RECOILtv: 2018 Tundra Supercharged Overland Truck

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Overland vehicle builds share a lot in common with bug-out vehicle builds — they're both designed to help the driver travel long distances over difficult terrain and cope with any challenges along the way. However, while a true bug-out vehicle is intended for rare emergency scenarios, overlanders build their rigs to be used in these conditions on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. Each year, many of these vehicle enthusiasts gather in Flagstaff, AZ, at the Overland Expo. Earlier this year, Mike Glover of Fieldcraft Survival stopped by the event to check out some of the purpose-built trucks and SUVs in attendance.

In the following RECOILtv episode, Mike chats with Travis Hess, the owner of a heavily-modified 2018 Toyota Tundra overland rig. Travis built the truck for long-distance work trips, and wanted it to be comfortable and reliable on-road as well as off-road. The V8 motor has been fitted with a Magnuson supercharger, and a C4 Fabrication hybrid tube/plate front bumper has been installed along with a bevy of Rigid Industries LED lights. It also rides on race-spec Fox shocks with a Camburg cage in the bed. Check out the walk-around video below:

For more bug-out and overland vehicle builds from across the country, check out the RECOILtv Transport channel.

Improv Skills: Using 5 Common EDC Tools as Improvised Weapons

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Warning! The content in this story is provided for illustrative purposes only and not meant to be construed as advice or instruction. Seek a reputable self-defense school first. Any use of the information contained in this article shall be solely at the reader’s risk. This publication and its contributors are not responsible for any potential injuries.

Photos by Chris Vastardis

The nature and history of combat is the utilization of weaponry, and victory most often goes to those who train with their weaponry. For an experienced prepper, this same philosophy can and should be applied to self-defense survival situations, so long as the weapon used is a legally appropriate response to the perceived threat.

Unfortunately, gone are the days when we can walk with a sword strapped to our side, and today’s equivalent can’t be carried legally in most parts of the world. Even in places where a firearm can be legally carried concealed or otherwise, many self-defense situations will not require the use of deadly force.

So, what are some of the best options for realistic everyday-carry (EDC) weaponry for when SHTF? There is a high likelihood that when you do need a self-defense tool, you’ll be away from your at-home or in-car arsenal and be left with what you have on your person — or what’s immediately in your surroundings. In an ideal world, you should always be carrying a variety of compact self-defense weapons on your person. Concealed-carry handgun, folding knife, and the like — the more options you have, the more prepared you’ll be to deal with what may come. Unfortunately, many places in the United States and abroad don’t allow for the carrying of guns, knives, or even common fist-loaded weapons like brass knuckles.

How can you convert everyday objects into improvised fist-loaded weapons that can be carried universally in even the most nonpermissive environments in the world? Following is a list of five common items that can be realistically carried in an EDC capacity, and some ideas on how they can be used as self-defense weapons.

Tactical Flashlight

Above: Jared Wihongi, right, parries the punch, then “checks” the attacking arm so he can flank and gain control. From there he can counterstrike.

This item tops my list as one of the most useful and practical items that can be carried as a self-defense weapon. I’ve carried one on my person while traveling throughout many parts of the world. I’ve even kept one in my carry-on luggage for flights in multiple countries on five continents. As a common multi-function tool, I am yet to hear of a place where it’s illegal. The only time mine was even scrutinized was at an airport in China, and they allowed it through because it didn’t have the aggressive strike bezels found on many tactical lights. If you want a flashlight that does have strike bezels, look for one where they are removable. Take them off when going through a security check point, and put them back on afterward.

A tactical light can double as a temporary distraction device in low-light conditions when shone directly in the eyes. Something that cycles straight into a high-strobe mode is ideal, but even a constant beam can momentarily blind or distract an assailant. The window of opportunity gained should be utilized to make an escape, or to counterattack with “hammer fist” strikes.

Above: A handheld flashlight has practical functions in addition to being an ideal improvised self-defense weapon. The Strobeforce D-TAC 1000 (from www.theultimate knife.com) is one example of a tactical flashlight that doesn’t look extra overly tactical.

Tactical Pen

Above: The author shields with his left arm while thrusting with the tactical pen in his right hand. He then hooks his opponent’s arm, applying a lock, while striking the bad guy’s free hand and face.

Another item that I always have on my person is a tactical pen. Like the tactical light, it’s a tool that has common everyday function. Defensively it can be used much like the tactical light, e.g. hammer-fist strikes to limbs, the torso, or the head/neck as necessary. It has a more focused point and as such can do more damage than a tactical light. Because I train often in double-wielded weapon combinations, in sticky situations I’ll often carry my tactical light in my support hand as my distraction and secondary impact weapon, and my pen in my dominant hand as my primary impact weapon. To avoid unnecessary attention, find a tactical pen that is strong enough to take a pounding, but discreet and “non-aggressive” in appearance.

Above: A tactical pen is a useful writing implement that can double as a striking tool if SHTF.

Rolled-Up Magazine

Above: Using a magazine as an improvised baton, Jared Wihongi stops the haymaker with a strike to the inside of the arm. He quickly traps the offending arm and follows up with several counters to the face. 

Another item I’ll always have on my person while traveling: the most recent editions of RECOIL OFFGRID and RECOIL magazines. If you’re into e-readers, this won’t help much, but for those who like a good-old hardcopy of their favorite publication, a solid magazine rolled up tight can be become a short blunt weapon capable of delivering effective defensive and counteroffensive strikes.

It offers more reach than a short fist-loaded weapon, and affords more protection of the hands by virtue of the strike surface being further away from the fingers. This might seem like a shameless plug, but the added length and weight of a RECOIL OFFGRID issue make it perfect for this application.

Don’t believe me? Roll up the bad boy in your hands and imagine jabbing one end of this magazine into your throat or eye.

Carabiner

A common tool that can be attached to a backpack, day bag, or keychain, a carabiner of the right size and material can be used much like brass knuckles. Throwing common boxing punches can be harmful to your unprotected hand, especially hook and uppercut angles that sometimes make contact with the sides or corners of your fist.

A carabiner can not only protect the hand from injury when performing such strikes, but also makes them more effective by concentrating the impact into a smaller contact surface. Look for something with a locking collar to prevent opening and causing injury to the hand while striking.

Above: A well-made carabiner can work wonders as an impromptu knuckleduster, as it both protects the user’s fist will delivering power to a concentrated area. 

Improvised Fist-Load Weapons

There are companies that specialize in producing discreet (and sometimes not-so-discreet) fist-load weapons that are keychains, paperweights, and bottle openers. Regardless of how obvious their true nature is, these weapons will follow three general methods of application.

The first works on the same principle as brass knuckles, designed to protect the front of the fists while delivering standard punching techniques. The second kind is designed to protrude from the top and bottom of the closed fist, where it can be used much like a knife in forward or reverse grip. Others will combine the first two, having protrusions from the top and/or bottom of the fist and something protecting one or more of the knuckles, generally with a ring feature that one or more fingers will go into.

For those prepared to pay a little more for tools of this nature, there’s my favorite company, RAIDOPS of South Korea. It has a huge variety of tools and use titanium in almost all of them. You can expect to find several other companies with great products for considerably lower costs, depending on the materials they use.

Above: This fist-load weapon called the JW.Vulcan is a collaboration between the author and RAIDOPS (www.raidops.com), a South Korean company that specializes in tactical and survival gear. 

Training to use these items for self-defense can be easier than one might think.

Focusing on the common principles utilized by each item rather than the differences between them will streamline the training process. In other words, use the principles of Kali, an umbrella term for the weapons-based combat systems of the Philippines. One of these principles is referred to as “transferrable methodology.” This means using the same core set of movements, regardless of what weapon is in your hand.

Don’t focus so much on the weapon, but rather the angles used to wield the weapon and the targets that should be addressed. All strikes will utilize either thrust or slashing motions. Think along the lines of a knife. When held in the hand with a forward (sabre) grip, you can use it to stab (thrust) or cut (slash). Using slashing angles, you can also strike with the pommel in a “hammer fist”-type attack. These same principles of angles and movement can be applied to any fist-load weapon.

The only difference to calculate for is the length of the weapon and whether it will cause puncturing wounds, lacerations, blunt trauma, or a combination.

An item like a carabiner used to protect the front of the knuckles will utilize the principles of a thrust, with the difference being the angle of the fist for a punch. Slashing angles can still be effective with a carabiner if it adequately protects the sides of the fist.

One of the things that often gets people hurt or killed in self-defense situations is hesitation. This often comes from not being able to make a decision based on a lack of understanding of self-defense laws. This lack of understanding can also result in using unlawful force against another person. So choose your weapons wisely, train with them often, and be sure to have a good understanding of local laws in the areas you plan to carry them.

About the Author

Jared Wihongi is founder and president of Survival Edge Tactical Systems Inc., a tactical training and consulting company. He is known to many as the face of Browning’s Black Label tactical equipment line. Wihongi is one of a handful of tuhon (master-level) instructors in the Filipino combat art of Pekiti-Tirsia Kali and has 15 years of experience in law enforcement. Most of that was spent as a SWAT officer and instructor of firearms and defensive tactics. Plus, he’s spent more than a decade teaching combatives and survival skills to police, military, and covert-operations units in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. www.facebook.com/jared.wihongi / www.jaredwihongi.com

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Check out our other publications on the web: Recoil | Gun Digest | Blade | RecoilTV | RECOILtv (YouTube)

Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

Review: Holosun HE503R Gold Dot Sight & Magnifier

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Unless you're currently living in a log cabin with your great-grandpappy's antique flintlock collection, you probably own at least one gun with a red dot sight. These illuminated sights are ubiquitous on rifles, carbines, PDWs, and shotguns, and they're becoming steadily more common on pistols as well. The minimally-obstructed field of view, easy-to-acquire point of aim, and long battery life an RDS provides make it an appealing choice for any close-quarters-oriented weapon platform.

That said, red dot sights aren't the only option anymore. Many optic manufacturers offer different reticle colors, such as green or gold/amber. We recently picked up the new Holosun HE503R-GD gold dot sight to see how it fares in comparison to a traditional RDS or a green dot sight like the HE510C-GR we previously reviewed. We also took this opportunity to evaluate the Holosun HM3X magnifier, which adds versatility to this sight.

Read on as we review the gold dot sight, the magnifier, and how the two worked together.

Holosun Gold Dot Sight

The company has expanded its Elite optic line with two new gold reticle models: the HE403R-GD and HE503R-GD. Both are variants of existing red dot sights from the company's Classic line, namely the HS403R and HS503R. All four of these models feature a compact 20mm housing with a manual brightness dial, and each includes a low mount and a lower-1/3 co-witness mount.

The 403 models feature a 2-MOA dot, while 503 models feature Holosun's Multiple Reticle System (MRS) which offers a 2-MOA dot with a user-selectable 65-MOA ring option. There's an $85 to $100 difference between the two, so if you aren't committed to the 65-MOA ring, you can save a considerable amount by going with the dot-only 403 model. Current MSRPs are $199 for the HS403R (red dot only) or $218 for the HE403R-GD (gold dot only), and $285 for the HS503R (red dot/ring) or $320 for the HE503R-GD (gold dot/ring). The latter model is the subject of this review.

As mentioned in our HE510C review, Elite models also offer a better warranty than the Classic series. Specifically, you get a limited lifetime warranty against defects on the housing or lens, and a 10-year warranty on the illumination system. Classic optics have a 5-year lens warranty and 3-year illumination warranty.

Why Gold?

Now for the elephant in the room — what's the point of a gold reticle? Is it really superior to red or green? As you may expect, that answer is mostly subjective. However, there are some potential pros and cons to consider before choosing a gold dot.

Holosun says the gold reticle was developed partially because it's not affected by the most common form of color-blindness. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, red-green color vision deficiency affects 1 in 12 males and 1 in 200 females in population groups with Northern European ancestry. In comparison, blue-yellow color vision defects are far rarer, only affecting about 1 in 10,000 people worldwide. If you were born with red-green color-blindess, a yellow reticle should be much easier to spot than either of those colors.

The other claimed advantage of the gold dot reticle is its effectiveness in a wider variety of environments. While a red dot might get washed-out against burnt sienna rock formations and a green dot might blend into a grassy field, this bright yellow-orange hue stands out in both settings.

There is one glaring issue (no pun intended) with the gold reticle: battery life. If you directly compare the specifications box between red dot and gold dot models, you'll see that the former lists “up to 100,000 hours” of battery life at medium brightness while the latter lists “up to 50,000 hours” (the same as green dot models). Although 50,000 hours is still a very long time — roughly 5.7 years — it's still half as long as the standard red dot. Also, this sight doesn't have Holosun's battery-saving features such as Shake-Awake or a solar panel, so it's likely that you'll be eating into that battery life 24/7/365 if it's used on anything other than a safe queen.

Holosun 3X Magnifier

The HM3X magnifier is new for 2019, and Holosun boldly proclaims that it's “the best magnifier value on the market today” as a result of its $235 MSRP. It features a lever-locking QD rail mount with a removable spacer for use with absolute co-witness or lower-1/3 co-witness sights (1.4 or 1.63 inches from top of rail to center of lens, respectively). The aluminum housing flips directly to the side and is retained in either position by a sturdy detent.

A ±3 diopter allows you to focus the magnifier to match your eye, and the windage/elevation controls can be adjusted to center the dot using a flat screwdriver or the slotted caps from a Holosun sight. Eye relief is 2.75  inches; exit pupil is 0.29 inches.

Range Time

We installed the HE503R-GD sight and HM3X magnifier onto a S&W AR-15 alongside the standard Magpul MBUS rear sight. The lower-1/3 mount comes pre-installed on the gold dot sight, but the matching lower-1/3 spacer had to be installed on the magnifier to get it to line up. With that step complete, the HE503R was installed onto the upper receiver with the included Torx wrench, and the magnifier's QD mount was locked in place after adjusting its clamping force with the same wrench. It's nice that this QD mount comes standard with the sight, since some competitors (e.g. Primary Arms) sell them separately.

With the sight and magnifier installed, we immediately noticed that the finishes on these items are different. Holosun's web site lists “MAO black” as the surface finish for both products, but the sight we received appears glossier and darker than the magnifier. We compared a few other Holosun sights, and they all seem to match the magnifier's matte charcoal finish, but the HE503R-GD doesn't. Holosun's product photos also show a lower-gloss finish than what we received. This may be a minor nitpick, but it makes us wonder about how much variation there is on this production line.

Cosmetics aside, the gold dot sight can be adjusted between brightness settings of 0 through 12 — two settings for use with night vision, and ten for use in daylight. The final position of the brightness dial (pictured above) toggles the reticle between dot and dot+ring; it remembers this setting even if the light is turned off and on again. We prefer the dot+ring configuration since it makes it easier to acquire the dot as the weapon is shouldered.

Parallax is minimal, but not entirely absent as Holosun advertises — no dot sight on the market is truly parallax-free.

Choosing a Color

This “gold” dot color is an acquired taste, although we don't mean that in a negative way. It can be described as bright yellow with a hint of orange, much like a yellow traffic light. It's similar to Trijicon's amber reticle color, which has been available for quite a few years now. We thought it might wash out more against a desert background, but were pleased to see that it wasn't very hard to spot as long as the brightness was set appropriately.

So, you may be wondering, should I go with a red, green, or gold dot? We can't answer that question for you, but based on our experiences, we like green the best. It seems to stand out more than the other colors in most environments we've tested, despite Holosun's implication that gold is more versatile. This makes sense because the human eye is most sensitive to colors in the green portion of the spectrum, causing them to appear brighter (unless you're color-blind).

A photo of the HE510C-GR green reticle from our previous review.

Deciding between red and gold is a much closer call. We'd still give a slight edge to red, but that may be mostly because we're already had many years to get used to it. However, bright red backgrounds aren't common in nature, whereas bright yellows — such as sunlit sand dunes — are more plentiful. For this reason, gold would be our third choice, but we'd still gladly take it over iron sights.

Magnification

The HM3X magnifier is simple to use, and pairs nicely with this sight. The detent holds the magnifier firmly in line, but isn't hard to overcome as you push the housing to the side. Clarity is good, although the magnifier cuts down on light transmission, causing the sight picture to appear dimmer with a faint bluish cast. There's a lot of glass between your eye and the target with two separately-housed optics, so this is to be expected.

The HM3X is on par with entry-level magnifiers, but it's clearly not on the level of an Aimpoint or EOTech. Of course, it's priced accordingly.

Through the magnifier, the dot and circle still look crisp, although the circle becomes distracting at 3X magnification. We set the sight to dot-only mode while using the magnifier.

After using a friend's AR with a Primary Arms Gen IV 3X magnifier with QD mount ($165 MSRP), the PA magnifier's sight picture seemed a little brighter, but it featured a smaller eyebox and some slight edge distortion. We strongly preferred the Holosun's smooth housing design and flip action, but it also has a $70 higher pricetag. The HM3X is a solid choice, but we wouldn't say it's far and away “the best value on the market” as Holosun's product page states.

Final Thoughts

Both the HE503R gold dot sight and HM3X magnifier have performed well, and work together as intended. The magnifier makes it easier to reach a little further out, and can be quickly pushed out of the way for short-range engagement.

At a combined MSRP of $555, the HE503R and HM3X are in the same price range as entry-level low-power variable optics (LPVOs). Frankly, we're still partial to a 1-4X or 1-6X LPVO for most multipurpose carbines. Those scopes offer infinite magnification adjustability, and their higher maximum magnification and more detailed reticles are better-suited to longer ranges. They're also contained in a single unit with one set of adjustments.

That said, the “1X” offered by LPVOs in the sub-$1000 price range can't touch the clarity of an unmagnified dot sight for close-range use. The magnifier is also removable to cut weight, whereas an LPVO is a package deal. If you already own a dot sight and you're looking to expand its capabilities, or you rarely use your weapon at longer ranges, a magnifier like the HM3X might be worth considering.

As for the gold dot sight on its own, we still prefer Holosun's red and green dot sights, especially those with Shake Awake and solar features. But the HE503R-GD comes with the improved Elite warranty and gold reticle for $35 more than the HS503R red dot, so if you think you'll prefer the gold color, it's worth a shot. As a consumer, more choices are never a bad thing — even though this sight configuration and reticle color wouldn't be our first choice from Holosun's lineup, we're glad there are plenty of models to choose from.

For more info on Holosun's dot sights and magnifier, go to Holosun.com.

The SALT Method: Triage and Treatment for Mass-Casualty Incidents

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You’re at a football game when shots ring out. A lot of shots. Then screams. You know instantly this is a mass-shooting scenario, and you want to help after the smoke clears. Though developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Sort Assess Life-saving Triage (SALT) method can be used by anyone to help save lives before first-responders arrive.

As a prepper, you might think, I’m no paramedic. How can I use SALT after the shooting stops?

Although many people think “mass shooting” when they envision a mass-casualty incident, by definition it simply means that there are more casualties than can be effectively managed by the available resources. There doesn’t need to be dozens or hundreds of victims. Two paramedics pulling up to the scene of a school bus crash just walked into a mass-casualty incident. Six victims of a gas leak explosion at a mountain cabin, treated by one lone hiker with an individual first-aid kit (IFAK), would be classified similarly.

Why Triage?

Triage is a decision scheme designed to help medical responders use their limited resources in a way that benefits the most people. In a situation where scores of people have been hurt, devoting time and supplies to a victim who will soon die or to someone else who’s barely scratched are equally bad decisions at opposite ends of the spectrum. The goal is to devote resources where they are most needed and most effective.

So how do you figure out who gets helped first? Start by sorting them. Those who are able to do so need to walk, stumble, or crawl to a nearby location of your choosing. You could say, “If you can hear me, I need you to move to the other side of this area. Do it now.”

This one simple statement may be the most important factor in deciding who gets helped first. It can instantly separate those who can more or less help themselves from everyone else. Anyone who just moved is able to hear and understand, and their body is still (mostly) functioning. This means they can be put out of your mind, at least for now.

Assessments

Those who are still on the ground need to be looked at more closely. They can be subdivided further by calling out a second command: “If you can hear me, I need you to wave your hands. Do it now.” If you can see purposeful movement on their part, they’re probably not the ones who need treatment first. The ones who need to be looked at immediately are those who were still unable to respond.

At this point you’ll have discerned up to three categories of victims: the “walking wounded” have been triaged as minimal and would be coded green. Those who can obey your commands and don’t look too messed up can be coded as yellow, denoting delayed care. The remainder, who need urgent life-saving intervention, are coded red because they need immediate care.

Dead and Dying

Confirmed dead would be coded as black, and should be moved to a separate area as time allows. This will help reduce the likelihood of late-arriving responders wasting time assessing those who are beyond help. For example, at the Virginia Tech mass shooting in 2007, some deceased victims were inadvertently rechecked three or four times, diluting vital resources.

There’s also a fifth category called expectant, which is coded gray or black-and-white. If a victim is coded as expectant, it means their injuries are so severe that they’re probably going to die because there aren’t enough available resources to meet the demand. For this reason, no care should be provided to them until more urgent cases are addressed. If and when resources become available, an expectant patient could be upgraded to the priority red category.

The expectant category hasn’t been widely adopted within the EMS community throughout the United States. The term is familiar to those working in the U.S. Department of Defense, but has only recently become part of the civilian EMS vocabulary with its use in the SALT triage system.

Check and Check Again

Keep in mind that triage isn’t a one-and-done event. It’s a dynamic process that changes based on the condition of your patients, your available resources, and scene safety. For example, once priority (red coded) patients have been treated, they may be upgraded to delayed (yellow). If a delayed patient has a cardiac arrest while you’re working on someone else, they may be downgraded to expectant. Their treatment priority will also change as the most urgent (and transportable) victims are evacuated, freeing up resources for the remaining patients.

Methodically Engage Chaos

Knowing the theory is great. So is having a plan. But as former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson put it, “Everybody has a plan until they get hit. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze.” What matters most is being able to methodically engage chaos, rapidly make difficult decisions, and improvise using only the resources at hand. With this in mind, we spoke to Sean McKay, the director of Disruptive Rescue/Austere Medicine at Element Rescue and program manager of Mobile Training and Rescue Development at Rescue Craft by Tactical Medical Solutions.

Although a firefighter and SWAT paramedic in his past life, McKay now spends his time developing dynamic rescue training and specialized products for elements of the U.S. Special Operations Command and federal assets, among other organizations. We asked him how civilians could effectively use triage theory in their own lives based on what has worked (or failed) in the past.
“First of all,” McKay says, “understand that many organizations within special operations usually don’t use a rigid algorithmic response like the SALT system. Those were designed for first responders, EMS units, and hospitals with layers of known resources to call on.

“When the excrement makes physical contact with the rotating blades, civilians would never remember all the little details in the heat of the moment. Instead, they need to use common sense and trust their gut. “Usually your gut assessment is correct,” McKay says. “There are three categories of patients you may encounter. First, those who will die no matter what you do. Second, those who will live no matter how bad you suck. And last, those who have a potentially preventable cause of death that you can impact. Focus on them.”

The SALT Method

Sort Assess Life-saving Triage
(Note: Users of any triage system should only apply lifesaving interventions up to the level of their training and expertise.)

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services REMM – www.remm.nlm.gov

Readers would also do well to heed these five additional tips from McKay:

1. Beware of the Box

If someone can talk to you, that means they can breathe. Move on. But if someone has a penetrating wound in “the box” (from their belly button up to their collarbone) they should become a priority for transport when available.

Injuries to this area are often complex for the caregiver for a few reasons:

  1. The patient can decompensate (start dying) quickly because all the vital organs are located in that region.
  2. There isn’t much a responder can really do besides cover a sucking chest wound or (for the advanced care provider) decompress with a needle.
  3. “For the non-medical person, it’s hard to appreciate relevant versus irrelevant breathing pathology,” McKay says. In other words, their breathing may sound like they’re dying, but they’re actually just scared. The patient could be breathing fast due to exertion, pain, stress (flight or fight), or could have a life-threatening issue with blood or air filling up their chest. “Keep your breathing assessment simple,” McKay says. “Copy their breathing pattern and speed. If it’s uncomfortable for you, it’s even worse for your patient.”

2. Denote the Dead

Move the dead away from the living (if tactically feasible) and provide a visual cue to other bystanders or first responders that you have triaged the casualty. Professionals may use colored electrical tape or casualty cards to mark the victims. Or better yet, copy what some British elements do — roll the victims face down and cross their arms and legs. This will prevent re-triaging and is faster than taping or marking.

3. Remember Your ABCs

“Blood goes ’round and ’round and air goes in and out,” McKay says. “If there’s an interruption, it needs to be addressed.”

Airway, breathing, and circulation used to be what first responders checked on a victim, and in that order. Then somewhere along the way we figured out that victims can get oxygen back once they start breathing again, but they can’t get back blood. And they can bleed out a lot faster than they’ll die from lack of air. This means that the new method is to check the patient’s circulation, breathing, and airways, in that order. Blood spraying into your eyes is a good indication that you found the right place to get to work.

Since irreversible shock and death can occur within three minutes from a femoral artery injury, bleeding control (B-con) should be the life-saving intervention that you focus on. Any uncontrolled bleeding, especially from an extremity, needs to be managed immediately.

4. Plan on Changing Your Plan

You will run out of supplies, so you must know how to improvise materials. Need a soft litter to carry or drag someone out? Lay the victim down on a carpeted floor and cut with your knife around the outline of the patient, staying about 8 inches off their shoulders. Then cut a few slots down each side about 4 inches in from the edges for handles.

Or if you need a tourniquet and you understand how a tourniquet works, you can make one out of anything. “If I walk into a room and see three picture frames on a wall and each one has four corners, that means I have 12 windlasses for tourniquets,” McKay says.

5. Tourniquets: High and Tight

Don’t worry about cutting off their clothes until you have time to check for secondary injuries. “If you look and see blood spraying from their legs or arms, or blood-soaked clothing, just get the tourniquet up on their limb as high as possible,” Sean says. “It will still be effective over the clothing as long as it’s properly applied.”

And how does one know if it’s properly applied? “The tourniquet should feel like it’s f*cking killing them,” he says. “It should go beyond the point to where it’s tight enough that they know it’s there, to the point where the pain of the tourniquet is all that they’re thinking about … and it’s not bleeding anymore.”

Keep in mind that the tourniquet can easily remain in place for up to two hours without risk of permanent damage. So don’t get any funny ideas about loosening it a little bit once in a while to make the patient more comfortable. That’s a good way to kill a patient.

Pro Med Kit

A former firefighter and SWAT paramedic, Sean McKay is the director of Disruptive Rescue/Austere Medicine at Element Rescue and program manager of Mobile Training and Rescue Development at Rescue Craft by Tactical Medical Solutions. Here’s what he carries in his med kit and why:

Multiple SOFTT-W Tourniquets: “These are one of the most widely used tourniquets within U.S. Special Operations Command and large city first-responders,” McKay says. “They’re known as the AK-47 of tourniquets because they’re so durable. You can treat that thing like a prison bitch, and it’ll keep working regardless of environmental factors.”

Chest Seals: These are needed to treat sucking, penetrating chest wounds. McKay also carries a sturdy decompression needle to vent the chest and prevent a buildup of air within the chest cavity. Lesser-trained civilians should focus on simply being able to “burp” the wound by lifting the seal, instead.

QuikClot Combat Gauze: “I choose Combat Gauze specifically,” he says, “because it has been tested and evaluated to produce the most robust clot, and maintains 0-percent re-bleeding within all the patient movement studies. Other similar products have been shown to open up and cause re-bleeding when the patient is being moved — in some products it’s over 30 percent.”

“Like many, I have a med/rescue response bag in my vehicle, but when going around town or traveling out of town or on a plane, I always have a SOFTT-W, a Combat Gauze, an elastic Esmark bandage, and a plan to improvise the rest.”

Triage and Treatment Gear Review

Bag: Specialized products for mass-casualty incidents (MCI) are now making their way to the mainstream. The TacMed Warm Zone sling bag from Tactical Medical Solutions is among the best, having been designed from the ground up for medical personnel who need to stay mobile while treating and triaging victims. Its pull-and-place modular interior system allows medics to customize the layout that suits them best. It comes stocked with an MCI loadout, including tourniquets, casualty marking tape, bandages, and marking pens, among other items. www.tacmedsolutions.com

Light: We were always taught to store our flashlights with the batteries reversed, to avoid long-term corrosion of the terminals and accidental turn-ons. That theory is sound, until you need a light source in a hurry and your fine motor skills aren’t what they were 2 minutes ago before the bomb went off. For this reason, we love the new FL75R headlamp from Coast Products. The dual-power system can run on standard alkaline batteries or its included micro-USB powered rechargeable pack. This lets you keep it plugged in so it’s always charged, while keeping loose AAA batteries on-hand for when extended use is required. www.coastportland.com

Everywhere-Everytime Med Kit: The TacMed Pocket Medical Kit is similar to the full-time med loadout described by Sean McKay of Element Rescue in the sidebar found elsewhere in this story — the one he carries on him even if he can’t carry a bag. Stripped down to the bare essentials for bleeding control, the kit is small enough to fit into the back pocket of your jeans and includes a tourniquet, Esmark Bandage, Combat Gauze, chest seal, and gloves. www.tacmedsolutions.com

Bag or Trunk Med Kit: The Tramedic Individual Response Pack by Griffin Logistics is a larger, upgraded kit that can be stored in a medium-sized purse, backpack, or trunk of your vehicle. It includes a bleeding control loadout similar to the pocket kit noted above, but also packs in some extras that could make a long day much easier for you. This includes material to maintain an airway for an unconscious person, as well as a clever (and much more likely to be used) Minor Injury Kit with adhesive bandages, tape, forceps, and antibiotic ointment among other items. Griffin’s gear is the real deal, and it shows in the look and feel of their products. Look for their trauma kits to start showing up in stadiums and concert venues, in wall-mounted cabinets next to the defibrillating AED devices. www.griflog.com

Suggested Training

For in-person classes that civilians can attend, check out the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians’ website at www.naemt.org/education.aspx. You can search for upcoming sanctioned classes near you. This may include Tactical Emergency Medical Care (TEMC) as well as Bleeding Control for the Injured (B-Con), which is a simplified course designed specifically for non-medical personnel.

Also look for Tactical Combat Casualty Care for All Combatants (TCCC-AC), which is designed to introduce basic battlefield medical treatment to non-medical responders.
Online training can be obtained by watching videos at the following websites:

Element Rescue
www.elementrescue.com

North American Rescue
www.narescue.com/training/videos

Tactical Medical Solutions
www.tacmedsolutions.com/training-resources

Conclusion

Whether the event is a plane crash on a remote mountainside, a Boston Marathon-type bombing inside a city, or the mass shooting that seems to be on everyone’s minds, the triage process will work the same way. “Principles stay the same regardless of environment,” McKay says. “It all comes down to the laws of medicine and physics, and how you manage them.”

Sources

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Radiation Emergency Medical Management
www.remm.nlm.gov

“Mass Casualty Triage: An Evaluation of the Science and Refinement of a National Guideline”
Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness

About the Author

Andy Schrader is a licensed professional engineer and certified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a structural specialist responder. He is assigned to Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Force 8, based in Marion County, Florida. His company, Recon Response Engineering, teaches the public, technical rescue teams, and other first-responders about structural collapse. Most recently he was deployed to Steinhatchee, Florida, in support of SAR operations following Hurricane Hermine. www.reconresponse.com / www.facebook.com/ReconResponse

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Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

What If You’re Trapped in a Mass Shooting?

Written by

Illustrations by Joe Oesterle

It wasn’t the popping gunshots that shocked your senses the most in that crowded mall. You’ve fired enough rounds in your life to be familiar with the sound of gunfire. It was the screaming child who made you stop in your tracks. The sound you heard wasn’t the commonplace tantrum of a spoiled child screaming for a new toy. No, this was a shriek of pain and absolute fear from a young one.

It was a piercing wail, and the instincts of a parent took hold. You had to find the child. As you ran hunched over, zigzagging toward a stone planter, the screaming grew louder. You were almost there! Then the ground rose up to meet you. You didn’t remember losing your footing and falling, you simply realized you were suddenly on the ground. Just feet away from the crying of the child — just feet away from the decorative stone structure that would afford you solid cover — you were down and if you didn’t move fast, you could die right there.

Whether the attackers are foreign-born terrorists or homegrown bad guys, their goal is the same — to kill as many easy targets as they can. In this edition of What If?, we pose the question: What if you’re in a crowded shopping mall when a mass shooter starts a killing spree? To get different takes on this deeply troubling threat, RECOIL OFFGRID asked three different survival writers for their knee-jerk reaction.

So, we have Candice Horner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, registered nurse, and competitive shooter. Next, we have Erik Lund, a longtime contributor who’s also a federal law enforcement agent with a bevy of tactical and survival experience. And to round things out, ROG asked me what I would do, as well. I’ve been teaching people how to survive almost everything for the past 20 years, and I’ve written multiple New York Times-bestselling survival manuals from my experience.

It’s an honor to continue writing for RECOIL OFFGRID, though it’s far from comfortable to wade through this all-too-real-feeling What If? story.

The Scenario

Situation Type:
Mass shooting

Your Crew:
Just you

Location:
Chicago, Illinois

Season:
Winter (late January)

Weather:
Cloudy and windy, 15 to 30 degrees F

The Setup: You’re visiting the Windy City and decide to have your last lunch in Illinois at Water Tower Place, the eight-level mall located inside a 74-story skyscraper. You figure you can hang out there for a few hours, buy some souvenirs, and still have plenty of time to catch an Uber to O’Hare International Airport. More importantly, you’ll be out of the bitter cold!

The Complication: You’re about to enter the Oakley store when a loud noise echoes throughout the mall. Everyone flinches, then freezes. Suddenly, several more bangs ring out. It’s gunfire! Immediately, people scream and sprint in every direction. You instinctively duck behind cover and carefully scan for the safest way out — instead of seeing an exit you spot a gunman fire randomly into a crowd of people then head in your direction. He didn’t see you, but he’s about 35 yards away and approaching. What do you do?

The New Plan: With this bad guy shooting at people indiscriminately, you’ll have to formulate a plan (and fast) for what to do. You need to deal with the environment (the store and mall), the gear you happen to be carrying, and the reaction (if any) of other shoppers, security guards, or police.

U.S. Marine Veteran: Candice Horner’s Approach

As usual, I procrastinated. This time, I waited until the last minute to buy my husband a birthday present. But, an extra day in Chicago, after my friend’s wedding, provided me with just enough time to get him a new pair of Oakleys. Thanks to a wannabe badass, I didn’t even step foot in the Oakley store.

Just as I was about to enter the store, shots rang out with a systematic, thundering cadence. Just from the tone, I knew it was a shotgun. The herd of people in front of me froze, until someone yelled, “Gun!” Then the frozen crowd dispersed into unorganized chaos, flaring out in every direction with unguided purpose. I quickly scanned for the shooter and spotted him about 35 yards away, reloading his shotgun while coming up the escalator. I made haste to the largest store next to Oakley.

The Oakley store was too wide open; I needed a better place to hide, so I ran to American Eagle Outfitters. I hurried toward the back of the store, where other people were also running. I didn’t want to get caught up in their large, flock-sized target. So, I hid inside of a circular clearance rack — the type that’s always over-stuffed and never organized.

As I crouched down in the circle of clothes, I damned myself for not staying in the hotel and shopping with Amazon Prime. This wasn’t like me; I don’t like shopping malls. Being in large groups of people is outside my comfort zone. What the hell was I thinking by coming here?! I felt I was getting what I deserved for coming to a city with terrible gun laws, a place I couldn’t legally defend myself. Damn it. Thank goodness I have an insatiable affinity for knives and carry several in my purse. I was armed, but to use a knife during a gunfight would take a little bit more than courage. I had to use his firearm of choice against him, capitalize on the weak points of a pump-action shotgun.

Shotguns are like good beer — they’re always empty. Knowing this was my advantage, as the sounds of his shots got closer, I counted each round. One, two, three, four … and five. After the fifth shot, there was about an eight-second delay — he was reloading.

By the intensity of the screams, I could tell the shooter was within the walls of my makeshift safe haven. The clearance rack provided enough concealment to hide me, while still allowing me to view the masked shooter’s location. He followed the sounds of screams coming from the back of the store.

I held my breath as his one-track mind guided him inches past me and to the screams coming from the dressing rooms and storage area. With a tormented sound of joy in his voice he yelled at the door, “This will be your tomb!” He discharged another five rounds until running the gun dry. Eight seconds of pure terror passed until the next five rounds of buckshot penetrated the door. The souls barricaded on the other side didn’t have a chance; he was determined to reach them. I had to do something.

After sizing him up, I knew my tiny frame wasn’t much of a match for his strong, tall build. I had to get him closer to the ground for a fair chance. Thank God for tunnel vision because as I slid out from behind the discounted skinny jeans, the gunman was laser focused on loading one shotshell at a time. With a knife in my strong hand, I kicked him with all my might to the back of his lead knee, which supported most of his weight. He stumbled toward the ground, his finger still on the trigger, accidentally discharging the shotgun toward the roof.

Since it was a pump-action, he couldn’t fire another round without racking the fore-end. In that instant, he was closer to my level, and I wrapped my left arm around his neck while simultaneously slicing through his trachea and right carotid with my Medford Micro Praetorian Knife. I kicked the shotgun out of reach, standing over him as his artery spurted blood all over the sand-colored tile. I stared at his lifeless body for what seemed to be an eternity.

I must have been in shock, because I was numb to my surroundings and seemed to be out of my own body as my eyes were locked on the carnage beneath my feet. But it wasn’t over, and I snapped back to reality.

The ringing in my ears from all the shotgun blasts was overpowered by the cries for help on the other side of the buckshot-riddled door. I pleaded with the survivors to open the door, explaining I’m a nurse and want to help. They hesitantly did. There were 12 of them behind that door. I scanned the group for serious injuries; no one was dead. There was a young boy, gray in the face with blue lips and bleeding profusely from his elbow. I grabbed a new belt off the storage shelf and tightened it around his upper arm until the bright red bleeding slowed.

By now, more people had joined us in the storage room. Several of them had hidden near me and saw me take down the gunman. A couple of them looked at me like I was dangerous. I didn’t care. At that point, anyone who had enough life in them to judge me was lucky they didn’t get shot by that crazy man. Their discontent was somehow comforting to me because it meant they made it through this ordeal.

About 10 minutes later, police and EMS arrived. The injured were taken away, and I was taken into custody. I didn’t have time to process the emotions that would come once the adrenaline eventually settled.

My adrenaline quickly turned to anger when I was told that I had to be held in custody and questioned by police. And, as expected, they took my knife. They charged me with carrying an illegal weapon, because Chicago law states a concealed knife can only have a 2.5-inch blade; mine had a 2.8-inch blade.

The charges were dropped after the story made the news, heralding me as a hero. Once released, the cops offered me protection while traveling back home. I gladly accepted because the motives and connections of the gunman weren’t yet known. I was, essentially, a walking target until they figured out why the shooter attacked. I didn’t regret my actions though. Some people just don’t belong on this Earth, and I categorized him as such.

What I learned from all of this was to trust my gut and not go into a city that doesn’t support the Second Amendment. Had I been able to have my everyday CCW, I would have been able to react sooner rather than waiting for him to reload. I also learned that sometimes due diligence isn’t enough. When I looked up the laws in Illinois, I read that knives with a 3-inch blade were legal — but Chicago has a stricter knife law than the state.

So, the next time I’m invited to a wedding in a state with such highly restrictive gun laws, I’ll just send my love and congratulations by mail.

Federal Agent: Erik Lund’s Approach

It didn’t take long for me to spot the shooter. The rolling booms echoed throughout the mall, but my eye instantly spotted a man cycling the action on a pump shotgun. The full-face ski mask confirmed this was indeed the shooter and not a mall security guard. The shooter touched off another round and then turned, walking in my direction while reloading more shells. Seeing the opening, I instinctively started my drawstroke by lifting my cover garment to access my pistol, only to stop and realize that I had no pistol.

Chicago is one of the most gun-restrictive cities in the entire country. Only the elites can obtain a concealed carry permit in Chicago, and I most certainly didn’t qualify as an elite member of society.

I quickly stepped behind a large square pillar right at the Oakley storefront entrance. Time for plan B. I’d never make it if I tried to run for it. I could try to find a back way out of the store; a work exit or maybe a fire exit. But being unfamiliar with the store, there was no guarantee of success. Even if I were successful, could I live with myself for not trying to do something to stop this rampage? I had the training and the skills to make a difference.

No, I will not run, I will fight back. If not me, then who? I needed a plan, and fast, but only one option seemed viable at the moment. If he comes into the store, I’ll have to try and ambush him from around this pillar and go hand to hand with him.

I pulled my SOG Kiku folder out of my pocket and deployed the blade. While I was pretty sure it was illegal to be carrying this knife, it was more important to survive this incident than worry about what kind of legal trouble awaited me. Win the fight first, then worry about lawyers. A quick scan of the interior of the store revealed complete chaos. People were running all around, some were starting to hide behind counters and displays, while others were trying to find another way out.

Good, all of this commotion and movement will keep him distracted and give me the opening I need. Two more booms echoed over the screams in the mall, only much louder this time. He’s getting closer.

I slowly shifted my head just enough to let one eye see past the pillar. The shooter was 15 yards from the entrance and still headed toward the store. He briefly stopped and raised the shotgun. I quickly pulled my head back as another boom rang throughout the mall. A scream drew my attention back into the store. A woman was running from behind an overcrowded display to another less crowded place to hide when buckshot impacted her hip. Screaming as she fell, she slid several feet along the floor until coming to a stop almost in the middle of the display floor.

The sound of the pump action cycling was followed immediately with another blast directed at the woman. Fortunately, it went a little high and the shotgun pellets passed over her body by a couple of inches. The shooter cycled the pump action again and by the proximity of the noise, I knew the shooter was extremely close. My heart was jackhammering in my chest as final thoughts popped into my head. Time to sack up. Drive him into the ground. Be fast. Be brutal. Every muscle in my body was twitching, ready to explode and attack with all the speed I could muster. Everything I could bring to the fight was set on a visual tripwire, ready to launch. Then I heard the loudest sound you’ll ever hear in a gunfight … click.

It wasn’t the visual stimulus I anticipated. No shotgun barrel or human body walking past the pillar where I lay in wait to ambush the shooter. No visual cue whatsoever; just an extremely loud click. My brain instantly processed the sound and sent the launch command. Go, go, go! He’s empty! Every muscle fiber released, and I accelerated around the pillar. The shooter had paused for a second after he heard the click of the empty shotgun. He was in mid-cycle when his eyes caught a flash of movement and he looked up at this figure that had appeared from nowhere, rapidly bearing down on him.

He was only three steps away from me, but the distance between us felt like a mile. It didn’t matter; I was committed, and the only thing I could do was continue to accelerate and close the distance. My plan was to hit him like an all-pro linebacker until I could get him off his feet or get him pinned up against a wall. Taking him to the ground or pinning him against a wall would make it virtually impossible in the tight confines of a hand-to-hand fight to use the long shotgun against me, but it still would allow me to use the knife in my right hand against him.

A step away from making contact, our eyes locked. I could see the shock and fear in his eyes. I had caught him totally off-guard, and I thought, You better brace for impact, mother f*cker.

My shoulder slammed into his midsection. (Later, my old high school football coach would track me down and send me an email after seeing the store surveillance video of the incident, congratulating me on the best hit he ever saw me make.) I made contact with enough force to lift the shooter off his feet and into the air. We crashed down onto the store floor in a tangled mess of limbs. I heard a loud groan as the air in his lungs escaped his body, sandwiched between me and the floor. Before he could recover, I quickly scrambled on top of the shooter, who was flat on his back.

Still holding my knife, I instantly reared back and rained a right-handed punch straight at his face. He was dazed but still putting up a fight, instinctively raising his left arm to block my strike. That’s exactly what I wanted him to do, and at the last moment, I changed my punch to a push, driving his arm across his neck as I collapsed my body down onto his. At the same time, I slipped my left arm around the back of his neck into a half headlock. As I pushed his arm across his throat, I ducked my head down behind his left elbow and used my head to pin his arm across his throat. I then curled my left arm toward my head and tightened my grip, pinning his arm and head in one position.

Using my head to pin his arm freed up my knife hand to strike and prevented him from protecting his left side. I made several rapid-fire strikes just under his left armpit into the upper lung. The strikes had the desired effect — he screamed and did everything he could to free his trapped arm and protect his left side. Now was my opportunity to finish this fight.

Releasing pressure on his pinned arm allowed him to move his arm down to protect his body. This also opened my next target area, the side of his neck. I reared back to begin a series of strikes into the side of the neck and throat when another body jumped onto us, followed by several more in quick succession. Several people from inside the store had jumped in to help me and in short order had the shooter completely overpowered and pinned to the floor.

In a matter of minutes, the local police had secured the area. The shooter acted alone; it was over.

He was transported to the hospital for emergency surgery to repair his damaged and collapsed lung — he survived to stand trial.

Several days after being interviewed and giving my statement, store surveillance video indeed showed that I made a perfect tackle, driving the shooter into the ground. It also showed that upon impact with the ground, the shotgun fell out of the shooter’s hands and skidded several feet away, out of his reach. Upon reviewing the footage, the local district attorney stated that because the shooter no longer had access to the shotgun, my use of the knife upon him was excessive and that I should have just held him down.

Apparently in Chicago, no good deed goes unpunished, and he charged me with carrying a concealed weapon and assault. My lawyer said that no jury would ever convict me and not to worry. I sure hope he’s right.

Survival Expert: Tim MacWelch’s Approach

Snapping out of my shock from falling to the ground, I scurried behind the stone planter just in time to see a panicked mother dragging her screaming child from the sturdy cover into a nearby clothing store. Thank God there was no blood on either one of them. It was one small victory in the sickening ordeal. But that might not last. I remember thinking, Racks of clothes may hide you, but they won’t stop bullets. At least the little family wasn’t in the open, and they did have some concealment. I popped up for a brief second to survey the scene, and then sunk my head back behind the stonework.

There was one man walking my way with a black down-filled jacket and a black ski mask. I wasn’t sure from my one-second glance, but from the profile it looked like he was carrying a shotgun.
My mind raced with questions. Was he acting alone? Did he have training? Where were the police and mall security guards? Why choose a shotgun for this?

But the questions stopped flowing when I heard the distinctive sounds of a shotgun being racked and another shot being fired. Since I had been traveling, I had no firearm and precious little in the way of everyday-carry (EDC) gear — just my phone, which I decided to use by dialing 911. I waited until the operator answered, whispered “Shooter in the Water Tower mall,” and set the phone in the greenery, still connected.

Since the shooting began, the mantra of “run, hide, fight” had been playing in my head, almost like some kind of religious chant. I could simply run away. I could keep hiding behind the planter. Or I could run up and try to seize the weapon. Or I could go with plan D, which was “none of the above.” Even if this murderous assailant had no training, his shotgun blasts could still be effective at killing and maiming people. I had to make a decision. Since I could be easily engaged with a close-range shotgun blast if I popped up from my cover and ran, I decided to stay behind the planter for the moment.

There was too much screaming in the mall to hear the shooter’s footfalls, and I couldn’t predict which way he would go to pass the planter. If I went around it to the right or left and made the wrong choice — I could crawl right up to the muzzle of the shotgun.

But then I heard another round rack and another blast, very close and to my left, so I began crawling to the right of the circular stone structure. I looked over the rim quickly, with the plants giving me some concealment. The culprit was just 10 feet from me, but walking away. He was heading toward the clothing store where the mother and child had fled. I thought about staying behind the stones, safe from the shooter.

But could I live with myself if he walked over and shot that woman and child? Then the little one started screaming again. I knew what I had to do.

I couldn’t see the woman or her child in the cramped and overloaded clothing shop. But I could hear the child’s wail coming from the back. The store’s space was filled with long racks and circular stands packed tight with clothing on hangers. The mass shooter stood in the doorway of the store, looking inside as I padded up behind him as quietly as I could. It was the dumbest moment of my life, very likely the bravest as well, and possibly the last moment too, if I screwed up. My goal was to grab the gun, but as he swung around toward me, everything changed.

His head turned toward me first, and as our eyes locked, I felt a very real sense of time slowing down. I felt as though I had all the time in the world. I could see that he had the shotgun firmly gripped in both hands. It would be no easy task to pull it from his grasp, so I grabbed his mask and spun it on this head as I shoved him hard. The thick black ski mask blinded my would-be killer, and he roared with anger as he stumbled back and I ran past him to the back of the store. There I saw the mother and child huddled on the floor in front of the cash register, as well as a young woman who was frozen in fear behind the counter.

I grabbed the mother by the arm without a word, raising her up as she clung tightly to her offspring. I also grabbed the petrified clerk as I passed and pulled them into the store office. I shut the door and locked it, then pushed them all to the floor. I had no idea what kind of shells the shooter was firing, but the door and wall looked rather flimsy. As the women lay on the floor in shock, a shotgun blast flew through the feeble door. The big holes told me he was using buckshot.

Thank God I had the presence of mind to get away from the door and lie down. I knew that average doors and walls won’t stop a 9mm round, so they’re not true cover, just concealment. As I heard the doorknob jerk, I pushed a file cabinet against the door with my legs, then several boxes, all while continuing to lie on the floor. He shot the doorknob next, the mangled assembly of metal falling onto one of the cardboard boxes I had pushed over. Without saying a word, the shooter began kicking the door.

The terrified clerk just lay there on the ground with her face covered. The young mother started screaming alongside her little girl. On the floor, we were out of the line of fire, but we were hardly out of harm’s way. The shooter seemed hell-bent on getting into the small office. He fired two more rounds into the door, each in the area of the hinges. He kicked a few more times, then stopped. I looked toward the mother and put my finger to my lips as if to say, “Shhh.” She quieted a bit and covered her child’s mouth, though they still whimpered a little and continued to breathe loudly. The clerk seemed to have gone catatonic or fainted.

Scanning the office, I found no phone or anything particularly useful. There was a fire extinguisher, which could be used as a blunt object or to spray flame-retardant dust in an attacker’s face. I picked up the extinguisher, broke the plastic safety line, and pulled the pin.

Did the shooter move on? I wondered. How would I know for sure? I didn’t dare peek through any of the holes in the door; he might see the movement and fire. Were we done? Was this over?

We had barricaded ourselves and fortified the door with office goods. He couldn’t get in, but I still didn’t feel safe. I put my ear to the wall and listened intently. There was shouting that seemed remote, at least from outside the store. The shouts seemed short, like commands. I thought I heard something like “Put your weapon down!” Finally, the police had arrived, but we weren’t out of harm’s way. One of the Chicago SWAT teams had the shooter cornered, in the store. I told the girls to stay down; the police didn’t know we were back there, and we could easily be hit by friendly fire.

In desperation, the shooter began kicking the door again — likely thinking that it was an exit. After another blast to the upper door hinge, he flung his full weight into the cheap door, buckling it inward. He scrambled to climb over the door and the blockade piled behind it. His hood righted again, those eyes stared at me through the mask holes full of recognition and hate. With one hand on the door and the other on his shotgun, he tried to slither over the caved-in door and take aim at me. I launched the fire extinguisher chemicals into his face, and my ears rang again as he pressed the trigger again.

By the grace of God, the buckshot went into the wall behind me and not into my body. That shot was all the police could take, and they stormed into the shop. Clearing each aisle of clothing, they found the coughing suspect standing there near the broken door. When he leveled his shotgun at the point man, several team members opened fire. Startlingly white puffs of feathers spewed from his down jacket as each round tore through his flesh. The shooter fell, and the team rushed forward, not sure if there were more shooters.

They found us in the hazy dust-filled room, coughing, and sputtering — but alive.

Conclusion

It should be with great humility that we admit the flaws of our age. Despite social media’s claim that the world is more connected than ever, we see people who have gone the opposite way. Some make national headlines by acting out against a world where they feel no connection, whether due to mental illness or other factors. And terrorist groups continue to add to their ranks, spreading their twisted ideologies and recruiting foot soldiers to carry out their evil deeds.

Mindset, preparedness, and situational awareness have always been important, but they’re especially so these days. The police can’t be everywhere at once, and the FBI can’t read minds. No one knows exactly when or where the bad guys will strike. But there’s one thing that we do know. At the end of the day, it’s up to us to be invested in our own self-defense and family security. It’s up to us to learn what to do, how to do it, and when to act.

Meet Our Panel

Tim MacWelch

Tim MacWelch has been a survival instructor for more than 20 years, training people from all walks of life, including members from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the State Department, DOD, and DOJ personnel. He’s a frequent public speaker for preparedness groups and events. He’s also the author of three New York Times-bestselling survival books, and the new Ultimate Bushcraft Survival Manual. When he’s not teaching survival or writing about it, MacWelch lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his family in Virginia. Check out his wide range of hands-on training courses that are open to the public at www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com.

Erik Lund

Erik Lund has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience - with much of that time spent as an instructor of frearms, defensive tactics, and use of force. He served as a Virginia State Trooper before accepting a position as a federal agent. Lund is also a senior instructor at Mike Seeklander’s Shooting-Performance LLC, a tactical training company. As a champion competitive shooter, he’s earned several regional, state, and national three-gun titles and is ranked as a grandmaster by the United States Practical Shooting Association.

Candice Horner

Candice Horner has the heart of a prepper, but the traveling schedule of a gypsy. Ever resourceful, this U.S. Marine Corps veteran and emergency room/prison nurse has a honed and refined skillset, focusing on adaptability and utilizing the tools on-hand. As a competitive shooter, Horner is often on the road, so she’s usually rolling with a go-bag, a survivalist mentality, and enough firepower to have your back in a SHTF scenario. www.recoilweb.com / www.candi323.com

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Read articles from the next issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 19

Read articles from the previous issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 17

Check out our other publications on the web: Recoil | Gun Digest | Blade | RecoilTV | RECOILtv (YouTube)

Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

 

Rose Hip Tea: A Nutritious Backwoods Beverage

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When it's chilly out, there are few things more rejuvenating than a steaming hot drink that warms your core. However, if you're out hiking or backpacking in the woods, it's not as easy as stopping by the local drive-thru coffee joint for a latte. Those of us who carry coffee or tea bags in our packs can cook up a drink over the campfire, but it's wise to know how to improvise some beverages as well. Rose hip tea is a great example — it's easy to make, tasty, and packed with healthy nutrients such as vitamin C, beta carotene, and lycopene.

Rose hips from a Beach Rose bush (Source: Morn the Gorn, Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0)

Rose hips are simply the fruits of the rose plant, which form in spring or summer and typically turn red, soften, and ripen by the fall. They often remain on the plant through late fall or early winter. A handful can simply be steeped in boiling water for about 10 to 15 minutes until the desired tea color and flavor are achieved.

Most varieties of rose hips are filled with small seeds, so you'll probably want to strain them before drinking. These fruits can also be preserved for future use by drying them in an oven (or over hot coals) and grinding them into a powder.

The 3-minute video above from The Outsider shows the basics of finding and harvesting wild rose hips, as well as how to make rose hip tea. For more information on another traditional winter beverage, check out our previous article on Boilo.

New: Inforce 9 Zero Weapon-Mounted Light

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Last Friday, we flew out to Georgia to attend the Big Daddy Unlimited Epic Shoot event — you may have seen our on-site coverage on our Instagram page as well as RECOIL's Facebook live videos. While visiting the Inforce booth at the range, one of the representatives pulled us aside and said he had something new to show us. He then presented the pre-production prototype of the company's latest weapon-mounted light, currently referred to as the Inforce 9 Zero.

The BDU Epic Shoot is an annual invitation-only event for manufacturers and media.

We had the opportunity to snap a few quick photos of the new flashlight, and then inquired about its details. Each Inforce 9 Zero is made from machined aluminum, and includes a reversible picatinny rail mount with a built-in activation button. Both 45-degree and 90-degree-mount versions of the light will be available — the pictured example is the latter. The button offers momentary (half-press) and constant-on (click) activation modes.

As seen above, there's also a sliding lockout switch that prevents inadvertent activation when the weapon is being transported or stored.

A rubber dust cover on the back of the light flips open to reveal a tape switch attachment point. This switch will attach via strong magnets, requiring roughly 10 pounds of pull strength to remove the cable from the socket. The onboard switch can still be used alongside the tape switch, offering redundancy in case one of these elements is damaged in the field.

The new Inforce 9 Zero light is powered by either a single 18650 lithium battery or two CR123 batteries. With the 18650, it will produce 1,300 lumens and run for approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. With the CR123s, output decreases slightly to 1,100 lumens.

Inforce tells us that the 9 Zero will retail for $220 with the 90-degree mount, or $240 with the 45-degree mount. The tape switch will be sold separately for about $50. Estimated ship date for the first batch is January 2020, which means that we should be able to get our hands on the final production version at SHOT Show that month.

We also hear that Inforce will soon be releasing two new all-metal pistol lights, a two-battery light and a single-battery compact light. Stay tuned for more info here on OFFGRIDweb, or check out Inforce-Mil.com for more on the company's lighting products.

Review: Zenbivy Bed

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Editor's Note: The following article was written by Hannah D., a 15-year-old up-and-coming outdoor adventurer. She tested the original Zenbivy Bed on several recent camping and backpacking trips, and shared some helpful feedback based on her experiences. We're always glad to see the next generation developing an interest in nature and learning survival skills firsthand.

The ZenBivy Bed system is lightweight, comfortable, and rugged… but it's also really confusing. At least at first. I didn't completely figure it out until after I'd used it the first time, even though I watched some videos and looked over the website beforehand. It kept me warm though, despite using it incorrectly, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

It is possible I should have listened to my dad and uncle, who recommended I field test in the back yard overnight before relying on it.

About the Zenbivy Bed

Zenbivy first released its two-piece sleep system in late 2017. Since then, the company has also added a Light Bed variant to its product line — you may remember that item from the previous OFFGRIDweb article about its IndieGoGo campaign.

I recently received a sample of the original Zenbivy Bed, which the company calls “the most comfortable backcountry sleeping bag ever designed.”  That's a bold claim, but the product caught my attention.

The whole system (with pillow) weighs less than three pounds and features left and right zippers to secure the quilt to the fitted sheet. You can use it sort of as a sleeping bag and mostly like a quilt, with a little bit of both and neither depending on how you arrange it. If you're someone who kicks the blankets off during the night, you will probably like it, though if you have one leg stuck out into the snow that will kind of defeat the purpose of using it.

The Zenbivy fitted sheet attaches to a sleeping pad or mattress.

Described as a two-piece sleeping bag, the Zenbivy Bed is designed with a top quilt and fitted sheet. That quilt can be tucked in during cold weather, or left untucked on warmer nights. The fitted sheet can be secured to a 20- to 25-inch rectangular or tapered sleeping pad to prevent the bed from sliding out of place, and features a hood for your head and arms. The 20D nylon shell is coated in a water repellent finish and filled with 700 fill-power HyperDRY water-resistant 80/20 duck down.

In the Field

If you pick up the Zenbivy Bed, it doesn't seem heavy enough to really protect you from the cold. However, it does so very well. I used it on Pigeon Roost Trail in Arkansas with my Venture Crew back in late March.

Temperatures dropped to the low-20°F (-6°C) range with some wind chill, but despite how insubstantial it seems, the Zenbivy does a great job keeping you warm. It features an EN Limit rating of 23°F and a EN Comfort rating of 34°F.

It probably helped that I was using a good Marmot tent, too, but it does stand up to cold temps on its own well. I used it later for a week at Scout National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) event and it worked great, though most of the time during that trip I was just sleeping on top of it. I don't have photos from that time because we don't keep phones with us during NYLT.

I also used this bag in early October on a backpacking trip with my troop. We hiked part of the Buffalo River trail system in Arkansas. We did not hike very far, but I'm okay with that because I still don't have much experience when it comes to backpacking. Regardless, I was grateful for the lightweight bag. This campout was part of the requirements for our Wilderness Survival merit badge. Normally we would not be able to bring a sleeping bag, but because of the weather we were allowed. It got down into the 30s, and we had to build our own shelter that night! This bag made my night so much better — I would have been miserable for sure if I hadn't had it with me.

Using the Zenbivy Bed under an A-frame shelter made from a blue tarp

Here are some additional benefits and issues I noticed while using the Zenbivy Bed.

Pros:

  • The material shed water very well, both rain and dew.
  • It's light, fluffy, and comfy, and you can really compress it for storage. In fact, you could get it compacted even more tightly with your own compression sack than the stuff bags it comes with, if you wanted to.
  • I love the Zenbivy pillow. For how light it is, it's a great pillow!

Cons:

  • If you're not used to hooking your sleeping bag to your sleeping pad, it may cause you a few minutes of confusion.
  • The construction isn't straightforward at first. I worked with it for a little while before finally there was an ah-ha moment, and I realized how it was supposed to go.

The assembly issue might not be as bad for experienced (or younger) backpackers. My dad and uncle were having some trouble figuring it out, but they've been using old regular-style sleeping bags for a loooooong time in the military and for camping. They had also been trying out a new bourbon for a while the night we were messing with it. This might have had some impact on their ability to put it together and explained why their attempts to wrap up in it were kind of a trainwreck.

Final Thoughts

I would suggest someone “test fire” a bag like this before using it. It isn't intuitive. You definitely need to play with it for a little bit or watch some videos before using it in the field. If I had read some of the other reviews of the system, I might have expected that.

I was advised to try to put it together and to sleep outside in it before the trip to get a sense of it — more to see if it would be warm enough than to “make it work.” But I didn't do so. Lesson learned: I'll figure out my own gear on my own ahead of time. If I do get help from my dad or uncle, I'll do so earlier in the evening. Or on an evening when they haven't just gotten a kind of booze they've never tried before.

I would have preferred a better color than mustard yellow with a cactus green stuff sack, but that really doesn't impact how it performs, and there are other options now available. I have recommended it since then to some of my friends.

For more info on the Zenbivy Bed, go to Zenbivy.com.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly included references to the Zenbivy Light Bed. The product reviewed in this article is the original Zenbivy Bed, not the Light version. The article text has been updated to correct this error.

About the Author

Hannah D. is active in Scouts BSA and Venture Crew. She started as a tagalong when her brother was in Scouts. Soon, she discovered she could not only hold her own in that environment, but in many cases outdo male scouts. Hannah is now on her own “trail to Eagle,” has attended National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT), and is determined to be one of the first female Eagle Scouts in her Council. Outside of Scouting she enjoys animals of all types and showing her brother up when she can.

Video: Comparing Car Jump Starters

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It's always a terrible sinking feeling when you turn the key in your car or truck and hear the engine fail to turn over. By the time you're in the driver's seat, you've already got somewhere to be, and this scenario means those plans are suddenly on hold. That might cause you to be late to work, miss a flight, or be unable to leave your home in an emergency. In some cases, you'll be able to grab a pair of jumper cables and give your battery a boost from another nearby vehicle, but that's not always possible, and it's certainly not the most self-reliant solution. This is why we're big believers in adding portable jump starters to the emergency kits in your vehicles.

There's never a good time for a dead battery. (Photo: Flickr.com/cooljuno411 | CC BY-SA 2.0)

Jump starters, or jump boxes, are essentially portable battery packs that can deliver a sudden jolt of cranking amps to start a car that has a weak battery. Each comes with a jumper cable attachment that connects to the battery terminals, and many of them include additional features such as a flashlight and USB output ports for charging small electronics. They can be built around common lithium-ion power banks, traditional lead-acid batteries, or other forms of tech such as supercapacitors.

A 500-amp load tester was used to determine the output of each jump starter.

In the following 20-minute video from the Project Farm YouTube channel, the host bought eight different jump starters and evaluated each of them based on a variety of tests. These include bench testing on a meter, starting a pickup truck with a weak battery, turning over a diesel tractor engine, and performing in freezing conditions. As with his previous experiments, Project Farm clearly states that he wasn't sponsored by any of these companies, and presents the results in an objective manner before sharing his conclusions.

This test serves as another example that big, heavy, and expensive doesn't necessarily mean effective. Some of the least expensive jump starters in the test performed the best, while also fitting into a small package and including helpful extra features. However, that wasn't always the case — a few of the cheaper units failed miserably. Overall, we agree with Project Farm's conclusion that lithium-ion jump starters are a good way to go. I carry one of them in each of my own vehicles, and although they haven't been a literal lifesaver, they've saved me from waiting for roadside assistance when my car's battery died on a 116°F summer day.

New: SKD Tactical PIG FDT Cold Weather Gloves

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When you're outside in frigid weather, you might reach for a pair of thick gloves or mittens to stay warm and avoid frostbite. But there's a major issue with this strategy: the thick insulation that keeps your fingers nice and toasty also robs you of the fine motor skills you need for a survival situation or self defense. In search of a middle ground between warmth and dexterity, SKD Tactical has released a new set of gloves known as the PIG Full Dexterity Tactical Cold Weather Gloves — that's a mouthful, so we'll just say PIG FDT Cold for short.

SKD says this new PIG FDT Cold variant is ideal for staving off numbness on a frosty day at the local range. They combine the tactile potential of previous PIG gloves with a fleece lining for wind-resistant insulation, as well as touch screen compatibility on all five digits. A press release states that “the burning hot jealousy from your friends” coveting your sweet new gloves will aid in keeping you warm — that's taking it a little too far, but we'll give them credit for the wordplay.

The PIG FDT Cold is constructed with a textured silicone-print palm and terry cloth nose wipe section on the thumb. It's currently available in black or white, but Carbon Grey will be available in December, and Coyote Tan will be available down the line in March. Sizes range from Men's S-2XL and Women's XS-XL. MSRP is $58. For more info on these and other SKD Tactical gloves, go to SKDTac.com.