Presentation -- Doesn't much matter where you carry or what you carry. Can you get at it in a defensive situation?

Ayoob goes into this in detail. Using the "off arm" to block, parry. Turning the body sideways to present a narrow target. Stance. Clearing clothing.

Ayoob also stresses that you need to practice presentation as "draw and point." If you practice to "draw and shoot" you'll draw your gun and shoot under stress, when shooting may not be your intention.

So, can you get to it? Can you clear your clothing? Is it ready to fire, or do you need to release a safety?

Worst case scenario might be something to the effect: You can't get the coat out of the way. The thumb break on the holster won't release. The safety is on. And while you're getting past all this, your assailant is whacking you upside the head with a club.

All this stuff needs to be worked out ahead of time.

All very true. Personally, I like to practice reaching for my gun in slow movements at first. That way I can get a feel for how high it is on my waist and how close it is to my back(depending on which gun I'm carrying).

Without really noticing, you find yourself getting faster at pulling it from your holster. This is also done while walking, turning towards your strong arm, squatting, etc.

I don't have holsters with thumb breaks(one less thing to worry about) and another good thing about revolvers is no safety to deal with.

I can't speak from experience with concealed, per say, but I've handled guns a whole lot in my life. When hunting or just shooting for fun, I don't even think about presentation. When the armadillo appears, my gun is just there and ready. I don't think that any material, like shirt, or jacket, is gonna stop me from drawing when it counts. Adrenaline is gonna make things give. Be comfortable with your weapon and "use" it until it become a part of you. The rest will take care of itself.

quote:

Originally posted by griz78:
another good thing about revolvers is no safety to deal with.

Revolvers don't have a safety?

I guess that's why the cylinder keeps opening when I take my safety off. Lame attempt, I know.

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
I can't speak from experience with concealed, per say, but I've handled guns a whole lot in my life. When hunting or just shooting for fun, I don't even think about presentation. When the armadillo appears, my gun is just there and ready. I don't think that any material, like shirt, or jacket, is gonna stop me from drawing when it counts. Adrenaline is gonna make things give. Be comfortable with your weapon and "use" it until it become a part of you. The rest will take care of itself.

OR -- you could be in for a big surprise when the rubber is screeching on the roadway.

daniel77:

You are correct. Know your equip until what you do becomes second nature...but.

Clothing can and will cause a problem. I can think of several shootings involving plain clothes personnel where both bad guys and good guys experienced the following things--and more-when things began to get sporty:

*clothing between the hammer and the firing pin

*clothing inside the trigger guard--during the draw, obstructing trigger finger

*drawing the gun from inside the waistband under a coat, while turning to the left and then thrusting the barrel inside the lower portion of the now flapping coat on the shooters weak side

*having the gun hang up on a flapping jacket pocket while running

*adrenaline did nothing to help in any case

Shit happens. Things can and will go bad.

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
Be comfortable with your weapon and "use" it until it become a part of you. The rest will take care of itself.

Wm,
daniel77's description is the simple way to become proficient. "use it till it become part of you".

I'll bet he only carries one way and doesn't experiment much with different holsters.

I've distilled it down to a 1911 in an inside the waist band holster and it's always under a shirt, vest or jacket. After 30 years I don't even think about the safety and surprise myself at requal or IDPA shoots when I find the it back on after a string of fire without any thought on my part.

Sometimes we out-think ourselves.

Years ago I had a neighbor who was a steroid abuser, gym-junkie, and a jerk. Young, big, and with a short fuse. Did I mention he was a jerk?

I was out working in the yard. Complicated series of events, but he "charged me." I had a snubby IWB, under a T-shirt. Simple enough.

I intended to just position my hand on the grip, wait to see if he crossed the property line and kept charging. What actually happened was that I drew the gun out of the holster. I didn't intend to draw -- adrenaline just took over.

Surprised the hell out of me as much as it surprised him. Double action revolver, at least I didn't draw and fire.

Add some adrenaline and fear into the routine and the "plan" goes out the window.

Back when I used to go to public ranges, I pulled up to the bench once and saw the guy in the next table draw from cover and instantly put a round into the ground right next to his foot. Without any level of astonishment on his part, he calmly reholstered and prepared to draw again. I just slipped the truck in reverse and backed on out.

Drawing from concealment under stress can be very dangerous to you and everyone around you. Practice is paramount. The best advice I can give online is to say "smooth is fast and fast is smooth". Nobody learns muscle memory skills without several hundred reps of doing it right, no matter the speed. If you carry daily, draw to low ready every night when you prepare to take off your rig. In the morning, practice a reholster from the low ready as well. Cheap, effective practice.



WSL- Looks like that drawn weapon served as quite a deterrent. How could a laser have been more effective than that? Would he even have seen it?

Chet

I often carry wearing a bush vest. I always put two .38 special speed loaders in my strong side pocket to give inertia to the vest coming open when I sweep it back to grab my colt. I've done this for many years, and it works. I also have a 649 in my pants pocket in case of a jam I can't clear in a hurry.

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
I often carry wearing a bush vest. I always put two .38 special speed loaders in my strong side pocket to give inertia to the vest coming open when I sweep it back to grab my colt. I've done this for many years, and it works. I also have a 649 in my pants pocket in case of a jam I can't clear in a hurry.

Speed-dial on the cell phone so you can call in air support.