Considering Off-Body Carry? Consider this.

I recently had a chance to try out a few options for off-body carry in the course of writing a recent article on concealed carry for Shooting Illustrated. The testing showed that it was easy to access my gun and quickly engage a target when the gun was stowed in a bag or Day-timer. This came as a bit of surprise to me: I’ve always carried on my belt or in my pocket and up until then, I never really considered off-body carry as a way to way to keep my gun out of sight.

I found out, though, that IF your bag is close by you, can get a gun into action pretty quickly. Not as fast as my daily carry untucked t-shirt, and not fast enough to pass the Federal Air Marshall test, but pretty fast nevertheless.

I’m still going to carry on my person whenever I can because that’s what I’m used to, but now that I know I can draw from a computer case or messenger bag with some degree of speed, I’d look at off-body carry as a way to carry a second gun or a bigger gun if I’m carrying in a pocket, and I’d definitely follow the 3 rules of off-body carry that noted gun writer and TV host Michael Bane laid out in his concealed carry DVD.

1. If you’re the kind of person who consistently loses their car keys, glasses or other important items, don’t do it. 
2. Once you’ve made the decision to carry off-body, the bag/purse with the gun in has to go with you everywhere. 
3. You have to “Go to the gun” earlier in the encounter than you would with a belt or pocket holster.

Numbers 1 and 2 are unique to off-body carry: If I carry on my belt or in a pocket, that gun stays in its holster all day long, and I know where it is at any given moment, something may or may not be true with a bag or case that I’m carrying, which means you have to know where your bag is every moment of the day, and that includes the restroom, the dinner table, you name it.

And number 3? Well, going to the gun early is just a good idea, no matter how you carry.

The Gun To Carry If You Can Carry Only One

There’s been some discussion lately over whether the new, popular pocket 9mm are really useful or not. I can dig it. They do seem like a solution in search of a problem. They’re pushing the boundaries of what could be considered a “pocket pistol”, but don’t offer the control and accuracy of a compact or subcompact 9mm. 

But. 

I consider the ultra-compact 9mm to be the “scout rifle” of concealed carry. No, they are not as concealable as a pocket .380, and no, they are not as powerful as a .45 and no, they are not as accurate as a compact 9mm like a Glock 26 or a Springfield XD-M. 

However, a small single-stack 9mm is 85% of all those guns. Just like a scout rifle is the rifle to have if you can have only one, a single-stack 9mm allows you to carry your gun in the front pocket or on your waist and gives you seven rounds (or more of 9mm) to stop the threat. 

Small 9mm’s don’t do one thing really well, but an ultracompact 9mm does a whole lot of things fairly well, and they work really well as the CCW gun to have if you can only have one. 

Why did you decide to buy a gun?

Simple question, isn’t it? Why did you decide to join thousands and thousands of other people like yourself and purchase a firearm for self-defense? 

If you’re like me (and I know I am), it was because of a real threat (a psychotic relative) and a perceived threat (a rise in violent crime in the Phoenix area). Either threat is a very valid reason to arm yourself and your family against the threat of grievous bodily harm, and if you’ve done so already, congratulations, you’ve made the most adult decision you’ll ever make in your life. 

But what are you willing to defend with your gun? Your life? You family’s lives? Your co-worker’s lives? The life of a random stranger on the street? Your car? Your stuff? Someone else’s stuff? These are all questions you need to answer before your gun is in your hand, because there will NOT be time to answer them when the shooting starts. 

Let’s look at a recent VERY high profile court case, the trial of George Zimmerman. I’m not going to try to break down what happened that night and how it might apply to you: Massad Ayoob (who literally wrote the book on armed personal defense) already has done that for us. Instead, let’s look at the decisions made by Mr. Zimmerman before that fateful night. By volunteering to be a Neighbor Watch patrolman, Mr. Zimmerman made the decision that he was willing to intervene in the affairs of others (his neighbors), and by carrying a pistol while doing so, he decided he was willing to use lethal force to defend his life if needed. 

Were those the right decisions? Not for me to say: I wasn’t in his position, and a jury of his peers has exonerated him of any wrongdoing that night. I do know that I decided what is and is not worth my involvement when I started down the journey of concealed carry, and I heartily suggest everyone else do that as well. 

Get a book on the firearms laws of your area and read it cover to cover. Consult with a lawyer. Get training. Consider buying self-defense insurance. Talk with your spouse or significant other about what they consider is worth defending with your lives. Ultimately, you should consider what is important and irreplaceable in your life and what is not. For me, I can always by another TV set or car, but I can’t replace my wife and children.

Your gun is not a talisman of self-protection and the more you know now about when and if you’ll need to use it, the quicker and more effective you’ll be, if, God forbid, you need it to save your life or the life of someone else. 

Can you make the shot when you need to?

All of us here at TeamGunblogger support practical pistol shooting as part of a balanced approach to self-defense, and one of the reasons why I shoot competitions on a regular basis it to test my shooting skills in stressful situations. In other words, can I make the shot when it’s needed, and what are the limits of my shooting ability?

Case in point, Stage 10 from the 2012 USPSA Area 2 Championships, specifically the 1:07 mark in this video where I drop a round into a no-shoot as it covered up the “shoot” target.

I was confident I could make the shot and put two rounds into the shoot target before the no-shoot covered it up, except I couldn’t. My shooting skill couldn’t cash the check my mind was writing for it. The good news is, I gained this knowledge in the context of competition and not out on the street, where the consequences of not hitting your target (or hitting the wrong target) is a LOT more severe than just a few penalty points in a shooting match. 

 

 

Training at an IDPA Match

Let’s talk more about how competition, practice, training and concealed carry all fit together. JaciJ and myself shot an International Defensive Pistol Association match at Phoenix Rod and Gun Club last week at Phoenix Rod and Gun Club. Jaci shot it using her 9mm 1911-style pistol she uses for such matches, and I shot it with the 9mm Smith and Wesson Shield I carry with me on a regular basis. Jaci was shooting the match to get a good score, I was shooting it to practice my reactions if, God forbid, I need to use my pistol for defensive purposes. The difference is, unlike a lot of other competitors at that match who were shooting for a high score, I kept my (empty) gun on my hip after I was done shooting, then drove off and loaded it up with my 9mm defensive ammo of choice when it was safe to do so, because I shot with the gun I carry as a defensive firearm. 

Let’s look at two stages in the match that were, as they say, ripped from the headlines’s of today’s news and how Jaci’s approach and my approach to each was different because of our different goals for the match. 

Stage 4
Scenario: You are downtown when the Zimmerman trial verdict is announced. A group upset by the verdict begins to riot. At the buzzer, engage closest targets with two rounds each in tactical sequence while retreating to cover, then engage remaining targets with two rounds each in tactical priority. 

Here’s Jaci shooting this stage by the IDPA rules and as quickly as her shooting skills allow. 

I shot this stage slightly differently. I did a “tactical reload” in-between the two groups of targets, reasoning that I’d want to top up my gun if I had a break in the action, and swapped out the half-empty magazine in my gun with a full one from the mag pouch on my belt. This is perfectly legal by IDPA rules, but it won’t win you any matches because it’s slower than going to a “slide lock” reload. 

Stage 2
You come across a mob upset with the Zimmerman trial verdict attacking an innocent bystander. Engage all threat targets in tactical priority with two rounds each. 

Here’s Jaci shooting this stage so she gets a good score in the match. 

And here’s me shooting it, trying to approach it as I would in real life. I made sure I told the range officer running the stage beforehand that I was going to issue verbal commands to the targets before I engaged them, so as not to freak him out TOO much when I started yelling.

Another thing I learned on that stage? My Shield doesn’t lock back on an empty magazine, and needs to head to the gunsmith.

So which is better, shooting an IDPA match for good score, or shooting it for good practice for concealed carry? Well, that depends on what your shooting goals are. I look at IDPA as defensive pistol practice first, and a competition second (USPSA is where my competition freak flag flies). Jaci (and a whole buch of other people) see IDPA as a competition first and concealed carry practice second. Those two goals are both valid, and both can be accomplished in the context of an IDPA match with equal vigor. 

Update: Hey, if you’re reading this via the IDPA’s Facebook page or other points on teh interwebz, thanks for stopping by, and feel free to stick around!

Competition is a proving ground.

Don’t be this guy.

“Man in a Rush Accidentally Shoots Himself Outside Walmart“

Police say a man was shot in the hand after his gun fell out of its holster while he hurried across a parking lot to avoid holding up traffic outside a Pennsylvania Walmart store.

So he was doing the right thing (carrying his sidearm in a holster), but the holster wasn’t up to the basic task of keeping his gun on his person while running across a road. 

Chances are, this guy bought a holster because it felt right or looked nice or was comfortable to wear, and unless you’ve taken a serious training class where running around and “stress fire” with your daily carry gear is part of the agenda and sidearm OR competed in USPSA/IDPA with the same kind of rig, you’ll never know if what you have on you is capable of handling physical activity beyond pulling yourself up off the couch. 

A practical pistol match subjects you AND your equipment to a certain amount of artificial stress. Is it the real thing? No. Is it the closest thing you’ll get to the real thing? Todd Green, Mike Seeklander, Michael Bane and Massad Ayoob say yes, and I believe them. Finding out if your holster of choice keeps your gun safe in a match will spare you the embarrassment and danger of failing to keep it safe on the streets. 

Choosing a second gun

If you’re one of the thousands and thousands of new gun owners who have purchased a firearm for home and personal defense, chances are, you’ve purchased some form of small, concealable pistol that’s easy to carry and conceal on your person. 

This a good choice, because a firearm that’s ready and safely close by is more  much more likely to help defend your life than a gun that’s unloaded under your bed. And make sure you get training above and beyond what’s required to own and/or a carry a firearm in your state. A CCW permit is just that: A permit, it is NOT a training program. There are many, many, good firearms training programs out there to choose from. Personally, I’m a fan of the NRA Personal Protection classes and Combat Focus Shooting instruction, but if you look around and ask around, I’m sure you’ll find a good instructor who’s near where you live.

So what’s a good gun to buy after you’ve purchased and familiarized yourself with your defensive firearm? What gun should you buy next? We’ll, that depends on a number of factors. If you’ve bought a rifle, shotgun or larger pistol for home defense, you may want to consider buying a smaller pistol for concealed carry so you can stay safe outside of the home as inside of it. 

If you have a pistol that works for concealed carry and home defense, consider purchasing a rifle that shoots .22 Long Rifle ammunition. .22 rifles are lightweight, VERY easy to shoot and the ammo is cheap to buy. .22 rifles are very common guns and will help teach trigger control and sight picture: There’s a reason why the Boy Scouts use them to teach marksmanship to young kids, and they’ll help shooters of any skill level get better. 

Something like the Ruger 10/22 is perfect for this job. It’s inexpensive, easy to find and can be endlessly accessorized and customized so you end up with a gun that’s right for your needs. Buy one today, and you’ll have a gun you can keep as an heirloom for future generations, 

Thinking About Getting A Concealed Carry Permit?

You’re not alone if you are. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that concealed carry and personal defense is what’s driving the recent uptick in gun sales. 

Applications for “concealed-carry” permits are soaring in many states, some of which recently eased permit requirements. The numbers are driven in part by concern that renewed gun-control efforts soon could constrain access to weapons, along with heightened interest in self-defense in the wake of mass killings in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo. 

People are beginning to realize they are and always will be their own first responder and are getting a permit to carry a concealed firearm with them because a cop is too big to carry in a holster. 

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