The Tactical Advantage: A Definitive Study Of Personal Small-Arms Tactics

SIX BUILDING SEARCHES: EXTREME CLOSE QUARTERS

All structures will present some extremely close-quarters situations that must be dealt with. These places are particularly dangerous because while negotiating them you are literally trapped in them. All of your immediate mobility is gone.

Windows are one of these often ignored tactical problems. Avoid window entries if you can. I've used window entries when stealth was important, but I also had several operators pointing their guns into the room from other windows to keep any hostiles away. Windows are convenient gunports for your adversary when you are outside, so do not walk in front of them. Windows are also fatal funnels when you are inside.

Because windows are not generally considered to be entry points or hiding places, they're often ignored during a search. This might be a life-altering mistake. An officer I know was conducting an interior search for a robbery suspect who'd surreptitiously exited the building and hidden himself just outside a window. When the officer crossed in front of the window, the suspect fired at him from outside. Surprise!

The same thing can easily occur in reverse, and you could take fire from a building through a window. While you can easily see out through a screened window, you cannot see in. This effect is accentuated when there are varying degrees of light and darkness inside and outside. The bottom line: be careful with windows.

^{No matter what type of weapon you are equipped with, if you expect to operate in extreme close quarters, a handgun is hard to beat.}

^{Pistols are small, maneuverable, and extremely portable-attributes that make them very attractive for close-quarters engagements.The only thing that they do not have is power.}

^{If you encounter an obstacle that does not allow you to maintain control of your pistol, do not try to force an outcome this way. Do you think that this shooter is in a position to shoot if a threat materializes?}

^{A much better option is to move to the close-contact position.This keeps the pistol close to the body to prevent muzzle protrusion or an unexpected weapon retention problem.}

^{If the danger area is too close for a standard ready position, but not close enough for a close-contact position, you may elect to simply "compress" your ready position enough to maintain control of your muzzle.}

There are also extremely close-quarters spaces that may require checking. Such places include attics, basements, storage closets, and, in some instances, extremely cluttered rooms that are often found in depressed urban areas.

Attics are not good places to go for the lone operator. Tactical teams use dogs and portable shields to search an attic. As you break the horizontal plane of the ceiling through the attic opening, you are surrounded on all sides with potential hiding places for your adversary. Not good. Consider this: Why would you ever need to search by yourself in the first place? If you suspect that an adversary has hidden himself there, he is in no position to attack you, and he is obviously on the defensive. Hold your position and call for reinforcements. The same goes for crawl spaces below the building. If the unthinkable happens and the adversary begins firing up at you through the floor or down through the ceiling, you can do the same to him. But whatever you do, do not follow him into these places.

^{Some environments prevent the use of any weapon but the pistol. This shooter is about to clear a crawl space in an old aerospace research facility. Close-quarters environment? You bet!}

^{Clearing small rooms and closets is also problematic, because you do not have room to maneuver. You may need to manage the door with your body weight and alter your shooting platform to see what you need to see.}

^{Bring the weapon into the close-contact position when you must clear such areas. This shooter is clearing a rest room stall. Rest rooms are a favorite hiding place for criminals who are trying to go undetected.}

When you search a storage closet or any extremely closequarters environment, your main concern should be weapon retention. Do not move your weapon into an unsecured space or plane. If there is a hostile hiding there, he will snatch it away from you and… well, you know the rest.

At such times, you must either retract your ready position so that your pistol is closer to your chest in a "tight Weaver position," or you must abandon the two-handed hold and use the close-contact position. This involves holding the pistol in a position so that the wrist is braced tightly alongside the pectoral muscle. The pistol is aligned on the target/danger area and canted slightly outboard to avoid snagging clothing or equipment during firing. Your support hand and arm arc held forward about chest high, but away from the muzzle, to assist you in moving or to deflect a hostile's first strike.

These positions are quite efficient within arm's reach (up to about four feet). Any shots fired in this environment will probably be within inches of your adversary, and he will likely have powder burns on his clothing along with a bullet hole or two. You will be able to get reasonable hits to the body of your adversary up to approximately five meters using this position.