I was surprised in the opening scene when the fella rear-ended Rob, got out of the car and was cursing, to see Rob go to guns that quick. Maybe I didn’t see it right?!?! Then the guy reached in and brought out a weapon, wouldn’t you go to guns at that moment? I know, I know…be prepared. I was just perplexed when Rob went to guns so quick. You could see his confusion trying to look into the mirror(s) and figure out what was going on, good acting by the way RJP, and pulling so fast before the threat really appeared. Thoughts?
Some of this was already addressed in the other thread titled "Car Jacking Part I." Here's an excerpt from my post there that might shed some light on your question:
To put it all into simple tactical context, rule #1 is to leave plenty of room between you and the car in front of you so you can drive away if something goes bad. If the car in front of you backs up (look for the backup lights as an early sign), you should still try to drive away, even if you have to shove the front car out of the way. If you get pinned in and the bad guy just wants your car, give it to him. If it looks like he wants more than that, have a plan to go to guns--using the principles Rob demonstrated in yesterday's show.
We strongly believe that driving away/avoidance is always te best option. At the same time, we wanted to educate viewers regarding the realities and the preferred tactics for shooting through the windows of the car. To do that, we had to set up a realistic/plausible situation that was still range safe. Visually, the scenario with the tire iron was scary and compelling, but realistically Rob could have still driven away. We understand that, but the angles required for all the shots dicated that we had to set it up that way in the space available. Rob's explanation (repeated twice) emphasized that 1) the tire iron scenario was a simulation and 2) the "problem" we wanted to address was ANY situation where you COULD NOT drive away and were confronted by a lethal threat in close proximity to your car. That "set up" the shooting instruction, which was the focus of the episode.
The idea of the scenario was not to suggest going to guns early, but rather to have a plan and the requisite skills so you CAN go to guns if necessary. Until you've tried drawing in a car, you can't appreciate how difficult it can be. That's why we train...
Stay safe,
Mike