Concealment or Cover?

A recent Mythbusters episode on hitmen reminded me of something that would be good for everyone to know.  An active shooter situation is everyone's nightmare.  No matter how good we are at our awesome martial arts skills, someone shooting at us from 30 ft. away trumps anything we have, assuming we're not carrying.

Concealment - The thing you hide behind, but does not stop bullets.

Cover - The thing that stops bullets.

The first thing to understand is that most walls are NOT cover.  If it's not brick or thick metal, assume it'll go through.  Cars can be cover, but just the engine, unless you happen to be behind a police car.  That's just for pistols, by the way.  Rifles are much more powerful.  Behind the car engine should be safe unless you're up against some serious military weaponry.  Brick walls are a maybe.  If there isn't anything super solid nearby, go for layers, and TRY TO BE QUIET.  You're not a target if they don't know you're there.

This, of course, doesn't deal with how you escape that situation, just what you might hide behind if, say, you heard gunshots outside your home or office.

Luke Brown
www.acwafw.com