| Given the right tools and enough time, a determined thief can steal almost anything. The Family Handyman editor, Elisa Bernick, shares three common backyard targets for thieves and what you can do make it harder to steal your stuff. If you have any additional tips for home security, let me know. |
Chest Ready Position
There are many ready positions to choose from in defensive firearms and even more opinions on why you should or should not use a certain ready position. I choose and teach my students to use a chest ready position, which is simple to achieve by starting in a shooting position and bringing the handgun straight back to your high center chest. The gun should be pointed at a slight downward angle and the pistol itself should be seen only in your lower peripheral vision. Many factors go into choosing this position, and the advantages it presents are far greater than those of most other positions. Fatigue Many armed citizens fail to consider the fatigue their arms will encounter in a full ready position. The majority of civilian encounters occur very quickly and do not result in keeping someone held at gunpoint. But after an incident, you may need to do this for a fair amount of time. In most areas, police response time can be over 10 minutes and, although you have stopped the threat, you need to remain ready in the event the threat again presents itself. Remember that your adrenaline will have been pumping during the attack, and in this wait time, you can experience the “crash” that occurs after an adrenaline rush. This will make you feel much weaker and susceptible to fatigue. A chest ready position allows you to relax your arms and shoulders much more than other positions such as the low ready. In the low ready position, you remain at extension and lower the gun below your line of sight. This results in the weight of the gun being forward of your center of gravity, and you must hold it up with the muscles of your arms and shoulders. Think of holding a five-pound weight in this position. After a short amount of time, your arms and shoulders would begin to feel fatigued. If you took that same five-pound weight and brought it in to your chest, you would be able to hold it for much longer before you felt fatigued. You can try this exercise yourself with just about any heavy object. Many of the other ready positions have a similar issue. Even with a high ready position, where you hold the gun up near your shoulder, you use muscles that you don’t need to. Consistency Having one method that works well with all the other things we must do, such as loading, unloading, malfunction clearing, and presenting from the holster, makes sense. Training other methods and throwing them in as “just another tool in the tool box” makes you take time away from the technique that you are most likely to need or use. The chest ready position gives us the opportunity to use a ready position that becomes a focal point of our defensive firearms training. In this position, we can complete all the other tasks we may need to do, such as loading, unloading, malfunction clearing, etc. Even further, we can get many more repetitions of the chest ready position by utilizing any time we complete these activities at the range. Positions that we must go away from to complete these tasks do not give the opportunity for extra reps. In a low ready or high ready position, we must move away from them in order to complete these tasks, causing us to lose this consistency and, ultimately, efficiency. Defend-able Position One major concern of any ready position is how well we can defend ourselves in it. Other ready positions can leave us very vulnerable to being attacked or grabbed from behind. We demonstrate this in class using a few different ready positions in comparison to the chest ready position. From a low ready position, a person coming from behind can easily wrap his arms around you in a bear-hug style grab. It can be very difficult to escape from this and you must also now attempt to keep control of your handgun. The high ready position presents an even bigger problem, because someone approaching from behind can easily grab your gun. Even if you are able to prevent the gun being ripped from your hand, you are in a physical altercation over a gun. This is never a good spot to be in. The chest ready position gives us much better control in these situations. First, simply by spreading our arms out, we can make ourselves wider and either break a hold or prevent someone from grabbing the gun. Another technique I have demonstrated is being able to turn toward your weak side and ending up in a position for a shot while in contact. Attacks from the front can present a problem in low ready or high ready positions. The 21-foot rule is normally applied to shooting from the holster when confronted by someone with a knife or blunt weapon, but really demonstrates how quickly anyone can get to you. Imagine someone running toward you from inside this 21-foot area. In a low ready position, you would need to raise the firearm to get an effective hit to center mass. As this person is running and then lunging toward you, they are blocking your extended arms from being able to move upward to get this shot. Your best chance becomes firing into the lower body and attempting to keep control of the gun. Again, even worse would be having the pistol in the high ready position and needing to make a downward motion similar to a clichéd knife strike. If the threat gets close enough, you have no shot and are again in a physical fight over your gun. From the chest ready position, we have more options. We may still end up in contact with the attacker, but we have much better control and the ability to get a center-mass hit to stop the threat. We can even use our support hand to block while placing the pistol in a retention-style position to get this in-contact hit. Presenting from Ready Presenting the firearm from the ready position should be as efficient as possible and offer us the best chance of quickly stopping the threat. We also want to ensure we are not harming innocent bystanders. The low ready position must be presented by swinging our already fully extended arms up toward our intended target. This generates inertia — the tendency for an object to resist a change in its path of motion. Simply stated, the gun moving up will continue to move up until it is stopped by our arms. Students who have attempted this in class tend to miss their shot high out of the accurate area or even the entire silhouette. This is because your arms are moving up quickly and, when you decide to stop, they keep going for a short period of time. The first shot misses, and subsequent shots are made after your brain has had time to tell your arms to correct their position. Using the high ready position can result in the exact opposite, with the first miss being low. To prevent this, I have seen students move very slowly from ready position to give themselves time to stop their hands. This is not efficient. From the chest ready position, we can quickly punch the gun forward and get our hits efficiently. This is not to say you can move super-fast, as the same principle with inertia applies. If you move too quickly, the gun will jump at the very end of your presentation, causing you to lose accuracy on your first shot. This extension of your arms should be done quickly but smoothly. Still even with this to consider, students get much better results utilizing this presentation. Further to its credit, students are also able to correct this more easily after it has been explained. Conclusion Choosing what ready position to utilize for your defensive firearms training tends to be overlooked by many students as well as instructors. People often go by things they see on TV or in movies, which do not represent the reality of defensive shooting. The chest ready position meets all the criteria we need out of a ready position. It is not something that fits one scenario but rather fits the vast majority of our likely worst-case scenarios. Stay consistent in your training and utilize this position every time you use a pistol. For most of you, a trip to the gun shop is like a child’s trip to Disney; You don’t ever want to leave. With these trips come unwritten rules of how to conduct yourself while browsing the fine selection of
firearms and accessories. Remember that each employee at the shop speaks with many people a day, a lot of whom are new to firearms. Knowing and abiding by these unwritten rules will ensure a smooth, safe and respectful transaction. 1. Look at one firearm at a time- I have been in a gun shop multiple times and witnessed a customer doing the following: “Let me look at that one, that one right there, this one over here, oh and definitely that one!” While it may be beneficial to compare them side by side, it is recommended to have just one on the counter at any given time. 2. Never cover anyone with the muzzle- As per the 3 NRA Rules of Gun Safety, the gun is always loaded. Being in a gun shop does not make this rule any less irrelevant. When handling any firearm ANYWHERE, never let the muzzle cover anything you aren’t willing to destroy. 3. Don’t dry fire or ‘slam’ the slide without asking- I know you want to play with your potential purchase, believe me I understand! 9 times out of 10, if you want to dry fire or release the slide with the slide release, the employee will say ‘go ahead’. It’s always a good idea to ask first though, because after all, it’s their property until they sell it to you. You may also be unaware that dry-firing the firearm in your hand is actually bad for that particular firearm. Please, ask first. 4. If you’re trading in a gun, bring it in it’s case- Instead of walking up to the counter with a firearm in your hands, put it in it’s case and let the employee take it out and safety check it. This seems like common sense to me, but I’ve seen it done the other way numerous times. We’re dealing with firearms here, not jeans you’re looking to return. 5. Always, without exception, safety check a firearm as soon as you pick it up- I don’t care if the employee just showed you it’s clear. As soon as you pick up a firearm ANYWHERE, the first thing you should be doing is a safety check. This policy does not change in a gun shop. 6. Know about the firearms you’re interested in purchasing- Do some research online before you go to the gun shop. You probably have an idea of what you’re looking to get, so check them out before you go see them. Even the best employee may not know all the answers to every single product they carry. It’s a good idea to be informed ahead of time to make sure you know exactly what you’re looking at. 7. Take someone who in knowable in firearms- If you’re new to firearms, you might want to take a friend who knows the ropes, it may help your feel less intimidated by the whole process. 8. Haggling is generally ok, but don’t go overboard- If you find a firearm on line for $500 and your dealer is selling it for $589, asking for a few bucks off isn’t a bad idea. Asking them to price match however, might not be your best option. Remember that the online purchase may have other fees such as shipping, and they generally don’t have as much overhead as your dealer. He needs to keep his doors open, so haggle respectively. 9. Don’t talk about anything illegal- I’m not even going to explain this. Just…don’t do it. 10. Be respectful and courteous- Gun Shop employees see a lot of people every day, and many are new to firearms and don’t follow the rules. I hear of ‘angry’ employees all the time, and my feeling is that they come across this way sometimes because they have people all day long doing everything on this list. Give them a break by knowing the proper Gun Shop Etiquette. Once you are involved in any altercation where your firearm is involved, you come under intense scrutiny by police, prosecutors, and, depending on the circumstances, perhaps even a jury. It’s just a harsh reality.
And one of the most important elements of any self-defense case is the ability of the defendant to convince the jury that he/she was a “faultless victim.” You were an “unwilling actor,” a “reluctant participant,” an innocent who didn’t create, or escalate, the circumstances that led to your having to defend yourself. Note that this particular requirement is not always expressed in actual statutes, but is rather a long accepted principle of what is frequently referred to as “common law”—a term loosely defined as, “law based on custom and general principles and that, embodied in case law, serves as precedent or is applied to situations not covered by statute.” As in all law, what those words mean will depend on how they are interpreted by the jury empaneled on that day. But obviously, if you initiated the confrontation (i.e. road rage or some other provocation) which eventually escalated into a deadly force scenario, you will have a difficult time claiming self-defense. Note that “the other guy started it” is no defense. Even if you didn't initiate the incident, your obligation to “avoid the danger” doesn't end there. The jury wants to see someone who attempted to disengage, throughout the event, and only resorted to deadly force when no other avenue was available. Here is a perfect example of what not to do. A man pulls into his driveway after work, and noticed four young men loitering in the street in front of his house, cursing loudly. He had two young children in the house, so he asked them to “please tone it down. He went inside, and after seeing several more young males arrive, he called police, voicing his concerns. Good move. But when he saw the group double in size, he panicked. Instead of waiting for police, he grabbed a rifle, walked out the front door and stood on the front steps, cradling the gun in his arms, telling the youths, “You’d better leave; the cops are on the way.” Bad move. When police arrived, they drew their guns, screaming at the homeowner to “Get on the ground!” Why? Because the moment he walked out that door, he became the “armed aggressor.” Now, having no criminal record, the homeowner could be offered a deal to plead guilty to simple misdemeanor assault. But that is hardly comforting. A firearms-related conviction, even a misdemeanor, could haunt him forever, perhaps even destroying his career. So, even if you didn't provoke the initial confrontation, do everything possible to continue being seen as the faultless victim. This post is not intended to replace the advice of an attorney, please consult an attorney before using any information contained in this post. Thanks you. Posted by Buckeye Firearms Association, by Jim Irvine, Monday December 22, 2014 Governor John Kasich signed HB 234 (Allow Noise Suppressors While Hunting) on Friday, December 19. It will become effective after 90 days, or about March 20. (We will update the article when an official date is published.) A signing ceremony was held at the statehouse to allow the many people involved to witness the signing of this significant piece of legislation.
Photo top: Linda Walker (BFA), Gov. John Kasich (R), Ken Hanson (BFA), Sen. Larry Obhof (R) (background) and Mr. Hanson's children. HB 234 started out as a simple bill to allow the use of suppressors while hunting. Suppressors are legal. Hunting is legal. Essentially the only questions was, “should it be legal to chew gum and walk at the same time?” This bill should have swept through the statehouse quickly, but confusion about what a suppressor does (it’s not a “silencer”) and myths about their use by poachers and assassins (not anywhere near as often as Hollywood portrays) caused delays. There was also confusion about the process of addressing the issue legislatively versus via hunting regulations. As a result, time, money and energy were needed to pass as simple of bill as one could have on firearms. In any lame duck session, it is common to combine or “Christmas tree” bills by hanging on other provisions in a bill that legislators think will pass. This session was no different. Portions of HB 203 (Concealed Carry & Self-Defense Law Reform), HB 191 (Align Firearms Definitions), SB 338 (Concealed Carry Reform), and HB 454 (Rule Modification for Concealed Carry in School Zones) were amended into a giant substitute bill in the Senate, as it became apparent that only one gun bill was going to reach the Governor’s desk this session. Unfortunately, the HB 454 sections were removed before passage, but some other provisions were picked up. Representatives Cheryl Grossman (R) and John Becker (R) obviously deserve thanks, as it was their bill that completed the process and will become law. Senator Joe Uecker (R) has also been outstanding to work with as his bill, SB 338 was introduced, fast tracked, delayed, modified, and finally died. His work on his bill allowed for amendments into HB 234 before passage. Senator Uecker is certainly a team player who put in significant effort that resulted in a better final product for gun owners. Representative Terry Johnson (R) also deserves huge credit for his work on HB 203 - another bill that will not become law, but his work getting his bill through the House with a strong vote under difficult circumstances deserves strong mention. Johnson never quit on his bill, the contents, or the ideals he continually strives for. He has worked three firearms bills though the Ohio House, but only HB 495 became law (last session). It would be easy to overlook Johnson, but that would be a huge mistake. His work on the issues made it possible to amend large sections of HB 203 into HB 234 in the Senate. Johnson is a consummate professional who puts the cause of restoring our Second Amendment rights above himself. Chairman Bill Coley (R) has had his work cut out for him in the Senate Civil Justice Committee. With many gun bills, extreme emotions, and little time, he packed the most amount of meat he could into one bill and moved it through his committee. While he was not able to bring all groups on board, changes were made at the behest of the NRA, Buckeye Firearms Association, Buckeye State Sheriff Association, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, American Silencer Association, and numerous legislators. That is a tall task, especially under the time constraints of a lame duck session. In the end, HB 234 is a fairly complicated 88 page act that is the product of many people’s hard work. We must also thank Speaker Bill Batchelder (R), Senate President Keith Faber (R) and Senator Larry Obhof (R) for their leadership in passing a good bill, and coordinating efforts to bring it all together on time. As we have done with past large bills, we will cover various aspects of the bill in a series of articles to help gun owners understand the various changes to Ohio law. Here are the issues addressed in HB234:
Lastly, we thank all gun owners who took the time to call/write/email their elected officials. A special thanks goes out to those who worked on campaigns for endorsed candidates. Without grassroots support for the work we do, we would not have the success we’ve had. Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman, BFA PAC Chairman and recipient of the NRA-ILA's 2011 "Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award" and the CCRKBA's 2012 "Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award." We who can legally permitted and trained to carry in public have a special responsibility to focus on the task at hand, but also to remain vigilant, aware of the world around us: comings and goings through the
door of the restaurant, the backpack by the door with no owner, the man sitting in a parked car for hours. This is called “situational awareness” and it is much different than multitasking. Situational awareness involves being attentive to what’s happening around us in order to understand how “things” in the immediate environment—information, events, and one’s own actions—will or might impact us. Inadequate situational awareness is a primary factor in accidents attributed to human error. Situational awareness is especially important when information flow is unusually high, such as a loud movie theatre or outdoor concert. I remember cleaning and reassembling an M16 rifle while a drill sergeant shouted out orders. It was exceedingly hard because the brain said multitask: pay attention to the authority figure and rebuild the rifle. Of course the sergeant was performing a service, in a way, teaching what combat might be like when fear combines with a thousand extraneous inputs, any one of which might lead to death. What we eventually learned was that only through extreme concentration could we assemble our M16. We learned, in other words, to drop the drill sergeant into the background, to be aware but only to focus on reassembling the rifle. We learned situational awareness and we got the job done. Only one thing can truly occupy your mind at any given time. In a fast food restaurant you try to eat the burger without letting the tomato squeeze out and onto our shirt and pants, all while fetching extra ketchup for the kids and talking to the spouse. If you remain situational aware you have a chance to respond effectively. One who is multitasking—talking to a spouse, fetching the ketchup, and fiddling with a cell phone, not a chance. When you carry, you have a responsibility to focus, to stop believing that you can multitask and to remain situational aware. Put the cell phone away! You’ve spent countless hours researching which gun you should carry, which caliber you should buy, which holster might be best. You have taken some training and applied for a CCW permit. You have spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars and now you might let it all fall to pieces because of a cheap belt.
We are talking life or death here people. A good belt is that serious. True, the belt may not be the thing upon which the fight actually hinges but consider this: a good belt can mean the difference between comfortable concealed carry and uncomfortable concealed carry. So, you put on your crappy belt and your expensive holster hangs on your hip like a grenade pouch allowing your carefully chosen handgun to dig into your tender flesh. After a week of this you decide you don’t want to put up with the pain and discomfort so you decide to leave your gun at home—just this one time. On that very day, you stop to pump gas and a thug comes up to carjack you at the pump. And there you stand—disarmed—because your crappy belt didn’t hold up to the weight of a fully loaded handgun. The lowly belt suddenly becomes a matter of life and death. But what kind of belt are we talking about here? What kind of belt do you need? In a word: robust. You want a solid, well-built belt that will distribute the weight of a pistol and ammunition around your mid-section. You don’t want a flimsy canvas belt or a strip of leather so thin you could use it as a bootlace if you needed to. This does not mean that you must forego fashion. There are a great number of belts currently available that are both fashionable and robust. Several models include an internal layer of plastic sewn between two layers of leather to help keep the belt stiff. Others utilize extra-thick leather, sometimes with a backing material, to ensure the gun stays put. One element I can’t stress enough is width. Go with something at least 1.5 inches wide. I know you might be coming to the limits of your high-fashion belt loops with a wide, thick belt, but holding your gun securely is more important than fashion. Well, it is to me anyway. Start your search for a good belt with your favorite holster maker. Chances are pretty good that the company making a good holster will also make a good belt to hold it. Yes, it will cost you a few dollars more than a cheap department store belt, but hey, it could save your life. You need a good belt, buy one. You’ve decided to carry a concealed firearm and that’s great! Before you dive head first into it, let’s go over a few tips that will help you on your way to successfully and safely carrying your firearm.
This article will touch on 10 Tips for the newbies, and will also serve as a refresher for those that have been carrying for years. Remember, you can never train enough. Tip #1: Buy Multiple Holsters before Multiple Firearms Choosing a firearm and accompanying holster can be an intimidating task, and you’re sure to end up with a drawer full of holsters until you find the one that’s right for you. Getting situated with a comfortable system is extremely important. Not only will it be the safest way for you to carry, but it will also help you carry every day (because it’s comfortable). So many people decide to leave their firearms at home because they don’t like the way their holster feels. Don’t be that person. Find a great holster that you love, then maybe get yourself a new firearm. Tip #2: Wear your Holster, Belt and Firearm Around The House First Some call this stupid, I call it proactive. If you don’t know exactly how your new setup will act while you’re out and about, you could have something unintentional happen such as your firearm dropping to the floor or accidentally exposing it to people around you. Neither of these will result in a good day. Take your time with your new setup and get familiar with it. When you sit down, pay attention to it’s orientation. When you stand up, see if your holster has shifted around while you were seated. It’s better to figure these things out in the privacy of your own home vs out in public which leads me to the next tip. Tip #3: Don’t Touch It, You’ll Only Draw Attention On a few different occasions, I’ve picked people out of a crowd that were carrying a concealed firearm. How? They gave it away by adjusting and fidgeting with their setup in public. People do notice this, and it will draw attention. If you feel that your holster or firearm has shifted, wait to check it until you’re in a private area such as your vehicle or a rest room. If you’ve practiced Tip #2 enough, you should know exactly how your holster should feel if it ever moves out of place. If it doesn’t feel like that, keep your hands to yourself. Tip #4: Keep Your Carry Firearm Stock I love fancy gadgets just as much as the next guy, however I have a very strict policy with keeping my concealed carry firearms completely stock (with the exception of sights). The reason is simple: The manufacturer has spent a whole lot of time and money to make your firearm work correctly. If you start adding aftermarket parts like triggers and slide release levers, you are opening yourself up to failures. Some people will debate this all day and never be satisfied with my answer, but I’m sticking to it and offering it up as a suggestion. Tip #5: Don’t Act Like You Have A Gun Very often, new carriers will act a little nervous while out in the public eye. If you aren’t playing with your firearm and it’s concealed properly, no one knows that you’re carrying it. Relax, take a deep breath, and go about your normal daily routine. Tip #6: Actually Practice And Train With Your Setup So incredibly important that I cannot stress this enough. It’s great that you want to carry, but even greater if you are as familiar with your firearm and cc setup as you are with the back of your hand. Take yourself to the range and practice drawing from concealment. Practice with different clothing on as well. Your draw will be different if you’re wearing a t-shirt than it is if you’re wearing a winter jacket. Be prepared for any situation. Tip #7: Always Practice Safe Firearm Handling Remember the 3 Rules of Firearm Safety? Recite them and practice them each and every time you’re around a firearm. If you pick up your firearm and safety check it, then set it back down, and then a minute later pick it up again, you should be safety checking it again. Any time that a firearm leaves your physical possession, you should be safety checking it the moment you pick it up again. Trust me when I say that it’s not overkill. If everyone were to do this without fail, negligent discharges would diminish close to zero. Tip #8: Don’t Advertise Telling your immediate family and very close friends is one thing, but advertising it beyond that is not usually the best of ideas. Don’t give away your carry location either. One wrong person that has this information would get an advantage over you. Retain your element of surprise by keeping this information as private as possible. Tip #9: Be Confident With Carrying A Round In The Chamber Laugh all you want, old timers. The fact remains, many people that are new to carrying are at first afraid of carrying with one in the pipe. If you never were, just move along. This section isn’t for everyone. Tip #10: Have Fun And Stay Safe Absolutely, carrying a firearm is a serious matter. But, it doesn’t need to be stressful or intimidating. If you’ve got a setup that you’re happy with and fits comfortably, you’re ahead of the game. The fact that you’re carrying at all is a testament to how much you value life and safety. Maintain this attitude, gain as much knowledge as you can on the topic, and carry on. I started hunting with my dad at a very young age and took a hunter’s safety course as a requirement by my Dad. In that course we were taught that mechanical safeties are by definition “mechanical devices prone to failure.” This has stuck with me throughout my years of shooting and even more so now that I am an instructor.
Many people have the misconception that these mechanical devices automatically make a gun “safe” and therefore you can let your guard down about the firearms safety rules once they are engaged. This leads to complacency and dangerous behavior. The thought that this mechanical lever or button is going to prevent someone from firing a gun if they gain access to it is far from reality. But due to the name of these devices, uninformed people assume they instantly make a gun “safe.” Due to these misconceptions, I believe that calling mechanical safeties a “safety” actually leads to firearms being more dangerous — the idea that once you “turn the safety on” you can ignore the standard rules of firearms handling. Following the rules of safe gun handling does not end because you utilize a mechanical safety. Instead, if you choose to own or carry a firearm that requires the use of a mechanical safety, you should make an even greater effort to follow the basic safety rules of gun handling due to these firearms having more likelihood of an accidental discharge if you forget to engage the mechanical safety. There are many versions of the basic safety rules. To me, these three are the most fundamental: 1. ALWAYS KEEP THE GUN POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION. This is rule #1 for a reason. A safe direction means a direction in which, if the gun were to go off, it would likely not cause injury or damage. If you forget every other rule in the book and follow this one, even if the gun goes off, it will not hurt or kill anyone. 2. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT. Ready to fire means you are ready for the bullet to leave the gun. Even if the gun is pointed at the target, you do not place your finger on the trigger until you are ready for the bullet to come out of the muzzle. 3. ALWAYS KEEP THE GUN UNLOADED UNTIL READY TO USE. This is the best safety for making a gun “safe.” Whenever you pick up a gun, always check to see if the gun is loaded, remove the ammunition source, open the action, visually and physically inspect the chamber and magazine area, which should be clear of ammunition. If you do not know how to open the action or inspect the chamber leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does. Utilizing these safety rules as the foundation for everything you do with firearms and will keep you and others around you much safer than learning to use a mechanical safety. Why I Don’t Have Safeties on My Defensive Pistol I teach my defensive pistol students that if they ever need to utilize lethal force, they will most likely be surprised by the attack. After all, if you are expecting to need to use deadly force, you will avoid the confrontation if at all possible rather than preparing for it. This means you will need to react quickly under severe mental and physical stress. Your body will react in many ways, including the loss of fine motor skills. Operating a mechanical safety is a fine motor skill that will be difficult even with training under this kind of stress. Without the pressure of someone attacking, I see people fumble the operation of a mechanical safety during training. This delay could mean the difference between your attacker being on top of you or not. It is now an accepted fact that the average person can cover a distance of approximately 21 feet in the time it takes a trained individual to draw and fire their defensive handgun (approximately 1.5 seconds). Conclusions Although mechanical safeties are intended to prevent accidents and injury, they can actually lead to lapses in normal safety procedures and result in injury. Combine this with the fact that in a defensive encounter, safeties could cause a delay in being able to protect ourselves or our loved ones. Many people say that they train to work their safety. Only being in a defensive encounter would let us know if that training worked. My suggestion is to utilize that time practicing the two main rules of safe gun handling and get a defensive firearm that does not require the extra steps. |
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