Long Gun Retention

In the modern combatives world, when a person mentions weapon retention; they are often referring to the ability to maintain positive control of a pistol that an attacker is trying to seize and in turn use against them. It is very rare that you find people that even think of the need for long gun retention techniques and even fewer that physically train this material. This line of thinking is due inpart to the fact that the pistol is the primary weapon for both the law enforcement and armed citizen communities. However, if you look at the soldier on today's battlefield, people who are unable to own pistols due to laws of their communities, and others that find a rifle or shotgun in their grasp; the ability to retain their weapon during a confrontation could well mean the difference between life and death.

BE AWARE, VERY AWARE

As with any self protective material of any kind; prevention of an attack is the key to successfully retaining your weapon. Our main method of preventing an attack is through the use of situational awareness. This term refers to the ability of the weapon bearer to remain conscious of the events that are going around him and understand the possible impact they may have upon him. For example, a soldier during a peacekeeping mission is well aware that roaming groups of protesters present a heightened risk to all those close by and armed with such knowledge; he can become better prepared, both, mentally and physically, for a possible attack.

THE PROTECTIVE THREE

Once an attack has been launched upon the weapon bearer, he will be forced to rely upon physical protective measures. These protective measures include: the weapon sling, the possible presence of a lanyard, and finally, combative skills. These measures are should be used in conjunction with one another, since the employment of a single measure isn't a guarantee to the successful retention of a weapon. The presence and use of a weapon sling is a great aid in maintaining positive control of a long arm. Like the holster for a pistol, an employed sling serves to keep the weapon in a "ready" position and also keeps the weapon attached to the user's body. When looked at from a retention aspect, the latter is the most compelling reason to use a sling. The sling prevents an attacker from simply prying the weapon from the bearer's hands and using it against him. It also enables the bearer to free up one of his hands in order to use an empty hand tactic or deploy a secondary weapon during the assault. Lanyards are pieces of cord that serve to connect a weapon to the user's body. On long arms, lanyards are usually pieces of cord routed through the rear sling swivel or secured around the stock, and then tied off or clipped to tactical vests, load bearing equipment, or even a belt loop. Unlike a sling, the lanyard serves only to keep the weapon attached to the bearer's body and is not designed to keep the weapon in a ready position. With the reasons in mind, a lanyard should serve as a backup to the sling, but on weapons that lack sling swivels, the lanyard becomes the primary retention aid. Combative skills refer to the skill sets that a weapon bearer uses to maintain control of his weapon and defeat an attacker. There are numerous techniques that bearer can use, but they all fall into two major categories: empty hand skills and weapon based skills. The situation one finds himself in and use of force regulations will determine which of these techniques are to be used.

CONTROL THY WEAPON

Once an attacker has grabbed the long gun, the weapon bearer must first secure control of the weapon prior to launching an array of offensive techniques. Using either a pinning, pushing, or pulling motion, the bearer can regain control of the weapon, put the attacker off-balance, and put himself in a position to end the attack. The pin,push,pull principles are key since the focus of the entire fight is the weapon itself; the attacker isn't entirely focused on defending himself from possible counters. The pin is used to limit the mobility of the weapon. This action can be something as simple as locking your forearm across the receiver and holding the stock tight in your armpit. When you perform the pin, be sure to execute it along with a violent turn; either into or away from, the attacker. This turn can help to break the attacker's clasp on the weapon or set up further options. Pushing refers to the defender pushing violently against the attacker in order to break his grasp on the weapon or to create space to execute further actions. When using a pushing motion, you must commit totally to the movement. A half-hearted attempt will do little more than push the weapon into the attacker's body and will fail to break his grasp upon it. Keep in mind that while executing the push, you can turn the motion into an attack by shoving the weapon at the attacker's body or head in a violent manner. Pulling is the opposite of pushing. A pulling motion brings the attacker towards the bearer and like pushing, may serve to break his balance. When you perform the pull, you may be able to pull the attacker into a series of close-in strikes (such as elbows, knees, headbutts) or perform a takedown. When employing these strategies, remember; they are merely setups, not fight-enders. Unless you are executing these controls with 110% of your ability and following up with some form of offensive action, you are merely wrestling over the weapon and not bringing an end to the conflict.

THROWING HANDS

Once weapon control has been regained, the time for offensive techniques occurs. There are numerous possible attacks that may be launch, but factors such as body/weapon position, the environment, injuries, etc. will limit the number that can actually be used. When launching an empty handed attack during a retention situation be sure to use gross motor attacks to exposed vital areas. Gross motor attacks refers to strikes such as palm strikes, forearms, elbows, headbutts, knees, and simple kicks. These strikes are easy to execute under stressful situations and are likely to provide quick, telling results. When launching these strikes be sure to target the attacker's hands/arms, head/neck, and solar plexus. If throwing kicks, attack the shins, knees, and groin. These are the areas that will serve to break the weapon free from the attacker, knock him unconscious, or create an opening to escape or produce a secondary weapon. Remember, once you launch an empty handed assault, keep forward pressure on the assailant until he is no longer aggressive or a greater threat presents itself.

DEALING STEEL

Another option that may present itself to the bearer, is the ability to transition to a secondary weapon in order to end the attack. Secondary weapons can range from pistols to knives to improvised weapons like rocks and sticks. Keep in mind that one should refrain from bringing a second weapon into play until you have positive control of your primary weapon. Doing otherwise, creates two retention problems and gives you a whole new set of issues to worry about. In order to bring the secondary weapon into play there must be sufficient space to draw and use the weapon. This space can be created by using a combination of the push,pull,pin principles and/or by the delivery of empty handed strikes. Also, don't forget that the long arm itself can be used as a weapon via smashes, butt strokes, and the like.

DOWN WE GO

An important factor to keep in mind is that during the struggle, there is a good chance that one or more of the people involved may be thrown or fall to the ground. If the weapon bearer ends up on the bottom, he must remember to stay mobile, continue to strike, and attempt to regain his feet or atleast get on top of the attacker. It is not the time to rely upon joint locks, chokes, or attempts at other intricate grappling techniques. If the defender lands on top of his attacker, he can use strikes to create an opening to return to his feet or he may opt to bring a secondary weapon into play.

IN CONCLUSION

For the person that relies on a long gun for protection, the ability to keep that weapon during an attack is a skill that is just as important as the ability to properly use the weapon. To insure that you have this ability seek out competent training from instructors that are knowledgeable in this area. A lack to do this could drastically reduce your chances of surviving an attack that involves long gun retention.

Writer: Chris Clifton

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