Shooting Illustrated 5 Critical Mistakes Article.

[boom boom]

Recent article on five critical mistakes made by gun owners with defensive arms.

https://www.shootingillustrated.com...itical-mistakes-made-by-defensive-gun-owners/

Seems pretty much common sense except they left out having a quality holster if you are carying it with you.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

It's like he found every controversial topic on gun forums and wrote an article about them. As you said the only thing he left out was "Serpa sucks"

 

[beeenbag]

Mistake No. 2: Rotating Your Daily Concealed-Carry Gun

I disagree with this one to an extent.

If someone shoots their firearms a fair bit, I think you are okay on this one as long as you don't deviate too far from the manual of arms. For instance, none of my carry guns are single action only, or dependent on a safety. I do however change carry guns for multiple reason, my attire and my location being the two major factors. I know under distress you will resort back to muscle memory and your training, but training with multiple guns and remaining somewhat close to the same manual of arms, I don't feel like is an issue. I can't imagine that I would not be able to operate my 3913 (carried decocked and safety off) or my shield if pulled under distress. Same concept for both, sight alignment, trigger pull.

 

[sequins]

I rotate between a wide variety of manuals of arms. I've got sao, dao, da/sa, safeties, deckers, safety decockers, etc. I enjoy the variety and different guns suit different purposes.

 

[JohnKSa]

Good article. All pretty much common sense but worth stating explicitly.

The controversy surrounding these five issues highlights the differences in why people carry guns.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I rotate between a wide variety of manuals of arms. I've got sao, dao, da/sa, safeties, deckers, safety decockers, etc. I enjoy the variety and different guns suit different purposes.

Do you ever train with them? Have you ever done a class using to guns with different manuals of arms under stress?

 

[Jenrick]

I've always disagreed with the idea of sticking to a single system as well. Yes if you don't train that probably is a better idea. However at work I'm supposed to be able to shoot a striker fired pistol, a cross bolt safetied shotgun, a flip safety rifle, and reverse flip safety TASER all with no issues and only annually mandated training. So some how I'm going to totally loose it if I have to go from a striker fired pistol a TDA or SAO?

 

[WrongHanded]

I don't really "rotate" carry guns, but I do carry what I think is appropriate for the situation. However, all the guns I carry for SD are guns I shoot pretty regularly. And as I do carry different guns for different situations, I don't get so used to one specific action type that something else feels strange.

This may not lead to me being as subconsciously proficient with the gun I have on my person (on any given day), as I may be if I only ever carried and practiced with one firearm. But it does mean that when I pull my SBH or RH out of the safe for a hike, I haven't forgotten how to shoot it decently. And when I have my Sig P224 in the shop for a sight install, I can confidently grab my 1911 or GP100 to carry in its place.

 

[harrygunner]

Decent basic set of points to help those starting out.

Rotating guns is a personal choice. You'll likely be alone when the "event" happens. Any people nearby will probably run away, leaving you to deal with your life threatening problem.

Since I understand I'll be alone, I don't rotate manual of arms. Same type, same place on my body all year round.

 

[Slamfire]

I thought the article was one of the better in print articles I have read. I thought the advice was well thought out. I don't merely want the same platform, I want the simplest platform, which is a DAO only revolver:

I want to have zero flippers or levers to monkey with.

 

[boom boom]

I can understand the reasoning behind learn one firearm (or a family of firearms such as the M&P) and practice with it enough to gain through repetitive practice so that you point and aim the firearm in a consistent manner, operate the controls without much if any conscious thought such as the slide lock, and are fully aware of potential malfunctions and a remedy for those. Those who carry in public have to be even more careful.

For those that practice enough to establish unconscious mastery of the controls of various firearms, then carrying other firearms, assuming all other variables such as location of the draw etc. are similar, should not be a big a deal. However, I suspect that most folks, like me, don't have the time to master a bunch of different firearms and that simpler is better. I have used a revolver long enough to trust my life with one but also have moved with the times to a semi-auto that mimics the revolver with simple controls and a similar trigger pull (3rd gen DAO S&W). Evaluating the new (to me anyway--I stay about ten years back from trends) S&W M&P simply because of arthritis is making long heavy trigger pulls more difficult.

 

[George Dickel]

I also disagree with the one carry gun rule. I have two striker fired pistols with no safety that I regularly carry and shoot. Recently bought a Kimber Micro 9 that is similar enough to my 1911 that I'm very familiar with it's operation as I carried a 1911 in the Army for a number of years and one resides in my bedroom nightstand. For the individual that only shoots once or twice a year, the one gun rule is understandable.

 

[RPZ]

I can understand the reasoning behind learn one firearm (or a family of firearms such as the M&P) and practice with it enough to gain through repetitive practice so that you point and aim the firearm in a consistent manner, operate the controls without much if any conscious thought such as the slide lock, and are fully aware of potential malfunctions and a remedy for those. Those who carry in public have to be even more careful.

For those that practice enough to establish unconscious mastery of the controls of various firearms, then carrying other firearms, assuming all other variables such as location of the draw etc. are similar, should not be a big a deal. However, I suspect that most folks, like me, don't have the time to master a bunch of different firearms and that simpler is better. I have used a revolver long enough to trust my life with one but also have moved with the times to a semi-auto that mimics the revolver with simple controls and a similar trigger pull (3rd gen DAO S&W). Evaluating the new (to me anyway--I stay about ten years back from trends) S&W M&P simply because of arthritis is making long heavy trigger pulls more difficult.

The issue here is not the unconscious mastery of a different firearm. It is the ability to instantaneously transition to a different system, feel, and other characteristics of a different firearm during a near death experience.

I am not a one gun proponent, but this transition on the range is not the same as under the mental effects of a near death experience. Now, if you you have a primary, and a secondary, say a 1911, and a revolver as a backup, and regularly drill as such, it may work.

If you carry a 1911 sometimes, an SA/DA other times, a revolver once in awhile, and striker at various times - you may have a problem in a near death experience.

 

[Jeff White]

I have watched enough officers struggle on the range with the shotgun or AR they carry in their squad car every day to make me a member of the one gun for carry camp.

I carried a semiauto on duty for most of my career with a 2” .38 (a Colt Agent for awhile then a S&W Model 36) as a BUG.

I always carried a gun with an identical manual of arms as my duty primary when off duty.

I own several handguns with different manual of arms that I am completely compentent with. I have no trouble using any of them understress on the range.

But on the street I was not at all interested in testing how unconsciously competent I was with any of them after the massive Adrenalin dump you get from a deadly force encounter. I wanted the gun that I carried into harms way every day. I agree with RPZ there is a huge difference between the most stressful day on the range or in a match and a for real deadly force encounter.

As a private citizen your deadly force encounter is most likely to be 100% reactionary. You are most likely going to be surprised when it comes upon you. When that happens you will default to your training.

 

[WestKentucky]

I’m of a different mindset than many. Even though I want a manual safety on my guns, for carry I want simple. I want to draw gun, pull trigger and gun fires. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Glock, a revolver, or any other pistol. I like LDA guns or SA/DA guns in autos and double actions in revolvers. I want a simple safety to verify that the gun is safe when holstering, unholstering, or heaven forbid after an intense situation that involved gunfire. On target quickly bang bang bang SAFE. Nothing good is coming from an AD because you got shaky when reality caught up to you.

 

[entropy]

Well thought out article by a man who has BTDT. I too somewhat disagree with the one gun thing, but I shoot a lot of different guns, and carry a couple, but I keep it to 2 semis with safeties in the same place, and a DAO revolver. When shooting other peoples' Glocks, I will occasionally swipe at the phantom safety, better than not taking the safety off a 1911 after having been trained on Glocks, as I have seen some do at the range.

 

[boom boom]

For someone transitioning from a DA revolver, the long pull of a DAO without a safety was the closest thing next to it. The manual at arms was not that difficult and reloading with a magazine is easier than with a strip or speedloader of a revolver. The Glock at the time never really fit my hand so that was not really an option. The S&W Third Gen with the straight grip did and had a similar trigger pull to revolvers when in DAO. Have no idea about the Rugers of the time.

However, parts are drying up for the Third Gen and combined with some physical issues that affect handstrength, the M&P Shield and its counterpart larger double stack M&P are tempting.

 

[Jack B.]

Under a lot of pressure in a dangerous situation , I don't want to have to think about which gun I have on me to defend my family or myself with. Same gun same carry position and same ammo and train with it a lot. IMO.

 

[Sistema1927]

I alternate between carry guns, according to the dictates of the day.

However, all of them utilize the "align sights, pull trigger" manual of arms:

Glock 26 or 19
Kahr PM9
S&W 442
Beretta Pico
Kel-Tec P32

Other than the Glocks, all of them have a long trigger pull, but the difference does not seem to matter in training and I don't anticipate any problems should the need arise. Yes, the reload sequence differs, but the majority of gun fights by ordinary citizens don't require a reload even though I always have one or more on me.

 

[JohnKSa]

Fortunately it's possible to tell if rotating carry guns is a problem.

Find a range of drills that thoroughly tests all the basic skills. Drawing from a holster, reloading, malfunction clearance, rapid engagement of multiple targets, moving while shooting, and shooting rapidly & accurately out to a minimum of 15 yards. Pick one gun in the rotation and practice with it exclusively until your performance (time and accuracy combined) plateaus. This should take a number of practice sessions, over at least a period of weeks, but more likely months. If you already know, or suspect, that you shoot one gun in the rotation better than the others, pick that one for this phase of the test.

Once your performance reaches a plateau, take your entire rotation to the range and run through all the drills with each of them. If your performance is the same with all of them then rotating your carry guns isn't a problem for you. Obviously, if there's a wide range of performance with the various guns then it might be time to rethink things.

It's also reasonable to break the guns into two different groups for this testing. Full-sized (or nearly full-sized) guns will almost always score better than subcompact guns and if the rotation is mandated by matching size to carry/concealment requirements, some allowance should be made for the much smaller guns. Maybe a 25% handicap.

Of course, as I said before, these five topics highlight the differences in why people carry guns. The above procedure will only make sense for someone whose sole (or at least primary) reason for carrying a gun is to maintain a level of preparedness that will give them the best chance to save innocent life (obviously their own, but perhaps others as well) in a range of possible real-world attack scenarios. There are obviously other reasons that people carry guns and the procedure above probably won't make sense for them.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I currently drive a Mitsubishi Gallant. I used to work for a company that required me to switch off between a Jeep Wrangler and a Ford Escape several times a week.

I was very familiar with all 3 cars but I frequently reached for the cruise control on the Escape while driving the Jeep or tried to turn the radio down in my Gallant by tapping the steering wheel like I did in the escape.

Every time it happened I remembered why I only carry Glocks

 

[Sistema1927]

I currently drive a Mitsubishi Gallant. I used to work for a company that required me to switch off between a Jeep Wrangler and a Ford Escape several times a week.

I was very familiar with all 3 cars but I frequently reached for the cruise control on the Escape while driving the Jeep or tried to turn the radio down in my Gallant by tapping the steering wheel like I did in the escape.

Every time it happened I remembered why I only carry Glocks

I drive a Toyota Tacoma with an automatic transmission, the wife has a Mazda 3 with a 5-speed. I don't have any trouble going back and forth between them, or any other vehicle, like a rental car while on vacation (unless that vacation is in the UK, and that is a whole 'nother story!).

While I used to own a Cessna 172, I could easily transition to a low wing Piper, and I am not that great a pilot. Some folks can go back and forth between aircraft without batting an eye.

My point? There is no "one size fits all" rule when it comes to using different firearms, driving different vehicles, or flying different airplanes.

 

[sequins]

Do you ever train with them? Have you ever done a class using to guns with different manuals of arms under stress?

I haven't had the privilege of formal training, but I'm reasonably proficient and confident with each of my defensive arms... Different ones make more sense depending on the situation and to me at least that's fairly intuitive.

DAO pocket revolver vs. Glock IWB vs. Safety OWB all just makes sense. I need to practice different draw techniques for each mode of carry anyways. I'm certainly not a master or anything, that's just my opinion. I doubt my times on anything would impress many.

 

[JohnKSa]

There is no "one size fits all" rule when it comes to using different firearms, driving different vehicles, or flying different airplanes.

Sure there is, and you provided it in your post, just as I did.

The "one size fits all" rules is that rotating between carry guns is a bad idea if it results in a significant change in demonstrated proficiency.

If a particular person can truly switch between self-defense guns without affecting demonstrated proficiency (i.e. without batting an eye), then it's obviously not an issue. If demonstrated proficiency is significantly affected then it is an issue.

I stress 'demonstrated' because subjectively self-assessed proficiency is not the same thing at all as actual, objectively measured proficiency.

Of course, that assumes that the motive for carrying is as I described it in my post.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I haven't had the privilege of formal training, but I'm reasonably proficient and confident with each of my defensive arms...

The only training I had for years was the mandatory class I had to take to get my permit. I thought I was reasonably proficient and I was certainly confident with each of my defensive arms. Then I got a chance to get some actual, professional, training.

I thought that with all my accumulated knowledge from THR and You Tube I'd be pretty close to the head of the class. Suffice it to say I wasn't. During training I've had to address issues that I never even thought of on my own.

I will also say that I objectively starting doing much better in training after I decided to stick with one manual of arms.