Defensive CarryDoran 2005
I am asked almost daily by officers and military personnel what they should carry and how they should carry it. First of all you have to ask yourself if you will carry your defensive hand gun all of the time? The gun you carry is always better than the one you leave under the seat of your vehicle, on the dresser or some other unreachable location.
If you will not carry it religiously do not buy it. I have had several individuals come up to me and tell me how much better there 44 mag is than my Kimber 45 ACP. Then I ask them if I can see it? They proceed to tell me it is in the car or at home. My response is always then I guess mine is better than yours because I have mine with me and you do not.
What ever weapon you choose you have to be able to get solid hits. Peripheral hits and misses do not do you any good at all. You have to purchase a weapon which you can afford to shoot, and practice with it to become proficient. If the rounds cost you 5 bucks a piece and you are not rich, or you are scared of the recoil etc, then you will not practice with it and insure the weapon is reliable and accurate. Even the best gun makers manufacture duds from time to time. The only way you will find out if there is a problem with your chosen firearm is by using it over and over again.
One gun can not do it all. When I was working in the mountains of Idaho and Montana in thick Grizzly bear and moose country I carried my 4 inch Stainless Smith & Wesson 44 mag loaded with Garrett hammerhead ammo and my 1911 in a shoulder rig since I was on the job. I also took along a rifle or shotgun depending on terrain, line of sight etc.
Even though I had a long gun I carried the 44 mag because of Mr. Murphy, never failed to rear his ugly head. When you went to perform a task and your long gun was next to a tree, that is when Mr. Grizzly or Mr. Moose could be seen coming in from a distance, we also used horses a good deal of the time and when an horse gets wind of a bear, other predatory or large animal they freak out. You may get thrown or have to jump off to calm the knot head and may not have time to get your long gun from the saddle scabbard. It happens, remember the one that is with you rule? No matter what you always had a decent means of self defense on your hip come what may. I had a friend who was working in Alaska and decided all he needed for bear defense was a Taurus 9MM. Until he came face to face with a Polar Bear and he fired two shot in the direction of the bear, the gun double fed and the bear kept coming. Lucky for him his snow machine was near by and he was able to beat feet.
When working around water and in swampy areas I carried a Smith & Wesson Stainless Steel 357, because it always functioned and if it did get gunked up a swish in the water would clean it off very rapidly and then I would immediately clean it. I could have probably done that with another type of firearm but at the time we were told it was the best gun for that type of assignment.
You may also find that if you carry a gun on duty or in a heavy duty belt rig, that it can not be concealed or carried comfortably in a concealment off duty rig, and is true to form a lot of guys leave them behind. One of my current deputies switches when he is off duty because he has a really hard time concealing just about anything. It is just the way he is built and found that his duty gun was so uncomfortable he had a bad habit of not putting it on.
Along with the gun you must select gun leather that fits your frame, again one holster does not do it all for everyone it is just like a gun if it bothers you, you will not put it on and leave it on.
There are holster my buddies carry I would never consider because they do not fit my frame, rub me raw or whatever, and likewise mine does not work for them. You have to be able to get the gun out quickly (Remember there are the quick and the dead) if you can not get the gun out on target then it does you no good at all.
So that means that you always want to carry your main gun in the same place all of the time so under stress there are no guessing games, and you have to be able to get it out of the holster. You may want to carry two guns as I do.
My main gun is always in the same place and my spare or hideout is typically carried in my weak side front pocket. However I have my pants altered so that the gun can be retrieved quickly if I am forced to use it. I chose a revolver for that function. I have been carrying a snubbie 5 shot smith that way for over 20 years. If I drop my gun belt for some reason I have another right there with me ready to go.
Any good solid brand name holster with a thumb break and closed bottom will keep the gun free of most debris, I have been covered in muck and filth, and the only dirty part of my weapon was the butt and back of the trigger guard. I have time and again tested the gun before cleaning it to insure it functions right out of the holster and they have never failed me to date.
I have had to literally wash the but of the gun in water to get the crap off, but the gun worked just fine, revolver or semi-auto. I have never liked flaps only because I can not get to the gun fast enough there is to much screwing around for me. That is my personal choice. However I have a buddy who is a retired MSP Trooper who is lightning fast with a flap worn in a cross draw position. But he has practiced with it for years and he has mastered his movements in getting the thing out, he actually has off duty rigs made for his gun in the cross draw flap configuration because they suit his particular need and the area in which he now lives and works and he is comfortable with it.
Regardless of the area you are in, you have to perform a weapons check every day to insure that you weapon is clear of debris and loaded, yes I said loaded. I do not know how many persons I have dealt with over the years who have carried an unloaded gun for literally weeks because they unloaded it, put it back in the holster and forgot to do a weapons check before going back on duty, or they carry it so long it goes dry and seizes up after the first shot, or rusts inside the holster.
Ever hear the true story of the policemans x-wife who super glued her husbands duty gun in his holster? It happened and he did not discover it for 3 month after she moved out and he had to qualify. He had to cut the gun from the holster. Crazier stuff has happened.
Regular maintenance is a must. Again that is why I carry two in the field. When I am PMing one the other is ready to go, until the first can be properly cleaned and oiled. I live by the rule that before I end my day, and begin my time off, my personal weapons are checked and cleaned before I do anything else. We use to have a rule in the military that we took care of the company equipment first, then our personal gear then yourself. Sorry but it was one rule I disobeyed. My personal carry weapons were on the top of the list followed by the company stuff, then I would take care of my personnel needs.
Carrying a gun is hard work, and you are better off not caring it if you do not make the commitment to do it right because all it will do is give you a false sense of security and cause more problems that it corrects.
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