Best defensive place to sit at a restaurant, theater, etc.

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I like to face the main entrance and have a minimum of open space behind me, like a corner in the back. I also sit on the outside of the booth or table. (so it is easier to get out, or protect the person sitting to the inside) Away from outside windows when possible.

Basically maximize visibility of the area, and potential entrances and exits, limit blind spots, and limit your visibility to others like passers by outside.

I don't make requests for seating, I usually make the best of the location I am given. Though I would make a request if I felt uneasy about the situation/area... but I usually would just avoid such situations in the first place.


This is habit from military training... They taught this for when we are out and about when deployed abroad, and it just sort of stuck.

They also taught basic situational awareness as well... turned out to be good training for CCW in the civilian world if nothing else. :cool:
 
Indeed the phrase "intelligent mthodical mass killer" is a bad day. Fortunately that type is one of kind vs. more realistic scenarios
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I might disagree. The NYPD did a recent analysis of mass killers (it's at work) and quite a few did serious planning.

Columbine
Jonesboro
Aurora
VT

all had worked out plans. There are more.
 
Really? Data? Cause and effect?

I've got Ludy's in Killeen, TX (seat yourself), McDonald's in Fresno, CA (seat yourself), and IHOP in Carson City, NV (variable). Then there is the Lakewood Police at the coffee shop in WA (4) gunned down (seat yourself).
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I'm not sure what your getting at here. I mentioned that chain type businesses would be more likely to have a mass shooting incident, and you proceeded to give a list of those very places. If you were questioning the data on this, I don't have any to give without searching right now, but it's pretty obvious you'd be far more likely to be shot or robbed at these type of places then stand alone restaurants. Why? Because they are everywhere, and usually always have a high amount of traffic in them.
 
Learned way back in schoolyard days to always put my back to a wall when facing a bully (and his cohorts).

Do not want to be back-shot. In a restaurant the family know the drill, they hit the deck and Pops shields them and takes care of business.

The handgun must be appropriate to the task: very accurate, i.e. not a M442 snubby when a M22-4 will do a better job.

Check your 6.
 
I always sit at the farthest away from the front door as I can & still see who enters, with my back to the wall. This will usually put you near the rear exit.
 
Back to the wall booth on the side. Sometimes their busy and have no booths open in which case I at least sit facing the entrance. Situational awareness is everything in public and very easy to make a constant habit without being obsessive. I believe these types of tragedies will only increase in the future with as nutty as people are lately, so it's only good sense to pay attention when in public.
 
Back to the wall booth on the side. Sometimes their busy and have no booths open in which case I at least sit facing the entrance. Situational awareness is everything in public and very easy to make a constant habit without being obsessive. I believe these types of tragedies will only increase in the future with as nutty as people are lately, so it's only good sense to pay attention when in public.
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Ditto on that. But me must still go out and live our lives regardless and not let them bring us down.
 
I try sitting away from any entrances with my back to a wall, and getting a look at everyone entering the room I am in.

As for movie theaters, the one I goto only has one entrance and one exit (both in my forward arc of view). I sit where I get the best view of the picture, which is not tactically sound, but it's a compromise I choose to make.

Unfortunately, my job prevents me from egressing prior to contact.

Live at Yellow, Die at White--The Guru
 
Manta, you often cite the troubles in Ireland as being the end all be all of experiencing a turbulent existence and claim that people here couldn't have handled it.

As I have pointed out to you before, the rates of violence in Ireland during the troubles(over a decade ago) are roughly the same or less than the nominal rates of violence here in the US for many locales(past and present). People acknowledge that violent crime happens and try to be prepared, rather than
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Its a example of people coming into a bar in this case and shooting. I am using N Ireland as a example because that's were i live that seems logical to me. Maybe you would like me google a similar example form some other country. My point no one that i know worried about where they sat or watched the door to see who was coming in.

As i said if i worried about where i sat when going out socialising and having a meal i would stay in the house.


are roughly the same or less than the nominal rates of violence here in the US for many locales
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That statement goes against the posts i have seen on how violent crime is low in America compared to the UK.


(over a decade ago)
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Police at the scene of David Black's death on the M1 motorway in Northern Ireland.


Dissident republicans are believed to have shot dead a Northern Ireland prison officer in a motorway ambush.


The death of a 25-year-old police officer in a car bomb blast has brought tragedy to Omagh, Northern Ireland Chief Constable Matt Baggott has said.

He paid tribute to "modern day hero" Constable Ronan Kerr, a new Catholic recruit, killed outside his home.


PS Its not over a decade for some.
 
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I suffer from PTSD. Some may call me paranoid but I would rather be called that than be called dead.

It is not always possible to pick the table where you want to sit but I make sure that where ever I have a commanding view of the restaurant. My first choice is to have a wall behind me or somewhere where it is impossible for someone to enter without me seeing them. Force of habit, I "case" the other people in the restaurant before being seated at a table. If I don't like what I see, I ask for another table and don't mind waiting.

I am far-sighted and sit within the last two to three rows of the movie theater but I always arrive early so I can sit in the middle so I have access to both entry doors and the two emergency exits.

And just in case you're wondering, I never leave my house without a gun attached to my body. I can't cover every contingency but I do my best. And my good buddy is a retired cop and our wives are good friends so we dine out a lot together. We cover each others back and at some places, even discuss a plan in the event something should go horribly wrong.
 
After nearly a quarter century together Mrs.hogdogs still forgets she doesn't get to decide where her bottom will warm until I decide...

as courtesy, I usually never walk in front of her so when a hostess begins to walk us to our table or booth, wifey is usually in front of me as walk paths are often too narrow for a comfortable side by side stroll...

I want my back to a wall and eyes on at least the main entrance... If secondary entrances are available I really like to be able to see them too... The kitchen door is not quite as critical to my seating decision. If I do not like the location the hostess chooses, I do not mind scanning for a better (to me) seat and requesting it... If wifey inadvertently chooses my "tactical" seating choice, she just has to hop up and move or scoot over so I can sit on the same side.
 
seaman said:
The handgun must be appropriate to the task: very accurate, i.e. not a M442 snubby when a M22-4 will do a better job.
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How do you get the bad guys to let you know when you're going to have time to get an M22-4 out of your holster instead of using an M442 snubby fired from in your pocket? Do they send you email or something?
 
According to the World Health Organization, it is much more likely that the greatest threat comes from what is on your plate rather than where in the restaurant your plate happens to be.

I know what you all are thinking; the WHO is so pro-gun that they probably skewed the results to make gun deaths seem less prevalent... :rolleyes:

I sit far away from the door because I live in New England. This time of year it gets pretty cold and I don't like the draft every time someone comes through the door.

I like booths because they are more comfortable and I don't like being in the flow of traffic of other diners and servers.

I don't worry about cars coming through the side of the building, malicious food poisoning, or someone shooting the place up. These events have a disproportionate mental impact because their terribleness outweighs their improbability.

Besides, trying to predict the motivation and methods of a madman is futile. For all we know, the incident could begin with the villain shooting those he thinks most able to flee.
 
Ahoy 45 auto:

"How do you get the bad guys to let you know when you're going to have time to get an M22-4 out of your holster instead of using an M442 snubby fired from in your pocket? Do they send you email or something? " [45 auto]

Email....no. Snubby fired from pocket...possible from jacket pocket, but from pant pocket it is difficult, very loose pants required.

Assuming the assailant was within 10 feet I would draw and fire my IWB snubby, i.e. a M396NG. And I draw and fire quicker than most folks can blink.

But you missed the point, I would not use a M442 against a perp/s 30 feet or more out ... that's when I would prefer the M22-4.

Usually carry a primary and 2 New York reloads, and what comes out first is what the situation demands.

"...I live in New England." [.22lr]

Well I live in Michigan, and my favorite restaurant is in Detroit. Great food.

Check your 6.
 
Along the perimeter of the room.
I try not to put my back to the door.
If I can pick the table I also like to sit where I can see my parked vehicle out a window if that is possible.
 
According to the World Health Organization, it is much more likely that the greatest threat comes from what is on your plate rather than where in the restaurant your plate happens to be.
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I would agree food poisoning or choking on your food or driving to the restaurant is much more likely to kill you than someone coming in and starting shooting at you. PS is America turning into a nation that risk averse that they can't go to the restaurant toilet shower sit in there own house etc without worrying if someone is going to shoot them. :rolleyes:
 
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I would agree food poisoning is much more likely to kill you than someone coming in and starting shooting at you.
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I would say the chances of you getting a plate of food that will kill you is greater than the chances of someone coming in and starting to shoot.

However, all else being equal.....it is easier to fight off a bout of food poisoning than a couple of bullet wounds.
 
manta 49 said:
PS is America turning into a nation that risk averse that they can't go to the restaurant toilet shower sit in there own house etc without worrying if someone is going to shoot them.
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You're talking to a forum of firearms enthusiasts. For better or worse, the thoughts/opinions represented in this thread do not represent the vast majority of Americans, most of whom never consider the "tactical" aspects of anything in their lives. The key is "Americans". We are free to make that choice and no one else has to like it. Freedom. It sure beats.... everywhere else... in the world.

Stop by an auto racing forum. Lots of those guys have roll-cages and 5-point racing harnesses in their street cars. Technically, what they're doing is a lot more likely to save their lives than "tactically" picking where you might sit in a restaurant.

We're "gun people". We do tactics. They're car people. They do cars. Neither one can imagine how the other so totally ignores something so potentially deadly but we (both) do.

Sniff. Sniff. Smell that? It's FREEDOM.
 
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