Rob Pincus

Responding to a Threat as a Passenger in a Vehicle

Rob Pincus
Duration:   4  mins

Description

Rob Pincus demonstrates how a passenger in a vehicle can react to a threat using a firearm and help to defend both himself and the driver. He also demonstrates how to move his body within the vehicle in order to engage a threat at very position around the vehicle. A Personal Defense Network (PDN) original video.

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2 Responses to “Responding to a Threat as a Passenger in a Vehicle”

  1. Bruce Bean

    Once again showing how important it is to train shooting one-handed. I don't believe it is stressed enough, maybe because instructors don't acknowledge the concept of "good enough " shot placement vs tight groups (targets to brag about to the student's friends).

  2. Todd

    Concerned about covering with the muzzle. Why not point the muzzle vertically toward the roof as you position to engage a threat. Every instance shown in the video you covered someone as you changed position. This would not be the case if the muzzle were pointed up and then rotated down to the threat.

Here's another important video from the personal defense network. Let's look at a situation if we were inside of that vehicle and we need to defend ourselves with a firearm. Of course, we have someone else there. We were both armed. It would make sense that the person in the passenger seat would worry more about the actual defensive use of a firearm if at all possible and allow the person in the driver's seat to use the vehicle to actually get away from the problem.

If we were static, if we were sitting here in this parking lot and involved in a situation where we couldn't get away and I was forced to use a firearm. Of course I'd take the firearm from my concealment position or from the storage position inside the vehicle and go to some type of a ready position from which I could respond in 360 degrees around me, of course without interfering as much as possible with the driver. And certainly without endangering them from my attempt to protect us. If I were going to have to engage a target that were out in the passenger side window, of course, with a window up I wouldn't be able to simply extend out fully towards the threat or maybe the threats very close to the vehicle. What I'd want to do is actually move my body so that I get into a position where I can orient the firearm without going through the window can actually stay within that boundary.

Of course, it'd be the same exact thing. If I were to go forward with the windshield in front I wouldn't lean forward, jamming the gun into the window. I'd actually leaned backwards, maybe get lower so that I could orient the firearm into my line of sight, engaging a threat outside whether we're using sight alignment or threat focus. And it was actually using my balance to speed and precision to determine whether I'm focused on the threat or the site. That either way, I'm going to be extending out fully because I can in this particular vehicle if the vehicle had a windshield that was closer to me or I was up closer to it of course I may not get into full extension but I'm still going to orient the firearm as safely as I can.

To the rear would similarly allow us to cross without covering ourselves or the person next to us. We could turn and extend the firearm back into that direction, also in our line of sight. What's important now you realize is the worst case scenario would of course be if we had to cross the driver we wouldn't want to just simply extend the firearm out in the here where the muzzle blast or something else could catch this person off guard perhaps injure them. Cause if they're driving, we don't want to be able to interfere with what's going on there. And we also don't want them to get scared and knock the firearm offline.

If I were to extend out this way to engage a threat and Tom were to just see this gun that'd be a natural reaction for him to flinch in fear. And obviously this could lead to a very dangerous situation with him being covered by the muzzle or perhaps deflecting the shot into someplace, we don't want it to go. The worst case scenario. Of course, being that I wouldn't be able to engage the threat and actually significantly affect their ability to hurt us. So what I'm gonna want to do is use my left hand to protect Tom, and either hold his arms down, hold his body back perhaps even avert his face away so that if I extended out I could then get that shot in a way that significantly affects the Target's ability to present a lethal threat towards us without hurting him.

Of course, I could also move Tom down and forward, if I needed to come across between us without covering him and engage the threat more towards the rear driver's side of the car, or even straight across keeping him down as I cross over and extend out keeping him in a safe position outside of my muzzle and maybe even making him safer as he were looking for keys or trying to get the vehicle started. Or of course, if we were in a traffic or a configuration situation where we couldn't move the vehicle and I had to respond with the firearm understanding how to use the firearm in a safe multiple person environment inside of a car keeping control of the muzzle, keeping your muzzle awareness and controlling the other person when necessary can be very important, planning ahead having a coordinated plan. And then of course, in the middle of a scenario communicating and cooperating with each other, to maintain that safe area, to maintain safe muscle discipline and to make sure that you stop the threat or get away from the threat as quickly as possible are going to be key components of your multiple persons survival situation during a critical incident multiple people inside of a vehicle Check out more videos, just like this one at the Personal Defense Network.

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