tactics, tactical training, civil war, civil war 2, The Coming Struggle, cover vs concealment, prepper, preparedness,
Preparedness

Tactics for The Coming Struggle Part 1: Cover versus Concealment

9
Share

Surviving a gunfight involves one very important factor – not getting shot. While numerous other factors involved in a gunfight affect the survivability of those involved, when preparing for The Coming Struggle cover and concealment must be understood.

cover, concealment, home defense, civil war, the coming struggle, collapse, tactics, tactical, training

Concealment:

You can hide behind an Azalea bush – which provides concealment. The bad guys can’t see you but their shots can go through the bush and kill you if they believe you are there. In a gunfight, concealment has very few advantages but is better than standing out in the open. It is critically important to always understand where you are and what the limitations are of your position. Forgetting you are behind concealment rather than cover could ruin a perfectly good day.

tactics, American Reformation, cover, concealment, SHTF, defense,

Cover:

You can hide behind a large rock – which provides cover. The bad guys may fire on your position but their rounds will not penetrate the rock. The rock will provide both cover and concealment – and an opportunity to live for another day. Typically cover will provide concealment but not the other way around.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *

When setting up defenses on a property, cover needs to be the primary emphasis. Most cover is going to bulky, large, and very dense. Think big boulders and rocks. Think rock retaining walls. Think stacked sandbags. Steel, brick, mortar, and heavy wooden logs should be considered. Car doors and drywall are horrible. Do some research on how much of different materials does it take to stop popular calibers such as .22LR, 9mm, 5.56mm, and .308 Winchester.

Recommended Download/Reference: A good reference that touches on cover and concealment among other fighting tactics is the military manual MCWP 3-35.3 Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain(MOUT).

You might also like

9 Comments

  1. scout says:

    if a person were to have access to 500+yard stand off weapons, the training and good perimeter alarms, that would help. good neighbors down the road with comms to send a heads up would be beneficial as well.
    there are so many possible scenarios. take a good look at your area and plan accordingly. get a good map of your area and mark choke points and areas of access,– roads, bridges and trails. myself and others have trees marked with paint already scouted to drop without a decision making process to go through. none of us in our small community will need to run into town anyhow, it’s just too far away. another good reason to stock up on supplies. we all farm something.
    to not let them get close to start with is important. that’s our plan. after a month of no or bad water for them it should be safe to start scouting outside of our area. we already know who THEY are. and they ain’t ready. no food, water or soap that i can tell. if they have soap they don’t use it.
    i’m speaking from a very rural point of view.
    those in the cities, i wish that i could help more or offer some advice but i just don’t know other than having a good community. a neighborhood watch may be a good place to start, getting everyone on the same page?
    best of luck to all

    Reply
    1. JR says:

      Thanks Scout. Good points all around.

      If we experiance a true SHTF. I’m talking grid-down, no services, etc. there are so many things to take into consideration. This is where role-playing and visualizing different scenario’s can really be beneficial. I’ve started going through different scenarios in my head and what the proper response should be. BTW – when I say “response” I’m talking about actions to do NOW in preparation for what might occur later. The sense of urgency is running high.

      Reply
  2. Myke says:

    I’ve never heard this being talked about or being used and it would probably only be good if you have enough property to warrant it’s use, and of course if you’re thinking your place might be over run, but it might be advantages to have some K-Rail (sometimes called Jersey Barrier) around. This is the portable concrete barriers used on the side of roads.

    I work construction and more often than not State Dot’s replace them and just give them away.

    They are a solid concrete barrier that can easily give cover. They can also be used to block roads/trails and can be used to channel people/vehicles to a more desirable defensive location for you.

    On another note, sand bags are a simple, lightweight and inexpensive item to carry in your vehicle, load out kit or Bug-Out-Bag. There are many uses for it (steadying your rifle to making cover to defend behind).

    Just my 2 1/2 cents worth,

    Myke

    Reply
    1. JR says:

      Myke – Agree. I have not seen this discussed very often and I’ve got several more thoughts I’ll share at a later time. Those road barriers would be great. For those of us with wives/girlfriends/fiancée’s/etc. that are may not be too keen on several large concrete barriers spread across the front and back yard it may require being creative.

      Reply
  3. 3rdMan says:

    Scout,

    You assume the good neighbors down the road does not get eliminated quietly. No matter how bad a$$ someone thinks they are, they are only one person and have to sleep sometime. Then again maybe a threat takes you out first without those good neighbors down the road every knowing. We only have to look at Argentina to see the very rural areas actually suffer worse than the cities because of the very isolation they thought would help protect them.

    Reply
    1. JR says:

      Most anything is possible 3rdMan. So many possibilities and contingencies to put in place. For me – doig the best I can. I’ll tell you I’m ramping up the contingencies to many things I never thought I would have to.The sense of urgency is high.

      Reply
  4. MLK says:

    The problem I’m having with the training schools is that they are training you to use tactics that are employed by militaries who have fire power superiority. They should be training for tactics when the attackers have the superior fire power.

    Reply
    1. JR says:

      I’d agree that most of the training from schools push aggressive tactics towards intended targets. Probably only 10% of the training I’ve had pertained to retreat and/or movement away from the threat to possibly lead to retreat. Good point that I hadn’t really thought about.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *