Playing Dead as Self defense - examples

This is a normal survival technique in the wild when overwhelming force is encountered.

Especially when you are in a pack of prey being attacked and surrounded by dead prey.

Yea,that's right I said dead prey.

This is when we revert to our animal instincts to survive.

Some will flee,some will die and some will hide among the dead hoping to not be seen as alive and a threat.

This ain't a strategy I hope I ever have to use.
 
"Hope" is not a plan.
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Nobody here is talking about using hope as a plan, though I am sure just about everybody uses it.

Ask Mr. Possum how that works on a motivated predator.

Mike
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I don't speak possum, but I do read and understand English and lots of folks using the tactic are very much alive to tell about it when they were dealing with motivated predators. That is why I provided the links, Mike, so that others could read or listen to them as well.
 
and lots of folks using the tactic are very much alive to tell about it when they were dealing with motivated predators.
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I am glad it worked for them, no guarentee it will work for everyone every time tho.
 
I am glad it worked for them, no guarentee it will work for everyone every time tho.
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I do like this sort of response. It points out that an idea or plan won't work 100% of the time and hence indicates that it might should be avoided as a result. Of course, fighting it out with guns is another venue about which there is no guarentee it will work every time either.

I am still looking for the one plan that does work 100% of the time. None seem to qualify short of not actually being where the bad things happen.

I found this post interesting. One of our own members has used playing dead to save his own life...

About 12 or 15 years ago, my condo was broken into while I was in my home office. I heard some noise and started towards the front door. At first I thought it was maintenance coming to do some work until I saw two guys with guns. Because of circumstances that would take too long to explain here, they probably thought I was not at home and they were surprised as I was. The results of their surprise was a volley of bullets, some of which hit me while I was running down the hallway heading back for my home office. To make a long story short, I played dead while they quickly grabbed valuable art work and some electronics. I was bleeding profusely and struggling to maintain consciousness. When I heard them leave, I found the telephone and called 911. I had the telephone in my hand, made my way to the front door and locked it, hoping the police would arrive before the crooks came back for any more stuff.
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Needless to say, the ploy worked. Once the intruders believed him to be down for the count, they left him alone.
Taken from...
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=446125&page=2
 
After having been in a situation where a firearm was pointed at me with malice of forethought, I can assure you, your response to the threat will either be reactive or active.

Your response will come from your core being. It will be a combination of your training, emotions, fears, worldview and emanate from a quick assessment of the situation and circumstances.

It is hard to say what you will do but it can usually be categorized into two distinct parameters: fight or flight. Feigning death is not a bad idea given the right scenario.

I believe the only variable you can control is whether your response will be active versus reactive. The same holds true for many other events we go through and encounter daily such as driving an automobile. Life is a serious matter. Choose to be pro-active instead of re-active via the use of strategies, physical training and above all, prayer.
 
Before I resorted to that particular tactic, I would have to be absolutely without another possible option whatsoever.

I do have a good friend and co-worker that was in Vietnam, and it worked for him. His squad was ambushed by vastly superior numbers, and after being wounded by schrapnel, he was unable to withdraw. An enemy combatant saw him struggling on the ground, approached within 30 or so feet, and drew careful aim with a revolver. My friend held his hand up in front of his face and was shot in the wrist. The round shattered his wrist and passed on without hitting anything else, and my friend played dead. The enemy obviously thought his coup de grace did the job and moved on. My friend has a fused wrist, and one hell of a story.
 
What is the right plan

Interesting responces. Makes one realize that the only one with a solid plan in one of these situations is the BG. Im not saying us law abiding citizens have no plan, but the BG has most likeley rehearsed this over and over prior to the confrontation.
As I go about my daily routine in areas where carry is not allowed, I look at the building layout, loose items that can be picked up, and secondary exits.
It is truly amazing what one see's when they are formulating a "What If" plan.
 
Im with DNS. Looking at the evidence, while not at the top of my playlist, I will be keeping that option in there.
 
A couple of thoughts.
1. The bear is a different situation- the bear doesn't want to kill you- it wants to drive you off. By rolling up and not moving the bear (hopefully) breaks off the attack.
2. "Playing dead" you are putting yourself totally at the mercy of your enemy- I would NEVER do that unless I was unarmed and I could not flee, in other words, only as a last resort. If I could dive out a window- 2nd or third floor- I think I'd prefer that.
3. On the battle field, a lot of times all the "dead" enemy get another bullet in the head just to make sure they are really dead. There's been too many incidences of dead soldiers coming back to life and killing guys.
My own experience- if I don't see a lot of blood, etc- I get real suspicious. I myself would never play dead unless I had absolutely no other choice.
 
I am still looking for the one plan that does work 100% of the time.
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I belive we all are, but not every instance is the same. Keep a cool head, try not to panic, is first and foremost.

That is what the instructors say, lose your head and you may lose your head.
 
It's fair to say that's an accurate assessment of any action you take in a deadly force encounter.

That is, any strategy you employ in a deadly force encounter may well result in you being dead.

The bigger picture is there's obviously no single strategy that will work every time. It makes sense to have at least considered various strategies and think about what scenario might result in choosing a particular strategy. That helps avoid the situation where you treat every threat like a nail because the only strategy you have ever considered is to swing a hammer at it. Forgive the badly mangled metaphor... :D
 
That is, any strategy you employ in a deadly force encounter may well result in you being dead.
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I agree completely but playing dead completely negates any possibility of stoping the threat with an apporpriate amount of force. Id prefer to be on my feet and not on my belly if Im taken out.
 
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Had a real life situation occur just recently that pertains to this thread. Two coworkers whom I do not know personally were victims of a mugging turned deadly while on the job. Both victims were in a small enclosed space (think 10x10 operating cab). There are two doors, one in the front and one to the rear.

The mugger entered through the unlocked rear door and immediately shot victim one, only injuring him. Victim two attempted to retrieve his firearm which was located in a overnight bag but was unable to as he was fired upon by the mugger and killed. The mugger then proceeded to rummage through the pockets of both victims after shooting both occupants.

All through this, victim one maintained the presence of mind to remain still, which seemingly caused the attacker to believe that he was in fact dead. While I can't say if "playing dead" is appropriate sometimes in a life or death situation, I can say it was right for victim one this time.

Also : These are the facts as I know them.
 
I agree completely but playing dead completely negates any possibility of stoping the threat with an apporpriate amount of force.
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Or maybe it preserves your life long enough that you can pick a time to react to the threat with an appropriate amount of force.

As the above scenario demonstrates, not every situation is appropriate to a "react with force" strategy. I guess one can decide that he's always going to react with appropriate force no matter the outcome, but it's clear that's not always the best strategy for survival. Sometimes the odds are stacked so badly against you that the stand and fight approach is nothing but suicide.
 
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