Firearms Training

When the bullets are flying, it is pretty instinctive to get behind something and get low!  It’s even better if you can get behind something solid which will actually stop bullets!  So, let’s talk about cover and concealment, and everything in between.

Cover is any barrier which will stop incoming rounds.  For example, a concrete wall, a gun safe, or an engine block, are all examples of cover because you cannot shoot through them.

Concealment is simply a visual barrier which hides you.  Examples of concealment include drywall, a door, or even a couch.  You can hide behind those items but a bullet will go right through them.  Generally, cover is also concealment.  For example, a concrete wall serves the dual purpose of stopping bullets and hiding you.  There is one type of cover which is not concealment, and that’s bullet-proof glass.  You can see through it, but you cannot shoot through it.

Not all cover is created equally.  For example, the engine block of your F-150 pickup truck is extremely robust and will stop any incoming round, within reason.  The king-size bed in your master bedroom offers a little bit of resistance to a bullet, but not much.  A file cabinet full of documents is pretty good where a car door is less so.  You get the idea.  There is a whole spectrum of efficiency when it comes to cover.

Concealment is obviously not as good as cover, but it’s way better than nothing.  Here’s the punchline…use cover and concealment every chance you can.  If you find yourself in an environment that has no cover or concealment, then that’s too bad.  However, the bad guy doesn’t have any either so it’s still a level playing field.  But it you have access to cover and concealment…by all means use it!

Cover may also be worn on your body.  Obviously I am talking about body armor.  A “bullet-proof vest” is pretty effective at stopping most bullets you are likely to encounter but how many of us wear a vest out to dinner?  Outside of military and law enforcement, very few folks wear vests on a daily basis.

Cover and concealment are not the only options.  What if you are facing an adversary armed with a contact weapon such as a knife or a baseball bat?  In that case, all you really need is a barrier of some sort to slow him down.  A chain link fence would be useless against a bullet but would work beautifully against a knife.

What if your adversary has received some training and he is making good use of cover and concealment?  This clearly makes your job more difficult, but with some training, you will still be able to stop the fight.  At Front Sight we practice shooting unorthodox targets of opportunity such as hands, legs, and the cranio-occular cavity (basically the brain).  These targets are much smaller than the thoracic cavity and thus slower and harder to hit.  However, if the bad guy’s chest is protected by body armor, you can still take a head shot.  If the bad guy is behind cover except for one leg, then that’s your shot.  Gunfights are not black-and-white.  There is a whole lot of “gray” in the world of gunfighting.  The more training you have, especially scenario-based training, the more adept you will be at successfully using cover, concealment, and everything in between.