Broad Shoulders Indeed

Firearms are dangerous. There is no way to sugar coat this truth, nor is there a way to downplay this fact. We need to ensure we are doing everything to create the safest training environment possible. It is not as easy as it sounds. Most accidents occur due to negligence. Poor firearms handling, not understanding firearm safety rules or not respecting the firearm’s destructive capacity are common faults with accidents. A hard pill to swallow is the fact these all rest on the shoulders of the instructor. It is our responsibility to work within the safe capacity of the students.

Failure To Adapt

Sometimes it sucks when you advertise an intermediate level class, yet the majority of students are well below the threshold. There are four options you have to manage this situation. You can ask to place them in a more appropriate level class for their skill, but only if you have one maybe two max. You can always dismiss them on the count of safety, but only if they committed an infraction. You can take them off to the side and provide remediation in an effort to bring them up to speed. This works if you have assistant instructors and extra range space to conduct the remediation. If you are instructional agile then you can adjust or scale the curriculum to accommodate the actual class skill level. What ends up happening is the class moves along and the slower students are left to catch up creating the opportunity for higher risks.

Stay In Your Lane

When the troubled students need constant supervision it detracts from the class, from those who actually have the requisite skills. It is often times the best option given the circumstances. What ends up happening is the focus is constantly shifting from one group to another. You realize the one group with the skills are not the focus so you focus on them in an effort to make up lost time. Then you keep looking over to the troubled shooters in an effort to keep an eye on their progress. It is a very challenging situation that again creates the opportunity for greater risk. At a certain point the troubled shooters realize they are holding back the class. With the best of intentions they begin to step outside of their comfort zone and this is where accidents are most likely to happen.

Forward & Controlled Movement

The challenge is to keep the majority of the shooters engaged, the higher end shooters challenged and the lower end shooters supervised. If it sounds exhausting then you would be correct. This is where the instructor agility really shines. It means being able to scale drills for the troubled shooters. You can still have still participate, but only dry fire. You can have the class partner up so their is another set of eyes watching their performance. You can even have them go through with man marking cartridges if available. These are just some accommodations that impact the rest of the class minimally.

In the end, the responsibility for safety is the instructor’s. They must recognize when they ask the student to work outside their safe abilities and be able to adjust, adapt or accommodate.

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It’s About Me

However, what I have learned in interacting with a large majority of new firearm owners is it is about me, my expectations. In an effort to be more approachable I have lowered my expectations for pretty much everyone. Not because I was worried about the outcome, but because I wanted to ensure the best experience for the new firearm owner. I did not want my bias to emerge and potentially jade them from continued investment in this new skill set. In other words, if I lowered my expectation and assumed everyone had an empty cup it made the interaction and experience more positive. Thereby introducing to them a fun activity they may wish to explore.

Filling the Proverbial Cup

All too often we in the training and shooting world are quick to judge. Partly because there is a safety component. Once you can manage the safety component you are left to manage the learning experience in a genuine manner. Meaning, it is all about them. You now have a preconceived notion their cup is empty and can go about the proper pouring to fill their cup. When you can do this, it makes their experience more enjoyable. As a new firearm owner they have plenty of concerns. They are already anxious about the activity, potentially very anxious. They may have their own preconceived notions you have to manage, potentially good and or bad. They may even be their own worst enemy and an obstruction to learning. The experience can be so nerve racking they literally shut down.

Trust, But Verify

I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. When I engage with someone in dialogue to assess their skill I believe in a trust, but verify approach. I will give them the benefit of the doubt up to the point it either is a safety consideration or a barrier to learning. If either of those are triggered, then we have to evaluate which one and take the appropriate action. Most of the time for the student it is in the form of not knowing. The new firearm owner does not know what they don’t know so it is difficult, even unfair to entrust them with so much responsibility at first. They must be guided, mentored in this approach and when they are having a positive experience it provides a better learning environment.

Throw A Wider Net

There will always be those who exaggerate their skill for a variety of reasons. To be honest, I don’t care. I don’t care why they may have been a bit grandiose. I have come to use my intuition and experience to help navigate these waters. Most of the time it has to do with not wanting to look as if they don’t know. My approach in this situation is to deliver the subject in broader terms, using the building block system most of us rely on as the excuse to revisit or remediate. It works flawlessly when I do. I mean it provides the opportunity for the new firearm owner to acknowledge the lack of skill or knowledge without looking bad in front of their peers. Reviews are a strong method for reaching all kinds of students. Students who may truly know the material, but absence has created a gap too difficult to navigate on their own. Reviews will sometimes be the bridge. Other times, the review can be the opportunity to verify and advance. If there is no need to remediate, then time is precious and progress should be the priority.

In this new time period, the instructor community will need to adjust their thought process and teaching methods to engage with the fastest growing demographic. Otherwise, regardless of your reputation you will fail to reach a large group of new students.

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Know What You Are Getting Into

Having just finished up a Concealed Carry Instructor course we spend a good amount of time going over risk mitigation. How to set the tone for safety, how to observe for potential issues, but most of all how to prevent incidents in the first place. There is only so much you can do, but within that scope there is a lot. Many times I see a very lack luster attitude towards safety. If you come across this attitude be very cautious. We cannot afford to be cavalier; which really amounts to recklessness. Experience is a blessing, but it is also a curse. I can almost recount an incident for many of the common issues we see today. I’m not happy about the fact I can, but it serves a purpose.

Dark Case Studies

When I got back from my trip I literally had an email waiting detailing the death of an officer as a result of carrying concealed. Then, I get to work and learn of a fatality during a force on force event. These types of incidents happen a lot more than people realize. They may not touch your lives, but they can impact your future. In our course I talk about some case studies. Three of the case studies I had direct knowledge, meaning I either spoke with the victim, the instructor or the investigating officer. I try not to add more to my brief, but I could easily. These are all fairly recent with most going back no more than four years. We talk about how to prevent these types of incidents in the future, but studying what went wrong.

The Fire Pyramid

Four of the six cases all were a result of the trigger finger somehow manipulating the trigger causing the gun to discharge. Allow me to regress. For a self-inflicted gunshot wound to occur, three conditions must be in place. The gun must be loaded, the muzzle must be pointed at the body and the trigger must be manipulated. That’s it! There are no other reasons. I use as an example the fire triangle to help folks understand when one of these criterion is missing the self-inflicted GSW cannot occur, maybe I should caveat “should not” occur. When you consider this in your range evolutions it helps to reduce the possibilities of negligent discharges from students. You must be unapologetic with regards to safety. Ironically, the four safety rules we follow take into account the self-inflicted GSW Pyramid. In other words, we treat all guns as if they were loaded, always. We keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, not at our body. Lastly, we keep our finger straight on home position until the sights are on target and you are ready to fire.

Stop The Insanity

It seems simple enough, but when we examine those case studies two or 50% of the incidents happened during the draw stroke. Meaning they shot themselves as they were drawing the gun from the holster. If we should not put our finger on the trigger until the sights are on target then how could this happen. Because there are some who promote prepping the trigger. Truthfully, I was one of them when I shot DA guns. In an effort to get on that long travel you start early. With today’s inventory being mostly made up of striker fired guns this is a dangerous trait to develop. Made more so within the industry by some promoting the idea you will be faster. Now, you are adding another dangerous element; stress. The problem is human nature. It is human nature to want to be fast. It is also human nature to be fallible. Combine these with a gun and it shouldn’t surprise people why we see these incidents. The bottom line, you are not gaining anything by “prepping” the trigger, you really are not. You might not like hearing that, but whatever perceived advantage you may think pales in comparison to the possibility of shooting yourself. It is a slippery slope. You say it is okay, but only when the gun is in the position. Then, it is okay when the gun is closer to the body in this position. Then, okay when the gun is coming out of the holster. Where do you draw the line?

I’ll bet you every one of those folks in the case study didn’t think they would shoot themselves seconds before they shot themselves. Prove me wrong.

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Ticking Time Bomb

I have gotten more and more patient over the years, believe me it shocks me just as much. However, there are instances where I will loose it in an instant. Watching someone dispassionately pulling the trigger is one of those instances. Using a handgun in a deadly force encounter is no laughing matter, not something to be taken lightly. You have to prepare yourself mentally for the violent encounter. You make major life choices about taking another human’s life to protect life. You expends your resources at training in the hopes of never having to use your skills.

The Final Option

When I watch someone do a half ass job of unloading their handgun then almost without thinking point it down and pull the trigger it is as if they have forgotten an important point. When you pull the trigger, every time you pull the trigger, it is because you have no other option. You have either exhausted all options or you didn’t have an option from the beginning. The level of commitment towards defending your life is not easy, nor should it be taken lightly. It should not be something with a cavalier attitude. When you diminish the importance of a rule or value, you weaken its effectiveness. It is not difficult to see why carelessness sneaks into gun handling when we start to place less emphasize on safety.

What Really Happens

What could be some reasons one would blindly pull the trigger after unloading? A common retort is to relief pressure on the striker. By de-energizing the striker spring there is this belief you are increasing the longevity. If you were planning on a long term storage there could be an argument made. I would caveat long term measured in decades. If you are not storing the handgun for that length of time then it is worthless. The problem is not so much in the action, but the habit it forms. Students would unload in class to accomplish an administrative task. Maybe changing out holsters or cover garments. Or maybe, taking a break or to set up a drill with an empty chamber. My point, is the duration is in no way going to help relieve pressure. We are talking minutes before we charge them back up and start shooting again.

Safety First

In the off chance the student doesn’t recognize the carelessness of this act it is one thing. To do it knowingly is something completely different. The amount of times of occurrence in a training class can create the environment this action becomes a habit. It becomes a part of your daily handling of firearms and starts to diminish the importance of safety. Safety rules such as all guns are always loaded loose their effectiveness. The monumental challenge of preparing for a deadly force encounter means you are pulling the trigger with the express intention of defending life. Don’t diminish this act.

To take this simple act and diminish it to the point it looses its effectiveness is a mistake. There is no value, but so much more at stake

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Comfort is a State of Mind

This came about through conversations I recently had in two different states. It was interesting this subject could be brought up within a week across so many miles. Both conversations were centered around carrying concealed and both had comfort at their core. The users were not comfortable carrying with a live round in the chamber. This is a more common occurrence as we see more people entering the concealed carry world. I don’t see as much wrong with this idea for the simple reason many who would not carry are carrying. Granted they might not be doing it the way I would, but it is a start. My belief is as they grow as a student they learn more about the best way to manage their carry loadout. With time they realize there is a better way.

In One Ear and Out the Other

It is important to understand why folks are not comfortable. You can tell them what they are doing is not ideal, even wrong, but you more than likely will not make any headway. When I was asked this question I wanted to understand the reason so I could better address the issue. If they are afraid to carry a live round in the chamber because they don’t feel safe is it because of their holster. If they don’t like the idea of carrying a live round in the chamber holstered inside the waistband then carrying on the waistband may be a good way to breach this obstacle. If they are concerned they may shoot themselves then explaining how to safely draw from the holster is a great place to start. Many times what seems simple to many is overly complex and intimidating to others.

Highest State of Readiness

In some cases, there is the notion during a lethal force encounter you will be able to chamber a round to bring the handgun to the highest state or readiness. My suggestion is to always holster a handgun for self-defense in the highest state of readiness. Make this part of your loading procedures; which will help build familiarity. This familiarity will bring confidence in the process. The reality is while there may be some who can do it scripted and planned they are largely based on having both extremities available. While you may be able to use a one handed technique why would you engage “hard” mode so early in a critical incident. Time is of the essence and no matter the technique, all things being equal it is slower.

The Ready Position

Perhaps the biggest issue for me is how carrying an empty chamber greatly reduces your ability to draw your handgun to a ready position. All to often we forget this very important skill. Yes, you may need to draw your handgun and go straight to the target to stop the threat. If you opt to carry an empty chamber you give up the utility of drawing to the ready position. You of course, could charge the handgun and return to the ready, but then what will you do if the threat is stopped and you have to holster up. If you were willing to holster a loaded handgun in that situation, why not start that way. Of course, the flip side is you are not and then feel compelled to unload to re-holster. Something else to consider is if you do charge the handgun have you escalated the situation. If you are looking at charging the handgun akin to racking the action of a shotgun there are bigger issues beyond the scope of this article.

If you have concerns about carrying a handgun then try to address the root cause. Use education and training as your roadmap to overcoming anything that could give you a false sense of security.

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Don’t Be That Guy

Recently I saw an image floating around social media showing a very unlucky individual. He suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound down his strong side leg. Three wounds appear in the picture (entry, exit & graze). While they were minor as far as gunshot wounds, if you ask this individual I doubt he would agree. Most accidents are not the result of a single failure. They are the cumulative effect of several smaller, seemingly insignificant failures. It doesn’t matter the playing field, whether with NASA or the average Joe no one is immune. Taking safety seriously is easy, taking it seriously all the time is the challenge. All to often we get lazy, or lackadaisical or take things for granted.

Worked as Advertised

To truly understand these failures we need to all agree shooting oneself is bad. Put this up there with steeling candy from a baby or punching a puppy type bad. From there let’s look at how this happen. An object, somehow applied enough force to move the trigger far enough to work as advertised. It should not come as a surprise when you apply enough force to the trigger with any object it will fire. By this point, many are questioning why they should continue reading. They say to themselves, “well , no duh.” Yet, here we are talking about the same subject. Self inflicted gunshot wounds.

Things That Go Bang

While there are many different objects that can exert force on the trigger, most culprits are the individual’s trigger finger being at the wrong place at the wrong time. When we start concealing handguns we expose the trigger to other objects as well. Things such as your under garments, cover garments and even the holster itself can all act as a surrogate trigger finger. Not only can these objects apply force during the draw stroke, they can do so while re-holstering. The solution is not complicated, but for some it may be a paradigm shift from your current set of techniques and procedures.

Follow Procedures

The procedures starts with keeping the trigger finger on home position until the sights are confirmed on our intended target. We see this being violated all the time. Everyone wants to come up with excuses why it is okay. They will say it is too slow, you have to get to shooting right away or I know what I’m doing. I’ll bet if you asked the guy who recently shot himself he was not thinking he would shoot himself seconds before he shot himself. Others will question my suggestions and even go so far as to say, “he’s not tactical enough.” Unfortunately, these are the same people who make it easy to write these articles. Others will mention they wait until their muzzle is on target and my response is if you cannot see your sights then how do you know the muzzle is on target. Should you negligently discharge the round what assurances do you have it will hit the intended target and not an innocent bystander.

There is No Prize For Fastest Re-holster

When it comes to re-holstering the conversation turns lighter. There is no longer the need nor justification for lethal force. You are re-holstering because you recognized the situation and make the conscious choice. In this case, you have all the time in the world. There is no pressure, no time standard. Simply re-holster safely. To do so, we teach the student to observer their trigger finger on home position. The home position is the intersection of the slide and frame. This ensures your trigger finger cannot accidentally move to the trigger under certain stressful conditions. Once you have confirmed the trigger finger’s position then clear your cover garment completely. Don’t be shy about showing your mid drift area, get your cover garment out of the way. Observe the mouth of the holster to ensure it is clear of any obstructions. Observe the muzzle into the mouth of the holster and ease it into place until secure. Then relax and replace your cover garment.

There are a lot of negative forces pushing down on our industry. If we are shooting ourselves because of ignorance or poor techniques we are only giving the anti-gun agenda the ammunition they want to illustrate we cannot be responsible adults.

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Nothing is Free in Life

I have made my feelings known on aftermarket triggers that significantly reduce pull weight. You have to accept nothing is free in live. In order to get them to this super lightweight they had to do other things. In some cases, those other things have to do with the internal safety mechanisms. I have seen many of these drop-in kits malfunction. They override the internal safeties resulting in negligent discharges. At what point do you draw the line. Do you have to see the gun completely fail. Do negative outcomes weigh heavy on your mind or do you disregard them for a perceived advantage.

Treat the Cause, not the Symptom

That’s what we are talking about here. A perceived advantage. Something that you feel makes you shoot better. In all likelihood it only masked your shooting errors. It deals with the symptoms and not the causes. As an educator, you want to focus on the causes. What is causing the shooting errors and what are the corrective strategies. Why would you continue to aim high to mask poor trigger management. The answer is complicated, but it involves ego, pride and ignorance. Your ego is too big to admit there’s a problem. Your pride is to big to seek help. And ignorance is a matter of not knowing what you don’t know. No matter what the motivation, treating the causes is the only true answer.

Don’t Be That Guy

On top of all this is seeing unsafe actions that are quickly becoming more “acceptable” or termed “modern”. Neither of these justify forgoing safety, yet we see it all the time. Case in point. Putting your hand in front of the ejection port to manually cycle the action. Everything works until it doesn’t and when it doesn’t bad things happen. If these bad things happen the hope is we learn. If not, they continue to happen until bad things happen or you win the lottery. The above ramblings point to an event that happened at a recent class. More importantly, they happened to me. I’m sharing in an effort to remind people that safety is free.

Life Lessons

On day one of class a student was having consistent problems with his gun/ammunition. As per procedures we try to trouble shoot the problem by removing one variable at a time. The problem continued and eventually I took the gun for closer examination. My first mistake was in not clearing the gun. However, the problem was only visible live fire. I attempted to replicate the problem through other means and came up bingo. As I observed the cycling I noticed a pattern that had to do with the slide’s movement. In an effort to replicate the pattern I had to retracted the slide a fraction of an inch to get it to fire. With the trigger depressed and no audible or tactical reset the gun would fire when it would return to lock up. I moved my hand slightly forward of the ejection port thinking I had identified how far back I needed it to move to replicate the action. Nope, it went off sooner. My hand was close enough to the muzzle to get slight burns.

I was lucky. The student put away the gun and he was lucky to have a fellow student loan him a gun to finish the class. My lesson was re-learned and shared in an effort to avoid future problems.

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Is It Safe

This kind of reminds me a little of daylight savings. Nobody is willing to repeal it because they don’t want to be that guy. They don’t want to be associated with some kid who got hit by a car in the dark on their way to the bus stop. You have to put things in perspective, if your trips to the range are about the same as your trips to the dentist then it is unlikely you are putting enough rounds through that would significantly foul the gun and possible induce a stoppage. This in now way eliminates human error, but if the gun is from a quality manufacture, firing quality ammunition then it is safe to say you are good. What is far more important is knowing how to properly lubricate a gun.

Let’s Break It Down

This is also not an excuse not to clean your gun when necessary. The most common reason for avoiding periodic maintenance is not knowing what to clean or how to clean. Before you can clean a gun, you must first be able to safely unload the gun, then inspect and confirm it is safe. You will want to then be able to disassemble or field strip the gun to it’s basic parts. Usually the frame and slide. Keep in mind the recoil spring and recoil spring guide will be under spring tension. Keep them pointed away from you or others nearby. Now that you have fully disassembled the gun for cleaning you can actually start the cleaning process.

A Little Elbow Grease Goes a Long Way

Like any cleaning you will need a few supplies and tools. Some type of cleaning brush, cleaning solvent, rags and a quality lubricant. There are plenty of other items you might want to have, but these are the very basic requirements to ensure optimal functionality. From here you want to common sense. Spray, brush, wipe and repeat. Everyone has their own system and you will develop one yourself. I typically start with the barrel and accessories, then work to the slide and finish with the frame. Your cleaning brush should have soft bristles, like a tooth brush to avoid damaging the finish. While it may seem smart to use something tougher for those hard to clean areas it will cause damage to the gun in the end. Nothing functional, but aesthetically. Once you are done cleaning the next step is to lubricate and reassemble.

The Quest for Lube

Choosing quality lubricant is easy, find a product designed to lubricate guns. Avoid the multiple purpose products and stick with designed for products. You can apply lubricant to all the disassembled parts. How much do you apply? Again, you will get the hang of it the more you clean guns. After you have fully reassembled the gun you will wipe down any excessive lubricant. Lastly is the function check. To ensure you reassembled the gun correctly you will perform a function check. Start by ensuring the gun is unloaded and lock the action open. Pointing in a safe, release the slide, then pull the trigger and hold it to the rear. Cycle the action. Then release the trigger to ensure the trigger resets. If it does, then lock the action open and you are done.

That’s it, nothing too fancy. Learn how to clean then as you get better you will learn how to inspect for wear and tear; which is far more important.

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Words have meaning

The first thing we have to understand is defining an unintentional discharge. The way I explain an unintentional discharge is when the gun fires as a result of failing to follow the safety rules. Either through your carelessness, lack of attention or deliberate indifference the gun fired while in your possession. Modern semi-automatic firearms do not go off by themselves, they can only be fired through human intervention. As gun owners, students and practitioners of the art it is incumbent on us to be safe. If it is predictable, then it is preventable.

It’s not about belief

If we were to study many of the recent unintentional discharges the question you have to ask was where did things break down and thus resulted in the discharge. The majority of the events I have viewed all pointed to a single issue, the operator of the firearm believed the gun was unloaded. That right there is the major issue. Whether through operator error or deliberate indifference their actions lead to an undeniable conclusion. Safety rules and procedures did not materialize out of thin air. They came from the hard lessons we learn in life. It is when we fail to apply this lessons we move from accidental to negligence. It is one thing to discharge the firearm accidentally due to ignorance and a whole other matter when you know better.

The Golden Rule

Many who are reading this blog have been around firearms a long time. I’m confident many would agree the most important safety rule is “keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction”. Over the years I have come to appreciate this rule the most. While adherence to all rules is critical, the priority needs to be safe direction. Teaching new students a litany of rules they have never heard of before sets everyone up for failure. For one thing, they are not going to remember all of them. Second, even if they do remember, they still have to apply the knowledge or change their behavior. You can point the finger at the student and say it is their fault for not knowing. In truth, it is your fault for not recognizing the limitations of the students and acting accordingly.

Keep it Simple

For this reason, we brief three safety rules. Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction so if you fail at all the others you hope to minimize property damage or injury. Keep your finger on home position until ready to fire. If you are not sure where your finger belongs then always go home, high along the frame and away from the trigger. Keep the gun unloaded until ready to fire. Once you get these three rules embedded into your students you can conduct live fire training with a reasonable level of safety. There are interpretations an instructor must adapt. One such interpretation is defining a safe direction and when it is safe to load. That is not to say there are other types of rules such as general rules or site-specific rules, but for a new student these three are the bare minimum.

Set the Example

As an instructor it is incumbent upon us to ensure the safest training environment possible. Unintentional discharges whether accidental or through negligence is the gravest of sins. As an instructor, the first thing you have to acknowledge is how this event could happen to you. Don’t think for a moment you are exempt. From there, you have to ask yourself where do I want the bullet to rest should it go off during a demonstration. Prior to a demonstration whether live fire or dry practice I confirm where the bullet will rest and ask whether safe then adjust accordingly. When I’m performing a demonstration do I ask a fellow instructor or student to confirm the condition of the firearm. No, I don’t and the reason I don’t is I have to set the example that I can be trusted to safely unload and handle a firearm. Most students will not have access to a second party when they are on their own to double check their work. We all need to develop the skill to complete this fundamental task on our own. Then hold this standard and others accountable.

Guns are dangerous, it is for this reason we rely on them for defensive use. There is no reason we cannot mitigate risk where necessary through education and training.

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You Presume too Much

I enjoy interacting with attendees and fans who come to hear my briefs or presentations. It is the major reason why I do them, to stay connected with the public at large. The majority of the conversations either during or after are very pleasant and informative. Sometimes I will get into a conversation with someone who is more interested in defending their position or idea than genuinely discussing the subject. I will listen, make sure I understand their point then provide feedback. I take it for granted most people are interested in learning or educating themselves, but it’s not always the case.

Categories of Failures

I have been vocal about certain methods of concealed carry. I have carefully illustrated the “why” using my experience observing thousand of students come through classes. Over the years we have established a reputation; largely centered around safety and standards. The beautiful thing about performance standards is you don’t have to do a lot of talking. If you cannot meet the minimum performance standard it is in your best interest to understand why. Usually they are broken down into two categories of failures; technical and technique with the latter being the majority. When we identify technique as the culprit we focus our efforts to clean it up. Some techniques, when measured are inherently harder to do well. As a result, safety can become an issue.

Small of the Back

The conversation I was having had to do with carrying in the small of your back. We categorize it as behind the hip. If the firearm is holstered behind your hip regardless of how far it is going to pose more challenging than you might think. The biggest challenge being the time differential. The fastest route between two points is a straight line. When the body is in the way you have to dog leg around it to get to the target. This will take time no matter how little, it is adding time to an event you are already behind on the time continuum. In an effort to try and make up that time many will try to shortcut by angling the muzzle into their body. Add placing your finger prematurely on the trigger and you can figure it out from there.

Safety First

Behind the hip can be carried in two conditions, magazine facing outboard or magazine facing inboard. There are pro’s/con’s to each, but when standards are in play outboard has less travel. When the magazine faces inboard the arm and hand must travel further behind the body to get a firing grip. Regardless of which condition safely re-holstering is the next challenge. Two non-negotiable steps when re-holstering concealed are to clear the cover garment and confirm there is no obstruction to your holster’s mouth. These obstructions could inadvertently gain access inside the trigger guard so as you re-holster the apply pressure to the trigger. With sufficient pressure a negligent discharge is quite possible. The second step is to look the gun into the holster for the same reason we want to clear the cover garment. When the holster is behind the hip it makes it very difficult to consistently accomplish. I have had a few students attempt this in our classes. Safety is never negotiable and they have to be able to comply with these steps to ensure the highest level of safety for themselves and the rest of the class. You might get away with it a few times, but to gain confidence in your drawstroke you will need to practice. The more you practice, the higher the risk with this technique. Most cannot consistently follow these steps and will change to something more traditional.

Remember, when it comes to safety if it is predictable, then it is preventable. As far as performance, there are other options that inherently can out perform when all things are equal.

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