I’m not talking about a simple exercise of your 2nd Amendment rights, I’m asking what is that concern, that threat, that makes you strap on a gun and its accompanying accoutrement on a daily basis?
This is a question I like to ask my students on a regular basis, especially students that are of an age that they’ve been carrying for at least 20 years. So I ask, “20 years ago, what was that personal safety concern that made you want to carry?” Invariably, the answer is some sort of version of a concern of being mugged……..basically, being a victim of a personal crime for monetary gain.
I’ve been carrying on and off-duty daily for nearly 26 years now. I agree with my students, that was my same concern 20 years ago. Additionally, I had the concern of running into someone that I had arrested that wasn’t happy about the overall encounter and it’s consequences. Come to think of it, I can’t remember anyone that was actually happy about me arresting them. Who’d a-thunk it? When my concerns were mugging and unhappy customers, I felt comfortable with a J-frame S&W and a Speed-Strip reload. I will take on any thug with that setup and I had confidence in it.
I ask those same students if their threat concerns have changed a mite in the past 20 years. Almost unanimously, they have. Nowadays, the thought of what threatens them have shifted to the active shooter and terrorist (domestic or foreign). We have seen historically that active shooter situations can happen in all the places where most folks spend their time outside of the home. Acts of terrorism as well. San Bernadino in a public, outdoor place. Most recently, at a baseball game. In a movie theater. At a mall. At a school. In a church.
This type of threat is quite different from the mugging. By their nature, crimes for personal benefit happen at exceptionally close range; what I commonly refer to as “bad breath” distance. Hard for someone to steal your wallet at 100 yards. Additionally, we see a difference in the armament of the active shooter/terrorist vs the mugger. Active shooters/terrorists are arming themselves with long guns, and quite often body armor. Muggers aren’t wearing armor and will have a weapon that is small and easily concealed.
Look at the active shooter in Austin TX a few years ago. The threat was stopped by a single Austin PD mounted officer, who was standing and holding 2 horses with his offhand while he shot the perpetrator with a single round, one-handed, at a distance of 103 yards. I can honestly say, there are still Gunfighters in Texas! That is a phenomenal feat of firearms skills, to rival any that I’m aware of.
With the shift in the threat paradigm, with their accompanying changes in arms/armor/distance, suddenly my J-frame S&W .38 +P is found to be badly wanting, for multiple reasons.
1. Capacity: I may not recognize the fact that the perpetrator is wearing body armor. How many shots to “center-of-mass” will it take before I realize that I need to shift to a different target? I don’t know, but if it happens I’ll be sure to write about it. So, I hammer to that large, sweet target area, realize it ain’t working like I want it to, and I need to reapply some lovin’ to a better, but harder to hit, area. Am I going to have enough ammo left in my weapon to accomplish this?
2. Sight radius: A short barreled handgun is as accurate as a long barreled handgun, but it is much harder for the individual shooter to hit accurately with it. Why is this? Because of a shorter sight radius (the distance between the front and rear sights). The further apart the sights are, the easier it is for the shooter to shoot it accurately. Therefore, the vast majority of shooters will shoot a Glock 19 more accurately than they do a Glock 43.
With a handgun of the Glock 19/SIG P229/Beretta 92 Compact size, I can accurately hit man-sized targets in a vital area at 100 yards, during training. I’ve actually applied this accurately out to 200 yards, during training. I emphasize this because what is accomplished during training, without stress, on a non-moving target, is not nearly as easy to do when under the stress of a deadly force situation, on a target that will more than likely be moving. But, if I can accurate hit with a compact handgun of that size at 100 yards during training, I can readily apply effective suppressive fire in a real world situation. I simply cannot expect to do the same with a J-frame Smith or subcompact/micro handgun.
An option for the CCW-armed civilian in an active shooter/terrorist situation is to exit the area quickly. Leaving a **** situation is always an option. However, for folks like me in LE, I strongly believe that you do not have this option. On-duty or off-duty, I say you only have 2 options:
1. Rapidly leave the area, go straight to your agency head, and turn in your gun and badge.
2. Skin that smoke wagon and go to work. I don’t care how many bad guys there are, or what they are armed with. That badge you wear is a covenant to a place yourself between the danger and those that could be harmed. If you are not willing to move towards the sign of gunfire, then quit and provide a job opening for someone that is.
For an armed civilian that opts to be part of the solution and move towards danger in an effort to stop the perpetrator, I applaud and laud you. You’re part of what makes America great. Come see me, I owe you a beer.
I love a well-worded, pithy quote as much as the next guy. Clint Smith has many, one of which is, “A handgun is only good to fight your way to a good carbine.” That is a tad paraphrased, but the sentiment is the same. However much I personally like this quote, it is a bit of a fallacy. Unless you just happen to be very, very close to your vehicle, the chance of accessing a good long gun is going to be very slim. I would be prefer to be armed with just about any long gun over a handgun, but it just ain’t gonna happen often. I’m sure the Capital Police officers at the recent baseball game shooting would have much rather had long guns than sidearms when they took on a gunman armed with an SKS, but they did yeoman service with their handguns and stopped the threat. It’s the man that makes the craftsman, not the tools that he uses.
Anyways, in my own rambling, took-you-around-the-block-and-back sort of way, my intention here was to make you think about what handgun you choose to carry on your person in your day-to-day travels. Even if you don’t choose to “upgrade” to a weapon system that I recommended, carrying something is better than carrying nothing. I’m not espousing any particular brand, caliber, trigger/action type, etc. If the music starts, you’ll have to dance with the girl you brought, so make it a partner you’re comfortable with.
Semper Fi!
This is a question I like to ask my students on a regular basis, especially students that are of an age that they’ve been carrying for at least 20 years. So I ask, “20 years ago, what was that personal safety concern that made you want to carry?” Invariably, the answer is some sort of version of a concern of being mugged……..basically, being a victim of a personal crime for monetary gain.
I’ve been carrying on and off-duty daily for nearly 26 years now. I agree with my students, that was my same concern 20 years ago. Additionally, I had the concern of running into someone that I had arrested that wasn’t happy about the overall encounter and it’s consequences. Come to think of it, I can’t remember anyone that was actually happy about me arresting them. Who’d a-thunk it? When my concerns were mugging and unhappy customers, I felt comfortable with a J-frame S&W and a Speed-Strip reload. I will take on any thug with that setup and I had confidence in it.
I ask those same students if their threat concerns have changed a mite in the past 20 years. Almost unanimously, they have. Nowadays, the thought of what threatens them have shifted to the active shooter and terrorist (domestic or foreign). We have seen historically that active shooter situations can happen in all the places where most folks spend their time outside of the home. Acts of terrorism as well. San Bernadino in a public, outdoor place. Most recently, at a baseball game. In a movie theater. At a mall. At a school. In a church.
This type of threat is quite different from the mugging. By their nature, crimes for personal benefit happen at exceptionally close range; what I commonly refer to as “bad breath” distance. Hard for someone to steal your wallet at 100 yards. Additionally, we see a difference in the armament of the active shooter/terrorist vs the mugger. Active shooters/terrorists are arming themselves with long guns, and quite often body armor. Muggers aren’t wearing armor and will have a weapon that is small and easily concealed.
Look at the active shooter in Austin TX a few years ago. The threat was stopped by a single Austin PD mounted officer, who was standing and holding 2 horses with his offhand while he shot the perpetrator with a single round, one-handed, at a distance of 103 yards. I can honestly say, there are still Gunfighters in Texas! That is a phenomenal feat of firearms skills, to rival any that I’m aware of.
With the shift in the threat paradigm, with their accompanying changes in arms/armor/distance, suddenly my J-frame S&W .38 +P is found to be badly wanting, for multiple reasons.
1. Capacity: I may not recognize the fact that the perpetrator is wearing body armor. How many shots to “center-of-mass” will it take before I realize that I need to shift to a different target? I don’t know, but if it happens I’ll be sure to write about it. So, I hammer to that large, sweet target area, realize it ain’t working like I want it to, and I need to reapply some lovin’ to a better, but harder to hit, area. Am I going to have enough ammo left in my weapon to accomplish this?
2. Sight radius: A short barreled handgun is as accurate as a long barreled handgun, but it is much harder for the individual shooter to hit accurately with it. Why is this? Because of a shorter sight radius (the distance between the front and rear sights). The further apart the sights are, the easier it is for the shooter to shoot it accurately. Therefore, the vast majority of shooters will shoot a Glock 19 more accurately than they do a Glock 43.
With a handgun of the Glock 19/SIG P229/Beretta 92 Compact size, I can accurately hit man-sized targets in a vital area at 100 yards, during training. I’ve actually applied this accurately out to 200 yards, during training. I emphasize this because what is accomplished during training, without stress, on a non-moving target, is not nearly as easy to do when under the stress of a deadly force situation, on a target that will more than likely be moving. But, if I can accurate hit with a compact handgun of that size at 100 yards during training, I can readily apply effective suppressive fire in a real world situation. I simply cannot expect to do the same with a J-frame Smith or subcompact/micro handgun.
An option for the CCW-armed civilian in an active shooter/terrorist situation is to exit the area quickly. Leaving a **** situation is always an option. However, for folks like me in LE, I strongly believe that you do not have this option. On-duty or off-duty, I say you only have 2 options:
1. Rapidly leave the area, go straight to your agency head, and turn in your gun and badge.
2. Skin that smoke wagon and go to work. I don’t care how many bad guys there are, or what they are armed with. That badge you wear is a covenant to a place yourself between the danger and those that could be harmed. If you are not willing to move towards the sign of gunfire, then quit and provide a job opening for someone that is.
For an armed civilian that opts to be part of the solution and move towards danger in an effort to stop the perpetrator, I applaud and laud you. You’re part of what makes America great. Come see me, I owe you a beer.
I love a well-worded, pithy quote as much as the next guy. Clint Smith has many, one of which is, “A handgun is only good to fight your way to a good carbine.” That is a tad paraphrased, but the sentiment is the same. However much I personally like this quote, it is a bit of a fallacy. Unless you just happen to be very, very close to your vehicle, the chance of accessing a good long gun is going to be very slim. I would be prefer to be armed with just about any long gun over a handgun, but it just ain’t gonna happen often. I’m sure the Capital Police officers at the recent baseball game shooting would have much rather had long guns than sidearms when they took on a gunman armed with an SKS, but they did yeoman service with their handguns and stopped the threat. It’s the man that makes the craftsman, not the tools that he uses.
Anyways, in my own rambling, took-you-around-the-block-and-back sort of way, my intention here was to make you think about what handgun you choose to carry on your person in your day-to-day travels. Even if you don’t choose to “upgrade” to a weapon system that I recommended, carrying something is better than carrying nothing. I’m not espousing any particular brand, caliber, trigger/action type, etc. If the music starts, you’ll have to dance with the girl you brought, so make it a partner you’re comfortable with.
Semper Fi!
