What Handicap? Concealed Carry Gun Training
“…it is unlikely that folks like us will be able to pass some of the tough concealed carry training courses. We need a middle ground…”
by Cody S. Alderson
United States Concealed Carry Association
USCCA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Sometimes the older we are, or the more out-of-shape that we are, we get pushed to the back of the class when it comes to the efforts of some of concealed carry’s best instructors.
I believe that regardless of whether or not a so-called handicap is or is not the fault of a person, that the person still deserves the best training in concealed carry defensive tactics that they can effectively perform.
I also am of the opinion that there is a huge (pardon the pun) market for such training.
I got fat because I kept eating the same amount of calories that I consumed when I was digging trenches, climbing ladders, and carrying eighty pound bags of concrete. So basically getting fat was my fault. Then a few things happened with injury and disease that makes it super tough to get back on track physically, but it’s still relatively easy to eat some potato chips instead of carrot sticks.
Come on–many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. We all have excuses and rationalizations to go along with our real reasons for our current level of physical conditioning and ability.
Maybe you just got old and frail, but still want to be able to defend yourself while taking a trip out to the local eatery for a bite of dinner with the spouse (senior discount of course). Maybe you use a cane, a wheelchair, or other mobility or adaptive equipment. Does that mean you should be on the same list with concealed carry training as our new version of government healthcare would like to put you on? Absolutely not! But on the other hand, it is unlikely that folks like us will be able to pass some of the tough concealed carry training courses. We need a middle ground.
Let’s start out with a ‘criminal tied to a pole three yards away from two good guys holding guns’ scenario. Hypothetical, of course. Both good guys are each holding a .38 Special revolver of identical make and model. Both are loaded with the same make and type of ammunition. Both qualified with the same score shooting stationary targets while standing in one spot. Both are instructed to hit the bad guy with three shots center mass. Bang, bang, bang . . . Bang, bang, bang. Bad guy is dead. Hypothetically, of course. Both good guys with the guns hit their target three times center mass as instructed. No problem.
The problem comes in when more dynamics are thrown into the scenario. Good Guy number one is a thirty-eight year-old former Navy SEAL. He left the military after a fantastic career to become a S.W.A.T. officer of a major metropolitan city. He trains in tactics three times per week, every week, and responds to about eight S.W.A.T. operations calls per month for his area and surrounding jurisdictions. Good Guy number two is a seventy year-old retired office worker who was chubby while he was in the work force, and got a bit fatter after the grand kids arrived. He’s got some emphysema from too many cigarettes in years passed and a really bum knee from that time he fell down the stairs.
For the stand in place scenario of shooting the tied-up bad guy, the two men were essentially equal in their abilities to perform the required task. Let the bad guy loose from that pole, give him a loaded gun, and the differences in abilities will readily become apparent. Does this mean that Good Guy number one deserves to live more than Good Guy number two? No. But is it more likely that Good Guy number one will be better equipped to survive the suddenly changed scenario? Obviously that is a yes.
Though physical ability and training do not equate in an exact one-to-one ratio in probabilities of surviving a violent encounter, simply because of the variables, it is just common sense that better training will up the odds of being able to survive a violent encounter as will better physical abilities. Just like a surgeon is more likely than me to be able to successfully remove a ruptured appendix from someone since I’m not a surgeon, it is more likely that a highly trained soldier or law enforcement officer will be better able to survive extreme violence than me.
Believe me; I am under no delusion that I am some sort of Superman. And you shouldn’t be either, about yourself. Even if you are Good Guy number one! As I read from a survival writer on how we all think that we are the heroes of our own action movie and how that is such a dangerous delusion, so should we all be diligent to not imagine beyond the true reality of our individual abilities.
Fortunately for us concealed carry permit holders, we are all human beings. Human beings are incredibly adaptable to almost any situation and condition. It is built into us to want to survive. And we can adapt quickly too. Another positive for the old-timers among us is that there is a higher likelihood of having to have endured many more severe hardships growing up than much of the last couple of generations. You know what pain is, and you know how to make it through tough times. You have points-of-reference for handling the worst that life can dish out. In other words, you are tougher than you might be aware of.
So I’m not Superman, and I’m not Caspar Milquetoast either. Now I have to find the real balance of the self-defense me. That is if I can keep my balance. Those blood pressure pills sometimes make me woozy!
As I have determined certain things worthy of my own self-defense toolbox, I thought I might share a few with you here. As an important aside, if you are floating along in the same boat as me, as far as the points in this article, please let USCCA know if you would like to hear more about this from me.
Okay the basics of having a gun and knowing how to use it are a given for this article, so let’s pick up from there. Right up there at the top of my “Be able to do list” is being able to draw and fire my defensive weapon fast. The standard I keep reading about is being able to draw and hit the target within 1.5 seconds. I do agree that is the goal we should be working toward.
I would like all of my so-called handicapped concealed carry permitted friends to seriously take a hard look at both the gun that they choose to carry, and the on body mount of that gun no matter if it is some kind of holster or other method or apparatus. Most of the slow down comes more from the gun and carry position for non-handicapped people. For those who have any sort of common handicap, a poor gun and holster choice will just exacerbate the slow down.
It certainly would be a sad thing to have a news story written about a victim of violent crime that included a line of how video showed that he tried to use his legally carried firearm to defend his life, but the perpetrator of the crime was quicker.
You’ve probably heard about how fast a gun can be put into action using a gun that is in a coat pocket with a proper firing grip already on the gun (index finger straight and off the trigger). Maybe you’ve even seen video of an instructor firing a revolver through a coat pocket. Now that’s fast. And when the weather and other variables allow such carry, by all means use it if it works for you.
One doesn’t have to be the fastest draw around, but there should be continued practice to get to that 1.5 second time. Oh, and do it safely. Repeating a safe and smooth draw over and over builds the speed correctly. Trying to speed up a sloppy draw will get your foot shot, possibly something even worse!
If there is someone out there who is on the handicap list of concealed carry permit holders who has been carrying for decades or just a few weeks, I’d like to suggest something to consider. If that person is comfortable with their self-defense abilities and toolbox, that is fine. However, if there is someone who is concerned about their ability to quickly put their weapon into action, I would like to suggest a couple of things.
1. Reconsider the gun choice. Maybe a smaller, larger, thinner, fatter, or other change may make a difference. I can’t decide that for you sitting here typing this without knowing you, but I did think about it for myself and found what works for me. Consider whether or not a change to the opposite of what is carried may be of benefit as well. Carrying a revolver? Try an autoloader and vice versa.
For me, a 1911 in .45 ACP fits me and draws really fast. Ergonomically it fits me like a glove. I can manipulate the safety, slide stop, slide, magazine release, hammer, and trigger perfectly. No other gun fits me like the 1911. You might get such a fit out of a 1911, and maybe you won’t. That’s why a good gun store lets us handle the product before we purchase it.
2. Consider a fast drawing holster that does provide automatic retention. If you are reading this article in hopes of learning something to personally put to use, it is unlikely that you are a super duper special agent. So don’t act like one. You don’t want to make it easy for a sociopath to grab your gun, nor do you want it to clatter on the floor if you happen to have to go Number 2 in the public stall!
BLACKHAWK SERPA Holster
The Blackhawk SERPA platform of holster with the retention built in is my favorite at this time. It provides for a smooth natural draw, and the gun is locked solidly in the holster until I want it to come out.
Those two things can greatly improve one’s speed of deploying their weapon in a critical moment. The next is where on the body the weapon is carried. That’s another set of experiments the reader needs to carry out. Climate, attire, level of concealment needed, and other variables are too varied for me to give something here that will work for everyone.
What I’d rather accomplish here is to get the interested reader out of their apathy and complacency and into a re-evaluation mindset. Never considered shoulder carry? Consider it. Never considered appendix carry? Consider it. Then there are sub methods to each carry style. There are horizontal, vertical, and inverted shoulder carry options. For the appendix carry, there is the consideration of the level of cant (angle of tilt) of the holster. Once again the SERPA shines here. Not only can the cant be adjusted, but there are many options as to where the SERPA can be carried on the body. (For inverted shoulder carry a secondary retention system is recommended in case the primary fails. Because an upside-down gun can fall out a lot easier).
This has just been the beginning of leveling the playing field for those who have certain physical issues that they need to adapt concealed carry methods for. There is so much more, and I’d like to have opportunity to tell you about it.
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