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Presentation and the Holster
by Ruben Chavira
During the many years that I carried a gun while in active service I took the opportunity to watch how my peers operated and performed their duties. Since we were in professions that required the regular use of a firearm I watched how others carried and used their firearms. I learned many things through these observations. I was able to use this knowledge to provide training to others in the armed professions. Some of these insights I gained from years of plain clothes assignments and off duty carry. I tried to impart that knowledge to those that I trained going as far as including off duty concealed carry in the subject matter when I was teaching the Officer Safety Course at my local police academy. There is no reason that this information should not be available to other plain clothes and off duty officers and CCW permit holders. It should help ensure that when you carry concealed you carry in a proficient manner.
We’ve already discussed some of these matters including the importance of selecting the proper holster, ensuring that your weapon is concealed until presentation is necessary and what to do when the firearm is no longer concealed. This time around I want to discuss some aspects to keep in mind when you intentionally remove your firearm from concealment, during the presentation.
Many of you might think some of these ideas are un-necessary, even ludicrous. But I remind you that in over 30 years of watching and training armed men and women I have seen people commit acts that if carried a step further could have cost an innocent person their lives. Peruse of this article then evaluate the contents honestly. Make the appropriate changes to your concealed carry methods, then practice. But practice correctly. You’ve heard the phrase, “practice makes perfect”? Don’t believe it. Practice is repetition. But if you practice a mistake then all you’ll be is the worlds best at making a mistake. Correct the phrase to “perfect practice makes perfect”.
On to our subject. You have found a well made holster that fits not only the gun you are carrying but that also fits your carrying needs as well as your life and clothing styles. You have taken steps to ensure that your weapon remains concealed until you decide to present it but that it is not so deeply concealed that presentation is all but impossible. And you have educated yourself on the local laws, when you can and can not resort to the firearm and what to do when law enforcement arrives after the presentation. Now your worst nightmare occurs and you are in a situation where you have to display, if not use, your firearm to save your life or that of someone else.
In the next few seconds many things will happen, each of which can have a catastrophic, life altering effect, so each must be done correctly. Pay attention, please.
We will assume, for now, that you recognize the need to get into a combat stance, what your stance is and how to get into it to defend against an attack from either direction and that you are now in that combat stance.
The first thing that happens is that you have to get to your gun. In order to get to the gun you have to clear the clothing to remove the gun from concealment. Suddenly the decision on how to carry becomes very important. If you are carrying an IWB or belt holster then you simply place your hand on your stomach area and slide back using the knife edge of your hand to shove your shirt or jacket out of the way. This places your hand in an ideal position to grasp the gun for the next stage of the presentation. If you are wearing a specialty IWB like the El Guapo Gentleman, then you just reach across with the non gun hand and un-tuck the shirt while moving the gun hand in the same way you do with a standard IWB until you grip the gun. Either of these are a simple motion.
For a cross draw or shoulder holster you slide the gun hand across the body and under the covering clothing then grip the gun, again a fairly simple movement. Belly bands are similar to a cross draw but require to reach deeply into the waistband to get to the gun. A small of the back (SOB) holster requires that you start similar to the belt/IWB holster and move the clothing out of the way then continue the hand all the way to the small of the back. If you carry butt up then you continue the slide of your hand until you reach the gun butt and grip. If you carry butt down, then somewhere along the initial movement you have to flip your hand over so that the palm is away from the body then slide the hand under the gun butt to get a grip on the gun, somehow keeping the thumb out of the way. If you are using a leg or ankle holster the two most effective way of drawing are taking a knee and the supine method. The supine method, although effective, requires some specific knowledge on how to fall onto your back without injuring yourself and is used only by those who devote lots of practice to the drill, so we won’t dwell on that for now. The other method, taking a knee, although difficult is much easier to learn. Typically the gun is carried on the inside of the off or non-gun hand side. The shooter drops to the knee on the on or gun hand side then reaches both hands to the off side leg, the gun hand on the inside and the non-gun hand on the outside. Simultaneously raise both sides of the pant leg straight up. If you’ve ever tried this in a hurry you recognize how easy it is for the pant leg to get stuck if either side comes up faster than the other or if you attempt to raise the pant leg with just one hand. Once the pant leg has cleared the holster you are able to grip the gun butt.
Once you have cleared the clothing and are ready to grip the gun the method of carry is not as important as is the style and quality of holster. You have to be able to get a full, firm grip on the gun with both your fingers and the thumb. The grip should also allow you to position your fingers or thumb to activate the safety switch on your gun.
The holster should also protect against accidental entry of the fingers into the trigger guard. While you are gripping your gun, if a finger accidentally enters the trigger guard a sympathetic response may cause you to unintentionally fire your gun. A good holster will cause you to grip the gun butt while placing your trigger finger along the side of the gun. This becomes more important with cross draw/shoulder holsters and SOB holsters.
With the cross draw and shoulder holster once you grip the gun and start to draw you’ll find that the gun is pointing at your off side arm. An unintentional discharge at this time would not be a good thing. Similarly, with the SOB, as you draw the gun the barrel points at your body from back to front unless you practice pointing the gun at the ground immediately as it clears the holster, bringing it to the side, then presenting it as if it were a draw from a belt or IWB holster. Again, this is not a good time for the gun to fire.
Once the gun has been drawn the next step is getting it on target. We see that the belt and IWB holsters provide for the easiest targeting. Once the gun is drawn it is held tightly against the strong side of the body. The natural presentation is to punch the gun forward towards the target, allowing for either single hand or supporting hand presentation. An ankle holster draw provides for a similar presentation except you have to choose to either remain in the kneeling position or rise to a standing and mobile position as you present the gun. Combined with having to clear the pant leg this provided for a very slow draw and presentation. The cross draw and should holster presentation requires that the gun barrel span the entire area in front of the shooter before presentation. The unpracticed shooter will usually continue the drawing motion keeping the gun going forward and towards the strong side, waving the barrel across the area in front of the shooter. The practiced shooter will draw the gun and keep the gun hand tucked in tight against the body, drawing the gun into the strong side, and then presenting the gun in the punch motion. While the gun still spans the area in front of the shooter, the hand is kept closer to the body reducing the possibility of a gun grab. Also, punching the gun onto target provides for a more accurate first shot, while waving the gun across the body increases the likelihood of the first shot being off target.
Finally, we come to the point where you find the gun is no longer necessary and the time has come to re-holster. For the IWB and belt slide you can re-holster single handed if the holster is properly made. Simply point the gun downward and in a motion similar to when you first reached for the gun, move the clothing out of the way with the knife edge of your gun hand and shove the gun into the holster. For the specialty IWB you may have to reach with the off hand to move clothing out of the way, and then simply re-holster. For the cross draw holster, simply use the off hand to move clothing out of the way and re-holster, taking care not to wave the gun at the area in front of the shooter. Re-holstering for the shoulder holster is similar except that in most cases after moving the clothing you will have to use the off hand to hold the holster in place as you insert the gun. To re-holster the ankle holster it is the same chore as drawing from it. Drop to one knee, raise the pant leg to reveal the holster, insert the pistol into the holster then replace the pant leg. We haven’t discussed the belly band much as it is similar to the cross draw, once you’ve gripped the gun. Re-holstering a gun in a belly band is much more of a chore, usually requiring the opening or lowering of the front of the trousers to access the bellyband, then inserting the gun into the holster and finally rearranging the trousers. If you are wearing athletic type shorts or beach wear this is not too bad. In anything else, it’s downright inconvenient.
As you can see, there is a bit more to carrying and presenting a handgun from a concealed position than most of us have given thought to, and this was just a brief over view. Each particular style holster would take a similar size study to discuss thoroughly. I hope I have given you food for thought and caused you to realistically think out how you carry. If you carry concealed, then provide yourself with the proper equipment necessary for effective carry, practice with it until you are proficient, then continue to practice to remain proficient.
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