Stop to think how much time you spend in a seated position. Have you ever considered the vast amount of time you sit down and if not, start to consider how is access to your gun different.
Hitting the Road
The average person will spend a lot of time in a seated position. The three most common activities are commuting in a vehicle, eating meals and working at a desk. For many, the commute takes up more and more time in the day. Here in my hometown of Austin the commute time per year is 47 hours at a crawl. Austin is currently 13th in the nation when it comes to rush hour traffic. Even off peak traffic can still be a drag and keep you in a seated position longer than you want. Given the frequency and duration of this scenario there is a chance you may have to draw from within your vehicle. Car jacking, aggressive pan handling and other types of violent criminal activities can test your ability to clear your cover garment inside your vehicle. The biggest obstacle for drawing from within a vehicle is the seat belt. What you don’t want to do is weaken the effectiveness of the seat belt’s ability to work in a crash. The seat belt should be low across your lap, right at the hip joint. This is the best position to arrest movement and minimize injury. Not the best position for drawing a gun. If your state has an open carry law you can clear the cover garment in advance minimizing the obstacle. In addition. you can place the shoulder restraint behind the butt of the gun.
Cleaning up the Table
If you take lunch at your desk, you probably eat in a seated position. If you venture out for the group lunch or even a working lunch you probably still eat in a seated position. The challenges you face are not just the drawstroke, but sitting arrangement. Are you in a booth or a chair. If you are in a booth, ideally you would be on the outside. Sitting in a chair is more mobile, making it easier if and when you have to go to guns. Better than than a vantage point of the entrance is a vantage point of the largest avenue of approach. If you can see the suspect approaching you will have time to respond. Versus seeing them at the entrance, but loosing them once they walk into the establishment. The last obstacle to overcome is friendlies in your field of fire. If you have people sitting extremely close or directly across, cleaning up your field of fire is priority number one. If you haven’t practiced strong hand only, consider how you will probably use your weak hand to move or hold someone out of your way.
American Workaholics
Sitting at your desk is probably the easiest of the activities described. You start out by having the advantage of owning the space. You know the layout, where the exists are and who does and doesn’t belong. When you add some force protection measures such as controlled access, close circuit monitors and ballistic resistant material it gives you a distinct advantage. There are still plenty of challenges, how you have to de-conflict and clear up your field of fire. At the very least, design and implement an active shooter plan. What to do if you are at your desk and what to do when you are away. The last point to consider is no matter the activity holstering in a seated position is dangerous and should only be performed in extreme circumstances. Otherwise, stand and safely holster as per SOP.
We spend more time seated than you might think and accessing your gun is one thing. You need to manage the friendlies nearby along with the unknowns and threats while being sure of your backstop.
