We’ve all seen the warning signs: “Keep Hands and Feet Clear When Operating.”  Usually, such warnings are printed on things like mower decks or large pieces of machinery (like hay balers or jet engines) that can suck you into them with disastrous results for both you and the machinery. It is a prudent warning — and it applies to semi-automatic pistols and their operating
cycles.
 
Somewhere along the line, someone thought that it would be a good idea to violate the “keep hands and feet away” rule while shooting the pistol—a rule that originated with John M. Browning in the design of the 1911 and which was followed by the military.  The violation? The use of the shooter’s support hand to finish the reloading cycle by retracting  the slide, rather than using the slide release lever to accomplish the task more efficiently.

As a Small Arms Instructor with the U.S. Navy and now as a certified NRA Instructor, during which time I have been involved in or have supervised different transition phases with semi-automatic pistols, and rifles. 

A few years ago, someone thought that using the weak hand to clear a slide lock back on an empty pistol was to be preferred over using the provided slide release lever. I guess it looked “cool.” An excuse for this technique was promulgated that claimed that because people tend to lose some of their fine motor skills during the mind-altering stress of a gunfight, using the slide release during a reload was out of the question — it couldn’t be done. The larger gross motor skill area of the entire weak hand was needed to grab and
pull the slide back to the release point. Did anyone posit that if this were indeed true, the shooter would also not have had enough fine motor skills to pull the trigger? Apparently not.

Any time you put extra hands on an operating pistol, you run the risk of messing it up. Further, when reloading, you are wasting extra time by taking your support hand away from the grip after inserting the magazine, putting it over the top or at the rear of the pistol to retract the slide, letting it slingshot forward into battery, then moving it back to reacquire the shooting grip.  You can save quite a bit of time by simply hitting the slide release after inserting the magazine and re-acquiring your grip.

Using the slide release to accomplish the chambering of a round during a reload will save you a lot of time and will reduce the risk of inducing a malfunction of the machinery. Further, if one hand is out of commission in a gunfight, that lever will become very important. And no, I don’t believe in trying to hook the rear sight on a belt (if you are wearing one) to drop the slide—the release is right there! Maybe we need to have the lawnmower warning put on our pistols too.  Ok, that’s going a bit too far. Just give the
slide release a chance.

The attacks on “Stand Your Ground” laws, in Florida and elsewhere, are becoming more numerous. This is dangerous because so many people are woefully ignorant about what such laws do, and more importantly, what they don’t do.

One critic on TV called Florida’s law a “hunting license” and hysterically proclaimed that “you can shoot someone, and all you gotta do is tell police that you were defending yourself, and the cops can’t even detain you!” But not one person on the panel challenged him, leaving the casual viewer wondering if his
statement might actually be true.

Absurd? Of course. Anyone familiar with police procedures understands that they can pretty much detain any person for any reason, for as much as 72 hours, depending on the circumstances. But most people have little or no knowledge regarding law enforcement practices.

Reality is quite different. FindLaw is an excellent resource that I often use for basic legal information.  They provide a “quick reference” guide to states with Stand Your Ground laws, as well as those with some form of “duty to retreat” requirement:

“The following is a list of states that have enacted laws specifically affirming one’s right to stand your ground when defending yourself against a serious imminent threat, with no duty to retreat, so long as you are in a place you have a right to be in. States that have adopted a stand your ground doctrine through judicial interpretation of their self-defense laws are not included in this list:
 
Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah
 
As noted above, some states have self-defense laws, either through statute or case law, that are similar to stand your ground laws, but with at least one key difference. These laws generally apply only to the home or other real property (such as an office) and are often referred to as “castle doctrine” or “defense of habitation” laws. These states include:

Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia. 

A substantial minority of states have laws imposing a duty to retreat, with some important variations. The following states impose some form of duty to retreat before deadly self-defense is authorized:

Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Wyoming

 Laws on self-defense vary widely from state to state and may have minor, but crucial differences in their language and application. For an in-depth understanding of self-defense laws and how they work in your state, it may be best to check with a local criminal law attorney.” [source: FindLaw]

But remember that statutes are merely the tip of the legal iceberg and tell  little about how laws are implemented in the day-to-day administration of the criminal legal system. Remember that “the law” is complex, and from the cop on the street, to the prosecutor, the judge, and the jury, it is always being
interpreted differently.

Transporting a handgun encompasses a wide variety of scenarios, some of which include times where you may not be able to carry your gun concealed on your person but still must get it from point A to point B. What if, for instance, you lost your concealed carry license but still had your gun and needed to drive somewhere with it? In many states, the law may require you to lock the gun in a case and store it in the trunk of your car while transporting it. Or, for more survival minded persons, or those who want to store an antique or classic handgun without any fear of scratching or harming it, a highly protective case may be in order.

For years, Pelican has been making world-class protective cases for photographic and other electronic equipment — most recently cases for tablets and notebooks. The Pelican P1075 Pistol and Accessory Hardback Case is a “gun version” of the same Pelican case that houses and protects sensitive electronic equipment from the elements and the shocks and bumps associated with everyday use and beyond. Even if you would never purposely throw an iPad in the ocean, with this case you could and it would be fine.

The durable ABS construction combined with the Pick N Pluck™ foam interior allows you to accommodate and protect a variety of gear inside the case. Since the Pick N Pluck foam is customizable, the P1075 easily serves as a highly protective handgun case with a variety of applications. This is more than a glorified gun case, however, providing a handful of useful features, well suited to handgun transport.

Handguns by their nature are very tough tools. You’ve probably seen torture test videos online that show Glocks being frozen in salt water or Sig Sauers being dragged behind a pickup truck. Yes, they are tough guns! While that kind of durability has its place, some of us want to keep our handguns in pristine condition as a matter of their care and to maximize operational reliability. In other words, we’re going to do everything we reasonably can to protect these defensive investments. For those interested in maximum protection for a handgun, the P1075 provides high-strength ABS that is crushproof, dustproof, and watertight.

With a single latch that easily but firmly snaps open and closed, the two halves of the Pelican P1075 case form an impressive structure for a handgun and offer two points to lock the case in the closed position — usually a requirement for transport in a vehicle when the driver does not have a concealed pistol license. In addition, a built-in automatic purge valve maintains the appropriate pressure in the case while keeping dust and water out. Integrated strap holders allow you to carry the case easily using the included shoulder strap. You might get away with carrying the case on the notion that people will assume it holds your iPad or notebook. At some point, however, if you never open the case nor set it down, it might look suspicious.

Measuring 12.38″ x 9.75″ x 2.13″ — just slightly larger than a piece of paper in two dimensions — the case proved easy to store in a car trunk, in a briefcase or messenger bag, or even between two mattresses at home. These are hardly harsh environments but I appreciated that I could grab the case and literally throw it in a bag or bin and not hurt the contents.

The Pelican P1075′s compact size and exceptional protection and durability would be a welcome and fitting addition to any survival kit. Or, I could store it in the spare wheel well in my trunk and have an extra pistol and ammunition fairly close by any time I’m in my car.

The P1075 and cases like it have virtually limitless applications for concealed carry, providing a safe and secure means of storing or transporting a pistol or two, spare magazines and ammunition, and other gear. It retails for $72.95.

What else would you put in a case like this?