CCW myths

[aray]

Hopefully this isn't a dup. I found the following article (reported elsewhere) interesting:

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/18228/concealed-carry-myths/

[Thunder71]

That was a great read, however there's one piece he failed to address. My biggest concern with not having a round chambered isn't time, it's reliability. I'd venture a guess that a round chambered has a much less percentage of failure compared to the next round which relies on the first round being ejected, followed by a rather painful process of being stripped from the magazine and forced into a small hole... the chances of failure go up drastically, especially when hand racking your firearm under huge amounts of stress/adrenaline.

I used to carry un-chambered until I read that somewhere, definitely changed my tune.

[hss.strat]

Agreed with Thunder71. If owning a K9 has taught me anything it's that the racking in the first round is the least reliable step in firing a gun. Also as mentioned in the article, I know that if I have a gun around that usually isn't loaded I just assume that it isn't loaded all the time. Thankfully I've always gone through the safety checks when I pick it up but only because safety checks were drilled in to me from early on.



A personal complaint of mine is that most people who have a gun for self defense either ccw or at home, never train to use it in a realistic situation. Going to the range and putting 50 rounds into a paper target 10 yards away is great practice, but it's not going to prepare you to defend your life. You can even see it in some of the things posted on this website. Some people are so quick to say they'd draw down on someone, which ironically shows that they've never really practiced it. IMO you need to practice drawing from your casual every day carry setup, covering a person with your firearm and retaining that weapon. It's just as important to learn, train, and think about when to draw/use your weapon from a legal standpoint, personal beliefs standpoint and a tactical/safety standpoint. Unfortunately that's probably the area of training that gets the least attention.

Have you established a clear set of rules on when you're comfortable placing your hand on your weapon with the intent to draw it? How about actually drawing it? Pointing it at someone? Pulling the trigger? Maybe you're only comfortable drawing your gun when you're also justified in using it, the proverbial life or death situation. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's something you should definitely have worked out long before you start carrying a gun in public. And have you checked to see if your personal feelings on the matter match up with your local laws? Can you legally and are you willing to use your gun to possibly kill someone in order to stop a bank robbery? How about if someone else gets shot in front of you on the street? Are you willing to inject yourself into a situation like that... are you legally justified in doing it? Are you even a good enough shot? If you're going to make yourself a target by drawing your gun you better hope you're enough of a marksman to hit your intended target before they hit you. These are questions that you should know the answer to.

I hear a lot of "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6" macho bull crap. But the reality is that if you don't set rules for yourself, that are clearly defined and you're comfortable with, then when the time comes to get down to business your mind will be going 1,000 miles per hour and you'll be thinking "oh crap, is this it? should I do this? will I get arrested? am I a good enough shot?" etc. etc. All that hesitation could cost you your life. When it comes time to draw my gun I want to be comfortable with the fact that I have already considered the legal ramifications, my personal feelings and I'm prepared to operate that weapon as effectively as I can; All that adds up to seconds saved when it matters most and a clear head for when I have to explain why I did what I did.

But hey, what the hell do I know. I'm just some guy on the internet.

[wyntrout]

Add what you discussed to the post about the distance of 21 feet and 1.5 seconds for a guy armed with a knife to run over and stick it in you... not a lot of time to do much. It's certainly not enough time to be ruminating about the pros and cons or legal consequences of your actions or inactions! You MUST have already figured this stuff out and have trained to react properly to defend yourself and your loved ones. As you said, and I point out quite frequently, you don't do any of this at a range punching holes in stationary paper targets... taking a lot of time in aiming, etc.:rolleyes:

Wynn:)

[muggsy]

Here is a good video to back up what Wyntrout said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c06mH6x2Ntc&feature=related

[jocko]

u know there are times when the best of all plans fail, due to just the phrase sh-t happens. One can only prepare to the best of HIS ABILITIES, one cannot prepare to the other guys actions--that willbe an unknown . Most all gang bangers are unskilled assholes who certainly dont practice shooting or knifing people. they are what they are two bit thugs who IMO dont have the skills and pracitcve that most all members here have or practice to have. U neve rknow in a real ife situtaion just what ur gonna do, but at east this forum people and most other gun forums also, the members have some shooting skills and knowledge of what to do and what not to do. Now if a gang bangers is a real die hard forum reader, then he is on par with all of us. We never know wheen our name pops up in the good book to call it a day neither does the gang banger..