Holster Mania

Holster Mania…the condition where you have more holsters than guns and most of them are in a bag or a box.  For most of us, we find our holster via trial and error.  Some like kydex, some like leather, some like a combination of the two.  Some even prefer the reinforced ripstop fabric.  But once we find that one holster that fits, feels good, works with our clothes…well, it is recommended that you train and carry in the same way as much as possible if not 100% of the time? 

Why?  Imagine if you train and usually carry strong side hip.  One day you go out and decide that based on what you are wearing that day you need to carry in a cross draw inside the waistband.  That day, you find yourself in a situation where you suddenly need your firearm.  Where will your hand go?  To your usual place, the strong side hip, then you are fumbling to find your gun.  In the interim, you have lost precious seconds, telegraphed to the threat that you are probably going for a defensive tool of some sort, so he (or she) knows you may be armed and might be using those precious seconds to close in on you. 

Hence, the Holster bag…Ahh, if only we could do a swap meet for holsters?  They are expensive so we don’t want to throw them away!  How do you find the perfect holster?  That is a tough question.  First, if should be made specifically to fit YOUR gun.  Generic holsters do not provide good retention without a strap of some sort which is one more thing you need to defeat to draw your gun.  How do you normally dress?  Do you like really tight slacks and loose shirts?  Do you wear a belt?  All things to consider when choosing your holster.  Inside the Waistband, Outside the Waistband, with a metal clip or two, with belt loops…  The package says it fits your specific model.  Ok, ask if you can take it out of the package to look at it?  Ask if you can try your gun (or better yet one of the gun shops guns so you don’t have to unload and clear) in the holster.  Over a soft surface, like a padded rifle case, gently turn the holster upside down and give it a shake.  Does the gun fall out?  If yes, that isn’t the one for you.  Maybe if there is adjustable retention, and you can make it a little tighter. Ordered on line?  You can test it over your bed with an unloaded and cleared, check it twice, gun.  Ok, it stayed in the holster?  YEA, good first step.  Now, you need to try it on.  You might have to buy it before you do that.  Get a feel for it.  Is it comfortable?  Does it poke you in strange places?  Can you reach it comfortably?  If it has a sharp edge, is it somewhere you can file it down a little?  Can you sit down while wearing it?

Sometimes the trick is to try someone else’s holster collection on for size or go to a Concealed Carry Class where you can be exposed to lots of different ideas.  Don’t get discouraged, the perfect holster for you is out there, it just may take you a while to find it.  Last I counted I had more than 25 in my bag, and that isn’t too bad.  Of course, they aren’t all for the same gun…I guess I need to sort them by gun one of these days, LOL. 

Holsters are kind of like shoes, some pinch, some are too big, some are just uncomfortable and some…just right!

Practice Makes Perfect?

Think so?  Only if you practice perfection.  Practice makes HABIT!  If you practice the wrong technique, it will become a habit.  Trust me, habits are hard to break.  I wracked the slide for years by grasping between my thumb and index finger.  It was really hard to learn to cup over the top.  I do it now, but…unlearning the wrong way to replace with the right way?  Very hard!

It is believed that it takes 1,000 repetitions of an action to make a habit.  But it takes twice that to break a habit.  That means 3,000 repetitions to break an old habit and replace it with a new one.  That sounds like a lot of work to me.  I’m lazy, I’d rather learn it right the first time!  

Next time you are practicing, anything, ask yourself if you are doing it the right way?  One reason this is so important with shooting is in an emergency you will react as you have practiced.  If you practice catching your magazine and putting it down before grabbing a fresh one to reload, what do you think you will do if your life is in danger?  I’ve heard people say “I would never do that in a real situation”.  Sadly, many studies found Police Officers dead after a confrontation, with brass in their pockets.  Why?  When they went to the range, they would shoot (revolvers), catch the brass and put it in their pockets so they wouldn’t have to pick it up later, and then reload.  What happened in a real situation?  They did exactly what they practiced.

Do you catch your magazines when they are empty or do you let them fall.  They’re expensive, what if it breaks?  Think about it, if it breaks from a drop, did you really want to trust your safety to it?

Do you use the slide lock to release your slide?  Yep, that little button is a Slide LOCK or Slide STOP, not a slide release.  Why can that be a problem?  One, your slide may not come forward properly, resulting in a failure to go into battery, the round may not feed correctly…and…that little piece of metal can break over time if used for other that its intended purpose.  Plus, fine motor skills versus gross motor skills.  Maneuvering tiny objects is a fine motor skill.  What do you think is the first to go in a high stress situation?

Do you go to the range, practice a fast draw, fire three shots and re-holster?  Ok, what is wrong with that you may be wondering?  Step 1, fast draw…think SMOOTH draw.  Fast is slow, smooth is fast, minimize your movements.  Step 2, fire three shots, maybe ok, as long as you are on target and it is safe to do so.  Step 3, re-holster.  When should you re-holster?  When you are sure the threat is over.  Come to a low ready, assess, then decide if it is safe to re-holster.  There are no points for putting your gun back in the holster fast, look it into the holster.  Practice at the range, draw, fire, reassess, maybe take a couple more shots, reassess, re-holster.  Next round, draw, aim and don’t fire, maybe your target is running away.  Next, draw, fire, reassess, fire, scan left and right, then over each shoulder, all from a low ready keeping your gun pointed squarely down range.  Think about possible scenarios and practice the way you would use them in real life.  Make the habit to draw while assessing, fire if appropriate, reassess…

Safe Shooting!

NTYDTTRD Update

National Take Your Daughter to the Range Day is making progress.  Every time I type that out I wish I had come up with a shorter name, LOL.

We launched the idea just about 3.5 weeks ago.  In that time, we have started a non-profit corporation to serve as an umbrella for fundraising and coordination, we have launched a website, been contacted by over a dozen ranges and growing, passed 850 likes on FaceBook, found wonderful volunteers to help with writing, graphics, even an on-line store for logo merchandise!  And…our first event is in just less than four month!  YIKES! 

One of my more exciting moments came when I was contacted by the folks at USA Shooting.  They recruit, train and work with the Olympic Shooting team.  They had heard about us and wondered if we could cross promote each other.  Tell kids about the opportunity to shoot and dream of competing in the Olympics?  Ah, YES!  See Path to a Dream on the website. 

This will be an Annual Event.  We will start planning next year in July.  We heard from a lot of ranges that wanted to participate but there wasn’t enough lead time to get their boards to approve and promote the event.  So, if you can’t do it this year, plan to do it next year.  If you can’t find a range in your area…Plan a Family Day of Safe and Fun Shooting on your own.  We will all be with you in spirit and then send pictures!  We will be posting lots of photos from events and private outings across the country.

On an administrative note, we really need some financial support for the infrastructure.  None of the directors will receive any compensation.  However, we have been spending our own money to incorporate, start up the website, get legal reviews of documents, etc.  We are happy to do it, but can’t afford to sustain this on our own.  By next week there should be a donate button on the website.  In the interim, if you can afford to help, anything is greatly appreciated.  Please visit the website for Sponsorship information and how to contact us.  We are running this with volunteers, and using electronic media as much as possible, but there are some overhead costs.  If we can get a small nestegg growing, we can be self sustaining and continue to grow and promote safe shooting and empowerment of young women for many years to come.

Thank you for all of your encouragement and support.

Please visit us at www.NationalTakeYourDaughtertotheRangeDay.com.

Safe Shooting

The times (and fundamentals) they are a changin'

I had a chance to work with a few experienced shooters this weekend who were preparing to take NRA instructor classes.  One gentleman in particular was a little older and had been shooting for many years, having picked up most of his knowledge in the Army.  He was good, but as we walked through the fundamentals, making minor adjustments to stance, grip, trigger control…his grouping kept getting smaller.  He had given me a couple funny looks as I was asking him to change things, but was willing to go along with the “Young Lady” (if you have read much, or looked at my picture, you know I don’t hear that often J).  Well, when he saw his groupings getting smaller and smaller, he got a big grin and told me “these differences really work!”.  I felt like I had won the lottery.  Usually when I work with a shooter they have just completed a class and have the NRA fundamentals down, at least in their head if not in practice.  To be able to tweak an experienced shooters technique and get a positive result…Wow! 

It also reminded me of something I’ve written many times, we all need instructors, and we can all learn something new. 

Safe Shooting!

I've been tagged, again! Thank you!!!

The meaning of the German word, “liebster,” is ”beloved person, liked very much, preferred above others, liked or loved above others.” And while I know that none of us could pick just our very favorite top few blogs for this award, many of which are new to us, it’s nice to know that someone likes us enough to share us with their world.
Liebster Award rules:

1. Copy and paste the award on our blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who gave us the award
3. Pick our five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.
I have listed five of my favorites in the first Liebster post, but will add five more now, which include, but are not limited to:

Julie G
Innovative Defensive Solutions, LLC
A Girl and her Gun
Gun Politics
Gun Divas