Do you check reflections?

[The Wall]

Yes to original post. It's something that you have to practice in order for it to become automatic. Kinda like looking in the rear view mirror before changing lanes. Parking lots are good place to really be on the look out. Don't just look at cars look through them. It becomes a natural tendency after you do it for awhile. I have several police officers in the family and they are very aware of their surroundings. Even when off duty. My brother in-law sees all kinds of things that most people wouldn't even notice driving down the road. Being on the look out is a major part of police officers job.

[Pawpaw]

God I hate being a millennial.

[minytrker]

Yes, all the time. I also always sit in where I can see the entrance of a restaurant and look for exits. I always pay attention to my surroundings, vehicles, people etc that my wife or most other people never notice. It just got be second nature with my military training and from spending so much time overseas. I also carry every where, even at home just like second nature. I dont consider myself paranoid at all, just like to know what's going on in my surrounding area.

[TexasTornado]

God I hate being a millennial.

[Abraham]

Micah Tyler's take on millenials is great.

To be fair, not all them are hopeless, so that's a reason not to despair...

[LucasMcCain]

Situational awareness is one of the most important skills you can learn and practice. If you don't see the threat coming, all the combat training in the world probably won't help you.

This point was impressed upon me recently. I was riding my motorcycle home just after dark from a birthday party. My phone alarm reminding me to remind my wife to take her medicine started going off, so I pulled into a parking lot to turn it off. I was in a neighborhood that I can't afford to live in, so wasn't really worried about the fact that almost all of the businesses in the strip mall I was in were closed. I just pulled up near the one that was open, which was a convenience store. There was only one car present, on the other side of the convenience store's parking area. I put the kickstand down, fished my phone out of my pocket, took a glove off so I could mess with it, turned the alarm off, and looked up to see a large man walking directly at me across the parking lot from my 3 o'clock. Having already scanned my surroundings, I knew the only reason he would be walking in my direction would have to do with me. At that point he was about 20 feet away. I looked intently at him, put my phone back in my left pocket and moved my right hand near the Glock on my hip. He followed the motion of my hand and immediately became fascinated by the closed, dark, empty store window of the store to his left. Glove back on; bike in gear; roar of motor; gone.

Scanning my surroundings saved me. Looking up from what I was doing every few seconds saved me. Having a visible handgun saved me.

You can say "maybe he was asking for directions/money/a smoke." You weren't there. I saw that man, and he meant me harm. Seeing that I was armed and aware of him is what stopped him from doing me harm.

Check your reflections. Don't get engrossed in your phone. Be aware of what is going on around you. Today could be the day it matters.

[drjoker]

What is the mathematical probability of something happening? what is the cost of your preparedness? Ok, if you take the cost of not being prepared x the probability of the bad event = $X. If $X is < than your cost of preparedness or $Y, then you are overprepared. If $X >>> $Y, then you are underprepared. If $X => $Y then you are prepared just right.

Since checking your refliection wouldn't cost you any money, I'd say it is OK. It is only "scared" and "paranoid" if you check the reflection so much that your trips to the store are taking longer (time is money).

That said, I don't check reflections inside the convenience store. The probability of being attacked by someone who has been in the store for awhile is very low. Check out the Youtube videos. All attacks happen from people who've JUST walked in the store. Just pay attention to people who've JUST walked in the store.

If you're going to get attacked, it is going to be in the parking lot or by the pumps. So, yes, I do check the reflections in the parking lot and by the pumps.

I couldn't find another topic on this, other than a passing word or two in response to other threads. So, I would like to ask the forum members a question. First, let me offer some background.

I was having a conversation the other day with someone who is interested in getting their LTC. I answered their questions as best I could, and noticed that another person nearby was listening intently also. After a while the conversation turned from the process of getting the license to practical matters of every day carry, like holster types, position, situational awareness, etc. During the conversation, I mentioned that I am in the habit of checking reflections in the glass doors on the coolers inside of a convenience store, windows of vehicles at the gas pump, and so on.

The person nearby then put in their two cents worth and said, "I would hate to go through life being so scared that I looked for reflections in the glass to see who was behind me."

I tried to explain to them that I wasn't "scared" at all. I was just being aware of my surroundings, but they didn't buy it and walked off. The guy interested in getting his LTC gave them a scornful look as they walked away, and picked the conversation right back up.

So here is my question to the group. Am I at least a little bit over the top by checking the reflection in the glass every time I walk up to the drink coolers in a store? Or, am I just carrying responsibly?

And a foot note. The young man I was talking to has now taken his course, and submitted his documents. He has now been waiting a few weeks to get his license. Interestingly, the LTC course was given at his church.

[ScottDLS]

Situational awareness is one of the most important skills you can learn and practice. If you don't see the threat coming, all the combat training in the world probably won't help you.

This point was impressed upon me recently. I was riding my motorcycle home just after dark from a birthday party. My phone alarm reminding me to remind my wife to take her medicine started going off, so I pulled into a parking lot to turn it off. I was in a neighborhood that I can't afford to live in, so wasn't really worried about the fact that almost all of the businesses in the strip mall I was in were closed. I just pulled up near the one that was open, which was a convenience store. There was only one car present, on the other side of the convenience store's parking area. I put the kickstand down, fished my phone out of my pocket, took a glove off so I could mess with it, turned the alarm off, and looked up to see a large man walking directly at me across the parking lot from my 3 o'clock. Having already scanned my surroundings, I knew the only reason he would be walking in my direction would have to do with me. At that point he was about 20 feet away. I looked intently at him, put my phone back in my left pocket and moved my right hand near the Glock on my hip. He followed the motion of my hand and immediately became fascinated by the closed, dark, empty store window of the store to his left. Glove back on; bike in gear; roar of motor; gone.

Scanning my surroundings saved me. Looking up from what I was doing every few seconds saved me. Having a visible handgun saved me.

You can say "maybe he was asking for directions/money/a smoke." You weren't there. I saw that man, and he meant me harm. Seeing that I was armed and aware of him is what stopped him from doing me harm.

Check your reflections. Don't get engrossed in your phone. Be aware of what is going on around you. Today could be the day it matters

Maybe he was an undercover cop coming to see what a "biker" and potential 1%er was doing in that neighborhood near closed stores. Lucky you weren't in Tulsa.

ETA: Not to imply that you are anything but a law abiding citizen...just hypothetical.

[JustSomeOldGuy]

+1 for 'just practicing situational awareness'. Any technique that lets you know what's going on behind you is a good thing, be it with reflective surfaces, listening to footsteps, or observing people's shadows early or late in the day (you can't see the person if they're directly behind you, but you may get useful info from a long shadow that is partly in your peripheral vision).

[LucasMcCain]

Maybe he was an undercover cop coming to see what a "biker" and potential 1%er was doing in that neighborhood near closed stores. Lucky you weren't in Tulsa.

ETA: Not to imply that you are anything but a law abiding citizen...just hypothetical.

In all seriousness, that's why I didn't stop in front of one of the closed stores. I enjoy talking to police officers in social settings; not so much when they're acting in their official capacity.

[G26ster]

Situational awareness is one of the most important skills you can learn and practice. If you don't see the threat coming, all the combat training in the world probably won't help you.

Couldn't agree more!

Unfortunately, gun boards are awash in stories of folks who are proud of their situational awareness, in incidents they relate on-line, when in fact what they describe is the number one cause of the loss of situational awareness. Example:

" I noticed a shabbily dressed..., I followed him visually until..., I never took my eyes off him the whole time." They very fact that the person never took their eyes off the perceived possible threat is fixation or preoccupation. This is one of the the major clues that you have lost, or are losing, your situational awareness.

This is true in the aviation, maritime, medical, and many other fields, and is documented thru thousands of accident and incident investigations, not just my opinion.

In terms of self protection, fixating on a perceived threat means you may be totally unaware of what else is happening around you. The perceived threat may be just one of several players in the scenario unfolding, and perhaps even designed to distract and occupy your undivided attention, while the real threat goes unnoticed.

Just sayin'

[FPSCorvette]

being in the corrections business, ive also been trained to do this on a daily basis. I mean when you are surrounded by upwards to 1000 rapists, child molesters, murderers, and all around crazy people you get to the point where you do not trust the guy standing behind you.

[ShannonC]

Not paranoid at all. I'm always aware of my surroundings and look at reflections every where I go. If I'm in a store and here the door open I turn around look at the door. When walking by people I look them in the eye and speak. If I'm sitting at a stop light I scan my mirrors,leave a car length from the vehicle in front of me,and take a look at the people in the vehicles stopped next to me. I guess I am the way I am from this stuff being instilled in me growing up in the military by my dad.

[J.R.@A&M]

I don't consciously check reflections while out and about. But I do check my surroundings, so I suppose I have used reflections to do that.

I do check reflections at my place of work, because I installed one of those round store mirrors on an office wall to let me see who is at my door when I'm working on my desktop computer. The mirror is a joke among my office mates, but I was very intentional about getting it. I was also intentional about having a spot behind a book-filled credenza where I could dive and draw if I ever heard or saw a threat at the door. If that's paranoid, I don't really care. You good people are the only ones who know, and I trust you :)

[texasmr2]

I couldn't find another topic on this, other than a passing word or two in response to other threads. So, I would like to ask the forum members a question. First, let me offer some background.

I was having a conversation the other day with someone who is interested in getting their LTC. I answered their questions as best I could, and noticed that another person nearby was listening intently also. After a while the conversation turned from the process of getting the license to practical matters of every day carry, like holster types, position, situational awareness, etc. During the conversation, I mentioned that I am in the habit of checking reflections in the glass doors on the coolers inside of a convenience store, windows of vehicles at the gas pump, and so on.

The person nearby then put in their two cents worth and said, "I would hate to go through life being so scared that I looked for reflections in the glass to see who was behind me."

I tried to explain to them that I wasn't "scared" at all. I was just being aware of my surroundings, but they didn't buy it and walked off. The guy interested in getting his LTC gave them a scornful look as they walked away, and picked the conversation right back up.

So here is my question to the group. Am I at least a little bit over the top by checking the reflection in the glass every time I walk up to the drink coolers in a store? Or, am I just carrying responsibly?

And a foot note. The young man I was talking to has now taken his course, and submitted his documents. He has now been waiting a few weeks to get his license. Interestingly, the LTC course was given at his church.

Excellent question and I am glad you keep aware. I think if one is aware reflections are almost natural if not a learned habit. I think I learned my "aware of my surroundings" habit from growing up a hunter. I found this trait to also be very helpful when I became a police officer, my first two calls were domestic violence related so this trait/habit was very helpful.