power and communications failures caused by the electromagnetic pulse (EM P) effects of nuclear explosions also could serve as attack warnings in extensive areas. An EMP is an intense burst of radio- frequency radiation generated by a nuclear explosion. The strong, quick-rising surges of electric current induced by EMP in power transmission lines and long antennas could burn out most unprotected electrical and electronic equipment. Also likely to be damaged or destroyed would be unprotected computers. The solid state electrical components of some aircraft and of some motors of modern autos, trucks, and tractors may be put out of commission. Metal bodies give some protection, whereas plastic bodies give little.
The usual means of protecting electrical equipment against surges of current produced by lightning are generally ineffective against EMP. The protective measures are known, but to date all too few civilian installations have been protected against EMP effects. Three or four nuclear weapons skillfully spaced and detonated at high altitudes over the United States would produce EMP effects that might knock out most public power, most radio and TV broadcasting stations lacking special protection against these effects, and most radios connected to long antennas. Nuclear explosions on or near the ground may produce damaging EMP effects over areas somewhat larger than those in which such equipment and buildings would be damaged by the blast effects.
HOW TO RESPOND TO UNEXPECTED ATTACK WARNINGS Although a Pearl-Harbor-type of attack is unlikely, citizens should be prepared to respond effectively to unexpected warnings.
These warnings include:
° Extremely bright lights -more light than has been seen before. The dazzling, bright lights of the first SLBM explosions on targets in many parts of the United States would be seen by most Americans. One should not look to determine the source of light and heat, because there is danger of the viewer's eyes being damaged by the heat and light from a large explosion at distances as far as a hundred miles away, in clear weather. Look down and away from the probable source, and quickly get behind anything that will shield you from most of the thermal pulse's burning heat and intense light. A thermal pulse delivers its heat and light for several seconds- for more than 11 seconds if it is from a 1 -megaton surface burst and for approximately 44 seconds if from a 20- megaton surface burst.
If you are at home when you see the amazingly bright light, run out of rooms with windows. Hurry to a windowless hallway or down into the basement. If you have a shelter close to your house, but separate from it, do not leave the best cover in your home to run outdoors to reach the shelter; wait until about two minutes after first seeing the light.
If outdoors when you see the bright light, get behind the best available cover.
It would be impossible to estimate the distance to an explosion from its light or appearance, so you should stay under cover for about two minutes. A blast wave initially travels much faster than the normal speed of sound (about 1 mile in 5 seconds). But by the time its overpressure has decreased to 1 pound per square inch (psi), a blast wave and its thunderous sound have slowed down and are moving only about 3% faster than the normal speed of sound.
Book Page: 25 If no blast or sound reaches you in two minutes, you would know that the explosion was over 25 miles away and you would not be hurt by blast effects, unlesscut by shattered window glass. After two minutes you can safely leave the best cover in your home and get a radio. Turn the dial to the stations to which you normally listen and try to find information. Meanwhile, quickly make preparations to go to the best shelter you and your family can reach within IS minutes the probable time interval before the first lCBMs start to explode.
At no time after an attack begins should you look out of a window or stay near a window. Under certain atmospheric conditions, window's can be shattered by a multi-megaton explosion a hundred miles away.
° The sound of explosions. The thunderous booms of the initial SLBM explosions would be heard over almost all parts of the United States. Persons one hundred miles away from a nuclear explosion may receive their first warning by hearing it about 7-1/2 minutes later. Most would have time to reach nearby shelter before the lCBMs begin to explode.
° Loss of electric power and communications. If the lights go out and you find that many radio and TV stations are suddenly off the air, continue to dial if you have a battery-powered radio, and try to find a station that is still broadcasting.
HOW TO RESPOND TO ATTACK WARNINGS DURING A WORSENING CRISIS If an attack takes place during a worsening crisis, the effectiveness of warnings would be greater. Even if our government did not order an evacuation of high-risk areas, millions of Americans would already have moved to safer areas if they had learned that the enemy's urban civilians were evacuating or that tactical nuclear weapons were being employed overseas. Many prudent citizens would sleep inside the best available shelter and stay in or near shelter most of their waking hours. Many people would have made or improved family car small-group shelters and would have supplied them with most essentials. The official warning systems would have been fully alerted and improved.
During such a tense crisis period, neighbors or people sheltered near each other should have someone listen to radio stations at all times of the day and night. If the situation worsened or an attack warning were broadcast, the listener could alert the others.
One disadvantage of waiting to build expedient shelters until there isa crisis is that many of the builders are likely to be outdoors improving their shelters when the first SLBMs are launched. The SLBM warheads may arrive so soon that the civilian warning systems cannot respond in time. To reduce the risk of being burned, persons working outdoors when expecting an attack should wear shirts, hats, and gloves. They should jump into a shelter or behind a nearby shielding object at the first warning, which may be the sudden cut-off of some radio broadcasts.
REMAINING INSIDE SHELTER Curiosity and ignorance probably will cause many people to come out of shelters a few hours after an attack warning, if no blast or obvious fallout has endangered their area. This is dangerous, because several hours after almost all missiles have been launched the first enemy bombers may strike. Cities and other targets that have been spared because missiles malfunctioned or missed are likely to be destroyed by nuclear bombs dropped during the first several days after the first attack.
Most people should stay inside their shelters for at least two or three days, even if they are in a locality far from a probable target and even if fallout meter readings prove there is no dangerous fallout. Exceptions would include some of the people who would need to improve shelters or move to better shelters. Such persons could do so at relatively small risk during the interval between the ICBM explosions and the arrival of enemy bombers and; or the start of fallout deposition a few hours, later.
Fallout would cover most of the United States within 12 hours after a massive attack. People could rarely depend on information received from distant radio stations regarding changing fallout dangers and advising when and for how long they could go outside their shelters. Weather conditions such as wind speed would cause fallout dangers to vary with distance. If not forced by thirst or hunger to leave shelter, they should depend on their own fallout meter readings or on radiation measurements made by neighbors or local civil defense workers.
Copyright (c) 1986 by Cresson H. Kearny. The copyrighted material may be reproduced without obtaining permission from anyone, provided: (1) all copyrighted material is reproduced full-scale (except for microfiche reproductions), and (2) the part of this copyright notice within quotation marks is printed along with the copyrighted material.
Ham Radio Conditions/MUF
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Plastic Storage Containers and What the Letters on the Bottom Mean
PETE or Polyethylene Terephthalate
Common Uses: Plastic bottles for soda, water, food, liquid soap, and lotion.
PETE is semi-rigid to rigid depending on container wall thickness. Good to fair chemical barrier; not good for strong acids or bases. Good alcohol and solvent barrier; good gas and fair moisture barrier. Good moldability. Sterilizable through EtO and gamma radiation. PETE bottles and jars have good stress crack and impact at room temperature and above.
[The above would be my choice for food containers]
HDPE or High Density Polyethylene
Common Uses: Plastic bottles and jars for cosmetic, food, milk and detergent.
HDPE is flexible but more rigid than LDPE. Natural color is milky white, semi-translucent depending on density. Good impact strength and stress crack resistance. Good chemical resistance. HDPE plastic containers have a good vapor barrier but make for a poor gas barrier. Sterilizaable via EtO or gamma radiation.
PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride
Common uses: Clear food and non food packaging, medical tubing, and wire insultaion.
PVC is Flexible torigid. Transparent to yellowish color in natural state. Good for coatings; fair water and good oxygen barrier. Good chemical resistance. Sterilizable by EtO. PVC bottles and jars have good impact and some stress crack resistance. Poor recycling due to chloride residues.
LDPE - Low Density Polyethylene
Common uses: Plastic bottles for honey, mustard, and bread or food bags.
LDPE is very flexible, natural milky color, translucent with high impact strength. Excellent for mild and strong buffers, good chemical resistance. LDPE plastic bottles have a good water vapor and alcohol barrier properties. Poor gas barrier. Sterilizable with EtO or gamma radiation.
PP - Polypropylene
Common uses: Plastic containers for ketchup, yogurt, margarine, and medicine.
PP is a rigid, solid, durable and comes in container or cap forms. Opaque, natural grayish yellow in natural form. Excellent stress crack and impact resistance. PP bottles and jars have excellent moisture barrier, good oil and alcohol barrier, poor gas barrier properties. Good chemical resistance. Sterilizable with EtO or autoclaving.
PS or Polystyrenez
Common uses. Packaging for CDs, aspirin bottles, cups, plates and cutlery.
PS is a transparent, rigid and glass like polymer. Light and heat stable, biologically inert and non-toxic. Good resistance to inorganic chemicals. PS containers have good impact and stress crack resistance, poor barrier properties. EtO or Gamma sterilizable.
OTHER or Other Plastics
Common uses: Plastic Bottles for squeezable Ketchup and syrup.
The miscellaneous classification includes plastic that may contain multiple layers of different types of materials, like the above plastics. Plastic bottles and containers form this groups are not easily recyclable. Some plastic that fall under this code are poly carbonate., Polyetraflouraethylene and Teflon.
Maslowe's Hierarchy of Physical Needs
Think on this one. Have you thought this one through? Are you prepared in each category?
Water
Food
Clothing
Shelter
Sanitation
First Aid
Communication
Transportation
Hopefully we will share the concepts of each of these topics with you on our blog.
Water
Food
Clothing
Shelter
Sanitation
First Aid
Communication
Transportation
Hopefully we will share the concepts of each of these topics with you on our blog.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Principles of Feeding Small Flocks of Chickens at Home
Principles of Feeding Small Flocks of Chickens at Home
David D. Frame, DVM, Extension Poultry Specialist
Owning a small flock of chickens is increasing in popularity, particularly in areas prohibiting the raising of larger domestic animals. Chickens not only furnish a ready source of home-grown meat and eggs, but also provide great pleasure as exhibition stock and even as pets. Additionally, helping to raise a small flock of chickens gives children an opportunity to develop a sense of responsibility and learn basic management skills. The purpose of this fact sheet is to give an overview of feeding and nutrition principles for chicken owners.
Growth ability and performance of chickens is determined by genetics. Environment dictates whether they reach their full genetic potential and proper nutrition plays a critical role. It is important to remember two things when feeding chickens:
• A chicken will only grow and perform to the extent it receives proper nutrition.
• A chicken cannot grow beyond its maximum genetic potential.
Develop an Optimal Nutritional Program
Don’t forget the water. . . .
It must be kept in mind that the nutrient consumed in the greatest quantity by a chicken is water. A direct relationship exists between the amount of water a chicken drinks and the amount of feed consumed. If inadequate water is available, not only will chickens cease eating, but there will also be a negative effect on egg production and growth.
Although types and designs of drinkers vary, the fact that fresh clean water must be present at all times should never be forgotten. Fountain drinkers have the advantage of being affordable and can easily be moved around; however, because the reservoir holds only a finite quantity of water, it is necessary to watch carefully
that they don’t become empty. Water should be changed frequently in order to prevent bacterial growth, over-warming (in summer), or freezing (in winter).
Each drinker (1 gallon) will provide enough daily water for 12 to 15 adult chickens during cool weather and 6 to 12 during hot weather. Always provide at least two or three additional drinkers in excess of the estimated water consumption capacity for the number of birds in the chicken house. This provides a buffer for a short
term water supply in the event of spillage or leakage. Also, it offers an opportunity for the more timid birds in the flock to satisfy their water needs without having to compete with more aggressive individuals for drinker space. When planning number of drinkers to place in the chicken house, consider that in cool weather each adult chicken will consume about 0.05 to 0.08 gallon per day; in hot weather, about 0.08 to 0.16 gallon.
Other types of watering systems include continuous flow troughs and reduced water pressure bell-type drinkers suspended from the ceiling that are hooked up to a pressurized water line.The advantages of a continuous flow water system are that it won’t freeze and there is a continual supply of fresh water. Acquiring such a system may be difficult, however, and because there is a continual flow of water, the cost and waste will usually be prohibitive for small flocks. Some sort of drainage system for the unused water would also be
necessary.
A properly constructed bell-type drinker system provides a continual source of water, but is usually
more appropriate for larger operations. Adedicated water line with a pressure regulator is needed, and the initial equipment cost is much greater than the stand-alone fountain-type drinkers. Figure 2. Bell-type drinker supplied by a low pressure water line.
Quality of Feed Is Important
Feed quality will affect feed consumption. Ensure that the feed is not stale, rancid, or moldy. Immediately remove obviously moldy, rancidsmelling or any other questionable feed. Such feed will, at best, not be eaten; and at worst, cause disease or nutritional deficiencies if consumed. Always store feed away from heat, moisture, and direct sunlight. Purchase feed as fresh as possible. Vitamins will start to degrade if finished feed is stored for prolonged periods. Plan your schedule so that new feed is purchased at least every two months and check for a recent manufacturing date on the bag before buying.
No one feed ingredient contains all the nutrients required for a complete diet. Some ingredients are rich in one nutrient, but may lack in another. For example, soybean meal is rich in protein but contains relatively little energy from carbohydrates, while corn is high in carbohydrates (i.e. energy) but is a poorer source of protein.
Together they complement each other in the complete feed. Each feedstuff has a place in a balanced diet.
There are five basic classes of nutrients needed.
Nutrient Feed ingredients
Carbohydrates (supply energy)
Corn, sorghum, wheat,other grains
Protein sources (supply amino acids)
Soybean meal, meat products, canola meal, fish meal
Fats (supply energy)
Vegetable oil, tallow, blended fat products
Minerals
Salt, limestone, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, oyster shell,
commercial trace mineral mix
Vitamins Commercial vitaminmixes, feedstuffs
These ingredients are mixed in different proportions and sold in the form of a mash, pellet, or crumble. Mash feed consists of all ingredients ground into particles and mixed loosely together. Pelletized feed is mash that is held together with a binder and then heat-treated, extruded, and cut into various lengths and diameters depending on the type of feed produced. Crumbled feed consists of pelletized feed broken down into smaller pieces. A chicken will stop eating once a certain quantity of energy has been consumed in a day. This will happen even if the bird has not ingested enough protein or vitamins. Therefore, the energy concentration needs to be in balance with the other nutrients in the diet. Commercial diet formulations take this into account. Because of the complex nature and expense involved in properly formulating and mixing poultry diets, it is highly recommended that feed be purchased from a reputable manufacturer and not attempted to be made at home. Even with increasing feedstuff prices, it is much more productive in the long run to feed your chickens high quality commercial feeds rather than skimping on cost or concocting homemade recipes.
Practical Styles of Feeding Systems
Feeders come in a wide array of sizes and designs from egg carton lids for starting newly hatched chicks to sophisticated automatic adult feeding systems. A practical trough feeder for starting off young chicks,
Bucket feeders of various sizes are popular and appropriate for both growing and adult chickens. The advantage of bucket feeders is that they can store a few days’ worth of feed, thereby alleviating daily hand feeding; however, care must be taken not to let old feed accumulate in them and become stale and moldy. Clean and brush out often. Use the appropriate size of bucket feeder for the class of poultry being raised. Using too large feeders with chicks will prevent them from being able to reach the feed. Also chicks might get inside the lip of the feeder and not be able to get back out. Using feeders with too narrow of a lip for adults
birds will cause excessive waste of spilled feed into the litter. Feeders should be raised off the ground, and generally positioned level to the mid to upper breast region of the chickens being fed. A good rule of thumb is to allow 1 linear inch of feeder space per chick and 2 to 3 linear inches per adult chicken.
Always keep feeders in an area – preferably inside the chicken house – where the feed is protected from moisture, wild animals, and freeflying birds. It is counterproductive to “unbalance” a balanced diet by including questionable supplements. Commercial feed purchased from a reliable dealer, has all the nutrients chickens need to grow and thrive. If you have a good diet that fulfills all of the dietary needs, do not alter it. Usually a little more of a good thing will upset a balanced diet. A balanced approach to nutrition is the key to optimal growth and performance.
Common mistakes made with supplements:
• Giving vitamins and electrolyte supplements for more that 10 days.
• Supplementing complete feeds with cracked corn, oats, or other grains.
• Regularly adding green chops, lettuce, or other low nutrient ingredients to the diet.
• Administration of inappropriate or unnecessary medication.
It’s OK to let your chickens forage around for bugs and greens, but always provide them access to the
appropriate type of formulated balanced feed as well. Totally “free-ranged” poultry will rarely be able to consume a proper balance and quantity of nutrients necessary for maximum capable rate of meat and egg production.
General feeding schedule for various classes of chickens*.
Meat-type strains (Commercial-type broilers, roasters, “Cornish-Rock” crosses)
0-2 weeks. . . . . . . . . 22-24% protein chick starter
2-4 weeks. . . . . . . . . . 20-21% protein grower
4 weeks to market . . . 18-20% protein finisher
Layer strains (Commercial-type leghorns, brown egg layers)
0 to 6 weeks. . . . . . . . 20-21% protein chick starter
6 to 10 weeks. . . . . . . 16-19% protein pullet grower
10 weeks to prior to Egg production. . . . . . 5-17% protein pullet developer
At onset of egg production. . . . . . . . . 16-18% protein layer diet**
Dual-purpose breeds (Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, etc.)
0 to 6 weeks. . . . . . . . 20-21% protein chick starter
6 weeks to prior to egg production. . . . . 15-19% protein pullet grower/developer
At onset of egg production . . . . . . . . . 16-18% protein layer diet**
*These recommendations are based on common protein levels for feeds available in most local feed
stores. It is assumed that the finished feed is balanced for energy, vitamins, and minerals in relation to specific
protein content.
**Do not feed a layer diet to chickens not in egg production (too high in calcium). Feed Consumption Guidelines There is great variation in feed consumption patterns of chickens depending on breed, feed
source, and environmental conditions. The following information, however, serves as a guide in estimating feed consumption for large fowl breeds of poultry.
Commercial egg-type
• Feed/pullet – hatch to ready-to-lay (18 to 21 weeks): 13 to 15 lbs
• Layer – daily intake/hen: 98 to 107g (22 to 24 lbs/100 hens)
• Plan on higher consumption than this for non-commercial strains and non egg-type breeds.
Commercial meat-type
• Feed/bird – hatch to market age (about 7 weeks). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5 to 18 lbs
• Feed conversion (lbs feed/lb gain) 2.5 to 2.7
• Heavy standard-bred breeds will eat more feed than this guideline because of a tendency toward less efficient feed conversion.
As these basic nutritional principles are followed, your chickens will thrive and provide you
with great enjoyment. For specific recommenddations, contact your local county agent or Extension poultry specialist.
David D. Frame, DVM, Extension Poultry Specialist
Owning a small flock of chickens is increasing in popularity, particularly in areas prohibiting the raising of larger domestic animals. Chickens not only furnish a ready source of home-grown meat and eggs, but also provide great pleasure as exhibition stock and even as pets. Additionally, helping to raise a small flock of chickens gives children an opportunity to develop a sense of responsibility and learn basic management skills. The purpose of this fact sheet is to give an overview of feeding and nutrition principles for chicken owners.
Growth ability and performance of chickens is determined by genetics. Environment dictates whether they reach their full genetic potential and proper nutrition plays a critical role. It is important to remember two things when feeding chickens:
• A chicken will only grow and perform to the extent it receives proper nutrition.
• A chicken cannot grow beyond its maximum genetic potential.
Develop an Optimal Nutritional Program
Don’t forget the water. . . .
It must be kept in mind that the nutrient consumed in the greatest quantity by a chicken is water. A direct relationship exists between the amount of water a chicken drinks and the amount of feed consumed. If inadequate water is available, not only will chickens cease eating, but there will also be a negative effect on egg production and growth.
Although types and designs of drinkers vary, the fact that fresh clean water must be present at all times should never be forgotten. Fountain drinkers have the advantage of being affordable and can easily be moved around; however, because the reservoir holds only a finite quantity of water, it is necessary to watch carefully
that they don’t become empty. Water should be changed frequently in order to prevent bacterial growth, over-warming (in summer), or freezing (in winter).
Each drinker (1 gallon) will provide enough daily water for 12 to 15 adult chickens during cool weather and 6 to 12 during hot weather. Always provide at least two or three additional drinkers in excess of the estimated water consumption capacity for the number of birds in the chicken house. This provides a buffer for a short
term water supply in the event of spillage or leakage. Also, it offers an opportunity for the more timid birds in the flock to satisfy their water needs without having to compete with more aggressive individuals for drinker space. When planning number of drinkers to place in the chicken house, consider that in cool weather each adult chicken will consume about 0.05 to 0.08 gallon per day; in hot weather, about 0.08 to 0.16 gallon.
Other types of watering systems include continuous flow troughs and reduced water pressure bell-type drinkers suspended from the ceiling that are hooked up to a pressurized water line.The advantages of a continuous flow water system are that it won’t freeze and there is a continual supply of fresh water. Acquiring such a system may be difficult, however, and because there is a continual flow of water, the cost and waste will usually be prohibitive for small flocks. Some sort of drainage system for the unused water would also be
necessary.
A properly constructed bell-type drinker system provides a continual source of water, but is usually
more appropriate for larger operations. Adedicated water line with a pressure regulator is needed, and the initial equipment cost is much greater than the stand-alone fountain-type drinkers. Figure 2. Bell-type drinker supplied by a low pressure water line.
Quality of Feed Is Important
Feed quality will affect feed consumption. Ensure that the feed is not stale, rancid, or moldy. Immediately remove obviously moldy, rancidsmelling or any other questionable feed. Such feed will, at best, not be eaten; and at worst, cause disease or nutritional deficiencies if consumed. Always store feed away from heat, moisture, and direct sunlight. Purchase feed as fresh as possible. Vitamins will start to degrade if finished feed is stored for prolonged periods. Plan your schedule so that new feed is purchased at least every two months and check for a recent manufacturing date on the bag before buying.
No one feed ingredient contains all the nutrients required for a complete diet. Some ingredients are rich in one nutrient, but may lack in another. For example, soybean meal is rich in protein but contains relatively little energy from carbohydrates, while corn is high in carbohydrates (i.e. energy) but is a poorer source of protein.
Together they complement each other in the complete feed. Each feedstuff has a place in a balanced diet.
There are five basic classes of nutrients needed.
Nutrient Feed ingredients
Carbohydrates (supply energy)
Corn, sorghum, wheat,other grains
Protein sources (supply amino acids)
Soybean meal, meat products, canola meal, fish meal
Fats (supply energy)
Vegetable oil, tallow, blended fat products
Minerals
Salt, limestone, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, oyster shell,
commercial trace mineral mix
Vitamins Commercial vitaminmixes, feedstuffs
These ingredients are mixed in different proportions and sold in the form of a mash, pellet, or crumble. Mash feed consists of all ingredients ground into particles and mixed loosely together. Pelletized feed is mash that is held together with a binder and then heat-treated, extruded, and cut into various lengths and diameters depending on the type of feed produced. Crumbled feed consists of pelletized feed broken down into smaller pieces. A chicken will stop eating once a certain quantity of energy has been consumed in a day. This will happen even if the bird has not ingested enough protein or vitamins. Therefore, the energy concentration needs to be in balance with the other nutrients in the diet. Commercial diet formulations take this into account. Because of the complex nature and expense involved in properly formulating and mixing poultry diets, it is highly recommended that feed be purchased from a reputable manufacturer and not attempted to be made at home. Even with increasing feedstuff prices, it is much more productive in the long run to feed your chickens high quality commercial feeds rather than skimping on cost or concocting homemade recipes.
Practical Styles of Feeding Systems
Feeders come in a wide array of sizes and designs from egg carton lids for starting newly hatched chicks to sophisticated automatic adult feeding systems. A practical trough feeder for starting off young chicks,
Bucket feeders of various sizes are popular and appropriate for both growing and adult chickens. The advantage of bucket feeders is that they can store a few days’ worth of feed, thereby alleviating daily hand feeding; however, care must be taken not to let old feed accumulate in them and become stale and moldy. Clean and brush out often. Use the appropriate size of bucket feeder for the class of poultry being raised. Using too large feeders with chicks will prevent them from being able to reach the feed. Also chicks might get inside the lip of the feeder and not be able to get back out. Using feeders with too narrow of a lip for adults
birds will cause excessive waste of spilled feed into the litter. Feeders should be raised off the ground, and generally positioned level to the mid to upper breast region of the chickens being fed. A good rule of thumb is to allow 1 linear inch of feeder space per chick and 2 to 3 linear inches per adult chicken.
Always keep feeders in an area – preferably inside the chicken house – where the feed is protected from moisture, wild animals, and freeflying birds. It is counterproductive to “unbalance” a balanced diet by including questionable supplements. Commercial feed purchased from a reliable dealer, has all the nutrients chickens need to grow and thrive. If you have a good diet that fulfills all of the dietary needs, do not alter it. Usually a little more of a good thing will upset a balanced diet. A balanced approach to nutrition is the key to optimal growth and performance.
Common mistakes made with supplements:
• Giving vitamins and electrolyte supplements for more that 10 days.
• Supplementing complete feeds with cracked corn, oats, or other grains.
• Regularly adding green chops, lettuce, or other low nutrient ingredients to the diet.
• Administration of inappropriate or unnecessary medication.
It’s OK to let your chickens forage around for bugs and greens, but always provide them access to the
appropriate type of formulated balanced feed as well. Totally “free-ranged” poultry will rarely be able to consume a proper balance and quantity of nutrients necessary for maximum capable rate of meat and egg production.
General feeding schedule for various classes of chickens*.
Meat-type strains (Commercial-type broilers, roasters, “Cornish-Rock” crosses)
0-2 weeks. . . . . . . . . 22-24% protein chick starter
2-4 weeks. . . . . . . . . . 20-21% protein grower
4 weeks to market . . . 18-20% protein finisher
Layer strains (Commercial-type leghorns, brown egg layers)
0 to 6 weeks. . . . . . . . 20-21% protein chick starter
6 to 10 weeks. . . . . . . 16-19% protein pullet grower
10 weeks to prior to Egg production. . . . . . 5-17% protein pullet developer
At onset of egg production. . . . . . . . . 16-18% protein layer diet**
Dual-purpose breeds (Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, etc.)
0 to 6 weeks. . . . . . . . 20-21% protein chick starter
6 weeks to prior to egg production. . . . . 15-19% protein pullet grower/developer
At onset of egg production . . . . . . . . . 16-18% protein layer diet**
*These recommendations are based on common protein levels for feeds available in most local feed
stores. It is assumed that the finished feed is balanced for energy, vitamins, and minerals in relation to specific
protein content.
**Do not feed a layer diet to chickens not in egg production (too high in calcium). Feed Consumption Guidelines There is great variation in feed consumption patterns of chickens depending on breed, feed
source, and environmental conditions. The following information, however, serves as a guide in estimating feed consumption for large fowl breeds of poultry.
Commercial egg-type
• Feed/pullet – hatch to ready-to-lay (18 to 21 weeks): 13 to 15 lbs
• Layer – daily intake/hen: 98 to 107g (22 to 24 lbs/100 hens)
• Plan on higher consumption than this for non-commercial strains and non egg-type breeds.
Commercial meat-type
• Feed/bird – hatch to market age (about 7 weeks). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5 to 18 lbs
• Feed conversion (lbs feed/lb gain) 2.5 to 2.7
• Heavy standard-bred breeds will eat more feed than this guideline because of a tendency toward less efficient feed conversion.
As these basic nutritional principles are followed, your chickens will thrive and provide you
with great enjoyment. For specific recommenddations, contact your local county agent or Extension poultry specialist.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Home Defense: 12 Gauge 00 Buckshot Can’t Be Beat
Home Defense: 12 Gauge 00 Buckshot Can’t Be Beat
by Robert M. Engstrom
03/01/2011
Multiple “threats” arrayed downrange at the Marana Shooting Club faced five of us. “We’re not duck hunting here today,” instructor Ed Chavez barked. “Keep those muzzles directed toward the threats.”
By the end of a day spent practicing shotgun handling drills, reloading, and sling techniques and firing lead pellets and slugs downrange we had learned a lot about handling shotguns for self defense.
Chavez, owner of R&A Tactical in Tucson, is a Marine Corps veteran, served on security details for two United States presidents, and is now retired from the Tucson Police Department. He has years of experience training military troops, law enforcement officers and civilians to be better, safer shooters. Using proven tactical methods developed by law enforcement and military experts, Chavez teaches basic and advanced tactical shooting with handguns, long rifles and shotguns.
Tactical shotgunning is no recreational sport. It’s training for the kind of life-or-death altercation every gun owner prays will never happen, but if ever it does, the lives on the line are your own or those of loved ones. Common sense dictates that when a person decides to take personal responsibility for their own defense, then that person needs to have the training to do it right. That doesn’t mean tactical firearms training isn’t as challenging and as fun as learning to be a good hunter.
Good, safe bird hunters don’t need to learn tactical shotgun handling. Many, like this writer formerly believed, think themselves capable of defending their home and family with the same shotguns we’ve lugged out to duck blinds, sloughs, fields and woods.
For most civilians the tactical shotgun will be limited to defense in the home or a place of business. Few, other than law enforcement officers and security squads will ever carry a “cruiser ready” shotgun in a rack on the dashboard of a car. It’s just not practical for many reasons, and why many of us own handguns. That doesn’t discount the possibility of some kind of natural disaster or civil unrest making it a wise choice to take a tactical shotgun along bugging out.
I managed to knock down a few Canadian honkers, pheasants and ducks, even tagged a deer more than 40 years ago with an old Remington pump. I don’t recall a shotgun with a sling on it until acquiring a short-barreled home defense 12-gauge. The sling is nice to have, but its usefulness never really sunk in until I learned to use it correctly.
Hunters often miss one more shot at a honker or a ringneck because it took too long to reload. After a little practice I can now smoothly reload one round into an empty shotgun, keeping the business end directed toward the threat, and fire on target in about two seconds. That’s not lightning fast, but I expect that time to improve. Chavez taught us to do this smoothly, and like the professional he is, Chavez knows that once you learn to perform smoothly, speed and consistency follows automatically.
“I’d much rather see you working smoothly than trying to go fast,” Chavez said. “Smooth is fast.”
Not convinced that a few dollars spent on training is worth it? Next time you go out to the range have a friend time you from the sound of the click that indicates the shotgun is empty until you have loaded and fired one more round, successfully hitting the target. Make it realistic (remember, this is a tactical scenario), have the friend load two to five shells without telling you how many are in the tube. Assume there is at least one more “threat” than there are rounds in the gun.
Most testing themselves will be surprised by how long it takes, and more surprised at how many shells get dropped without making it into the gun. If you cannot accomplish this safely and smoothly without waving the shotgun all over the landscape, then a Tactical Shotgun course is in order. Even if you never need to use the techniques of tactical training, you will be more confident as a gun handler.
Safety, just as it always is during R&A Tactical training courses, is a primary requirement while hunting. The folks I hunted with generally kept loaded shotguns pointed skyward because that was the safest direction in case of an accidental discharge. Few hunters accidently shoot a game animal, but there are many recorded instances of shooters accidently shooting their partner or a person on the other side of a wall. Tactical shotgun training develops a heightened situational awareness for added safety.
Chavez warned about not “muzzling” each other when going into a shooting stance from the three different slung positions or while reloading and moving. Throughout the day he reinforced our awareness of all the basic safety rules that apply when working with firearms. None of the five of us are firearms neophytes, but we all discovered that we could improve our awareness of our surroundings. We were steadily learning good information, developing practical skills in a safe environment, and having a good time.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an expert.” Chavez said. “I can teach you to be a better shooter even if you’re already a better marksman than I am.”
I’ve seen Chavez shoot. He doesn’t brag about his marksmanship, but if there’s going to be a firefight, you want to be on his side.
The shotgun is a potent, yet relatively simple to operate self-defense tool, especially in the larger gauges at close range with buckshot and slug loads. Completing the R&A Tactical Shotgun course teaches knowledge that makes a hunter dangerous to uninvited home intruders—without endangering yourself, your family or your neighbors.
How do you decide what to load into a home defense shotgun? Would you really want to fire a one-ounce lead slug with an effective range of 125 to 150 yards through a kicked opened door with your neighbors asleep in their house 200 feet away? How big a pattern will double-ought buckshot spread to beyond about 20 yards? After an R&A Tactical Shotgun course you’ll know how to pattern a shotgun and the legal reasons why you need to. It’s solid, logical reasoning that will stand up in a court of law.
Should you be left no option but to fire your shotgun in self-defense, expect to have to answer questions about why you fired a particular type of ammunition, at what range, and why you fired that number of rounds, possibly in a court of law. If you must defend yourself in the aftermath of a shooting it is vitally important that any statements or testimony be truthful and beneficial to yourself and the prosecuting attorney who brings charges against the bad guys. One of the more subtle benefits of Chavez’s training is that he teaches you situational awareness while you train to smoothly and safely operate your tactical shotgun. The result is that you become a better shooter and a better witness. Your job is to protect yourself and your family. Catching bad guys is a police job and you can help by being a good witness.
My home defense shotgun is a bare-bones12-gauge pump. I kept it loaded with alternating buckshot and slugs, including one in the chamber. After learning Chavez’s methods, those slugs are going into the loops on the sling and being replaced in the tube with buckshot. Slugs are for longer ranges than found in most homes, and they require more accurate placement than a load of shot. If I can see a target, I can put buckshot on the center of mass and score hits with every shot out to 20 yards. I could probably hit CofM with slugs most of the time, but a single miss with a slug could have dire results at close quarters. In a tactical situation you make the odds as much in your favor as you can.
The sound made by working the slide to chamber a round in a 12-gauge pump shotgun is about the scariest sound an intruder doesn’t want to hear echoing down a darkened hallway. An uninvited interloper in my home is going to hear that first round being racked into the chamber, and I know how to reload that extra shell instantly. An armed confrontation that ends with the bad guy leaving the premises with you and your loved ones unharmed and no shots fired is a victory. You don’t train to be the loser in a gunfight.
I used a no-frills Mossberg 500 pump for the R&A training with a basic sling and an elastic five-round shell carrier on the stock. No rifle sites, lasers, flashlight attachments, pistol grips or light switches. All five of us used pump shotguns. A couple shooters used shotguns tricked out with all the black-gun bells and whistles. The type of shotgun and the accessories chosen is a personal choice each shooter must make. Keep in mind that a shotgun with too many complex gadgets can become cumbersome to operate smoothly.
Chavez, a Glock-certified gunsmith, sells what he believes are the best firearms and accessories for tactical shooting. Based on his experience he offers sage advice on what kind of gun best suits your needs and what accessories to add. Regardless of what you end up using, he excels at teaching you to be a better shooter.
The sling and handling techniques Chavez teaches can be practiced at home with an unloaded weapon or at the range for live-fire exercises. All the shooting drills can be practiced with light recoil sporting loads and birdshot, but it is important to get some practice with slugs and buckshot. The recoil from shooting slugs is a bit heavier than sporting loads and the resulting shot patterns from buckshot fired out of short tactical barrels is different than from long-barreled hunting guns.
The final exercise of the day was a variation of one the Arizona P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards Training) drills all Arizona LEOs complete prior to being certified to wear a badge. It’s a zigzag course covering about 140 yards that must be completed in less than 70 seconds. This drill requires firing 10 shotgun rounds at seven targets while reloading on the move and while behind cover, then transitioning from the empty shotgun to a pistol for a second shot at the last target. Drop a shell while reloading, miss a target, or run out of ammo without taking out all the threats are all disqualifying gigs. Just to keep it interesting, the fourth target requires firing from your support side, meaning a left-handed shot by a normally right-handed shooter, or vice versa.
I’m pushing 60 years of age. It took me two attempts to finish the drill. I hit all the targets, but I broke from cover with an unloaded shotgun the first time through. My qualifying time of 58 seconds was not the fastest, nor the slowest time posted. It was a challenge to successfully complete the drill as my heart and breath rate picked up from the exercise. After participating in multiple R&A Tactical firearms training sessions for handgun and shotgun, I am better prepared and more confident about my ability, should the need ever arise, to defend myself.
by Robert M. Engstrom
03/01/2011
Multiple “threats” arrayed downrange at the Marana Shooting Club faced five of us. “We’re not duck hunting here today,” instructor Ed Chavez barked. “Keep those muzzles directed toward the threats.”
By the end of a day spent practicing shotgun handling drills, reloading, and sling techniques and firing lead pellets and slugs downrange we had learned a lot about handling shotguns for self defense.
Chavez, owner of R&A Tactical in Tucson, is a Marine Corps veteran, served on security details for two United States presidents, and is now retired from the Tucson Police Department. He has years of experience training military troops, law enforcement officers and civilians to be better, safer shooters. Using proven tactical methods developed by law enforcement and military experts, Chavez teaches basic and advanced tactical shooting with handguns, long rifles and shotguns.
Tactical shotgunning is no recreational sport. It’s training for the kind of life-or-death altercation every gun owner prays will never happen, but if ever it does, the lives on the line are your own or those of loved ones. Common sense dictates that when a person decides to take personal responsibility for their own defense, then that person needs to have the training to do it right. That doesn’t mean tactical firearms training isn’t as challenging and as fun as learning to be a good hunter.
Good, safe bird hunters don’t need to learn tactical shotgun handling. Many, like this writer formerly believed, think themselves capable of defending their home and family with the same shotguns we’ve lugged out to duck blinds, sloughs, fields and woods.
For most civilians the tactical shotgun will be limited to defense in the home or a place of business. Few, other than law enforcement officers and security squads will ever carry a “cruiser ready” shotgun in a rack on the dashboard of a car. It’s just not practical for many reasons, and why many of us own handguns. That doesn’t discount the possibility of some kind of natural disaster or civil unrest making it a wise choice to take a tactical shotgun along bugging out.
I managed to knock down a few Canadian honkers, pheasants and ducks, even tagged a deer more than 40 years ago with an old Remington pump. I don’t recall a shotgun with a sling on it until acquiring a short-barreled home defense 12-gauge. The sling is nice to have, but its usefulness never really sunk in until I learned to use it correctly.
Hunters often miss one more shot at a honker or a ringneck because it took too long to reload. After a little practice I can now smoothly reload one round into an empty shotgun, keeping the business end directed toward the threat, and fire on target in about two seconds. That’s not lightning fast, but I expect that time to improve. Chavez taught us to do this smoothly, and like the professional he is, Chavez knows that once you learn to perform smoothly, speed and consistency follows automatically.
“I’d much rather see you working smoothly than trying to go fast,” Chavez said. “Smooth is fast.”
Not convinced that a few dollars spent on training is worth it? Next time you go out to the range have a friend time you from the sound of the click that indicates the shotgun is empty until you have loaded and fired one more round, successfully hitting the target. Make it realistic (remember, this is a tactical scenario), have the friend load two to five shells without telling you how many are in the tube. Assume there is at least one more “threat” than there are rounds in the gun.
Most testing themselves will be surprised by how long it takes, and more surprised at how many shells get dropped without making it into the gun. If you cannot accomplish this safely and smoothly without waving the shotgun all over the landscape, then a Tactical Shotgun course is in order. Even if you never need to use the techniques of tactical training, you will be more confident as a gun handler.
Safety, just as it always is during R&A Tactical training courses, is a primary requirement while hunting. The folks I hunted with generally kept loaded shotguns pointed skyward because that was the safest direction in case of an accidental discharge. Few hunters accidently shoot a game animal, but there are many recorded instances of shooters accidently shooting their partner or a person on the other side of a wall. Tactical shotgun training develops a heightened situational awareness for added safety.
Chavez warned about not “muzzling” each other when going into a shooting stance from the three different slung positions or while reloading and moving. Throughout the day he reinforced our awareness of all the basic safety rules that apply when working with firearms. None of the five of us are firearms neophytes, but we all discovered that we could improve our awareness of our surroundings. We were steadily learning good information, developing practical skills in a safe environment, and having a good time.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an expert.” Chavez said. “I can teach you to be a better shooter even if you’re already a better marksman than I am.”
I’ve seen Chavez shoot. He doesn’t brag about his marksmanship, but if there’s going to be a firefight, you want to be on his side.
The shotgun is a potent, yet relatively simple to operate self-defense tool, especially in the larger gauges at close range with buckshot and slug loads. Completing the R&A Tactical Shotgun course teaches knowledge that makes a hunter dangerous to uninvited home intruders—without endangering yourself, your family or your neighbors.
How do you decide what to load into a home defense shotgun? Would you really want to fire a one-ounce lead slug with an effective range of 125 to 150 yards through a kicked opened door with your neighbors asleep in their house 200 feet away? How big a pattern will double-ought buckshot spread to beyond about 20 yards? After an R&A Tactical Shotgun course you’ll know how to pattern a shotgun and the legal reasons why you need to. It’s solid, logical reasoning that will stand up in a court of law.
Should you be left no option but to fire your shotgun in self-defense, expect to have to answer questions about why you fired a particular type of ammunition, at what range, and why you fired that number of rounds, possibly in a court of law. If you must defend yourself in the aftermath of a shooting it is vitally important that any statements or testimony be truthful and beneficial to yourself and the prosecuting attorney who brings charges against the bad guys. One of the more subtle benefits of Chavez’s training is that he teaches you situational awareness while you train to smoothly and safely operate your tactical shotgun. The result is that you become a better shooter and a better witness. Your job is to protect yourself and your family. Catching bad guys is a police job and you can help by being a good witness.
My home defense shotgun is a bare-bones12-gauge pump. I kept it loaded with alternating buckshot and slugs, including one in the chamber. After learning Chavez’s methods, those slugs are going into the loops on the sling and being replaced in the tube with buckshot. Slugs are for longer ranges than found in most homes, and they require more accurate placement than a load of shot. If I can see a target, I can put buckshot on the center of mass and score hits with every shot out to 20 yards. I could probably hit CofM with slugs most of the time, but a single miss with a slug could have dire results at close quarters. In a tactical situation you make the odds as much in your favor as you can.
The sound made by working the slide to chamber a round in a 12-gauge pump shotgun is about the scariest sound an intruder doesn’t want to hear echoing down a darkened hallway. An uninvited interloper in my home is going to hear that first round being racked into the chamber, and I know how to reload that extra shell instantly. An armed confrontation that ends with the bad guy leaving the premises with you and your loved ones unharmed and no shots fired is a victory. You don’t train to be the loser in a gunfight.
I used a no-frills Mossberg 500 pump for the R&A training with a basic sling and an elastic five-round shell carrier on the stock. No rifle sites, lasers, flashlight attachments, pistol grips or light switches. All five of us used pump shotguns. A couple shooters used shotguns tricked out with all the black-gun bells and whistles. The type of shotgun and the accessories chosen is a personal choice each shooter must make. Keep in mind that a shotgun with too many complex gadgets can become cumbersome to operate smoothly.
Chavez, a Glock-certified gunsmith, sells what he believes are the best firearms and accessories for tactical shooting. Based on his experience he offers sage advice on what kind of gun best suits your needs and what accessories to add. Regardless of what you end up using, he excels at teaching you to be a better shooter.
The sling and handling techniques Chavez teaches can be practiced at home with an unloaded weapon or at the range for live-fire exercises. All the shooting drills can be practiced with light recoil sporting loads and birdshot, but it is important to get some practice with slugs and buckshot. The recoil from shooting slugs is a bit heavier than sporting loads and the resulting shot patterns from buckshot fired out of short tactical barrels is different than from long-barreled hunting guns.
The final exercise of the day was a variation of one the Arizona P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards Training) drills all Arizona LEOs complete prior to being certified to wear a badge. It’s a zigzag course covering about 140 yards that must be completed in less than 70 seconds. This drill requires firing 10 shotgun rounds at seven targets while reloading on the move and while behind cover, then transitioning from the empty shotgun to a pistol for a second shot at the last target. Drop a shell while reloading, miss a target, or run out of ammo without taking out all the threats are all disqualifying gigs. Just to keep it interesting, the fourth target requires firing from your support side, meaning a left-handed shot by a normally right-handed shooter, or vice versa.
I’m pushing 60 years of age. It took me two attempts to finish the drill. I hit all the targets, but I broke from cover with an unloaded shotgun the first time through. My qualifying time of 58 seconds was not the fastest, nor the slowest time posted. It was a challenge to successfully complete the drill as my heart and breath rate picked up from the exercise. After participating in multiple R&A Tactical firearms training sessions for handgun and shotgun, I am better prepared and more confident about my ability, should the need ever arise, to defend myself.
by Robert M. Engstrom
03/01/2011
Multiple “threats” arrayed downrange at the Marana Shooting Club faced five of us. “We’re not duck hunting here today,” instructor Ed Chavez barked. “Keep those muzzles directed toward the threats.”
By the end of a day spent practicing shotgun handling drills, reloading, and sling techniques and firing lead pellets and slugs downrange we had learned a lot about handling shotguns for self defense.
Chavez, owner of R&A Tactical in Tucson, is a Marine Corps veteran, served on security details for two United States presidents, and is now retired from the Tucson Police Department. He has years of experience training military troops, law enforcement officers and civilians to be better, safer shooters. Using proven tactical methods developed by law enforcement and military experts, Chavez teaches basic and advanced tactical shooting with handguns, long rifles and shotguns.
Tactical shotgunning is no recreational sport. It’s training for the kind of life-or-death altercation every gun owner prays will never happen, but if ever it does, the lives on the line are your own or those of loved ones. Common sense dictates that when a person decides to take personal responsibility for their own defense, then that person needs to have the training to do it right. That doesn’t mean tactical firearms training isn’t as challenging and as fun as learning to be a good hunter.
Good, safe bird hunters don’t need to learn tactical shotgun handling. Many, like this writer formerly believed, think themselves capable of defending their home and family with the same shotguns we’ve lugged out to duck blinds, sloughs, fields and woods.
For most civilians the tactical shotgun will be limited to defense in the home or a place of business. Few, other than law enforcement officers and security squads will ever carry a “cruiser ready” shotgun in a rack on the dashboard of a car. It’s just not practical for many reasons, and why many of us own handguns. That doesn’t discount the possibility of some kind of natural disaster or civil unrest making it a wise choice to take a tactical shotgun along bugging out.
I managed to knock down a few Canadian honkers, pheasants and ducks, even tagged a deer more than 40 years ago with an old Remington pump. I don’t recall a shotgun with a sling on it until acquiring a short-barreled home defense 12-gauge. The sling is nice to have, but its usefulness never really sunk in until I learned to use it correctly.
Hunters often miss one more shot at a honker or a ringneck because it took too long to reload. After a little practice I can now smoothly reload one round into an empty shotgun, keeping the business end directed toward the threat, and fire on target in about two seconds. That’s not lightning fast, but I expect that time to improve. Chavez taught us to do this smoothly, and like the professional he is, Chavez knows that once you learn to perform smoothly, speed and consistency follows automatically.
“I’d much rather see you working smoothly than trying to go fast,” Chavez said. “Smooth is fast.”
Not convinced that a few dollars spent on training is worth it? Next time you go out to the range have a friend time you from the sound of the click that indicates the shotgun is empty until you have loaded and fired one more round, successfully hitting the target. Make it realistic (remember, this is a tactical scenario), have the friend load two to five shells without telling you how many are in the tube. Assume there is at least one more “threat” than there are rounds in the gun.
Most testing themselves will be surprised by how long it takes, and more surprised at how many shells get dropped without making it into the gun. If you cannot accomplish this safely and smoothly without waving the shotgun all over the landscape, then a Tactical Shotgun course is in order. Even if you never need to use the techniques of tactical training, you will be more confident as a gun handler.
Safety, just as it always is during R&A Tactical training courses, is a primary requirement while hunting. The folks I hunted with generally kept loaded shotguns pointed skyward because that was the safest direction in case of an accidental discharge. Few hunters accidently shoot a game animal, but there are many recorded instances of shooters accidently shooting their partner or a person on the other side of a wall. Tactical shotgun training develops a heightened situational awareness for added safety.
Chavez warned about not “muzzling” each other when going into a shooting stance from the three different slung positions or while reloading and moving. Throughout the day he reinforced our awareness of all the basic safety rules that apply when working with firearms. None of the five of us are firearms neophytes, but we all discovered that we could improve our awareness of our surroundings. We were steadily learning good information, developing practical skills in a safe environment, and having a good time.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an expert.” Chavez said. “I can teach you to be a better shooter even if you’re already a better marksman than I am.”
I’ve seen Chavez shoot. He doesn’t brag about his marksmanship, but if there’s going to be a firefight, you want to be on his side.
The shotgun is a potent, yet relatively simple to operate self-defense tool, especially in the larger gauges at close range with buckshot and slug loads. Completing the R&A Tactical Shotgun course teaches knowledge that makes a hunter dangerous to uninvited home intruders—without endangering yourself, your family or your neighbors.
How do you decide what to load into a home defense shotgun? Would you really want to fire a one-ounce lead slug with an effective range of 125 to 150 yards through a kicked opened door with your neighbors asleep in their house 200 feet away? How big a pattern will double-ought buckshot spread to beyond about 20 yards? After an R&A Tactical Shotgun course you’ll know how to pattern a shotgun and the legal reasons why you need to. It’s solid, logical reasoning that will stand up in a court of law.
Should you be left no option but to fire your shotgun in self-defense, expect to have to answer questions about why you fired a particular type of ammunition, at what range, and why you fired that number of rounds, possibly in a court of law. If you must defend yourself in the aftermath of a shooting it is vitally important that any statements or testimony be truthful and beneficial to yourself and the prosecuting attorney who brings charges against the bad guys. One of the more subtle benefits of Chavez’s training is that he teaches you situational awareness while you train to smoothly and safely operate your tactical shotgun. The result is that you become a better shooter and a better witness. Your job is to protect yourself and your family. Catching bad guys is a police job and you can help by being a good witness.
My home defense shotgun is a bare-bones12-gauge pump. I kept it loaded with alternating buckshot and slugs, including one in the chamber. After learning Chavez’s methods, those slugs are going into the loops on the sling and being replaced in the tube with buckshot. Slugs are for longer ranges than found in most homes, and they require more accurate placement than a load of shot. If I can see a target, I can put buckshot on the center of mass and score hits with every shot out to 20 yards. I could probably hit CofM with slugs most of the time, but a single miss with a slug could have dire results at close quarters. In a tactical situation you make the odds as much in your favor as you can.
The sound made by working the slide to chamber a round in a 12-gauge pump shotgun is about the scariest sound an intruder doesn’t want to hear echoing down a darkened hallway. An uninvited interloper in my home is going to hear that first round being racked into the chamber, and I know how to reload that extra shell instantly. An armed confrontation that ends with the bad guy leaving the premises with you and your loved ones unharmed and no shots fired is a victory. You don’t train to be the loser in a gunfight.
I used a no-frills Mossberg 500 pump for the R&A training with a basic sling and an elastic five-round shell carrier on the stock. No rifle sites, lasers, flashlight attachments, pistol grips or light switches. All five of us used pump shotguns. A couple shooters used shotguns tricked out with all the black-gun bells and whistles. The type of shotgun and the accessories chosen is a personal choice each shooter must make. Keep in mind that a shotgun with too many complex gadgets can become cumbersome to operate smoothly.
Chavez, a Glock-certified gunsmith, sells what he believes are the best firearms and accessories for tactical shooting. Based on his experience he offers sage advice on what kind of gun best suits your needs and what accessories to add. Regardless of what you end up using, he excels at teaching you to be a better shooter.
The sling and handling techniques Chavez teaches can be practiced at home with an unloaded weapon or at the range for live-fire exercises. All the shooting drills can be practiced with light recoil sporting loads and birdshot, but it is important to get some practice with slugs and buckshot. The recoil from shooting slugs is a bit heavier than sporting loads and the resulting shot patterns from buckshot fired out of short tactical barrels is different than from long-barreled hunting guns.
The final exercise of the day was a variation of one the Arizona P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards Training) drills all Arizona LEOs complete prior to being certified to wear a badge. It’s a zigzag course covering about 140 yards that must be completed in less than 70 seconds. This drill requires firing 10 shotgun rounds at seven targets while reloading on the move and while behind cover, then transitioning from the empty shotgun to a pistol for a second shot at the last target. Drop a shell while reloading, miss a target, or run out of ammo without taking out all the threats are all disqualifying gigs. Just to keep it interesting, the fourth target requires firing from your support side, meaning a left-handed shot by a normally right-handed shooter, or vice versa.
I’m pushing 60 years of age. It took me two attempts to finish the drill. I hit all the targets, but I broke from cover with an unloaded shotgun the first time through. My qualifying time of 58 seconds was not the fastest, nor the slowest time posted. It was a challenge to successfully complete the drill as my heart and breath rate picked up from the exercise. After participating in multiple R&A Tactical firearms training sessions for handgun and shotgun, I am better prepared and more confident about my ability, should the need ever arise, to defend myself.
by Robert M. Engstrom
03/01/2011
Multiple “threats” arrayed downrange at the Marana Shooting Club faced five of us. “We’re not duck hunting here today,” instructor Ed Chavez barked. “Keep those muzzles directed toward the threats.”
By the end of a day spent practicing shotgun handling drills, reloading, and sling techniques and firing lead pellets and slugs downrange we had learned a lot about handling shotguns for self defense.
Chavez, owner of R&A Tactical in Tucson, is a Marine Corps veteran, served on security details for two United States presidents, and is now retired from the Tucson Police Department. He has years of experience training military troops, law enforcement officers and civilians to be better, safer shooters. Using proven tactical methods developed by law enforcement and military experts, Chavez teaches basic and advanced tactical shooting with handguns, long rifles and shotguns.
Tactical shotgunning is no recreational sport. It’s training for the kind of life-or-death altercation every gun owner prays will never happen, but if ever it does, the lives on the line are your own or those of loved ones. Common sense dictates that when a person decides to take personal responsibility for their own defense, then that person needs to have the training to do it right. That doesn’t mean tactical firearms training isn’t as challenging and as fun as learning to be a good hunter.
Good, safe bird hunters don’t need to learn tactical shotgun handling. Many, like this writer formerly believed, think themselves capable of defending their home and family with the same shotguns we’ve lugged out to duck blinds, sloughs, fields and woods.
For most civilians the tactical shotgun will be limited to defense in the home or a place of business. Few, other than law enforcement officers and security squads will ever carry a “cruiser ready” shotgun in a rack on the dashboard of a car. It’s just not practical for many reasons, and why many of us own handguns. That doesn’t discount the possibility of some kind of natural disaster or civil unrest making it a wise choice to take a tactical shotgun along bugging out.
I managed to knock down a few Canadian honkers, pheasants and ducks, even tagged a deer more than 40 years ago with an old Remington pump. I don’t recall a shotgun with a sling on it until acquiring a short-barreled home defense 12-gauge. The sling is nice to have, but its usefulness never really sunk in until I learned to use it correctly.
Hunters often miss one more shot at a honker or a ringneck because it took too long to reload. After a little practice I can now smoothly reload one round into an empty shotgun, keeping the business end directed toward the threat, and fire on target in about two seconds. That’s not lightning fast, but I expect that time to improve. Chavez taught us to do this smoothly, and like the professional he is, Chavez knows that once you learn to perform smoothly, speed and consistency follows automatically.
“I’d much rather see you working smoothly than trying to go fast,” Chavez said. “Smooth is fast.”
Not convinced that a few dollars spent on training is worth it? Next time you go out to the range have a friend time you from the sound of the click that indicates the shotgun is empty until you have loaded and fired one more round, successfully hitting the target. Make it realistic (remember, this is a tactical scenario), have the friend load two to five shells without telling you how many are in the tube. Assume there is at least one more “threat” than there are rounds in the gun.
Most testing themselves will be surprised by how long it takes, and more surprised at how many shells get dropped without making it into the gun. If you cannot accomplish this safely and smoothly without waving the shotgun all over the landscape, then a Tactical Shotgun course is in order. Even if you never need to use the techniques of tactical training, you will be more confident as a gun handler.
Safety, just as it always is during R&A Tactical training courses, is a primary requirement while hunting. The folks I hunted with generally kept loaded shotguns pointed skyward because that was the safest direction in case of an accidental discharge. Few hunters accidently shoot a game animal, but there are many recorded instances of shooters accidently shooting their partner or a person on the other side of a wall. Tactical shotgun training develops a heightened situational awareness for added safety.
Chavez warned about not “muzzling” each other when going into a shooting stance from the three different slung positions or while reloading and moving. Throughout the day he reinforced our awareness of all the basic safety rules that apply when working with firearms. None of the five of us are firearms neophytes, but we all discovered that we could improve our awareness of our surroundings. We were steadily learning good information, developing practical skills in a safe environment, and having a good time.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an expert.” Chavez said. “I can teach you to be a better shooter even if you’re already a better marksman than I am.”
I’ve seen Chavez shoot. He doesn’t brag about his marksmanship, but if there’s going to be a firefight, you want to be on his side.
The shotgun is a potent, yet relatively simple to operate self-defense tool, especially in the larger gauges at close range with buckshot and slug loads. Completing the R&A Tactical Shotgun course teaches knowledge that makes a hunter dangerous to uninvited home intruders—without endangering yourself, your family or your neighbors.
How do you decide what to load into a home defense shotgun? Would you really want to fire a one-ounce lead slug with an effective range of 125 to 150 yards through a kicked opened door with your neighbors asleep in their house 200 feet away? How big a pattern will double-ought buckshot spread to beyond about 20 yards? After an R&A Tactical Shotgun course you’ll know how to pattern a shotgun and the legal reasons why you need to. It’s solid, logical reasoning that will stand up in a court of law.
Should you be left no option but to fire your shotgun in self-defense, expect to have to answer questions about why you fired a particular type of ammunition, at what range, and why you fired that number of rounds, possibly in a court of law. If you must defend yourself in the aftermath of a shooting it is vitally important that any statements or testimony be truthful and beneficial to yourself and the prosecuting attorney who brings charges against the bad guys. One of the more subtle benefits of Chavez’s training is that he teaches you situational awareness while you train to smoothly and safely operate your tactical shotgun. The result is that you become a better shooter and a better witness. Your job is to protect yourself and your family. Catching bad guys is a police job and you can help by being a good witness.
My home defense shotgun is a bare-bones12-gauge pump. I kept it loaded with alternating buckshot and slugs, including one in the chamber. After learning Chavez’s methods, those slugs are going into the loops on the sling and being replaced in the tube with buckshot. Slugs are for longer ranges than found in most homes, and they require more accurate placement than a load of shot. If I can see a target, I can put buckshot on the center of mass and score hits with every shot out to 20 yards. I could probably hit CofM with slugs most of the time, but a single miss with a slug could have dire results at close quarters. In a tactical situation you make the odds as much in your favor as you can.
The sound made by working the slide to chamber a round in a 12-gauge pump shotgun is about the scariest sound an intruder doesn’t want to hear echoing down a darkened hallway. An uninvited interloper in my home is going to hear that first round being racked into the chamber, and I know how to reload that extra shell instantly. An armed confrontation that ends with the bad guy leaving the premises with you and your loved ones unharmed and no shots fired is a victory. You don’t train to be the loser in a gunfight.
I used a no-frills Mossberg 500 pump for the R&A training with a basic sling and an elastic five-round shell carrier on the stock. No rifle sites, lasers, flashlight attachments, pistol grips or light switches. All five of us used pump shotguns. A couple shooters used shotguns tricked out with all the black-gun bells and whistles. The type of shotgun and the accessories chosen is a personal choice each shooter must make. Keep in mind that a shotgun with too many complex gadgets can become cumbersome to operate smoothly.
Chavez, a Glock-certified gunsmith, sells what he believes are the best firearms and accessories for tactical shooting. Based on his experience he offers sage advice on what kind of gun best suits your needs and what accessories to add. Regardless of what you end up using, he excels at teaching you to be a better shooter.
The sling and handling techniques Chavez teaches can be practiced at home with an unloaded weapon or at the range for live-fire exercises. All the shooting drills can be practiced with light recoil sporting loads and birdshot, but it is important to get some practice with slugs and buckshot. The recoil from shooting slugs is a bit heavier than sporting loads and the resulting shot patterns from buckshot fired out of short tactical barrels is different than from long-barreled hunting guns.
The final exercise of the day was a variation of one the Arizona P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards Training) drills all Arizona LEOs complete prior to being certified to wear a badge. It’s a zigzag course covering about 140 yards that must be completed in less than 70 seconds. This drill requires firing 10 shotgun rounds at seven targets while reloading on the move and while behind cover, then transitioning from the empty shotgun to a pistol for a second shot at the last target. Drop a shell while reloading, miss a target, or run out of ammo without taking out all the threats are all disqualifying gigs. Just to keep it interesting, the fourth target requires firing from your support side, meaning a left-handed shot by a normally right-handed shooter, or vice versa.
I’m pushing 60 years of age. It took me two attempts to finish the drill. I hit all the targets, but I broke from cover with an unloaded shotgun the first time through. My qualifying time of 58 seconds was not the fastest, nor the slowest time posted. It was a challenge to successfully complete the drill as my heart and breath rate picked up from the exercise. After participating in multiple R&A Tactical firearms training sessions for handgun and shotgun, I am better prepared and more confident about my ability, should the need ever arise, to defend myself.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Color Code of Awareness
The Color Code of Awareness
In this article I describe a mindset used by our soldiers, special agents, and law-enforcement personnel that heightens your awareness and allows you to see potential threats to your safety ahead of time — providing a window of opportunity to prepare for or prevent potential conflict.
The Need to Pay Attention
Unfortunately there are not a lot of areas left in our world where you are immune to threats to your personal safety. With increases in crime such as theft, rape, and assault, it is in our best interest to pay attention.
In nature, predators seek out easy targets — the weak and the sick ones. Similar to the animal kingdom, human predators also seek out targets of opportunity — especially those who are unaware and oblivious to what’s around them. For this reason, it’s necessary to take on a state of mind that can help you stay alert to potential threats at all times and be able to intelligently react should you be faced with one. There’s no better metaphor for this state of mind than the Color Code of Awareness.
The Color Code of Awareness
The Color Code of Awareness has its origins in the U.S. Military but the adaptation as given here was originally put forth by the late Jeff Cooper, USMC(ret) and founder of Gunsite. This is not to be confused with the government’s form of color code which corresponds to the amount of danger to which you are exposed to at a given time. Instead, this refers to your current state of mind and willingness to take action regardless of real or imagined threats.
The next time you’re out and about take a look at the people around you. What are they doing and what do they notice? What you’ll begin to see is that most people are completely oblivious to their surroundings. This is Condition White. Whether they are sitting on a park bench completely engrossed in a book or walking with their gaze focused on the ground three feet in front of them, their attention is drawn somewhere else and they lose sight to what’s around them.
The Addiction of Thought
In fact the biggest monopolizer of your attention is your thoughts. Most people are addicted to thinking. You become a slave to the incessant ramblings of your own involuntary internal dialogue. In fact, the only difference between you and those ‘crazy’ people you see muttering to themselves on the street is that you are not muttering out loud.
The mind is a powerful and necessary tool when used in the right context. But like with any tool, we need to be able to put it down – or in this case shut it off – when we no longer need it. This is especially true in order to be aware and safe in our immediate environment. It’s those who are caught up in their thoughts that make perfect targets for potential predators.
Absolute Vulnerability
Condition White is where you will get surprised by your friends or a stranger that “happens upon you”. In white you are unready to take action to prevent injury or death. And it’s in this state that the only way you’ll survive a lethal attack is if your attacker is completely inept. Avoid this state at all times.
Condition Yellow should be your normal everyday state of awareness. It’s in this state that you’ve accepted the fact that your life may be in danger at any time and you may have to do something about it. There is no specific threat but you are alert to any possibility.
You are relaxed and alert. You walk down the street with your head up and you’re looking around. You notice the late model blue Chevy pickup turning the corner, with an older gentleman driving. Your aware of the group of teenagers talking in a tight circle in front of the convenience store. You see a young couple crossing the street, heading your direction holding hands. When you leave for work in the morning you look around the neighborhood noticing anything out of the ordinary.
Lose Your Mind and Come to Your Senses
Most of all, your not caught up in your thoughts. Your mind is in the moment and although yellow is a relaxed state and you could stay in it indefinitely, it is still an active level of awareness — very different than white. You are actively taking mental notes of those things around you. In yellow you are aware of your surroundings and your mindset is such that “I may have to defend myself today”.
If during Condition Yellow, something or someone triggers your attention indicating a potential threat you would immediately enter into Condition Orange. It doesn’t mean there is a threat only that there could potentially be one. The only real difference between the orange state and the yellow state is you now have a specific point of focus.
For example, you’re manning a store and in walks a guy who slips his hands in his inner coat pocket — your radar goes up, you enter Condition Orange. Or your heading to your car in the mall parking garage and you notice someone standing by a column up ahead instead of heading to his car or the mall entrance, you now have a point of focus and you are in an orange state. It need not only be a person that triggers this, it could be any indicator that is out of context with what is expected, such as a light being off that you know was previously on, or an environmental choke point such as a corner block or an upcoming side alleyway.
Perform Evasive Maneuvers to Determine Intention
When you’ve entered Condition Orange, you begin to make evasive maneuvers if possible. If someone in a car behind you triggered orange, you would simply turn at the next light. It’s as simple as that. If they are still behind you try turning at the next left. Then right again. If they are still behind you it is a strong indication that you’re being followed. In the case of the man next to the parking column, you would change your trajectory or give him wide berth. If it’s a dark alley up ahead, try to keep your distance.
Create a Mental Trigger and Formulate Your Tactical Plan
As you are performing your evasive maneuvers you’ll want to quickly set up a mental trigger and formulate a tactical plan. “If he does x I will do the following”, or “If x happens when I reach that alleyway, I’ll do this”. That ‘x’ is the mental trigger that springs you into action. Your tactical plan could be anything from more extreme evasive maneuvers to drawing your weapon on someone to a lethal response. If the trigger never comes (either because that person or indicator is not a threat) or because of your awareness they decided they better not do anything — you would deescalate to yellow again. Remember, most predators want to have the element of surprise. When they catch on that you’ve caught on to them, they generally seek easier prey.
In Condition Red you’ve determined that the threat is real and although you may or may not be in the middle of a conflict you are READY TO ACT. You’re mentally prepared to carry out your plan.
The difference between Condition Red and Condition Yellow may at first seem unclear. In Condition Red, not only have you determined that the threat is very real, but more importantly you’ve made a mental decision to act if the trigger from Condition Yellow is tripped. It’s a very subtle but important difference. You not only have a plan on what to do and when to act (Condition Yellow) but you are prepared to carry out that act. This is especially important when the decision that you made requires a lethal response. Let me give you an example that illustrates the difference:
The Two Officers
There are two police officers on duty. Someone approaches them stating that around the corner there is some crazy guy waving around a gun. As they quickly move to the corner and yell “Drop your weapon!” in a flash the man begins to draw his gun on them and the first officer shoots him right away while the other is standing there looking surprised. What happened?
The difference is that the first officer mentally tells himself, “I’ll tell the guy to drop his weapon and show us his hands. If he complies we’ll arrest him, if he begins to draw his gun on us, I’m shooting him. End of story.” This officer is in Condition Red. The second officer makes a similar plan but is not quite certain of his decision to act on it. The plan was made, but the decision to act on that plan wasn’t set in his mind and therefore he was susceptible to suprise and hesitation. He was still in Condition Orange.
Condition Red is all about knowing that if your opponent steps over that mental line in the sand (your trigger) you know what to do and YOU WILL DO IT. No hesitation. No questions asked.
Personal Experience of an individual:
To illustrate the color code in action I want to share a personal experience. During my college days I would work the summers at my best friends pizza store as a delivery driver. Sometimes we were called to deliver pizza to certain “project” areas that were notorious for crime. Whenever I worked in those areas I would always be in Condition Yellow. On one particular evening I was called to run an order there.
After delivering the pizza to the house I was sent to, I was walking back to my car with the empty pizza bag. Now mind you, at that time we had these lit up signs that were attached to the roof of our cars for advertisement which stood out as a perfect invitation for warm food and lots of cash for the shadier elements of our society. Anyways, as I was heading back I noticed in the distance two guys walking toward me, barely illuminated by the poor street lighting. I entered Condition Orange.
I began to make a small trajectory change in my direction of travel that would lead me around them. They also corrected their trajectory so that we were again heading on a collision course. At that moment the transition from yellow to orange to red was very quick. I made a plan, by wrapping the pizza bag around my arm to act as a shield if they were carrying knives and I subtly pulled my knife out of my back pocket, flipped it open and hid it behind me. I had made the decision that if they jumped me I would stab them both, violently and quickly.
As they were nearly on me, I recognized the taller of the two in the light of the street lamp. Someone that I went to Junior High with. I said, “Jameal, is that you?” They both immediately stopped in their tracks, and Jameal recognized me exclaming, “Erich! You’re so lucky! We were going to jump you and take your money.” At that moment I showed them my knife and what I was intending to do. They were both even more surprised. The condition immediately went back down to yellow.
How do you win in combat? By being mentally prepared to win. And the Color Code of Awareness is the perfect tool to gaining a winning combat mindset.
Used by soldiers and CIA agents alike, The Color Code of Awareness will help you see danger before it strikes and may just save your life.
The Need to Pay Attention
Unfortunately there are not a lot of areas left in our world where you are immune to threats to your personal safety. With increases in crime such as theft, rape, and assault, it is in our best interest to pay attention.
In nature, predators seek out easy targets — the weak and the sick ones. Similar to the animal kingdom, human predators also seek out targets of opportunity — especially those who are unaware and oblivious to what’s around them. For this reason, it’s necessary to take on a state of mind that can help you stay alert to potential threats at all times and be able to intelligently react should you be faced with one. There’s no better metaphor for this state of mind than the Color Code of Awareness.
The Color Code of Awareness
The Color Code of Awareness has its origins in the U.S. Military but the adaptation as given here was originally put forth by the late Jeff Cooper, USMC(ret) and founder of Gunsite. This is not to be confused with the government’s form of color code which corresponds to the amount of danger to which you are exposed to at a given time. Instead, this refers to your current state of mind and willingness to take action regardless of real or imagined threats.
Condition White: the Unaware Masses
The UnawareThe next time you’re out and about take a look at the people around you. What are they doing and what do they notice? What you’ll begin to see is that most people are completely oblivious to their surroundings. This is Condition White. Whether they are sitting on a park bench completely engrossed in a book or walking with their gaze focused on the ground three feet in front of them, their attention is drawn somewhere else and they lose sight to what’s around them.
The Addiction of Thought
In fact the biggest monopolizer of your attention is your thoughts. Most people are addicted to thinking. You become a slave to the incessant ramblings of your own involuntary internal dialogue. In fact, the only difference between you and those ‘crazy’ people you see muttering to themselves on the street is that you are not muttering out loud.
The mind is a powerful and necessary tool when used in the right context. But like with any tool, we need to be able to put it down – or in this case shut it off – when we no longer need it. This is especially true in order to be aware and safe in our immediate environment. It’s those who are caught up in their thoughts that make perfect targets for potential predators.
Absolute Vulnerability
Condition White is where you will get surprised by your friends or a stranger that “happens upon you”. In white you are unready to take action to prevent injury or death. And it’s in this state that the only way you’ll survive a lethal attack is if your attacker is completely inept. Avoid this state at all times.
Condition Yellow: Relaxed Alertness
Learn to Always be AwareCondition Yellow should be your normal everyday state of awareness. It’s in this state that you’ve accepted the fact that your life may be in danger at any time and you may have to do something about it. There is no specific threat but you are alert to any possibility.
You are relaxed and alert. You walk down the street with your head up and you’re looking around. You notice the late model blue Chevy pickup turning the corner, with an older gentleman driving. Your aware of the group of teenagers talking in a tight circle in front of the convenience store. You see a young couple crossing the street, heading your direction holding hands. When you leave for work in the morning you look around the neighborhood noticing anything out of the ordinary.
Lose Your Mind and Come to Your Senses
Most of all, your not caught up in your thoughts. Your mind is in the moment and although yellow is a relaxed state and you could stay in it indefinitely, it is still an active level of awareness — very different than white. You are actively taking mental notes of those things around you. In yellow you are aware of your surroundings and your mindset is such that “I may have to defend myself today”.
Condition Orange: Focused Alertness
Noticing a Potential PredatorIf during Condition Yellow, something or someone triggers your attention indicating a potential threat you would immediately enter into Condition Orange. It doesn’t mean there is a threat only that there could potentially be one. The only real difference between the orange state and the yellow state is you now have a specific point of focus.
For example, you’re manning a store and in walks a guy who slips his hands in his inner coat pocket — your radar goes up, you enter Condition Orange. Or your heading to your car in the mall parking garage and you notice someone standing by a column up ahead instead of heading to his car or the mall entrance, you now have a point of focus and you are in an orange state. It need not only be a person that triggers this, it could be any indicator that is out of context with what is expected, such as a light being off that you know was previously on, or an environmental choke point such as a corner block or an upcoming side alleyway.
Perform Evasive Maneuvers to Determine Intention
When you’ve entered Condition Orange, you begin to make evasive maneuvers if possible. If someone in a car behind you triggered orange, you would simply turn at the next light. It’s as simple as that. If they are still behind you try turning at the next left. Then right again. If they are still behind you it is a strong indication that you’re being followed. In the case of the man next to the parking column, you would change your trajectory or give him wide berth. If it’s a dark alley up ahead, try to keep your distance.
Create a Mental Trigger and Formulate Your Tactical Plan
As you are performing your evasive maneuvers you’ll want to quickly set up a mental trigger and formulate a tactical plan. “If he does x I will do the following”, or “If x happens when I reach that alleyway, I’ll do this”. That ‘x’ is the mental trigger that springs you into action. Your tactical plan could be anything from more extreme evasive maneuvers to drawing your weapon on someone to a lethal response. If the trigger never comes (either because that person or indicator is not a threat) or because of your awareness they decided they better not do anything — you would deescalate to yellow again. Remember, most predators want to have the element of surprise. When they catch on that you’ve caught on to them, they generally seek easier prey.
Condition Red: Ready to Act
Locked and ReadyIn Condition Red you’ve determined that the threat is real and although you may or may not be in the middle of a conflict you are READY TO ACT. You’re mentally prepared to carry out your plan.
The difference between Condition Red and Condition Yellow may at first seem unclear. In Condition Red, not only have you determined that the threat is very real, but more importantly you’ve made a mental decision to act if the trigger from Condition Yellow is tripped. It’s a very subtle but important difference. You not only have a plan on what to do and when to act (Condition Yellow) but you are prepared to carry out that act. This is especially important when the decision that you made requires a lethal response. Let me give you an example that illustrates the difference:
The Two Officers
There are two police officers on duty. Someone approaches them stating that around the corner there is some crazy guy waving around a gun. As they quickly move to the corner and yell “Drop your weapon!” in a flash the man begins to draw his gun on them and the first officer shoots him right away while the other is standing there looking surprised. What happened?
The difference is that the first officer mentally tells himself, “I’ll tell the guy to drop his weapon and show us his hands. If he complies we’ll arrest him, if he begins to draw his gun on us, I’m shooting him. End of story.” This officer is in Condition Red. The second officer makes a similar plan but is not quite certain of his decision to act on it. The plan was made, but the decision to act on that plan wasn’t set in his mind and therefore he was susceptible to suprise and hesitation. He was still in Condition Orange.
Condition Red is all about knowing that if your opponent steps over that mental line in the sand (your trigger) you know what to do and YOU WILL DO IT. No hesitation. No questions asked.
Personal Experience of an individual:
To illustrate the color code in action I want to share a personal experience. During my college days I would work the summers at my best friends pizza store as a delivery driver. Sometimes we were called to deliver pizza to certain “project” areas that were notorious for crime. Whenever I worked in those areas I would always be in Condition Yellow. On one particular evening I was called to run an order there.
After delivering the pizza to the house I was sent to, I was walking back to my car with the empty pizza bag. Now mind you, at that time we had these lit up signs that were attached to the roof of our cars for advertisement which stood out as a perfect invitation for warm food and lots of cash for the shadier elements of our society. Anyways, as I was heading back I noticed in the distance two guys walking toward me, barely illuminated by the poor street lighting. I entered Condition Orange.
I began to make a small trajectory change in my direction of travel that would lead me around them. They also corrected their trajectory so that we were again heading on a collision course. At that moment the transition from yellow to orange to red was very quick. I made a plan, by wrapping the pizza bag around my arm to act as a shield if they were carrying knives and I subtly pulled my knife out of my back pocket, flipped it open and hid it behind me. I had made the decision that if they jumped me I would stab them both, violently and quickly.
As they were nearly on me, I recognized the taller of the two in the light of the street lamp. Someone that I went to Junior High with. I said, “Jameal, is that you?” They both immediately stopped in their tracks, and Jameal recognized me exclaming, “Erich! You’re so lucky! We were going to jump you and take your money.” At that moment I showed them my knife and what I was intending to do. They were both even more surprised. The condition immediately went back down to yellow.
Conclusion
Because of the threats to our safety so prevalent in our day, the need to pay attention is huge. Martial skill is only half of the equation. Because if you’re not mentally prepared, you’ll be stuck flatfooted when required to act.How do you win in combat? By being mentally prepared to win. And the Color Code of Awareness is the perfect tool to gaining a winning combat mindset.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Desiderata
Desiderata
Written by Max Ehrmann in 1927
Written by Max Ehrmann in 1927
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, And remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing future of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue & loneliness. Beyond wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
OK, it's an oldie and has fallen out of favor with the current generation. I don't care.... This brings back fond memories of gentler times and less conflicted lives. It brings memories of "The Naturalist", a crafty little store in Provo, Utah that specialized in dried flower arrangements, Carole Lynn Pearson, and Marvin Payne poems and songs. I even now prefer the original story as to where it originated...Sometimes we will have to stand down and remember the kinder and gentler times in our lives as the tribulations and trials try to overtake us. ....."be cheerful and strive to be happy" no matter what the trial.
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