When An Active Shooter Goes On a Rampage, Employ These Survival Measures

Another mass shooting massacre.

This, like the others, took more innocent victims.

Everyone seems preoccupied with asking so many questions in an attempt to understand why these perpetrators kill and who is to blame: parents, media, video games, guns or the economy? These are all the wrong questions!

Men, women and children worldwide have been the victims of such attacks for years. The massacres in Columbine, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Aurora, Mumbai, India; Beslan, Russia; Tuusula, Finland; Utoya Island, Norway; Toulouse, France and many others are tragic examples of the threat that shooters pose to public safety.

Yet, many people chose to ignore the risk by assuming that such attacks will not happen or believing that they can be protected by local law enforcement.
These are dangerous assumptions.

FULL SECURITY

We all know that there is no such thing as 100% security, and no one knows where and when the next attack will occur.

Active shooters and terrorists always attack the most vulnerable targets. They plan their attacks meticulously and over a long period of time and exploit weaknesses in security systems. They attack with surprise and their goal is to inflict the largest number of casualties as quickly as possible. That is why most casualties in these incidents occur during the first 10 minutes, before law enforcement intervention.
Whether the shooter is a mentally derange person, a religious fanatic, a vengeful employee or an outcast student, they all use similar tactics and the results are always the same: large scale death and suffering.
As community leaders, business managers, teachers and parents, we are in a position of trust. If we do not act responsibility, we are failing those who put their trust in us and accept the loss of innocent lives. Doing nothing to prepare and accepting defeat is unethical and un-American. As Americans, we do not give in or give up. We know that life is sacred and we fight for what is right. A mass murderer killing innocent men, women and children is wrong!

It is time we start asking ourselves the most important question: What can be done to survive and stop the violence during the attack … when escape is impossible and the shooter is on location killing people?

What You Must Do

• Think like a survivor
• Manage the stress
• Follow through with an effective plan of action
• Rapidly assess the threat
• Locate exits
• Use cover
• Evacuate safely when possible
• Barricade in an enclosed space and deny access to the shooter



Behind the Evil
VULNERABLE TARGETS
Active shooters and terrorists always attack those they believe are vulnerable.

THE PLANNING
Their attacks are planned meticulously and over a long period of time. They also exploit weaknesses in security systems.

THE ATTACK
This is always done with surprise.

THEIR GOALS
Inflict the largest number of casualties as quickly as possible.

THE FIRST 10 MINUTES
Most casualties in these incidents occur during the first 10 minutes.

Combat Shotgun

Benelli’s M4, the Marine’s 12-Gauge, Is Enhanced for Military and Defensive Use

The few. The proud. The Marines.

That slogan for the U. S. Marine Corps also work for its combat shotgun, the M1014.

In 1998, the government wanted a new combat shotgun, and keeping with proper military fashion, they issued a request for submissions to military trials. Benelli answered the call by entering their model M4 for consideration.  After extensive testing and submitting the entrants to mud, sand, heat and cold, the M4 out performed all of the competition.

In 1999, the Benelli M4 was adopted as the M1014 Joint Service Combat Shotgun. From that time on, the M4 put the military trials behind it and started proving its worth in combat.  
See why.

WHAT IT’S GOT

The Benelli M4 is a semi-automatic, 12-gauge shotgun that has been enhanced for military and defensive use. The heart of the M4 is Benelli’s patented Auto-Regulating Gas-Operated (A.R.G.O.) system. Dual stainless steel, self-cleaning pistons are operated by gases fed through a port just in front of the chamber. These short-stroke pistons impact directly against the bolt assembly eliminating the need for excessive linkage and providing reliable cycling.

The M4 sports an 18.5-inch barrel, which gives the shotgun an overall length of only 40 inches. The synthetic pistol-grip stock and fore end keeps its weight down to 7.8 pounds. The M4 has a capacity of 5+1and is compatible with either 2 ¾ or 3 inch shells.

The barrel is supplied with a removable modified choke.  Benelli has done away with the standard “bead” and has given the M4 a front blade mated with a ghost-ring rear sight. Both the front and rear sights are protected from damage with sturdy side-wings. Optional Tritium “night-sight” inserts are available for those wanting to go the step further.

The rear sight is field adjustable for both windage and elevation. If these sights aren’t enough for you, Benelli has also drilled and tapped the receiver for scope mounts. To make it even easier, the M4 is supplied with a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny sight rail. There is a sling attachment point directly in front of the fore end, and one on each side of the butt-stock. The shotgun can be purchased with either black or desert camo finish.

Specifications are nice, but they alone do not make a combat shotgun.

In Search of a Trophy

This South African Safari Included an Encounter with Poachers and a Search for a World Record Mountain Reedbuck
By Thomas C. Tabor

"Tom, you've got to hunt mountain reedbuck. I know where we possibly could find the next world record," my PH and close friend, Carl Labuschage, kept telling me.

But in all honesty, I hadn't even considered hunting reedbuck of any kind on this trip. Months before I'd arrived in South Africa, I'd prepared a well thought out list of other plains game species that the walls of my trophy room just seemed to be screaming out for.

Surely, if finances weren't a consideration, I would have booked a 30-day safari all-inclusive of everything, including the Big Five. But unfortunately, like a lot of hunters, I don't fit in the category of being a wealthy financier and as such, expenses played a major role in the 10 animals that I'd selected to hunt.

TOP OF THE LIST

On the top of that list, I'd hoped to take a good kudu bull, which would move me a little closer to completing my collection of spiral-horned antelope; I wanted to bring home a warthog, which had somehow eluded me on my earlier safaris; and the eight others on the list were no less desirable, or no less challenging to hunt.

But what was possibly even more of a concern than the fairly small trophy fee for the reedbuck was my time restraints. There just didn't seem to be enough time to include a mountain reedbuck, but Carl persisted, pleading with me that I had to make time even at the cost of missing out on some other species. Knowing full well if I didn't agree I would surely regret it down the road, I finally asked Carl to make the necessary arrangements. First, however, I wanted to see a kudu bull on the ground and in the Zululand area, good quality kudu are not all that easy to come by.

A POUND OR SO OF PREVENTION

Console Vault’s Vehicle Vault Keeps Handguns and Valuables Safe and Secure

While searching the Web for a discreet gun safe for my Ford F-250, I came across a company named Console Vault, which offers not only vehicle safes, but covert wall safes and security briefcases, as well. Turns out, the company has been making specialized vehicle vaults for law enforcement and government officials around the world for eight years. By the time I’d finished reading its homepage, I’d made up my mind.

The Vehicle Vault uses Console Vault’s five-point locking system and a high-security barrel lock. A keyless combination lock is an option, and that’s the route I went. I can set the combo off by one digit when I’m in the vehicle in the event I need access to my handgun in a hurry. The major components are made of 12-gauge cold-rolled plate steel and refined with welded tabs and notch seams.

What I appreciated most is that the Vehicle Vault requires no vehicle modifications whatsoever. There are only four parts to install on late-model F-250s and three on earlier models; the kit also includes all the mounting hardware.

Installation is pretty straightforward, as long as you can read instructions. First, you set your personal combination. Next, you remove the factory nuts at the bottom of the console. Then, you attach the front, then the rear, support brackets to the bottom of the console. And finally, you mount the lid assembly to the top of the support brackets. Done deal.

When the installation is complete, the Vehicle Vault is anchored discreetly inside the console. Virtually no storage space is lost, because the console lid closes flush up against the Vehicle Vault’s lid assembly. When the console lid is closed, no one would ever know it’s there.

I’ve now used my Vehicle Vault to stow my wallet, watch, keys (my truck has keyless entry), mobile phone and anything else I had in my pockets on several occasions when the truck was parked, whether I was fishing at a bass lake near my house or going for a jog at the beach. While it’s true that my truck has never been broken into (perhaps it’s the NRA, California Rifle & Pistol Association, American flag and assortment of gun decals that are displayed on the rear window of my cab), I get some real peace of mind knowing that if it ever were broken into, the thief would have to be equipped with some serious cutting tools to get to any valuables I’d left in the console.

CONTACT:

CONSOLE VAULT
5000 West Oakey Boulevard
Suite E2
Las Vegas, NV 89146
(800) 878-1369
www.consolevault.com

GW-1212-FIELD TEST

When the installation is complete, the Vehicle Vault is anchored discreetly inside the console. Virtually no storage space is lost, because the console lid closes flush up against the Vehicle Vault’s lid assembly.

Baker's Dozen 13 Quality Handguns for Less than $500

By Dr. Martin D. Topper

The economy is about as lackluster as it gets. Unless, that is, you’re talking about the manufacture and sale of handguns, which is one of the few growth sectors.

A recent article by Martha C. White referred to a Gallup Poll that indicated household ownership of firearms had risen from 41% to 47%. White further reported that the fastest selling items were small, inexpensive handguns.  However it's not just men who are buying guns; the number of women purchasing guns rose 9% in the last year.

If gun buying patterns in my neck of the woods are like the rest of the country, many of those guns purchased by women and men were handguns for personal defense.

Given the current interest in inexpensive handguns, I searched the web for new handguns that could be purchased for less than $500 and went to the Florida Gun Exchange to look at a number of reasonably-priced used guns.  The search turned up many new and used guns priced less than $500, and it was easy to find a representative sample of these pistols and revolvers for this article.

Each gun was inspected for defects in workmanship or signs of excessive wear. All of the handguns described below were well-fitted and functioned smoothly. Some of the used guns had holster wear, but they were otherwise in very good to excellent condition.

New Guns

The new guns examined were regular production models. None of these revolvers and pistols had been modified in any way, and no attempt was made to select the best example of any particular model. These are the same guns that anyone who passes a background check can buy from a well-stocked gun shop.

1 Beretta Tomcat .32 ACP

Beretta's Tomcat is a popular small Double Action (DA) semi-automatic.  It's a bit big for a pocket .32, but it is comfortable to hold and will conceal in either a coat pocket or an inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster.

There are a number of hollowpoint defense loads made for this caliber, including a Winchester Silvertip, Federal Hydra-Shok, COR-BON DPX, a Speer Gold Dot and a Hornady XTP. Winchester's factory ballistics have a 60 gr. Silvertip hollow point bullet leaving the muzzle at about 970 fps, which produces about 125 ft. pds. of muzzle energy.

The .32 ACP is clearly not a high-powered cartridge, but actual street results published by Evan Marshall and Edwin Sanow indicate that it expands to a little more than .40 caliber and penetrates a bit more than 9 inches in actual shootings.

The Tomcat examined for this article was well made. It's double-action trigger pull was smooth and the sear broke cleanly. One nice feature of the Tom Cat is its tip-up barrel. This pistol's user doesn't have to cycle the slide to load or unload it. Just release the barrel latch and either insert or remove the cartridge. For those who want carry gun that is easy to use and has limited blast and recoil, the Tomcat is a good option.

SIDEBAR

Specifications

Beretta Tomcat
Action:         Blow back operated semi-automatic pistol
Caliber:         .32 ACP
Frame:        Aluminum alloy
Capacity:        8 rounds with loaded chamber
Barrel Length:     2.4 inches
Trigger:        DA
Overall Length:  4.9 inches
Weight:        14 oz. unloaded
Sights:        Fixed
Finish:        Blue
MSRP:        $435

Out of the ashes of the AR-15, Colt’s MT6700 target match rifle is born

Story and photos by John N. Raguso

Although Eugene Stoner and his design team invented it as a member of aircraft manufacturer Fairchild-Republic’s Armalite division back in the early 1960s, the AR-15’s patent was eventually sold to Colt. This proven defense manufacturer then used its marketing savvy, mass-production manufacturing techniques and military connections to sell the concept of a lightweight, direct-gas-operating system rifle to USAF General Curtiss Lemay as a replacement for the USAF’s aging M1 Carbines. The rest, as they say, is history.

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the AR-15 (originally launched in 1963) and its numerous offspring in both military and civilian circles, the Colt MT6700 takes a giant step back into this past and offers a design that keeps things simple. In this review, we’ll take a closer look at this entry-level target match rifle and its direct-gas-impingement operating system in its most basic format, with a 20-inch barrel and /sans/ many of the bells and whistles of modern-era AR-15/M16 weapons and clones.

AR-15 EVOLUTION

The familiar “Rampant Colt” pony and Colt’s Manufacturing logo grace the port side of the receiver of the MT6700. However, the prestigious AR-15 tag has long been removed from this elementary target rifle’s magazine well housing due to various historical and current-day remnants of our country’s controversial AWB (assault weapons ban) legislation—the law of the land from 1994 through its eventual sunset in 2004. Various forms of that national law, including some subsequent and current state legislation, prohibited and/or still ban the sale or importation of many types of weapons, among them anything with the label, “AR-15” on it.

Fortunately, my favorite old Colt AR-15 A2 Sporter (SP2) was grandfathered under the original AWB law and is totally legal, since it was manufactured prior to 1994. Ditto for my Vietnam-era 20- and 30-round magazines that were made in the early 1970s and ’80s.

Even though the national AWB is thankfully gone (for now), and given the variety of state (such as my home state of New York) and municipality (New York City and others) legislation that is still in effect as you read this, Colt’s Manufacturing Company decided to evolve the nomenclature of its AR-15. The company morphed it into the Match Target (and SP Sporter) series of rifles to avoid any political legislation against their sale or distribution.

The MT6700 is sold with none of the offending “evil components,” such as a bayonet lug, flash suppressor or collapsible stock. Both the former and most of the current AWB laws allow the use of only two of the original five evil features—specifically a removable magazine and a pistol grip lower receiver, both of which can still be found on the 2012 edition of the MT6700.

The Colt MT6700 ships with a pair of nine-round mags that are good to go in all 50 states of the union, but it also accepts a variety of pre-ban and current-manufacture 15- (for New Jersey), 20- and 30-round aluminum and polymer magazines designed for the AR-15, M4 and M16 family of weapons.


The Colt MT6700 is an A3 flattop s-style target rifle that ships with a removable carry handle with ½ MOA rear sights, strap, cleaning kit, operations manual and a pair of nine-round magazines.