Thoughts on Close-Quarters-Combat
Dr. John Woods 10.20.15
Are any of us ready for a CQC event? Perhaps many of us fancy ourselves as pistoleers like the boys of Young Guns. Most of us would likely die thinking so if the you-know-what went down. I hyphenated the title of this piece on purpose. The point being to separate the components into distinct concepts.
Research on first responder shooting events indicates that most armed encounters are experienced really up close. Up close has been defined as from 3-7 feet, often closer. What is your concept of a close encounter? Close your eyes and imagine somebody threatening you from only three feet away. I mean you can almost reach out and touch them. That’s scary.
If you are aptly carrying a concealed weapon, can you conceive of having to draw your CCW firearm, control it, extend your arm to point it, then precisely aim and fire at an adversary that close? We’re nearly talking powder burns here.
So as you train to carry and deploy your concealed carry weapon, consider shooting for scenarios where the “range” is only an arm’s length away at best. That takes a high measure of mental and physical control to train for such events.
Next, define quarters. Quarters could be inside your home in the living room, at an external doorway, down a hallway, or other confinement. Is it dark? Do you have a flashlight and can you operate a pistol with it?
CQ could be in a grocery store parking lot where you are approached by a knife wielding thug. Maybe it is inside the store when you are in line checking out as a robber jumps over the counter to push the clerk out of the way and brandish a gun your way.
Such events rarely happen under ideal conditions or situations. You never know what position or corner you might find yourself in. Train for all kinds of situations, both inside structures as well as outside in the relative open or other confined spaces. Learn to work the quarters to your advantage as cover.
What does combat mean to you? In CCW situations, combat is not usually a military mode of extended exchanges of fire. You might be forced with a chance to just fire one round face to face. It has to be quick, concise, purposeful, and accurate. Your life may very well depend on it.
