Running with a Gun - article

[BadKitty]

So, we need to do ourselves a favor and train on our own initiative for alternate carries, outfits and circumstances. Ever try drawing from a purse in high heels and a body con dress? I haven't. I can imagine that my stance would be off-kilter due to the heels. Are you a business professional that wears a suit and jacket? Better try drawing with your jacket on as I can imagine that the shoulders would be restricted when you come up to contact ready. Maybe practice carrying heavy grocery bags, drop them on the ground and draw. Or practice drawing and shooting with heavy bags hanging from your shoulders.

During my weekly dry fire practice tonight, I practiced drawing and firing with a purse and jacket hanging off of my shoulder. I also practiced drawing and firing with the purse, jacket, and with a full shopping bag in each hand. I would practice dropping the bags to the ground first, as well as attempting to draw and fire with the shopping bags still hanging from my wrists. I included static drills (standing and drawing) as well as walking up and down my hallway holding the bags and then dropping and drawing once I got to my safe direction.

Great exercises! It was a real eye-opener to learn how awkward it is to get a proper grip on my weapon when I have to drop bags first. I recommend trying this type of exercise for men and women alike.

[wichlaz]

I've never seen a California rule the you can only draw from the hip when carrying concealed. Or that you need a shirt. (Obviously we're wearing some kind of shirt, or we'd cause a riot...). Just to keep the confusion down to a dull roar, the above may be Front Site rules, but they aren't California rules that I know of.

Women DO have special carry needs, since we tend to curve out, where men are flat or curve in. For me, since I'm old and fat, right side appendix is best. I have this inward curve, like a little pocket, between my belly and my hip bone. REALLY easy to conceal there. With a .380, I can just use a sticky holster and drop it in the pocket of my jeans. (But I'm old and fat now, so no one is really looking...)

BK is right, practice for your real world situation. And especially the Walmart parking lot. Nothing against Walmart but I have been approached more times there than anywhere else in my life. And get some snap caps. You can practice at home every day for different situations (remember its dark out at night so do that too ).

And before we fire up The Caliber War (AGAIN ! ), let me say that shot-placement trumps caliber EVERY SINGLE TIME. A .380 round in the chest is ALWAYS better than a .45 wound in the tree five feet away....

There is no such law, but it is how you have to qualify at the end of the CCW class in Lake County. Must draw from external hip holster covered by concealment garment in 3 steps.

[Stumpfenhammer]

Sorry, S, I disagree entirely. Once you are close enough to a Bad Guy to use a knife, you're close enough for him to take it away from you. And he will.

The idea of intimidating a BG by pulling a knife is dangerous nonsense. A woman would be better served by taking a hand-to-hand self defense class designed for women, if she absolutely refuses to carry.

(And by the way, you are NOT allowed to advertise "for sale" items in any forum other than the "for sale by individual" ones. Someone's probably gonna report you to the moderators and you could get banned)

My statement is primarily based on experience gained from (1) having designed and taught women's self-defense/rape prevention courses, as well as firearms and tactics courses for both sexes (2) training in Japanese and Filipino blade systems (3) training and competing in BJJ and stand-up fighting systems, and (4) supporting and advising my 5' tall significant other on her personal security -- to include taking her from someone who had never touched a gun, to her being able to successfully complete (on her own) a few USPSA matches and a few classes with former Tier One types.

The right H2H class is a good idea, but frankly, the disparity in power and willingness to commit mayhem - between the (average) female and a male predator - makes most short-term H2H training a feel-good bandaid, that could get you killed if it leaves you with an unrealistic sense of confidence. That's not to say that it doesn't have value, just that more needs to be done if a women is serious about her ability to deal with a violent man.

"The idea of intimidating a BG by pulling a knife is dangerous nonsense."

Are you saying that you wouldn't be intimidated by a knife if I pulled one on you? Are you saying you'd rather take a blade to the spleen than a punch to the face? Do you think a predator would be more afraid of the striking power of a woman versus a knife in the groin? Sure, just standing there holding a knife with no idea what to do next is not a good idea....but, based on my experience, it takes a lot less time to make someone lethal with a knife than with their hands and feet.

Many people are concerned with their safety but unwilling to go through the hassle of carrying a gun, or taking self-defense classes. A blade is much better than being unarmed. The point is to not have to depend on your size and strength when you know you will be facing a larger, stronger opponent. If you worried about them taking the blade away and using it on you, do you really think they wouldn't have beaten/strangled you to death if you didn't have the knife? The answer is, decide if your life is in danger, and if it is, pull that blade and get to work.

Regardless, I'm not speaking to intimidation, I'm speaking to self-defense, as committed predators generally aren't prone to intimidation. You pull the blade/gun when you decide it's time to use it, and you use it. The willingness to use that knife (or firearm, or fists) in the face of violence is going to be the first obstacle on the way to surviving.

Another poster mentioned that most of us are not wired to stab (or shoot) another person, and that poster is correct. The answer to that is training yourself to a new mindset, and it can be done. Visualization can be effective if you can't find a trainer who can work with you on that: Close your eyes and run various scenarios in your mind, make them violent and realistic, imagine the threat trying to control you with the most vicious, obscene threats, imagine the fight, and see yourself answering it with even more violence. If you're a mom, imagine you are defending your kids, that momma has to make it through this for them. In a fight for your life, there can be no hesitation, no holding back, no mercy...you get one shot and you better be ready to make it count. Speed, surprise, and violence of action are a proven formula -- you need to make sure your mind isn't what limits your body...You must be comfortable with violence before you get attacked, because learning on the job is not going to work out well.

There is no easy, work-free answer to being prepared to defend yourself. It takes adequate measures of training, tools and willingness. Ted Bundy's victim count would have been drastically lower if the first women he abducted had a blade and the willingness to use it (I recommend reading up on Ted Bundy and how he setup and took down his victims. It's dark, horrible reading, but if one is serious about self-defense, that read will be useful. If you get through that intact, read up on Richard Ramirez).

Lastly, I'm not clear on your admonition regarding "for sale" items. Are you referencing my signature or the link to the knife I posted? I'm happy to adjust, I'm just not sure of what you were addressing and I couldn't find anything in the forum rules that clarified your meaning. Thanks.

[HooYah]

Knives are meant to be felt, not seen.

[movie zombie]

lol, "more weirdos in the blade industry than in the gun industry".
takes a LOT of training to reach his level of expertise and be confident to defend oneself.

[jeremiah12]

Oh, just to clarify, I was specifically referring to CCW-type training courses where students are directed on how they are expected to draw regardless of if that's appropriate for the student. I was not making any reference to California laws.

I am currently in Reno to take a class to renew my NV permit. I am taking the class from the same company I took my first class from 5 years ago. They specialize working with older people and those with physical issues that interfere with deploying and using a gun the way most are taught. I cannot draw from my waist very well. I suffered with frozen shoulders on both sides for over two years and it took surgery to restore some range of motion. I can draw from my pocket or lower or cross body. A few inches higher into my waist band, I cannot clear the holster on days when my shoulder is giving me fits. When temperatures are below 50, my shoulders do not work well.

I am allowed to draw from my pocket using my sticky holster. I use the sticky holster with a kydex insert. I also were pants with large pockets and I also have several pairs of pants with cargo pockets that are even lower than regular pockets that hold the gun well, keep it well concealed, and allow me to draw it with ease. For qualifying, I am allowed to use the method that works best for me.

What I do not like about most gun classes is they are set up for people with few mobility issues. They assume we all move like twenty year olds. I wish I could. I started shooting handguns and taking classes in shooting because I had a stroke and needed an alternative way to defend myself and my family. The gun works, but I am still limited by my physical capabilities.

[SnWnMe]

I went running with my J frame last week to get a first hand perspective

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1516327

I don't understand why the writer of the article linked above ran with her back to the traffic. I always run facing the traffic. This way I also see bicycles which make almost no noise.