Have You Changed Anything Relating To Self Defense Recently?

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Plan2Live

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I'm not opening a discussion on motivations or reasons, I'm just curious if anyone has changed anything relating to their self defense routine, regimen, practice, firearm selection, etc. recently.

I'll lead off. Three years ago I moved to a new town that I consider to have less crime than my previous residence. As a result I stopped carrying my larger, primary carry gun and aside from donning my .357 for the occasional walk in the woods started carrying just a pocket .380. For a variety of reasons I went almost two years without firing a single practice round.

Recently I purchased a larger (compact) carry pistol and after running 600 "proving" rounds through it have begun carrying that in addition to the pocket .380. I have been making regular trips to the range and have been working on increasing my accuracy and reducing my target acquisition times and follow up shot times. When practicing at the range I almost always let my empty magazines drop without catching them and reload by drawing a fresh magazine from my mag holster while keeping my pistol up in my line of sight. Basically just getting back in the routine of running my pistol like I would in a fight.

What changes have you made?
 
Change for it's own sake is antithetical to reliability, so: No, I haven't. Going on 10 years with the same two guns carried daily depending on circumstances; the only change is going from pocket (642) to IWB (Combat Commander).
 
I cant carry at work in a government facility so that is the only change to my daily carry as I am prohibited and it stays locked in the trunk. If I have to approach an active shooter situation (which is highly probable at the VA), I will sue for having been disarmed and my second amendment rights violated by them. Stay safe and keep your powder dry.
 
Last year I started shooting again in a regular basis after really not shooting for along time.

This is somewhat due to me wanting to practice more with my ccw/HD choices.
 
I am more inclined to avoid large soft targets and the transitional spaces around them. I feel stupid going near them. I never enjoyed participation in mobs at concerts, sporting events, theaters, or even a busy store, restaurant, club or bar. While statistically there is probably lower risk to me in such places than where I might be a target of a single-victim crime in an isolated area, I feel a greater sense of awareness and control over what can happen to me when I'm outside the chaos and over-stimulation of mob scenes.
 
Labguy47 said:
I cant carry at work in a government facility so that is the only change to my daily carry as I am prohibited and it stays locked in the trunk. If I have to approach an active shooter situation (which is highly probable at the VA), I will sue for having been disarmed and my second amendment rights violated by them. Stay safe and keep your powder dry.
Click to expand...

As a Disabled Veteran I find your comments rather offensive. What makes a VA facility more suspect to a active shooter situation than any other facility?

I also worked for USPS for 20 years. You know where the term "going postal" came from?
 
Can't answer for the other guy, but a VA hospital or busy, large post office would fall into the "mob scenes" I described avoiding above. I remember when the DMV requested AR-15's for security. Another place I'd avoid as much as possible. I don't see a reason to slight vets, as much as the bureaucratic practice of gathering them or any other people into large institutional settings, especially where they've also declared a so-called "gun free zone."
 
I worked out the reliability and carry method a couple of years ago and practice with my carry guns enough to be assured of their performance if there is ever a possible need (heaven forbid).

If anything my situational awareness has increased significantly.
 
I've gradually been adopting newer technologies as they became practical and selectively available to at least maintain security. I added solar powered LED lights with motion sensors to light perimeters, voice controlled interior lights that allow me to selectively light specific areas remotely, motion sensing high definition and IR cameras with pan and tilt and off site cloud storage monitoring key entryways and exterior. I added another Alexa unit in the garage to control things like lights and security from inside the garage before entering the house; added additional detectors for glass breaking, soft access (doors & windows); water leaks; CO levels.

Being an old fart and living alone and hardly much of a threat my goal is to add as much warning layers as possible for when I am at home and added as documentary layers as possible for when I am away.
 
Lately I have been doing more close proximity drills. Think contact distance. I use my 22 M&P for this, so that the target isn't vaporized by the blast of my usual 9mm carry pistol. Also some drills from the driver's seat of my vehicle.
 
I recently decided to go with a .45 acp pistol (SA 4.5 inch XDm) to carry for personal defense. I think I will switch away from my standard 9 mm pistols, at least for awhile, and go with the bigger bore pistols. The Springfield Armory pistol has been worked on and tuned up quite a bit. It has a National Match barrel and is far more accurate than I can ever be with it. I do shoot it well. I recently had to qualify and I got a 30 hits out of 30 shots fired on my target which is as good as it gets.

I have am going to switch some of my close quarter drills "out a bit to allow for engaging possible rifle shooters" at longer than normal distances for my standard shooting distances. Face it, those rifle shooters in El Paso, Gilroy and Dayton were probably using the longer reach of the rifle to their advantage for some of their shots and that could be bad for a guy armed with a small bore pistol and no practice under his belt.
 
FL-NC said:
Lately I have been doing more close proximity drills. Think contact distance. I use my 22 M&P for this, so that the target isn't vaporized by the blast of my usual 9mm carry pistol. Also some drills from the driver's seat of my vehicle.
Click to expand...
Try cardboard. That’s what I went with. They don’t come part as easy as paper.

I’m cheap, so I get cardboard boxes and cut those out with a sharpie and a box cutter using an IDPA target as a template.
 
I too try to avoid large crowded places as much as possible. I have started carrying more often than I used to, and I am more aware of my surroundings now and am always looking for defensible positions. I am now more cautious and avoid areas that constrict movement.
 
Plan2Live said:
What changes have you made?
Click to expand...
I have made zero changes recently ... but, then, I have been carrying for a very long time. :)

Long ago I settled into a "go shopping early, when the stores open" pattern ... more to avoid traffic & crowds (I have always disliked crowds), but there are other pluses.
 
Something I think people take for granted physical fitness. Now I am a self proclaimed Fatboy but I can still run the army standard 2 mile run in 14 min. Yeah I ain't breaking records but I can do it. I am recently going back into cardio at least maybe a little weight lifting. Someone once said "what are you doing i make yourself harder to kill?" Maybe it's time I really pounded that advice into my brain.
 
Texas10mm said:
As a Disabled Veteran I find your comments rather offensive. What makes a VA facility more suspect to a active shooter situation than any other facility?
I also worked for USPS for 20 years. You know where the term "going postal" came from?
Click to expand...

Due to the fact that we have had multiple events at this facility within the last year.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/public...ll-man-at-bay-pines-va-medical-center/2149219

https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/update-fbi-identifies-veteran-shot-bay-pines-va

https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/bay-pines-va-police-kill-knife-wielding-veteran
 
Texas10mm said:
I also worked for USPS for 20 years. You know where the term "going postal" came from?
Click to expand...

"Going postal" (also offensive to some postal workers ...I have them in the family) is one of those hyped phrases, often offered as a colorful comment to refer to a person becoming enraged at work.
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/159050.html
There were a series of event leading up to the phrase and such that everyone recognizes it for what it is, along with speculation that such events are spurned by deplorable working conditions being at the root of the problem. Like many of the VA hospital events, most such postal shootings are very limited in scope.

According to USPS, postal workers are no more likely to commit acts of violence against coworkers than other people in the work force.
https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps12068/33994.pdf

As for labguy's fear of an active shooter at the VA, medical workers are 4 times as likely to be injured due to violence in the workplace than non-medical workers. VA hospitals are medical facilities and suffer their share of violence. He should be concerned in all medical facilities.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-violence-against-health-care-workers-n855931

With that said, shootings at VA hospitals don't appear to be particularly numerous and most are not of the mass shooting type.

However, Military.com posted this article last year that VA medical facilities are NOT provided proper security protection.
https://www.military.com/daily-news...left-vulnerable-violence-watchdog-report.html
 
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