[Miggy]

Here is why I am asking. About 3 weeks ago I am coming out of Wally World with the wife heading back to the truck. As usual I am doing my side-to-side head movement looking for things out of the ordinary when my wife makes a comment about some female’s wardrobe that was so loud it made Liberace look like a Mennonite. I went “where? where?” and she pointed at the woman. I couldn’t care less about the woman but what shocked me is that I did not register her at all even though I had scanned the area where she was!
The following days were ones of readjusting and trying to absorb everything I watched but all of the sudden I was confronted with way too much information and my scans were not as effective because I tended to focus too much which it is not bad if you are stationary, but it is hell on the move.
I went on to dissect what I was doing originally: Head moving side-to-side, looking for potential hiding places for BG’s, giving people a brief examination for attitude, pose, hands and eyes. Do they belong in the area? Yes? No? I guess I do a sort of mental quick checklist and discard the person if I feel he/she is not a threat. And all in an almost subconscious state of mind (P95’s spidey sense I guess) which is easier to do than the full “what-is-she-wearing” observation and I reverted to this type of scanning.

Now, I have no idea if I am doing it right or wrong or I am missing something and I want to know what you guys do and think while scanning.

 

[Bruces45]

Always scan for pretty wemen first, BG's second. J/K
I usualy scan around and make sure nothing out of the ordinary is happening, then head tward my vehicle continusly scanning my surroundings. I make a point of keeping my 6 scaned as I would rather be attacked from the front or side rather than the back.

 

[Redneck Repairs]

Be aware of any threat in your surroundings , you cannot have perfect recall of everything " i saw today " for a school report . you seem to be doing a fair job on identifying threats and regulating all else to background noise , as you spend more time armed and scanning it will be easyer to remember / notice the non involved all i have to say is i feel your fairly new to ccw and its all good , dont get your knickers in a knot lol you cannot get decades of experiance with it in weeks or months , but look at hands , look at " body posture " if someone is tense on either front there is a reason , it may not be a threat to me and mine but i will watch closer , if some gal is beat down and " huddled up " at wallmart i will be aware before i see the boyfriend who did it

 

[P95Carry]

To be honest - I am not sure that even with assiduous scanning, we can ''catch'' everything all the time.

The environment you mention is sometimes so loaded with input data there is a limit to how much we can take on board. I doubt you failed yourself at all really.

Within your scan (making of course too - good use of peripheral vision to catch movements) - the best we can achieve probably is a recognition of what seems odd or makes us uncomfortable - it may be movement in a particular zone, the nature of that movement or - simply , yep - ''spidey sense'' :smile:

I try and practice rapid data input and analysis - to include if possible even asking myself what garments I see (and sounds I hear) - just as practice, but frankly, repeating myself - there is simply a limit - data saturation if you will.

I guess in the end - we can only attempt to ever hone our skills - but seriously doubt even the best and most alert can take in the whole enchelda every time!

I would say - sorry, still rambling - I would make sure to prioritize scans in terms of distance. Sounds obvious and probably we mostly do it - but everything within let's say 10 yards is top priority - and as things become further away then they receive a lesser importance. We have to do something like this - simply to handle all the input (IMO).

 

[Redneck Repairs]

oo( i would be all over p95 and his dammed " spydy sense or how eaver da hell he says it ) if not for the fact that he trys to lable a hard to quantify quality , its situational awareness and tho i rebel at the lable applyed here all he says in support of it is valid its that " something is wrong " that you know and have to think about to come up with wtf is it that i belive he is talking aobut , we all have felt it , some of us have been able to identify it , the rest of us just " redeployed or relocated " till it went away , guys this " gut intuition is real , pay attention to it , but damm me i cant lable it to spydy sense LOL

 

[rocky]

I try to notice

1 out of place, dress folks.(this includes demenor and attitude)
2 possible vehicles ,areas of opportunity for an ambush
3 possible pretty women who might be single.

 

[Bruces45]

I try to notice
3 possible pretty women who might be single.

But by the time you can clearly see their fingers they are already in the "kill" zone, (10 yrd zone)

 

[SSKC]

As usual I am doing my side-to-side head movement looking for things out of the ordinary when my wife makes a comment about some female’s wardrobe that was so loud it made Liberace look like a Mennonite. I went “where? where?” and she pointed at the woman...what shocked me is that I did not register her at all even though I had scanned the area where she was!

Since you are male, you are psychologically programmed to involuntarily evaluate every human female as a possible mate. Therefore, there are two possible reasons that you did not "register" the woman you referred to:

A. She did not meet your appearance standards, and was therefore unfit to bear your children. This reaction is necessary for continued evolution of the species.

B. She was more than acceptable, but your "married self" overruled your "animal self," eliminating her from consideration. This takes places subconsciously thousands of times per day. It prevents staring at attractive women, and is required for survival of the individual (especially in the presence of your betrothed).:gah:

Okay. Sorry. Lame attempt at humor. Shame on me. :twak:

On a serious note, I read that when "scanning," you should scan in "spokes" rather than in "arcs." IOW, rather than sweeping your eyes from side to side like a radar, pick a direction (say, 12 o'clock) and scan along that line from close in to farther away, then repeat for 10 o'clock, 2 o'clock, etc. This is supposed to keep your eyes from fixating at a certain range, which may cause you to overlook or "underlook" (if there's any such word) an item of interest. I have been working on it for quite a while, and I think it helps.

SSKC

 

[rocky]

A. She did not meet your appearance standards, and was therefore unfit to bear your children. This reaction is necessary for continued evolution of the species.

B. She was more than acceptable, but your "married self" overruled your "animal self," eliminating her from consideration. This takes places subconsciously thousands of times per day. It prevents staring at attractive women, and is required for survival of the individual (especially in the presence of your betrothed).:gah:


SSKC

At least ya didn't say Miggy was ''the other way''!.:gah:

 

[Miggy]

At least ya didn't say Miggy was ''the other way''!.:gah:

Thank God for small favors.:banana:

 

[AKsrule]

Always look at peoples eyes.
If you make eye contact , most will quickly look away (sheep)
Some will match your glance (sheepdogs)
You will know when you see a Wolf.

 

[madmike]

Miggy,

I don't think you are doing anything wrong, at all. It may be that you are still in a learning phase.

After a while, what you are doing should begin happening in an automatic or subconcious mode. You'll do this without making a concious effort, but you will do it. It becomes part of your nature.

When that happens, you will probably be more aware of those things that are not a threat, such as pretty women! :yup:

Hopefully, you'll get good enough that you'll pick up on anything that isn't right, while taking note of the babes, and your wife won't notice either. :image035:

Or, just stay right where you are, at least the only threat you might not see coming will be the one from her.

mm

 

[Miggy]

mike, I do it (I think) like you said, but my wife managed to make me doubt related to what I was NOT seeing. I don't know if I am making any sense. It was like "How the hell did I miss that?!" I got worried I was missing important signs.
Then, when I tried to absorb more info, I found myself overloaded and unable to keep up with what was going on because I was paying too much attention to one individual... sort of missing the forest because of one tree thing.

but your "married self" overruled your "animal self," eliminating her from consideration.

True..very true, if I don't eliminate her from consideration, Mrs Miggy will eliminate me from hers in a very slow and painful manner :spankme:

 

[older gunner]

Miggy, A very interesting thread. I haven't been jumped or mugged, so I'm not sure if what I do is correct or adequate. However, here goes.
Try not to overload the senses. A full 360 scan of the area when starting and then rely on perpheral vision and keeping track of what's behind you. Let your subconscious warn you of anything out of place, i.e. a rapid movement towards you, or a change in direction, or an out of place type (like a cover garment maybe over a weapon when everyone else has T shirts and shorts). I also look carefully at vehicles I pass or that are next to me when I get to my vehicle. Last week I was parked next to a large van with a side door next to my car and the van had very dark windows. You can bet I looked that one over carefully and had myself primed to act if that door even cracked. As long as you are keeping alert, I think you will see or sense a threat. Hope this works and helps both of us.

 

[rocky]

you shouldn't need to see every detail. Just watch for the signs everyone has pointed out and be ready to react. It's like asking "Am I paranoid? Or not paranoid enough?"

 

[Geezer]

Good post for thought. When I'm leaving a store of any kind, I always pause outside for a few moments outside to "check my bags" and do a overall scan of the surroundings. (It is especially necessary for me to do this because of no perpheral vision on my right side.) Then I take an indirect route to my vehicle - never a straight route. Last year my wife and I had just left a local mall and were two rows over from where our truck was parked, when I realized that a car was slowly following - not looking for a space because there were plenty available. We quickly turned, crossed the two rows and they had no choice but to continue up the row. Luckly, they left the lot without any trouble. It could have been an innocent situation, but we'll never know. Purse snatchers love to use that method.

 

[ExSoldier]

Wow some great posts on this thread. Having read them all thus far, I'd have to say I identify the most with Older Gunner in my own habits...but I also strongly believe in the Spidey sense because mine has saved my hide many times over the span of my adult life. Somebody made a comment here that has inspired me to start a new thread with a new question....

 

[Rob72]

Patient asessment training has done it for me. I couldn't tell you what kind of clothing I just cut off, but I can tell you about wounds, angles, depth, possible mechanism of injury, skin color, deficits, etc..

As stated, generalities reveal specifics- look at the total scene. If someone "after you" is totally appropriate in the environment, and gives no "tells" before contacting you.....USSOCOM/CIA is out to remove you.:biggrin2:

 

[Betty]

I like sunglasses and their ability to hide my eyes while I can observe people without their knowledge. I've also noted that people who cannot see my eyes tend to not bother me or look at me as I walk by. Eyes project a wide range of emotions, and when covered, people have a harder time figuring out if you're friendly, food, or a predator. Removing the shades to give someone the evil eye is a great way to say "bug off" if evasive maneuvers haven't worked.

When not wearing shades, I will give hard eye contact if I feel like I'm being sized up, and I will acknowledge a person who is looking at me with a good ol' Southern howdy-do ma'am, but seem to ignore everybody else. You can observe people without giving them eye contact.

I prefer to scan with my head forward and eyes moving with an occasional over-the-shoulder glance, but when there's lots of objects and people in my surroundings, then I have to move my head around like an owl. Now if I could rotate my head almost completely around like an owl, that would be cool... and freaky. :lol:

 

[dpesec]

Miggy,
I do the spoke approach, drives my GF nuts. Hey, if I save her baccon once she'll never say another word.

Regarding you missing something. I suspect you didn't. You just disregarded it as a thread, well except for Mr. Blackwell perhaps. You can't remember everything. You likely noticed the lady, sized her up and said, nothing that could be a threat, so move on.

The biggest question is do you pick up on percieved threats?