I am a concealed carry holder. I grew up around guns. They don’t bother me. We learned to use a gun for protection and hunting and feeding your family ONLY. Not ever to be used in anger or greed. The class taught me a lot. In many states, you have 2 parts of the class. The shooting qualification and the class lecture. Both are important. The class lets you in on the local laws. What you should do if you ever shoot someone. And to ALWAYS check laws in other states. A majority of other states have castle doctrine laws. In some states, your vehicle is an extension of your castle (home). Now, the laws always vary from state to state. Is your van in which you live, your castle? Language in law is everything. But I can tell you, the other persons gun is going to do a lot more damage to you than your spray or stun gun.
The shooting qualification is not to teach you how to use your gun. Go to the shooting range. They should have classes or personal instruction for you to learn how to use your gun. During the shooting qualification, you will shoot targets. You have to have so many hits in a certain area of the target. This part shows you know how to use your gun. Practice at a range regularly.
Education is everything. You are an adult. It is up to you, the individual, to educate yourself about guns and gun laws.
I have a small .38 rueger. Great for my little hands. I also have a hammerless. it’s small and I don’t have to mess with the hammer. When looking for a gun, don’t be afraid to ask questions. EDUCATE yourself. Some Gun ranges let you rent a gun. Have an instructor help you. Try different guns.
Always have a lockbox. You don’t ever know when a friend with kids will come around. It’s the safe thing to do. And in some states, as stated above, its the law.
Now these are just some of the things I do. You need to do what is right for you.
I can’t stress enough to educate yourself. Do your research. You’re an adult. Educate and research. The choice is yours.
Be safe out there.
Greetings!
I carry a spray bottle of vinegar that will shoot a stream about 10 feet. It has stopped people, bears, dogs, and other vicious animals dead in their tracks, and is legal everywhere. At one point I carried a squirt gun on me filled with vinegar at all times, now I just carry it if I think I might need it.
Cheers!
Personally I have 4 yrs of martial arts to rely on and no not the flicky flicky i almost hit you I could have killed you type hahah
people train in martial arts for 3 reasons
To keep fit and enjoy the social scene
To train for the art to be good at Kata and enjoy the esoterics
To effectively learn self preservation and wipe out the bad guys
I chose the latter
Going down to your local karate or BJJ club twice a week aint gonna cut it Im afaid!
I made this for youtube . . . Wing Chun street skills for ending fights quickly - YouTube
I was a semi pro kickboxer in the late 70sI was an instructor at a full contact club in Stoke On Trent in the latter half of the 70’s I have studied lots of martial arts got grades in a couple and now practice Wing Chun even that has to be modified to fit me
But I still advocate the use of “force multipliers” (that’s a big stick to you and me) coz nowadays everyone has some kind of weapon
I read a lot of material concerning “Urban Survival” and in particular Geoff Thompson
what I have learned in all that time is this . . .
The world around us has turned very violent and unpredictable life these days is very cheap
Steer clear of trouble do not put yourself in a situation thats gonna end up being bad
learn to use and trust your instincts that feeling in your gut is your best friend its DNA left over from our ancestors (fight or flight)
Develop “situational awareness” always know where you are, where your going and can you escape?
Present an a non threatening attitude, be polite, be nice, unassuming don’t act the role, don’t act tough, your aim here is to disarm and get them to lower their defences (haha this guys a pussy he is no threat etc)
Ultimately this is a trap, your looking for a very small window of opportunity where you hit first, hit fast and hit bloody hard then escape and live to tell the tale.
Personally I never wait to be attacked my whole ethos is about surviving, I do not under any circumstances respond to any attack I dont train “block & counter” I make my own circumstances I create windows of opportunity that allow me to incapacitate and get away
You don’t have to train for years to be effective, you don’t need to be Bruce Lee. you just need to apply some common sense and make a window for an application to work.
Its a very complicated subject that can be overwhelming to understand. But succinctly you need to understand the 4 D’s
Dialogue
Deception
Distraction
Destruction
Deception is my primary weapon, above all else engaging in dialogue is the smartest move anyone can do when faced with a situation, “pre fight management” is way more important than physical skills.
How does all this fit in with Vanlife on the road your going to meet all sorts of people good and bad learn to recognise everyone stop and think about what you are doing, where your going, always have a back up plan and don’t take people at face value.
“Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six”
I do have a PDF document that took me 2 years to compile that outlines a strategy that goes into detail of how to avoid, spot and ultimately deal with unwanted attention. ( yes its free)
You need to develop about 5 decent techniques and learn how to apply them.
But far more important than that is the ability to recognise, decipher and respond to the language of the bad guys. Knowing what’s about to happen makes it easier to respond.
anyway I just thought I would put this out there coz our security is important
stay safe
peace through superior firepower
Agree with Michael Reynolds. A good self-defense class is fantastic, and it should teach you about situational awareness, which is probably the most important self-defense tool there is. If you don’t see an attack coming, all the martial arts in the world won’t help you from getting clocked in the head from behind and knocked out. (Or stabbed or shot or whatever.) Pay attention to your surroundings, and take a self-defense class if possible.
just make sure its not sport-oriented that’s a complete waste of time I recommend Wing Chun Muay Thai or a good karate class that focuses on survival not competition
keep away from BJJ and all those fancy flowery McDojos that offer you the world
keep a good stout stick to hand not to heavy and not too long about 25" and forget hitting the face if your involved in a fight attack the lead arm aiming for the fingers and wrists elbows suddenly dropping to attack the shins
look on you tube there is lots to choose from Fight science is deff worth a look Mr Philips deff knows his stuff
Yikes! Gangs in boondocking areas? That’s what makes me nervous about parking in blm lands. I hear from young girls all the time through tiktok and Instagram that they always park in blm lands , while I understand where their coming from but I have to wonder how safe is it?
Greetings!
I won’t boondock alone anymore, only in a group. Even in a group, you don’t need to packed in like sardines, but having help within earshot is never a bad idea. It’s when there’s no help for miles that you’re the most vulnerable. There’s better safety in numbers.
Two other girls were found raped & murdered not too far from where Gabby Petito was found… When even the rangers wouldn’t camp on BLM land alone, that should send a pretty strong message.
Even IF you have cell service, if you’re alone, help could take a very long time to arrive. Even with a gun, if there’s several of them, the odds aren’t in your favor. In my younger days, I never thought a lot about safety from other people, but the world is changing, and after some really bad encounters, experience tells me not to put myself at risk like that again. Today, people will kill you just for the thrill of it, even if you don’t have anything they want.
Cheers!
Hi Van_Dweller -
I agree. Having to always be thinking ahead worrying that someone might discover you and rout you is really a huge amount of stress and to me diminishes the idea of a less-stressful life. What’s the point if you feel you have to sneak around like a criminal? That’s just adding way more stress to my life than I want.
I know Bob Wells advocates for the two camps idea - one for sleeping (arrive late, leave early) and one for “day” camping. I’m not a fan.
I would rather be upfront, not try to hide that I’m there - and then accept the consequences. If I have to move - then I move. I don’t want to stay where I am not wanted. I’ll drive a little further - that’s what the wheels are for. . . 
The flip side is that if I am open about my intentions - I can rest easy knowing that that “knock on the door” shouldn’t be an issue.
Would it be possible to somehow get a copy of the guidelines you laid out? I (as a single, older woman) think that might be of great use. I vanlife in Europe where the crime is real but “fairly mild” in comparison to the U.S. (I’m thinking simply the overwhelming number of guns and very angry people, in general.)
Yes - people get attacked here - but typically because they have put themselves where they shouldn’t have been in the first place - or they were sleepwalking through their lives scrolling their mobile phones heedless of their surroundings or the people in it.
Thanks for your post - I’m a fan of your approach.
Cheers!
The advice you gave is really sensible. I too dream of living in a van and traveling, but unfortunately do not have such a van yet. Even when I needed to move I hired moving trucks on click here to move without problems. But I would never travel by myself in my life. I’m a person who always requires attention and I would be bored. I would love to travel with friends in a van.