Shooting Illustrated by Steve Adelmann - Sunday, December 6, 2020
To ensure success in a home-defense situation, have your rifle sighted in, magazines loaded, gear together and ready to go in an accessible (but safe) location.“Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatchet scoured, 60 rounds powder and ball and be ready to march at a minute’s warning.†That sage advice from MAJ Robert Rogers is found on page one of the “U.S. Army Ranger Handbook†I was issued in 1988. Because I had already learned Rogers’ “Rules for Ranging†from an older copy of the manual as a youngster, my perceptions of readiness were set long before I began my own Ranger journey.
MAJ Rogers wrote his 28 rules for the Ranger companies he raised and led during the French and Indian War. Although his later Revolutionary War service against the United States, as well as ongoing personal problems, eventually tainted his status both here and abroad, the tactics and guidelines Rogers set to parchment during the 1750s are still studied by Special Operations troops today. While I routinely fail rule number one, “Don’t forget nothing [sic],†the aforementioned second rule has proven attainable in both my professional and personal lives.
With the exception of an 18-month “schoolhouse†stint teaching mountain warfare, my entire Army career was spent in rapid-deployment units. The majority of that time had me on a 1-hour string. By the time a middle-of-the-night notification reached me, I had about 40 minutes left to jump into my clothes like a cartoon character, race 35 miles to my base, load my guns and gear on vehicles and be seated in a briefing room. Obviously, such time constraints do not allow for last-minute preparations. Magazine loading, zero checks and verification that lights, lasers and optics are all functioning correctly must be completed ahead of time so that all equipment is constantly ready. Today’s challenges present ready-minded citizens with a corollary need for their own firearms and equipment.
More:
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/12/6/how-to-prepare-your-rifle-for-home-defense