Backup Plan

With all the endless varieties and kinds of knives out there, you’d think that someone would have made something specifically designed as an off-hand carry knife for people who carry a CCW gun on the strong side. 

And you’d be wrong. 

All I want is a knife that’s…

• Small, so it doesn’t take up a lot of room in the pocket, yet have a decent blade (2.5″+) blade length.
• Inconspicuous, so it doesn’t scream “Hey, I have a REALLY SCARY KNIFE ON ME!!!” (I work in an office).
  
• Tip down carry, or ideally, reversible for strong or weak hand carry.
• Assisted opening or something similar so I can get it into action if my other hand is on my sidearm. 
• Cheap-ish, so if I lose it, I’m not out $100+. 

Right now, as part of the four things you should carry every day besides your carry gun, I have a Boker AK74 on me. The Boker is 3 1/2 of those 5 items (it’s a tip up, and is a tad bigger than I like), but it’s not quite what I want in a backup knife, and neither is the CRKT Pazoda I carried before that. I want something that I can get into play rightthisverysecond if someone tries to grab my sidearm and will help convince said person that trying to grab my gun was a very bad idea. 

I know a knife like that is out there somewheres, and if you’ve seen something like that, leave a link in the comments. 

It’s ok not to be tactical.

Craig “Sawman” Sawyer (who I met this week) has some thought-provoking words on the differences between combat and competitive shooting. 

Because there is no sudden, inter-human violent confrontation, civilian competition shooting simply is unlikely to present such stress on the shooter. If the shooter experiences this level of stress shooting in a civilian sporting competition, I’d have serious concerns about his ability to perform to any degree, whatsoever, in a real life and death confrontation. Conversely, just because someone has performed well in combat, that doesn’t mean they will necessarily do well against experienced competition shooters in their environment. Someone who trains extensively for perfect conditions will absolutely become very good in those conditions. We all adapt to the stimulus we’re challenged with most often. 

I agree with what he’s saying for the most part. I compete in USPSA Production, IDPA SSP and 3 Gun Tac Limited, which means the guns and equipment I use in competition are pretty much like the guns I use to protect my family. In the case of IDPA, they are, in fact, the exact same equipment as what I carry. Unlike a lot of competitors in that sport, I use an IWB holster and draw from an untucked t-shirt, rather than use a “shoot me first” vest and speed rig to gain a competitive advantage. I want the training and the practice I get ON the range to match up as closely as I can to what I’m likely to face OFF the range.  

I also agree with Craig in the futility of emphasizing “gun solutions” in practical shooting competitions. Competition, and most firearms training classes as well, tend to teach that gun solutions above all else, rather than a tiered response to different threats (or lack thereof. Gun guys teach that every personal defensive problem has a gun solution. The dojo teaches that every problem has a punch, kick or throw solution. Very few people are teaching people not in uniform how to integrate the two . 

The one thing I’d say about Craig’s article is the need for more understanding on the “tactical” side of the aisle about what we “civilians” need to know. We probably won’t experience combat, and we’re perfectly ok with that.

I don’t want to know what it’s like to lay down cover fire or call in an airstrike; that’s the military’s job, nor do I want to form a CQB stack and clear a room like a SWAT team. All I want to do is keep my family safe in an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world. Nothing else is like combat: I accept that fact 100%. I didn’t serve in the military, and I know my limitations. I’m fully aware that competitive shooting doesn’t equal actual combat in terms of danger, stress level or having to dealing with chaotic situations. 

But I still want to keep my family safe. 

I wasn’t a smokejumper and I don’t know how to run a 3 inch line from the hydrant to the fire, but I still have a fire extinguisher and a fire escape plan. I’m not an EMT or a trauma surgeon, but I still have a first aid kit and field bandages nearby at all times. And I didn’t serve on the front lines as Craig and millions of other brave men and women did and are doing, but I still keep my eyes open and have the will and the means to deal with a violent threat near me at all times.

I know enough (I hope) to keep my family safe in case something unexpected happens. You do what you can, not what you should.

I fully understand that what I’m learning in the dojo or on the sparring mat isn’t actually a bar fight or a mugging. But it helps. I know that an IDPA stage isn’t really a violent robbery attempt. But it helps. I know a Figure Eight drill isn’t dealing with an active shooter. But it helps. 

Along with millions of other people, I’ve realized I am my own first responder. How I’ll respond in a crisis remains to be seen, and quite frankly, I hope I never find that out. But if it happens, I’ll do what I can to keep myself and my family as safe as possible. 

Todd Green, who has a history with Law Enforcement and is one of the top pistol trainers out there, says it a lot better than I can: 

Possibly the biggest benefit of competition is that it is often the most stressful shooting many people will ever be exposed to. While obviously not the same as being in an actual gunfight, shooting in a competitive event in front of peers and strangers will do a great job of showing you just how easy it is to make mental mistakes under stress. Learning to stay focused on the task at hand and building experience fixing mistakes under pressure both have legitimate real world payoffs. 

At the end of the day, there are pros and cons to competition shooting for the ‘defense-minded’ shooter. But, the pros are pretty universal and the cons are really only cons if you let them be. Because whether you stay true to your original purpose or give in to the dark side and become an absolute gamer, you’re still getting more time on the range and more experience shooting complex problems under stress. As long as you don’t fall into the trap of thinking that winning at a game makes you an honorary gunfighter, competition is a fun and effective way to become a better shooter. 

Oh, and one more reason to shoot IDPA or USPSA: They’re outrageously fun sports to participate in and the people you shoot with are some of the best people on earth. If you haven’t done so already, I suggest you find a range nearby and give them a try. You’ll be amazed at what you learn about yourself and your equipment. 

Practice What You Can Practice

Time are tough right now. Unless you’re an LEO or in the military, finding ammo for practice and training is well nigh impossible. 9mm, .223, .40, you name it, it can’t be found. Here’s a few suggestions to help keep your firearm skills sharp while we weather this ammo drought.

Learn something new. 

I took a two-hour sporting clays class earlier this month and had a blast. I’ve never really had any instruction on wing-shooting, and those two short hours helped me bust more clays than I did before. Is it tactical? Probably not. Is it fun? Oh yeah. Next time I’ll use my Mossberg 930SPX, just to get in a little bit of loading practice and work on those popper/flying clay pigeon combo targets so common in 3 Gun. 

In a similar vein, why not take some time and get re-acquainted with your rifle? No, not the AR-15 that has enough stuff hanging off its rails to decorate a Hanukkah bush. I’m talking a RIFLE, a bolt-action or semi-auto gun in a major caliber (bigger than .223) that can reach out and touch someone beyond where your M4gery can reach. After all, you’ll want to find out that you need to update your rifle with new accessories or a new scope NOW and not when you really need to make the shot. Besides that, the slow pace of a precision rifle work means you won’t burn through your precious ammo supply at a fast rate, and you can find hunting calibers (.30-06, .243, 7mm, etc) right now, even if the more common calibers are all gone from the store shelves. 

Practice without ammo 

Sure, there’s dry fire practice, and dry fire practice can be very good for things like quick reloads and finding out where’s the best location for all your daily carry. Dry fire practice is also very good for getting rid of any latent tendency to jerk the trigger (and I let you know how good when I get rid of mine…), but caveat emptor: Repeating a mistake in dry fire over and over again means you’ll repeat that mistake over and over again with real ammo. 

Airsoft is another option for practicing without ammo. You can find gas or electric action airsoft guns that feel and work just like most common semi-automatic pistols and rifles, which means you can you practice with all those accessories you bought like holsters and mag pouches, but not have to wear ear protection while doing so. Again, it’s not the same as real ammo, but it sure beats sitting around waiting for your backordered .45 to show up. 

Those are just two suggestions: What else are YOU doing to get through this current ammo shortage? 

Training with a .22

At last week’s IDPA match, it became abundantly clear that I needed some more practice

Because, quite frankly, I sucked. 

I’ve had trigger control problems for quite a while, and they’ve returned to haunt me due to a prolonged absence from shooting earlier this year. Controlling trigger jerk is easy in theory; keep a smooth press backwards from start to BANG, then smoothly let off until the trigger resets. 

That’s the theory. In reality, in middle of a shooting competition, things don’t always happen that way. Consider this simple IDPA stage from last week’s competition 

This is why muscle memory is so important. Because my brain was busy with sorting out the stage procedure, I had little to no bandwidth available for the basics of “aim, breathe, squeeze” required to make an accurate shot. Instead, I had to rely on my body knowing what was the right thing to do because I had repeated it over and over again in practice. 

Which brings me to .22 caliber pistols. 

 .22 is CHEAP. A box of 325 good-quality Federal .22LR rounds is under $20 at the local big-box store, which makes extended training sessions inexpensive and fun, and with the lower recoil of a .22, it’s easier to feel how your finger is moving on the trigger. 

I own a Smith and Wesson M22a with a red dot sight which is a great gun for isolating out trigger movement from the other actions of shooting a pistol. The trigger on it is… adequate. It’s about a 5 lb pull with a good reset, but the break is kind of non-existent, however, because it has a red dot scope on it, I can concentrate on the process of how my finger is moving on the trigger and leave the worry of sight alignment behind me. 

Here’s the results.

I set up this target at 10 yards and started out the practice session by shooting at the bottom right target and finished it by shooting at the top right target. You can see that as I concentrated more on how I was controlling the trigger, my groups improved until I was dropping them pretty much all inside the bullseye.

Total cost? 50 rounds of .22 and a hour of my time. 

This is why using a .22 for practice make so much sense. Unless you’re flinching or having other issues with recoil, a .22 lets you correct most common shooting problems without breaking the bank. 

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