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Shooting from around
cover rather than over it
exposes much less of you.
Be certain that what you
are using as cover will
in fact protect you. This
plastic container is filled
with sacks of concrete.
the use of cover because I am not. I am
simply pointing out that it must be used
appropriately and its use kept in proper
context.
To use cover in a fight, one needs
three things: The time to get to cover,
the proximity and availability of cover,
and (perhaps) the expectation that a
fight is about to happen. Let’s examine
these in detail:
Time
In the reactive event we described
above, the good guy had no time at all to
get to any sort of cover. Generally speaking,
if the bad guy is closer to you than
any point of cover, you must think of
dealing with the bad guy first. If I have a
man drawing a pistol to shoot me from
ten feet away, and my nearest point of
cover is 25 yards away, I can almost guarantee
you that I will not make it in time.
That is why we need to develop close
range gunfighting tactics that involve
getting off the line of fire, drawing and
shooting on the move, alternative sighting
methods, and so on. Cover is great,
but it will take you time to get there. The
relationship between time and distance
is one that every student of close range
gunfights must understand.
Proximity and availability of cover
Obviously, cover has to be nearby
otherwise searching for it is a waste of
time. If you can’t get to it because it is
too far away don’t bother running to it.
Attack instead.
It is important to understand just
what constitutes cover. If your adversary
is armed with a knife, keeping a
table between you and him may be sufficient.
If he is armed with a .308 battle
rifle, even a car may be a bad choice. You
would be surprised how many things
suggested as cover by tactical writers
are easily penetrated by even the most
common ammunition.
A rule of thumb to follow is that the
harder and heavier the item of cover,
the better at stopping bullets it will be.
Concrete is better than cinder block,
and cinder block is better than a mail
box. Many things may simply be good
concealment, which is not bad, but will
only hide you from the bullets, not protect
you.
Expecting the fight
The final point is your expectation
that a fight is going to happen. If you
see the fight brewing, you can get behind
cover quickly and use it effectively.
If you fall into an urban ambush, we get
back into the issue of time available.
In a military context, reactively moving
to cover as an immediate action to
ambush is a viable tactic. As soon as a
team receives fire, they will move off the
line of fire, go to ground or cover, then
go into whatever their plan for immediate
reaction to an ambush would be. If
you are being shot at and do not know
the source of the gunfire immediately,
you want to move rapidly to somewhere
other than where you are. That rapid
move off the line of fire may hopefully
be to cover, but it may simply be off
to the side and down, if that is all you
have.
Using cover effectively
Assuming you had the time, reach
and forethought to get behind cover,
you need the skills to work the cover.
Once there, you need to know how to
shoot back, as well as how to maintain
your position and to know when to
abandon it.
In general, it is better to shoot around
cover than over it. Think about it. How
much of your head has to protrude
above the cover just so you can see?
JULY 2008 n CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINE n USCONCEALEDCARRY.COM