3 Things You Need to Know About Killing
There are few things to understand if you are forced to kill someone or in if someone is trying to kill you.
Most of the people are unaware of them but it is important to understand them.
As I said many times before, most people simply did not face real violence before. I mean killing or fighting for life. That’s good because we live in society where those things are not needed.
On the other side, from the point of survival if you did not went through serious violence before you lack that experience, you do not really know what to expect when SHTF So…
People are easy to kill or people are hard to kill?
Guess what? Both of the statements are actually true. How?
It is simple, first forget about movie scenes where people are flying 10 meters back when you shoot at them with your handgun.
Not too much flying there, when you shoot man from close distance couple of things can happen.
In some cases he just flop (collapse) down, and that’s it. He is gone. And most interesting thing from that experience is sound of his collapse. It is sound like some big bag of something full of wet stuff and some solid elements goes down. Pretty much what our body is.
It is special sound, and you willa remember it to the rest of your life.
Let’s say here that right placement of the shot, right distance, numbers of shots, and your training and calmness brings makes this happen.
In another case, you may find yourself in situation where attacker is coming to you, rapidly closing, you keep firing at him, distance is pretty close, and nothing happens… he is still closing, you shoot and shoot, you are screaming or you just think you are screaming, something loud keeps exploding in your ears, and you are not aware is that your gunshots or what, you are not even sure are guns being fired at all, maybe something is wrong with your gun „other guy’s eyes are getting closer and he is having a knife, he is huge, shit what is going on? Am I going to die? God? Mom?“
And then he is down.
Was that a guy that was hard to kill? Yes, later you figured that you shot him like 6 or 7 times, but not in correct places, he was huge, adrenaline made him forget the pain so…
Both examples are real experiences. There are so many factors that play into this…
So what with the questions about are folks easy or hard to kill, I suggest simple formula, if you are forced to kill someone, consider the fact that it takes lots of factors to be in right place to achieve that, but if if you are in situation when someone is trying to kill you act like it is very easy to get killed.
Long long time ago, when I was beginner in some things, and when I did not know anything about violence, and it was very clear that I will face violence, one old dude gave me advice about similar things, he had pistol with one extra mag.
He said: „ OK, when he is coming to you, you empty magazine into him“ I asked what then? He said “then you reload and empty another magazine into him“
I asked „ Both magazines?“
He said „First two bullets should do the job, but you just go and empty magazines at him“
Killing is nasty job.
Reasons for violence
Huge topic. But lets just say that it will happen, without going too deep into philosophy. Lots of the violence will be „understandable“ in a way, when SHTF. Fighting for food, water, land etc. And as a survivalist you need to be prepared for it. It makes sense to expect it.
But lots of people will have problems to accept violence that will happen without real reasons.
In fact, as I mentioned before, there are huge number of people who are waiting for SHTF to happen and to get violent without real reasons. Murdering, torturing, raping, imprisoning…
You may call them sick people, which they are of course. But more important is to understand that today they are folks who drink beer in local park, or guys with who you watch football games sometimes.
Or simply your peacefully looking neighbour. When SHTF, all kind of scum crawls out of their holes. So accepting violence in general is hard, it is easier when some people at least have some reasons but you can not expect this to be the case always. Prepare your mind for this.
Accepting the violence
You may have luck to live peacefully after seeing, experiencing or committing violence. Maybe you are built for that. Maybe you are what people call “strong man” inside and outside or only on one side.
I think I remember each man who died in front of me or next to me. I remember sounds, smells, pictures.
I forgot names and years, dates or places. But I remember moment when life goes from the eyes of dying man. Or deep last breaths from several people. Or simply smell of defecation when man is gone.
Few times I thought I felt something like weird sensation, couple of seconds after men’s last breath, something like I could felt his soul is leaving him.
Or I simply felt my adrenaline eruptions, or maybe I was losing my mind for a moment, who knows?
With time you learn to cope with those things, to watch people die, either people you loved, or people who die from your hand.
There was urban myth, that one officer from the army was asked something like „Captain, these young guys that we just killed in huge numbers, there are still kids left, they do not know anything, what do we do with them?“
Officer said „ We do what we do, it is our way of life“
It is death. And you simply need to cope with it.
That’s why working on your mindset for survival is so important. Join me at my survival course in Croatia later this year or check out my online course.
Share your thoughts and comments on how you prepare yourself for exposure to violence in our forum or comments below.
People can sometimes be very hard to kill. I found this out when I was working as an emergency room physician. We received a report that someone in a fit of depression had blown his own head off with a shotgun and the paramedics were bringing in the body. The ambulance arrived, the body was wheeled in on a gurney with the front half of its head blown off, and my initial thought was “there is nothing for me to do here.”
Then someone started screaming, and I thought it must be some new staff member in shock. Get them out of here. Then I looked again at the body on the gurney and the paramedics appeared to be propping it up into a sitting position. I thought “WTF…?” and I still didn’t really understand what was happening or why they were doing that. Then things kind of coalesced and I realized what was happening which was like something out of a horror movie. The screaming was coming form the “corpse”, and the paramedics weren’t trying to prop it up, they were trying to get it to lie down. The front part of its head had been blown away, it had no face, and every time it screamed, I saw a thin red mist of blood droplets come out of a hole in what was now the front of its head, but which half an hour ago had been the back of its mouth. Despite his horrific injuries, the guy was still very much alive.
We anesthetized him, bandaged up what was left of his head and airlifted him to neurosurgery, which, amazingly, he survived, although I think he always needed round the clock care after that. Then the hospital management rounded us all up the next day for some sort of group therapy / counseling session, which for me I felt was a waste of time, but I went along as a courtesy to the management because they were probably worried about the ER staff suing them for post traumatic stress disorder. Then we all got on with our jobs again. But the enduring lesson for me is that in the heat of the moment, human beings can sustain a lot of damage but still keep going, for a short while anyway, possibly long enough to kill you if they are so inclined, like the guy in the post above who was shot multiple times but still kept coming.
Thanks Peter!
Peter, I believe that I saw your patient in one of my training films for my MICN (Mobile Intensive Care Nurse) class. The young Doc went over to the patient, and where there were ‘bubbles’ coming out of the mass of torn flesh, an ET Tube was inserted fairly quickly and professionally. It was impressive.
From what I understand about the patient, is that he had been successfully rehabilitated, yet at some point, he again procured a firearm and was more successful with it the second time around.
As an ED (ER) nurse with 26 years of experience, I have seen the effects of all kinds of violence done to man, and woman. Some of it was incredibly horrific. Some of it seemed almost……demonic. By that I mean that there had to be an immense amount of abnormal hatred going on for someone to have received such traumatic wounds from blunt and sharp instruments, as this type of wounding/killing was done very close and personal.
As mentioned previously, I do think that my ‘rural’ roots have helped me acclimate to the horrors that I’ve seen, smelled, worked on over the years. Farm life and hunting can be fraught with blood letting, and sometimes it goes easy, other times, not-so-much.
I have never killed, but I do believe that I’m personally/emotionally ready for this circumstance should it ever present itself suddenly before me, with no obvious chance of escape or de-escalation of the event. Fingers crossed that it never happens though…….
BigFootsCousin
Wow – just wow. I’ve had discussions with various veterans who basically say the same thing as above – vision and sound goes slow, then very fast motion. like the record player suddenly was spun quickly. Fear of dying, fear of seeing your friends die in front of you. Guilt for surviving (why him, not me ? We were right next to one another !) Panicing when ambushed (especially if you were taking a rest stop) forgetting to pick up your rifle / pack when you run for cover.
And most of all – How did I get in this situation ?
Respectfully, there is only one thing you need to know about killing – well, really two.
1 – that you will purposefully do it just as hard as you possibly can, and
2 – whether or not you will do it again
The stuff about what it feels like to kill is important so that you can have some small idea of what it may be like for you when you do it. That can help keep you from falling apart emotionally afterwards. But that’s not about killing – that is about dealing with the fact that you did kill.
In my limited experience most people do not know the answer to #1 above until they are faced with the situation. Also in my limited experience the answer to #2 above comes immediately. There is probably a lot of thought that goes into reaching that decision, but it seems to happen in an instant.
stay safe.
It is not pleasant even in self defense I thru up for days after. I knew I would die but it didn’t help. I dont know would it cost me or my family their life I could do it again but the mental effects were devastating. I dont know how a man could become a sniper for It must take its toal.
Grampa
Most Europeans and Americans have lived too good and too safe for too long. All normal humans used to be capable of killing for hundreds of centuries. It was a huge part of every day surviving. For less “civilized” (in reality, less spoiled and softened) nations killing is nothing but a thing that sometimes must be done, business, just necessity. Western liberals made all possible to turn humans into cattle, sheep, who have lost he belief in their strength.
Killing is a lot like adultery. The first time, a few miles north of Saigon, I did both and I felt a lot of shame. Then both got to be a habitual, almost daily experience and I looked forward to next time around. Either way, after it’s over, adultery or killing, it’s all the same, just one big mess. Truly amazing with the proper conditioning what the human mind can accept as norm.
I have never seen anyone die YET and I hope I never do but I have had punks try to kill me I was attacked years ago so I started taking diff kinds of martial arts learning way to kill with nothing but my hands and other weapons im gonna be 61 this October I have never had to use any of the knowledge from over the years and I pray to Christ I never have to
That’s why you always stick the shotgun to the back of the throat before pulling the trigger.
Has it bee your experience that hunters and actual rural people, this does not have the same traumatic effect ?
Yes, they are in a way better prepared for some things, it is matter of shock, and accepting the shock.
People who are experienced some things simply better know what to expect, rural people solving problems different in everyday situations, they are in touch with things that people who live in modern city does not even seen. Hunters too.
It is about accepting some facts.
Don’t mean to get off topic here, but Selco have you heard about this? ISIS training camps in Bosnia?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/isis-set-up-stronghold-heart-6094785
Of course. It is problem here from two reasons.
First it is quite possible because country is in some kind of chaotic situation when it comes to the security and control of this things, and second even if it is not true information like this are used for spreading panic in already confused society.
Question on that, Selco…
it seems very remote, and if I remember, the article said it holds maybe 12 possible fighters.
That’s not a lot…
what would keep the local population from simply “dealing with” those possible fighters before they get to be a real and true menace?
Do the locals fear larger retaliation? Do they count on the police to handle it? Are the police doing anything about it?
If you don’t know, I understand of course. But I had to ask to see if things are “different” in the back woods of Bosnia than they are elsewhere.
Thanks,
Nick.
Fear and “minding their own business”.
When SHTF and common folks see how people get killed or tortured for nothing it acts devastating on their will.
Most of them simply want to “stay out of the trouble”.
If we are talk about police even in normal times there are here mostly to take money from traffic problems (tickets) and they are also people so again, they also mind their own business.
I have lost a number of people to death, but not right in front of me.
I have twice had to point a loaded pistol at living humans, but not had to pull the trigger.
I was discussing one of those “pointing a loaded pistol” times with a co-worker just recently. One of the things I old him was “When you point a loaded gun at another human, suddenly all your emotions drop to the floor and you become very clearly cognizant of what you are doing. You realize that your life AND his life are about to change forever, and you really, really think clearly about what you are doing…. it becomes VERY real.” It’s not what I thought it would be… I thought it would be an emotion-fest, but it was exactly the opposite… it was a clarity-fest. I can only thank God for that, and hope I never have to kill a person. I will if I have to, but I hope I do not have to.
Another thing you should know is that if you have to shoot someone indoors, especially with a shotgun, and you expect to continue living in that place (it’s yours and not some warehouse), Expect to spend a LONG time cleaning up the mess! Blood and organ tissues and bone dust can get sprayed everywhere. Blood soaks down through cracks into the space below, cellar or crawlspace. It is messy, and it takes a long time for the smell to go away. You don;t forget the smell. If you don’t have a professional cleaner available (I mean a CLEANER, sot just some service that vacuums rugs and washes windows), and in SHTF, you probably won’t, have lots of hydrogen peroxide on hand and a spritzer bottle. After washing everything with soap and water, throwing out carpets and carpet pads and any heavily stained objects, spray the area and anything outside the expected area that looks like “bio.” that’s biological tissue or blood. IF it foams up from the peroxide, it’s bio. Clean it up. You might think to use bleach, and I suppose you could, but chlorine is toxic and the amount you would likely have to use may not be healthy for you. After it’s all done, if you can , put an ozone generator in the room and set it on maximum (remove all pets and people) and leave on for a day or more to help get the odor out. Been there and done all that. Had a prof. cleaner, but still had a lot to do before and after they did their job. Insurance picked up the cleaner’s tab. I hope this never happens to you.