ThrillWriting: Nottoway Shooting Sport

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Ach! With the tinkling of broken glass on her ceramic floor, your heroine was wide awake and on high alert. She ran to bolt the lock on her new bedroom door, the metal one her dad had insisted on as soon as he heard about his daughter's psycho ex.

After dialing 911, your heroine yells at the person jiggling her knob, "I have a gun. Leave now!" Then she hears her nephew's voice down the hall screaming her name. She had forgotten in her adrenaline surge, that she had house guests. She has to save them.

Video Quick Study (3:37) Using a safe room.

As an author I'm sure your realize that having a safe room doesn't mean your heroine is safe. Here are two example 911 calls where the callers did the right things, and they ended up pulling the trigger anyway:
Audio Quick Study (0:41) Man shoots intruder after his
family is beaten and 911 operator accidentally
puts him on hold.
Audio Quick Study (2:34) Mom is hiding in the closet with her
two children when she shoots the intruder 5 times in the
face and neck. He is still able to leave the house and drive
down the road. The police find him and take him to the
hospital where he fights for his life.

Shooting in the home or other structure.

Violent encounters statistically
* Occur at very close range (3 yrds or less)
* Often happen in low or no light
* Are over in a matter of seconds (3 seconds)
* Include the firing of three shots

According to NRA Guide to the Basics of Personal Protection in the Home, there are
5 possible responses to a life-threatening encounter:

* freeze
* submit
* posture
* flight
* fight

Stress and its accompanying physiologic reactions include
* Difficulty breathing
* Loss of fine motor skills
* Racing heart
* Tunnel vision and hearing discrimination issues
* Shaking hands all create obstacles to defensive shooting and
following safety rules.

Perceptual changes during a threatening encounter:
* Tunnel Vision - focus almost

exclusively on the perceived
threat (Blog Link)
* Auditory Exclusion -
extraneous sounds are
inaudible. Your heroine may
not be able to hear instructions being yelled at her by
the police or other characters
* Time Dilation - slowed time,
things seem to to be happening
in slow motions.

Mental Preparation

Video Quick Study (4:49) Mental preparation tips.

* Your heroine must decide in advance that she is willing to be hurt
and keep going. Once engaged she cannot give up the fight.
(Aggression/Response Blog Link) If she doesn't have the right
mindset she's going to lose. So it's imperative that if you're writing
a beta heroine that she have some impetus greater than her own
will to stay alive and fighting - she's protecting her child, she's the
only one who can replicate the anti-viral that will save humanity...
* What should your heroine do? Listen to her limbic system
Blog Link

Controlling the Encounter

Strategies for a heroine who finds herself face to face with the villain.

* Both parties are experiencing high adrenaline. The problems of

tunnel vision and auditory exclusion effect the villain as well.

The heroine should yell directives so the villain can hear and

understand.

* STAY AWAY - no matter how compliant the villain is acting.

Your heroine should keep well out of reach. Villains can have

hidden weapons. Villains will often talk softly and reasonably as

they make their slow approach. Your heroine will want to

believe him and believe that nothing bad is really happening.

You're the author; you know what the bad guy is really up to -

she should get as far away from as she can and not get cornered.
This blog article discusses different tactics used by villains
against your poor heroine.

It's bad. Your heroine is standing between the villain and her family. Gun in hand, ready to do whatever is necessary to keep her loved ones safe, she aims...

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A major safety rule is know your target and what's beyond.
* Is your heroine sending a warning shot up in the air? What goes
up must come down. And what if there is someone on an upper
floor?
* What if the villain is standing in front of a propane or oil tank, a
kerosene heater or any other flammable liquid?
* What if she is shooting by a window or interior wall?

CLOSE QUARTER SHOOTING

Video Quick Study (4:19) Extreme Close Quarter Shooting
Techniques

SOUND -

Your heroine will be shooting in an enclosed space without ear

protection. She may well not be able to hear anything for several
minutes following the blast.

If you've never heard gun fire in real life it is LOUD!

Remember that the military and law enforcement officers use
flash bang to disorient the individuals in a structure so they have
time to run in and time to function, taking control of the area. A
gun shot is loud and can have this stunning effect or a deafening
effect.

Will your heroine be able to shoot a few bullets while standing in
her bathroom, turn her head and chat with her cohort? Not likely
unless she can read lips.

Couldn't that lead to a complication? What if the
good guy was shouting instructions, "Get down! Get down!" She
would never know.

If she is an avid shooter she may have a silencer and that would
help immensely as would subsonic bullets. Why do I say avid
shooter? Legally it takes a very long time (about a year) to obtain
a license for a silencer. So not something she can just decide on a
whim to go purchase.

Brian Coates demonstrating a silencer with

sonic and subsonic bullets at

Nottoway Wildlife Association Link

SIGHT
Your heroine will not be wearing protective glasses, though her regular glasses would serve this purpose.

Without eye protection, she could have eye damage from the gases and debris from the blast of the firearm, or a casing could fly back and catch her in the eye. Now your heroine is blinded and deaf. A terrible situation.

Use of Cover and Concealment

As soon as your heroine senses a threat - her limbic system lights up. She needs to immediately seek cover or concealment. She should not wait until someone fires on her or rushes her.

Your heroine is doing her best. She's standing strong. She took a bullet to the shoulder, but she will not give up the fight. Now that she has the injury, she realizes that concealing herself behind the cabinet was not enough. She needs cover, and she needs it now!

When you write a scene make sure you know which term to use.

Concealment

She concealed herself behind the sofa, holding her breath, hoping the sound of her beating heart wouldn't give away her position.

Concealment is -

* Anything that will hide your heroine from observation

* Does not protect her body from incoming fire.

* Could prevent the villain from locating your heroine or being able

to accurately fire on her.

* Could help her gain the upper hand through surprise.

* Could allow your heroine to avoid or escape from the intruder all

together.

Cover -

Cover will protect your heroine from incoming fire. A fridge would be cover. A wood burning stove would be cover.

* A regular mattress provides concealment; a water bed provides

cover .

* Regular walls provide concealment; brick, stone, or concrete

provide cover.

* There's actually very little in a normal house that will provide

cover - but the villain may not understand this. He could be

aiming at the tiny piece of your heroine that is exposed instead of

shooting through the door or wall.

Techniques for using Cover and Concealment

* Minimize your heroine's exposure - the less seen the better her

chance of escaping detection.

* When looking around a barrier, have your heroine do a quick

peek, bobbing her head out to get an image then popping back

into her place. (much less than a second)

* She should vary the places that she peeks from so that the villain

isn't just waiting for her like an arcade game.

* The human eye is predisposed to tracking movement. As long as

your heroine is frozen in place, she will be harder to detect. Once

she moves, the villain's eyes will be drawn to her. An old Indian

trick would be to wait very still and then let out a war whoop - the

sudden noise would make the hidden pioneers flinch thus giving

up their location.

* If your heroine must fire from her position, she should stand arm's

distance from the barrier, leaning out just enough to catch the

villain in her sights.

U.S. Marine Corp., veteran Brian Coates

teaches how to acquire the target from behind barriers.

* In this video, I emptied my clip to time how long it took me to fire

off all of my bullets. This is a VERY BAD idea in a shooter

scenario.

^ Reloading takes time and attention, leaving your heroine at

greater risk.

^ She doesn't have an endless supply of bullets. Once she's out,

she's out.

* Your heroine should make sure that her muzzle is clear of the

barricade. Sights being clear of the barricade does not equal

muzzle being cleared.

^ Firing into cover at close range can cause serious harm to your

heroine from ricochet or from debris.

^ Firing at close range into your own cover can lessen its

effectiveness.

* If shooting multiple times (for example, your heroine needs to

reload) she shouldn't pop out each time from the same spot.

* Your heroine should not rest or brace the firearm on the cover -

this can cause the gun to malfunction and messes up the aim.

Moving to cover/concealment

* Your heroine should try to keep as much distance between

herself and her attacker as she can.

* Your heroine should try to move away from villain and toward

concealment/cover.

* Your heroine should practice moving backward and laterally to

find cover. If she knows she's in danger

-rabid ex, crazy stalker, etc - then she has time to practice and

prepare. How will she move? Where will she go? What protective

objects are placed strategically around? What if you showed her

practicing and the villain thwarts all of those plans by attacking

her elsewhere - where she was vulnerable? By moving

backwards and laterally she:

^ Can keep her eye on the villain

^ Keep her firearm in a ready position (NOT aimed NO finger on

the trigger)

^ She maintains her balance

Video Quick Study (3:46) How to move backwards and laterally

When your heroine is choosing her shooting position, the NRA manual indicates that she should consider the following list:

* consistency (she's trained in that position)

* balance

* support

* natural point of aim (versus torquing the body)

* comfort

Here's hoping your heroine does a great job and saves the day!

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This blog article is based on my experience at an all-day dynamic gun training class that I took at Nottoway Wildlife Association, LINK called "Personal Protection in the Home," following NRA curriculum.

These are the same folks who taught me about rifles in this article: BLOG LINK.

Fiona Quinn's Newsletter Link, Sign up HERE

Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

I used the book, NRA Guide to the BAsics of Personal Protection in the Home (2000) to write this article
As always, this is a non-political site that is geared to help writers write it right. I am presenting information to help develop fictional characters and fictional scenes. In no way am I advocating any position or personal decision.
Related articles

_________________

Home again after a fabulous time in Nottoway, Virginia where I spent time training at the Nottoway Wildlife Association. LINK Here, I met some of the most experienced, dedicated, kind, and encouraging teachers anyone could ask for.

Ed Rogerville, Range Master
NRA instructor

On my drive there, an ambulance raced up behind me. As it overtook me, another ambulance vaulted off of the ramp - lights flashing, sirens screaming. I was almost to my turn, and I started praying that they would not turn in front of me. My husband and son were already at the club, and I was suddenly afraid that an accident happened at the shooting range. But they barreled ahead, and I turned peacefully left. It was our first time at Nottoway Wildlife Association, and I need not have feared. They've been operating since the 1950's without a single incident.

If your novel has a scene with your heroine at the range, you're going to need to know some basics about their rules.
* No one, not even the instructors, walked around with a gun in
their hand, unless it was their turn to shoot.
* The guns were stored in a shed, or leaned on a rack.
* Once it was the shooters turn, they were directed by the instructor
to a specific place to stand. These were cement squares so there
was no mistake.
* When the shooters were about to begin, there was a loud
announcement that the range was "hot" or "live"
* When someone needed to walk out into the range, all guns were
put down and everyone stepped away from their firearm.
* Don't make the mistake of writing your experienced shooter
taking short cuts with the rules. The most experienced shooters
were the most meticulous about how they handled their firearms.
* The shooters and everyone in the immediate area wore eye and
ear protection. Most of the people wore plastic ear protection that
was inserted into the ear canal. I personally prefer to use
headband style protection like the woman below (do not look at
her hands and write that as your heroine's grip, it's wrong)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Safety First

* Assume that every weapon is loaded.

* Always point the weapon in a safe direction

(up or down) to minimize property damage

and protect everyone from injury.

* A finger is never put on the trigger or even

inside of the trigger guard unless the target

has been sighted and a decision has been

made to shoot.

Shooting Stance

* The shooter is comfortable, and balanced

* The choice of which hand pulls the trigger is based on
eye-dominance not handedness

* The legs are hip distance apart one foot slightly ahead of the the
other.

* The body is aligned with the target

* The shooter rotates at the waist not with the legs

* Knees should be slightly bent

* Lean forward

* The butt of the stock goes against the shoulder

* The cheeks lays against the stock.

* One hand supports the barrel. Elbow points downward and the
upper arm braces against the chest.

* The trigger finger rests along side the trigger guard.

Video Quick Study (3:19) covers standing and prone as well as movement. Great info if you are writing a combat scene or your heroine is military trained.

Shotguns v. Rifles

*Authors please note * Ed Rogerville explained that the proper term is firearm. "We never refer to firearms as weapons. I realize this is a widely used term but we, as instructors, don't use it. We always use the term firearm. We're not teaching or coaching, especially kids, to use force. We're teaching them how to hit a target. I know it's kind of politically correct, but that's the term we prefer to use."

12 gauge shotgun shell (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Shotgun

* Has a smooth barrel

* Uses shells - shells hold lead pellets the

number reflecting the gauge tells the size of the

pellets inside.

* Once the shotgun has been fired the pellets

expand in a circumference, making hitting the

target more likely than with a bullet.

* Devastating at close range for personal

protection because of the number of holes it will put in
someone.

* Used for trap and skeet sport shooting.

This is Ed loading up for trap shooting. The picture to the right is what the clays look like. Believe me, they look muuuuuch smaller when they're flying through the air.

* The shooter does not look down the barrel and sight the target.
The shooters eyes are both open and focused on the target.
The gun follows the focus. Even after the trigger has been pulled
the shooter should follow through by remaining focused on the
target and moving the gun along the trajectory.

* Beginner issues include: hesitation, aiming, and stopping the
movement after the trigger was pulled.

* Note that weather conditions like the strong winds we were
experiencing will effect the shot.

* Don't assume that because your character is a hunter that they are
a good shot. According to Darrell Garber, "As a general rule,
hunters can't hit an elephant staked in the yard."

Darrell Garber and Fiona Quinn

* The shotguns we were using had various weights. I asked
Darrell why this would matter. He explained to me that it is
simple physics. For every action there is an equal but opposite
reaction. If there is thirty pounds of energy coming back up,
the shooter will feel more of the recoil with a four pound gun
where a ten pound gun would absorb much of that energy.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rifle

* Has a rifled barrel which means that it has

spirals inside that rotates the bullet like a

football to make it fly straight.

* Uses bullets

* The higher the caliber the more recoil the

shooter will experience.

* I was shooting .22s and I found it much

easier than my 9mm handgun because the

sound and light were at a distance, much

quieter, and there was almost nothing in the

way of recoil.

*There are different kinds of rifles such as:

`Single action

`Bolt action

`Semi-automatic

* Deadly to 500 yards

Darrell was kind enough to let me shoot his AR15. Yes, I should be leaning forward. This was my first time shooting an AR and frankly, I was afraid of the kick. But there was less than my 9mm. It was very smooth, and a whole lot of fun.

As a side note, If you are near Nottoway, Virginia, the Nottoway Shooting Sport at Nottoway Wildlife Association offers classes to non-members. They have a beginners class as well as personal protection in the home (That one my husband and I are signing up for) at very reasonable prices. So check them out. LINK

See this article in action in my novella: MINE