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Music.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.

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I’m your host, Jim O’Brien. Hey there and welcome to Episode 8 of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.

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This episode, we’re going to be talking about some of the best gun tips that

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I could assemble here for you.

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These best gun tips are a combination of things I’ve pulled together and learned

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from other resources as well as a lot of them are things that I’ve learned myself

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through, you know, know, seeing things out on the range or just experience personally.

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So with that, we’ll get started. If you haven’t been following us on Instagram,

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we do have an Instagram page I’d love for you to check out for us.

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It’s the Self-Initiative Project, all one word. We’ve got all kinds of goodies

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posted up there and lots of information, some fun stuff too.

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So feel free to tell your family and friends about that and take a look.

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We would greatly appreciate it.

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So the first gun tip that I have is safety, right? You’ll hear me say this a lot of the time.

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My number one thing for handling firearms is safety.

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So with that, we’re going to start out with Jeff Cooper’s top four gun safety rules.

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Number one, treat every firearm as if it were loaded at all times.

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Number two, never let the muzzle of the gun point at anything that you’re not willing to destroy.

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Number three, Three, keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.

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And the fourth rule is always be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.

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So those are the four safety rules I want to start us out with.

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Always a good place to start. If you’ve been following us for a while,

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you know that our very first episode we ever did was on gun safety,

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where we talk more in depth about these top four safety rules.

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And coming up, be on the lookout because my buddy and I, Dennis,

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if you remember from on the first episode.

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He and I are planning on doing a part two for gun safety, where we talk about

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even more things safety oriented when it comes to handling your firearms.

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Let’s talk about redundancy and where it has a place with firearm safety.

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I say it a lot, redundancy, redundancy,

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redundancy. It’s kind of a joke in there, right? But it’s so true.

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There is a place for redundancy, and it’s completely appropriate when we’re handling our firearms.

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For example, you want to make sure that you want to be going through techniques

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and procedures redundant in a redundant fashion to ensure that the firearm is clear.

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And that’s a great example of where redundancy has its place.

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And this is particularly important when you’re in your house or wherever,

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whether you’re doing dry fire practicing, which we’ll talk a little bit more

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in a bit, or you’re getting ready to clean your firearm.

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That redundancy to ensure that weapon has been cleared and checked and the magazines

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are out, bolts back, whatever it is, is so important.

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And another great example of where redundancy is key and people say,

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oh, it’s a little over the top, but there’s no such thing as over the top when

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it comes to handling a firearm correctly, safely, is at the gun shop.

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You have the salesperson behind the counter.

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If they take a firearm off the wall or out of the cabinet, out of the counter

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to show you, they should be pulling the bolt open of that gun to slide back on that firearm,

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opening the roller on that revolver to ensure there is no ammo in that gun.

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There are no bullets in that gun before handing that firearm over to you.

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The moment that you get that firearm, this is where the redundancy starts.

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Because the first thing you’re going to do when you take that firearm out of

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their hand is you’re also going to, at the very least, look down in the chamber

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if the slide’s open or the bolt’s back to ensure it is indeed empty.

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And if the slide’s not back or the bolt’s not open, you’re going to take a second

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to clear that weapon and make sure it’s in a good state for your satisfaction

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as well. and there are no bullets in it.

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When you get through looking over that firearm, hopefully you’re making a purchase decision.

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But when you get through looking over that firearm there at the sales counter,

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you want to go through the process again, opening the slide,

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pulling back the bolt, whatever it is to make sure there’s not been any ammo introduced.

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It’s just a good sign. It’s just a good reason for redundancy.

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It shows respect to the sales personnel too, that you’re safety conscious and

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want to make sure you’re not handing them a loaded weapon back.

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And then a lot of the times you’ll definitely see the sales clerk look and go

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through the same process again before hanging that firearm back up on the wall

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or putting it back in the cabinet.

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So redundancy has its place.

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One of the big topics that’s talked about often in the gun industry and one

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that I feel very strongly about is should I open carry or should I concealed carry?

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Open versus concealed. And it’s my opinion, as well as several others in the

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industry, that open carry is just not an option.

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If you’re allowed to carry, you as a person who’s had your background checked

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and been cleared to carry, you should only be concealed carrying.

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Law enforcement, military, security personnel, if you work at a gun range maybe,

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or if you’re the owner of a large farm or ranch, then you probably have a good

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excuse to be open carrying.

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Outside of those, you shouldn’t. But in those cases,

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you know, you’re probably wanting to show the ability to apply that level of

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force if necessary in order to dissuade the bad guys from potentially doing

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something in the first place. Right.

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And in the case of law enforcement, military security, obviously,

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and maybe even at the gun range, if you work at the gun range,

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you might be paid to to be prepared and open carry has to be an option for you

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and what your job entails. tells.

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And, you know, open carry can be faster from the draw from the holster than

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concealed carry, you know, having to get through a bunch of layers of clothes

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or even lifting up a t-shirt to get to the firearm, you know,

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having your gun right there on your holster can be faster.

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But for us generally carrying out in the open public, aside from maybe being

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a little faster to draw from than concealed.

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Let’s consider the cons of open carrion.

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First and foremost, in the event that something were to go wrong,

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bad, bad guys were to enter the place and whatever, because you’re open carrying,

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you’re likely going to be the first one seen or you’re going to be found out.

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And because you’re open carrying, they figure they need to deal with you first.

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Because of this first point that I make, you know, you’re not only potentially

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endangering yourself for open carrying, but anybody around you, right?

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Those around you. One of the drawbacks, and I remember recently in a large outdoor

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retail store I was in, a young man came in and he was open carrying a pair of

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shorts and t-shirt, but he was carrying his pistol on his hip, open for everybody.

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You know, one of the bad things about open carry, and especially in the culture,

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not the culture, but the environment and the state of the world things are these

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days, you know, when you open carry, no one around you out in public really

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has an effective, reliable means to identify you.

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No one knows whether or not you’re actually a good guy or a bad guy.

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So you can make the public kind of nervous, not knowing how to behave or how

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to react to you open carrying.

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So that’s just something, you know, consideration of the others,

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consideration of the public and where you’re going to be open carry.

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Does that really make the most sense?

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You know, and to be quite honest, for those of us that do have some training

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and know more about what we’re doing because you’re opting to open carry to us.

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In my opinion, it’s evident that you likely don’t know what it is you’re doing, right?

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Because if you’d been through the right types of training, you’d surrounded

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yourself with those in the know and have the knowledge.

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You probably know already that you shouldn’t be opening care, open carrying.

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And the fact that you are tells me that you don’t have the training to know

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what you’re doing in the first place.

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And you could wind up being more dangerous for yourself and those around you than helpful.

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And unless you’re just trying to be blatant about it and carrying where it’s,

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you know, open carrying where it’s not legally permitted, in which case you’re

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going to have your own set of issues to deal with.

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Open carrying serves no point whatsoever, political or otherwise at this point.

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It just doesn’t. You know, a lot of places allow, allow permit open carry,

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but it serves no purpose. Is it exercising your right?

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Absolutely. Sure it is. But there’s a lot of rights you can exercise as a person

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like burning yourself or jumping off the roof of your house or jumping off the

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bridge when your buddy says to do it.

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Not a great point. So why would you ever want to do it?

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And you know, I think a lot of people open carry because they think it’s cool

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to be seen carrying a gun on their hip.

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Are you really as cool as you think you are open carrying? Nope, not even a little bit.

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So, you know, as I mentioned briefly, open carry is already generally a right that we have anyway.

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Can be exercised, so it’s not like as if you’re carrying open,

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whether you’re slinging your AR-15 over your shoulder or carrying a pistol on

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your hip. It’s not like you’re making any point.

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Most of us, a great number of us, already have the option, and if you’re doing

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it where it’s not legally accepted, you’re likely going to have some issues

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on your hand, and rightfully so.

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And as I mentioned previously, if you’re open carrying, it’s fairly evident

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that you really don’t have the training that you need to be using that firearm

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properly anyway, because open carry is something we know we just don’t do.

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If you had the training and knowledge, you wouldn’t be open carrying in the

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first place. So that’s all I’m going to say about that.

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While on the subject of doing what you should be doing, which is concealed carrying,

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which means you keep your firearm hidden, no one around you should ever know

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that you’re actually carrying a firearm, arm, AKA concealed,

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which you do have to have a permit for.

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You’re going to need to, you know, it’s kind of, they say it’s kind of a lifestyle change, right?

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And I kind of agree with it. You got to, you got to watch where you go.

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You got to watch the type of clothing that you wear, try to wear you,

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you know, you may not be going out with a bar to the bars of the buddies drinking

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or drinking as much as you once were, whatever it is you find that works for

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yourself. It is a bit of a lifestyle change.

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So you do need to think about wearing the appropriate clothing.

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And you know, when you begin to carry concealed, it does mean a general change

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of wardrobe or the way you dress.

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And this can be true, especially for women.

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But with that said, there are plenty of options out there.

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If you just get online and see what some of the, even the women in the firearms

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arms community are wearing and talking about and doing for themselves,

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you’ll learn, you’ll see that while it does change some things,

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it’s not super limiting in what you have available for wearing.

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But for example, you know, tight fitting t-shirts are probably going to no longer

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have a place in your wardrobe.

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If you’re looking to carry shirts that are super short or have a tendency to

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ride up all the time are going to be out, you know, and again,

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if you’re carrying concealed, Concealed no one but your closest loved ones and

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relatives and maybe your buddies that also concealed.

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And so, you know, you all know that you carry no one outside of yourself and

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you’re the people that you’re closest with should have any inkling whatsoever

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that you’re carrying up a firearm.

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I mean, that’s why they call it concealed in the first place. Right.

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So, you know, someone was talking about it recently, and it’s a great point.

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You know, you go to hug your friend or a co-worker even or someone at church.

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For example, men have a tendency to hug high while women have a tendency to

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hug low. If you haven’t ever noticed that before, pay attention.

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It’s very true. Very, very astute observation. So as a concealed firearm carrier,

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you might want to start thinking about, especially when you’re hugging someone

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that you don’t know or isn’t close enough to you to know or understand that

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you’re concealed carrying.

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And you might want to go in low to force them to have to go high and hugging

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you just to be conscientiously aware.

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So you’re not giving away that your kids concealed carrying,

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because in all likelihood, you’re going to be carrying around the waistline.

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So you want to keep others away from that point.

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So one of the other big things that you want to be cognizant of when you’re

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concealed carrying is you don’t want to be adjusting your belt, your pants,

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you know, pulling your pants up, making a lot of movement around your hips and

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waist, because for those that are looking or for those that would know,

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or if you’re really obvious about it, even those that may not be in the know,

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it’ll be pretty apparent that you’re carrying and trying to get away with hiding

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something around that area.

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So you want to be cognizant. You want to wear the right clothes to begin with.

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You want to have your belt adjusted right to begin with.

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And then when you get to where you’re going, you want to try to keep your hands

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away from your belt line and your waist and getting the right wardrobe and the

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right gear will help with that.

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The right belts, the right holsters, you know, playing it cool.

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That’s the idea. Again, no one around you should know that you’re carrying concealed

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because that would be defeating the purpose of concealment, correct?

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When you elect to carry concealed, it does mean more responsibility.

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Part of that responsibility is not only knowing what to wear and not to be adjusting

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and not to print, meaning seeing the firearm through whatever clothing you’re wearing.

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But it also means getting the training and learning, having some idea of what it is you’re doing.

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And what it means to engage should

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you need to respond to a threat or something bad that has gone down.

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So while we’re on the topic of concealment and clothing and you may or may not

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know, you know, you shouldn’t know when someone’s concealed carrying.

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For those of you that are kind of anti-gun, not a proponent of gun,

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but maybe you’re aware that someone’s carrying.

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Or maybe you’re just fine with guns and you happen to know your buddy’s carrying.

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And something bad happens, please don’t be the person that starts yelling at

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your buddy to do something, to do something, pull out your gun.

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Why don’t you do anything? Why don’t you shoot back? Gosh, you got a gun.

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Why aren’t you helping anybody out? Keep your mouth quiet.

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Let them make the decision for themselves when and if they’re going to engage

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and pull that firearm from concealment.

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It’s their job to make that decision.

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And the only thing you’re doing is getting them and yourself to the point of

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being hurt, possibly killed.

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So keep that in mind. Don’t call out the person if they aren’t responding to

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a situation you happen to catch yourself in with them.

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Do yourselves, do both of you a favor, and don’t do that. Not cool at all.

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Let’s talk about carry placement. And you know, I should have started off with this.

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Most of these tips we’ll talk about here today have to do with pistols, carrying concealed,

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training from concealment, handling a pistol, whether it be a semi-automatic

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or revolver, in the context of shooting and or potentially defensive situations.

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But some of these things have to do with firearms overall, firearms in general.

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So like our four safety rules, obviously it applies across the board,

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but just in case it doesn’t go without saying, you know, when we talk about

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concealment, we’re generally talking about pistols, right? So I just want to

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throw that out on the board.

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So with that, let’s talk about carry placement and where on the body is a concealed carrier.

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I should look to carry my weapon. There’s a handful here we’ll talk about.

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About one is generally the four or five o’clock position back on your hip around your kidney area.

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One is appendix, meaning front of the hips, generally dead center or off to

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one side or the other, depending on if you’re left-handed or right-hand.

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One is the small of your back. Another is cross-draw.

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In other words, like for example, I’m right-handed, but I might carry my weapon on my left hand side.

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So I have to reach across the front of my body to grab the grip,

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to grab the handle, to draw it out.

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And of course, you know, the one we’re all familiar with and seen on television

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going back as far as I can remember, for example, is the shoulder holster.

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You know, the detectives have their polyester sports coats on and they happen

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to have a shoulder holster in there.

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So let’s talk about a little bit about each one of these.

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For concealed carry, the four or five o’clock position, anywhere in that range,

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330 to 530, let’s say, is a pretty common place to carry concealed, right?

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On the hip, out of the way, not in the small of the back, not right on the side

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of your hip, but towards the back.

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The idea is as you’re moving towards someone, you know, it might make it a little

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bit more challenging to see that firearm, even though, again,

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if I’m wearing the right clothing, it shouldn’t be an issue.

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If I’m not printing, it should be an issue.

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But perhaps the idea was that if it sits squarely on my hip,

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it stands the chance of printing being seen a little bit more.

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Plus, with my hip movement, it might make it stand out a little bit more.

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So that’s why we get it a little off from the side, back behind us and out of the way.

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And again, this is pretty common, pretty effective. If with practice and training,

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you can learn how to draw from this

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position fairly effectively and fairly quickly. And it is a common one.

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The next one, appendix carry. This one, it seems like to me,

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we’re seeing and hearing a lot more of in the industry these days.

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And again, to me, it could just be me, but this is where we carry a firearm,

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either dead center up front or to the left of the right of us on one hip or the other.

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Again, forward of the hips. The idea being is that it keeps the firearm potentially

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in better control of you because it’s right in front and you can operate with

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things in that front space more easily.

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And additionally, the argument is drawing from appendix can be quicker from

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others, and I can say there’s some merit to the quickness of appendix.

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The biggest drawback that I think, and reasonably so, the biggest fear drawback

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to carrying appendix is folks are concerned that their firearm is pointing to

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their private parts, to their junk, their lady parts,

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whatever you want to reference it, whatever you happen to have.

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Or it’s pointing to the femoral artery, which potentially could go south in a hurry for us too.

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With that being said, it’s like anything. You need to be putting safety at the

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forefront of any training that you’re doing or any type of carrying position

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that you’re thinking about.

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And again, training from that position is of paramount importance because at

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the end of the day, you’re going to carry where A, you’re most comfortable and

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B, you’re most familiar.

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And you’re only going to get comfortable and familiar with that position through

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using it in training and practice.

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But appendix has some merit again, because the idea is it’s forward of the hips.

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It might be easier to stay in control of that That firearm should hand-to-hand,

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you know, empty hand scenario, self-defense scenario happen.

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And two, it can be quicker.

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Let’s talk about from the small of the back. Now, I remember growing up watching

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Magnum P.I. I know that dates me a little bit.

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But just for one example we’ve seen in Hollywood and television and movies,

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right, is that maybe I don’t even have a holster.

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Maybe I’m just sticking that firearm in the small of my back to carry it.

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And, you know, yeah, could you do it? Sure.

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It’s probably not the smartest way to carry it, and here’s why.

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And it’s something that reported gunfighters and those that fancy themselves

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a gunfighter don’t think about.

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Gunfighting is a last resort. In all likelihood, before it gets to that,

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you’re going to be doing some verbal judo, working on some de-escalation.

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Hopefully you’ve just left the scene or been able to leave the scene.

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There’s going to be a whole lot of things going on. And one of the things that

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might likely go on before you need to get to that firearm or even have the opportunity

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00:20:54,817 –> 00:20:57,057
to get that firearm is a scuffle.

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A hand-to-hand scuffle. And as we’ve heard and know, a lot of times,

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if not the majority of the times, scuffles wind up on the ground.

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And let me tell you something, if you fall down backwards on that firearm that

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happens to be in the small of your back, where is that?

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That’s generally centered over your spine.

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Best case scenario, you’re going to have some good bruising going on.

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Worst case scenario, you could potentially hurt yourself pretty badly if you

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were to fall back on their gun, whether it be your spine, your hip,

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your tailbone, whatever it is.

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So I just want to put some light and illuminate the fact that a lot of things

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had to have gone bad for you to have to go to a firearm to begin with,

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and you could likely find yourself on your backside before that ever happens.

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And when we talk about these carrying positions, I hope it would go without

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saying, but I’m going to say it here just because we’re talking about best tips.

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So here’s one. You should never be carrying a firearm on your person unless

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it’s in a good quality holster, fully covering the trigger and trigger guard.

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I’m just going to say that right now.

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So let’s move on from the small of the back to this idea of cross draw.

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And when we talk about cross draw, really and truly, shoulder holsters are just

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another form of cross draw.

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But whether it’s on your hip, your waist, and it would generally be from,

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you know, if you’re right-handed, it would be from, say, your left hip all the

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way across to your center line,

327
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where the grip of your pistol’s facing towards your right-hand side,

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where you have to reach across with your right-hand side.

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Obviously, if you’re left-handed, it would be the opposite where the gun would

330
00:22:35,286 –> 00:22:36,466
be on your right-hand side.

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But the bottom line is that you’re having to reach across your body to get to

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the grip of that firearm to draw it out.

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And just to keep the subject shorter, the shoulder holster presents the same issue, right?

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I have to reach across my body to draw that firearm out of the shoulder holster,

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which sits between my rib cage

336
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and the inside of my arm. So underneath my armpit in order to draw it.

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Well, the cross-draw scenario across the board presents the biggest problem

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00:23:09,946 –> 00:23:17,346
is that as I draw that weapon, the muzzle of that firearm potentially is flagging, covering,

339
00:23:17,526 –> 00:23:21,986
or just, you know, layman’s term, pointing at a lot of objects and or people

340
00:23:21,986 –> 00:23:23,966
or animals, children, whatever,

341
00:23:24,206 –> 00:23:26,446
before I can get it up on target.

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Target so for concealed carry and

343
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and i would contend any sort of carrying in general

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i would argue that cross drawing it should

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be off the table for consideration across the board

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and as far as shoulder holsters go when you draw that weapon out you’re at the

347
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very least likely going to flag your own left arm of course again if you’re

348
00:23:48,366 –> 00:23:52,546
drawing with your right with your right hand like i would be you’re likely going

349
00:23:52,546 –> 00:23:57,086
to flag your left arm just getting it out of the holster to begin swinging it

350
00:23:57,086 –> 00:23:58,486
around to getting up on target.

351
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If you just go through these motions with no firearm involved,

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if you go through these motions, you try to figure out how to get that gun pointing

353
00:24:05,706 –> 00:24:10,546
straight ahead without having the muzzle of that gun point out a lot of things

354
00:24:10,546 –> 00:24:12,286
potentially before you get it there.

355
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So I would definitely not recommend cross-draw from the hip or even shoulder

356
00:24:17,666 –> 00:24:23,246
harness underneath the armpit because it could end badly for you or someone that’s around you.

357
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But again, you know, I can’t emphasize this enough.

358
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Like so many things, it all boils down to what you’ve trained with the most

359
00:24:31,739 –> 00:24:36,539
and what you’re most comfortable with the most, what you’re most comfortable with the most.

360
00:24:36,699 –> 00:24:39,939
But you’ve got to have that training and know what you’re doing to be able to

361
00:24:39,939 –> 00:24:44,239
even know what way you like to carry or prefer to carry in the first place.

362
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And I, again, I would just cross, cross draw off the list altogether.

363
00:24:48,859 –> 00:24:53,279
You know, recently we had an episode where we talked about training versus gear.

364
00:24:53,279 –> 00:24:57,639
I had a buddy of mine, Van Seely, come on and he talked about very passionate

365
00:24:57,639 –> 00:25:02,199
about the fact all these people pay a lot of money on gear, fancy pants gear,

366
00:25:02,359 –> 00:25:07,739
expensive gear, but won’t do the training because they say the training’s too expensive.

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And I won’t get into that now, but if you want to go back a few episodes and

368
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listen to our training versus gear episode, it was fairly popular and Van makes

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00:25:17,279 –> 00:25:18,579
a lot of good points in that.

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So let’s talk about training you know part of

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training is just going to the range and practicing right the worst

372
00:25:24,259 –> 00:25:27,619
thing you can do is become a concealed carry person get

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your concealed carry permit and then elect to shoot or shoot very elect not

374
00:25:32,379 –> 00:25:38,119
to shoot or shoot very seldom the whole point is to go get the training get

375
00:25:38,119 –> 00:25:42,019
the practice get comfortable get familiar with your firearm how you’re going

376
00:25:42,019 –> 00:25:47,059
to carry it how you’re going to use it but you know cost can be a concern i mean going

377
00:25:47,099 –> 00:25:50,059
to the range and shooting at some paper can be fairly expensive.

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00:25:50,519 –> 00:25:53,399
That’s one of the least expensive means of training.

379
00:25:53,539 –> 00:25:55,819
You know, once you figure out a couple of drills you want to,

380
00:25:55,839 –> 00:25:59,279
or techniques or procedures you want to work on every time you go,

381
00:25:59,379 –> 00:26:03,959
you know, that can be fairly inexpensive because, you know, hopefully you’ve already got a firearm,

382
00:26:04,099 –> 00:26:07,519
but you’re just going to be buying the paper target and the bullets,

383
00:26:07,639 –> 00:26:09,679
and then you can train and practice.

384
00:26:10,599 –> 00:26:15,599
But if you want to go less expensive, one of the best things you can do to improve

385
00:26:15,599 –> 00:26:18,519
shooting for yourself is dry fire practice.

386
00:26:19,539 –> 00:26:25,319
And dry fire is a little misnomer, but effectively dry firing means without ammunition, right?

387
00:26:25,439 –> 00:26:28,619
And so it doesn’t get any cheaper than that. Set aside some time,

388
00:26:28,759 –> 00:26:34,159
get your firearm, make sure that the ammo is separated and your firearm is empty

389
00:26:34,159 –> 00:26:37,659
and start working that trigger control.

390
00:26:38,490 –> 00:26:42,830
But when you’re dry firing, you know, you also want to be cognizant of your safety.

391
00:26:42,970 –> 00:26:46,970
You still don’t want to point that firearm at things you’re not willing to destroy,

392
00:26:47,150 –> 00:26:50,590
things or people or your pets in your house that you’re willing to destroy.

393
00:26:50,870 –> 00:26:56,410
I recommend not only making sure the firearm is clear and empty of ammo, you know, no bullets.

394
00:26:56,610 –> 00:27:00,750
I would put the bullets in a completely different room from where I’m trying

395
00:27:00,750 –> 00:27:02,270
to do my dry fire practice.

396
00:27:02,530 –> 00:27:07,570
That’s just a good practice to get into. too. That way there’s no possible means,

397
00:27:07,690 –> 00:27:12,850
or at least it’s a lot more difficult to introduce ammo into a dry fire area

398
00:27:12,850 –> 00:27:14,810
space that you want to be working in.

399
00:27:15,150 –> 00:27:18,890
But you know, dry firing is excellent. It’s excellent for a few reasons.

400
00:27:19,090 –> 00:27:22,510
A, you can work on your sight alignment and sight picture.

401
00:27:22,630 –> 00:27:26,650
In other words, what it’s like to get those three dots, those three sites,

402
00:27:26,830 –> 00:27:30,950
the front site and the two rear lined up together properly, left,

403
00:27:31,070 –> 00:27:33,210
right, up and down, windage and elevation.

404
00:27:33,210 –> 00:27:36,490
And more importantly it’s

405
00:27:36,490 –> 00:27:39,550
great for learning trigger control

406
00:27:39,550 –> 00:27:43,710
your breathing focusing on squeezing that

407
00:27:43,710 –> 00:27:47,450
trigger back until you hear it go click continuing the

408
00:27:47,450 –> 00:27:52,010
follow-through before releasing it and of course if you’re using a semi-automatic

409
00:27:52,010 –> 00:27:56,350
you’re going to have to rack the slide because there’s no ammo in there doing

410
00:27:56,350 –> 00:28:01,470
it for you automatically but the goal is you’re You’re working on fundamentals

411
00:28:01,470 –> 00:28:06,890
that will necessarily make you better as a shooter if you practice it regularly.

412
00:28:07,370 –> 00:28:10,670
I can’t recommend dry firing enough.

413
00:28:11,210 –> 00:28:15,630
They even make some fancy pants lasers with associated targets.

414
00:28:15,750 –> 00:28:20,950
You can get even one that you can shoot at a piece of paper target and your

415
00:28:20,950 –> 00:28:26,890
smartphone sitting in front of it will pick up on the lasers shot at the piece of paper downrange.

416
00:28:26,890 –> 00:28:29,710
And it’ll tell you how you’re shooting, where you’re shooting,

417
00:28:29,790 –> 00:28:32,370
and make it look like you’re shooting the actual piece of paper.

418
00:28:33,030 –> 00:28:38,590
Dry firing is an excellent way to teach the basics or keep practicing the basics

419
00:28:38,590 –> 00:28:41,750
while improving, and it doesn’t get any cheaper.

420
00:28:41,870 –> 00:28:46,150
I mean, assuming you’ve got a firearm of your own, which hopefully at some point

421
00:28:46,150 –> 00:28:49,510
you will if you’ve elected to start shooting, and more importantly,

422
00:28:49,630 –> 00:28:53,530
you’re now deciding to concealed carry, you’re likely got your firearm already,

423
00:28:53,810 –> 00:28:57,670
it doesn’t get any cheaper than dry firing. So I highly recommend that.

424
00:28:58,270 –> 00:29:03,950
Let’s talk about cleaning your weapon. You should keep a clean firearm at all times.

425
00:29:04,090 –> 00:29:07,690
And you know, when I was growing up and when I was in the boy scout and at summer

426
00:29:07,690 –> 00:29:12,150
boy scouts and summer camp and everything else, you know, I constantly had it

427
00:29:12,150 –> 00:29:16,610
drilled in my head after you should clean your firearm after every time you shoot it.

428
00:29:16,670 –> 00:29:20,210
And so that’s what I did for the longest time as a kid had growing up with my

429
00:29:20,210 –> 00:29:24,770
22 rifles or whatever, or my 12 gauges, whatever I was out in the woods shooting

430
00:29:24,770 –> 00:29:27,910
or at the range practicing with, I’d come home and clean my gun.

431
00:29:28,804 –> 00:29:32,464
Do I do that these days? I got to be honest, not so much.

432
00:29:33,224 –> 00:29:38,084
Most of the firearms that I carry on myself for defensive purposes,

433
00:29:38,284 –> 00:29:44,524
I feel like can go quite a number of rounds before I absolutely need to clean them.

434
00:29:44,664 –> 00:29:50,604
Do I let my firearms get completely filthy without wiping them down or swabbing

435
00:29:50,604 –> 00:29:52,464
out the barrel at least a couple of times?

436
00:29:52,604 –> 00:29:58,164
No, because again, I know that a firearm, a clean firearm is an effective firearm

437
00:29:58,164 –> 00:30:02,404
because it’s going to likely shoot better when I do need to pull the trigger

438
00:30:02,404 –> 00:30:05,384
and just keeping a firearm clean is safer.

439
00:30:05,564 –> 00:30:11,464
So do I clean it after every time I go to the range to shoot or train or practice whatever?

440
00:30:11,784 –> 00:30:15,904
No, but I do make it a point to clean my firearms regularly.

441
00:30:15,944 –> 00:30:21,144
And so should you, you know, if you watch the news or on social media,

442
00:30:21,224 –> 00:30:24,984
you probably hear about someone shooting themselves selves in the foot or the

443
00:30:24,984 –> 00:30:30,184
hand or their buddy in the room or their kid because they weren’t vigilant in

444
00:30:30,184 –> 00:30:31,564
their safety when cleaning.

445
00:30:31,664 –> 00:30:35,984
I can’t emphasize safety enough when it comes to handling your firearms,

446
00:30:36,144 –> 00:30:39,264
whatever it is, whether it’s carrying it, going to the range,

447
00:30:39,484 –> 00:30:44,204
dry fire practice in your living room, or cleaning your firearm,

448
00:30:44,364 –> 00:30:47,664
especially cleaning your firearm where you get more comfortable and relaxed

449
00:30:47,664 –> 00:30:51,704
and just assume the weapon’s empty because you’re at home.

450
00:30:51,704 –> 00:30:58,784
The number one rule is just assume that all, treat all firearms as if they were loaded at all times.

451
00:30:58,944 –> 00:31:00,864
Want to make sure that firearm’s empty.

452
00:31:01,044 –> 00:31:07,204
And again, like dry firing, I just say, put your ammo in your magazine that’s loaded and ready to go.

453
00:31:07,284 –> 00:31:10,344
I would put it in a totally different room from where you’re cleaning,

454
00:31:10,444 –> 00:31:16,684
just to make it that much more difficult to introduce ammo into an area that

455
00:31:16,684 –> 00:31:20,244
you’ve created safe so you can complete the cleaning of your firearm.

456
00:31:21,368 –> 00:31:25,488
Let’s talk about using and carrying a quality holster. Now, we mentioned a minute

457
00:31:25,488 –> 00:31:27,908
ago when we were talking about the different carrying positions,

458
00:31:28,208 –> 00:31:30,848
you definitely need to be carrying using a holster.

459
00:31:30,888 –> 00:31:34,968
I don’t care if the holster’s in your vehicle, it’s on your nightstand,

460
00:31:35,308 –> 00:31:39,008
it’s, you know, in your waistband, on your ankle, wherever you’re carrying,

461
00:31:39,208 –> 00:31:42,108
you need to make sure it’s in a good quality holster.

462
00:31:42,548 –> 00:31:47,748
And, you know, like Van said, and like we talked about in that one episode,

463
00:31:48,108 –> 00:31:52,588
training Training should come above gear, but one piece of gear that you should

464
00:31:52,588 –> 00:31:56,548
absolutely invest a fair amount in is a good quality holster.

465
00:31:56,588 –> 00:31:57,828
And look, there’s plenty of

466
00:31:57,828 –> 00:32:01,128
them out there today, right? Some you can buy right off the store shelf.

467
00:32:01,468 –> 00:32:07,148
Even some of the ones that were once almost 100% custom ordered online now are

468
00:32:07,148 –> 00:32:12,768
making enough of the more popular firearm model versions of themselves that

469
00:32:12,768 –> 00:32:15,368
they’re being stocked in some local gun stores.

470
00:32:15,508 –> 00:32:18,088
So it’s not that hard even to get the good stuff.

471
00:32:18,588 –> 00:32:21,688
But you want to get a holster that has good retention.

472
00:32:21,848 –> 00:32:26,948
In other words, holds the firearm snugly in the holster and one that has full

473
00:32:26,948 –> 00:32:31,928
and complete trigger coverage, you know, including even the trigger guard. That’s very important.

474
00:32:32,268 –> 00:32:35,568
But as I said, there’s lots of good ones out there. There’s a hundred percent

475
00:32:35,568 –> 00:32:40,268
kydex, there’s a hundred percent leather, and you can get even there’s several,

476
00:32:40,408 –> 00:32:44,448
well, lots of hybrids, you know, what they call hybrids, which is a combination.

477
00:32:44,448 –> 00:32:47,888
You’ll generally have a leather back face

478
00:32:47,888 –> 00:32:50,768
or plate to it and kydex will go on top

479
00:32:50,768 –> 00:32:53,648
so it’s kind of a split between those two

480
00:32:53,648 –> 00:32:57,208
avoid cheaper materials i

481
00:32:57,208 –> 00:33:01,608
know there’s a lot of hype around cheap equipment cheap holsters them being

482
00:33:01,608 –> 00:33:05,068
comfortable some of the materials are very light and comfortable but at the

483
00:33:05,068 –> 00:33:10,068
end of the day they won’t hold up that well so i would i would say without mentioning

484
00:33:10,068 –> 00:33:14,048
any names I would say to avoid some of the cheaper,

485
00:33:14,228 –> 00:33:20,808
short-lived, more short-lived holster materials like neoprene or some of the

486
00:33:20,808 –> 00:33:23,728
more typical cheaper plastics being used.

487
00:33:23,868 –> 00:33:26,108
You know, plastic’s not the same as Kydex.

488
00:33:26,348 –> 00:33:31,828
Kydex is a lot tougher compared to a lot of the plain Jane plastics being used

489
00:33:31,828 –> 00:33:33,728
at some of the less expensive holsters.

490
00:33:33,848 –> 00:33:37,988
So I would caution you and just stick to what’s the good stuff.

491
00:33:37,988 –> 00:33:42,788
And just about anybody out there will tell you what the good stuff is and,

492
00:33:42,808 –> 00:33:46,968
you know, dare I say, splurge a little bit on a good quality holster.

493
00:33:47,208 –> 00:33:50,208
You also want to make sure your holster has good clips.

494
00:33:50,428 –> 00:33:54,628
Some are better than others. You generally can’t go wrong with metal,

495
00:33:54,748 –> 00:33:59,788
but that’s not to say some of these thicker plastic variations don’t work either.

496
00:33:59,908 –> 00:34:04,128
You can look at them, though, like a lot of things and tell what’s chintzy and

497
00:34:04,128 –> 00:34:07,028
cheap and weak versus some of the better ones.

498
00:34:07,991 –> 00:34:14,191
You know, at a time, custom holsters, especially some of the better quality

499
00:34:14,191 –> 00:34:17,271
holsters, were almost 100% online.

500
00:34:17,451 –> 00:34:20,291
You know, the irony, right? Now everything’s online.

501
00:34:20,591 –> 00:34:24,451
But, you know, a lot of them, you need to go online and order it.

502
00:34:24,511 –> 00:34:28,931
But there’s so many good brands of holsters, and this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list.

503
00:34:29,231 –> 00:34:33,711
These are just ones that I’ve had personal experience with that I can vouch for.

504
00:34:34,711 –> 00:34:39,871
Crossbreed is excellent. It’s an example of a quality hybrid variation.

505
00:34:40,091 –> 00:34:44,771
I have several crossbreeds. They’re comfortable. They’re just super nice.

506
00:34:45,131 –> 00:34:50,251
Have I had one for 20 years yet? Nope. But do I use them and use them regularly?

507
00:34:50,431 –> 00:34:51,971
Have I used them a lot? Yep.

508
00:34:52,311 –> 00:34:57,451
My crossbreed that I carry my Glocks in is well-worn, well-used,

509
00:34:57,491 –> 00:34:58,731
and I can tell you it holds up.

510
00:34:59,211 –> 00:35:02,511
CompTech is another one. Outstanding piece of equipment.

511
00:35:03,351 –> 00:35:09,191
Blackpoint Tactical makes good stuff. and as well as Cooks. And the thing that

512
00:35:09,191 –> 00:35:13,711
I keep hearing great things about Cooks is, is that their willingness to make

513
00:35:13,711 –> 00:35:15,411
customized things for you.

514
00:35:15,451 –> 00:35:18,871
I mean, from what I’ve heard, you can ask those guys to make just about anything,

515
00:35:19,371 –> 00:35:23,151
any color, any prints, whatever you like. Very good.

516
00:35:23,571 –> 00:35:29,471
I’ve had some luck with 100% Leather from Fist, which is a guy out of New York,

517
00:35:29,571 –> 00:35:33,451
makes some very good leather holsters, as well as G-Code.

518
00:35:33,551 –> 00:35:38,431
I’ve had some experience with G-Code, which I think mostly for Smiths and Glock,

519
00:35:38,471 –> 00:35:43,491
if not 100% for Glock, but what they are producing seems to be really nice quality.

520
00:35:44,111 –> 00:35:47,751
And like I said, I’ve had a lot of experience and owned several crossbreeds,

521
00:35:47,811 –> 00:35:51,391
but now in the case of like the crossbreeds, the Blackpoint Tactical,

522
00:35:51,511 –> 00:35:55,851
the Cooks, you can find those in some of our local gun stores.

523
00:35:56,031 –> 00:35:59,571
So like I said, some of these quality things you’re able to get off the shelf,

524
00:35:59,631 –> 00:36:01,951
assuming your firearm is a popular model.

525
00:36:02,091 –> 00:36:06,711
So just some options there, but several to choose from for sure.

526
00:36:07,211 –> 00:36:11,231
So while we’re on the subject of reholstering and depending on where you get

527
00:36:11,231 –> 00:36:15,191
your training and who your teacher is or who your buddy is you’re asked their

528
00:36:15,191 –> 00:36:19,671
opinion of, this is a subject that you might hear some mixed results,

529
00:36:19,871 –> 00:36:22,931
but I’m just going to tell you what my best gun tip for you is.

530
00:36:23,451 –> 00:36:27,951
When it comes to reholstering, you know, you’ve had a situation that you’ve

531
00:36:27,951 –> 00:36:29,651
had to draw from concealment.

532
00:36:29,711 –> 00:36:32,831
We’ve already talked We’re not going to draw open holster because we’re not

533
00:36:32,831 –> 00:36:37,351
carrying open, but we’ve had to draw from concealment in a defensive situation.

534
00:36:37,591 –> 00:36:39,391
And now it’s time to reholster.

535
00:36:39,971 –> 00:36:44,851
Well, when is the time to reholster? Well, it’s after the things have gone down.

536
00:36:44,931 –> 00:36:50,371
You’ve made sure the coast is clear. Two things is a there’s no more bad guys

537
00:36:50,371 –> 00:36:54,671
out in front of you that you might have to deal with potentially or defend yourself against.

538
00:36:55,071 –> 00:37:00,031
And two, you’ve made sure that any threat that you’ve dealt with is down and has been stopped.

539
00:37:00,988 –> 00:37:04,808
Then it’s time to reholster. If you’re at the range and you’re practicing,

540
00:37:05,068 –> 00:37:08,508
you know, you’re shooting the paper, you’re working on a couple of techniques

541
00:37:08,508 –> 00:37:12,308
that you picked up in class the last training session you got,

542
00:37:12,408 –> 00:37:16,308
or you’re working a couple of drills you found out about, when it’s time to

543
00:37:16,308 –> 00:37:18,968
reholster after those shots,

544
00:37:19,228 –> 00:37:22,008
you want to be sure to look to put that holster back.

545
00:37:22,368 –> 00:37:27,108
Now, is it as cool as not looking and knowing just your hand just knows where

546
00:37:27,108 –> 00:37:30,048
right back to go, right back to again?

547
00:37:30,508 –> 00:37:33,988
No, but you’re not trying to look cool. You’re trying to get that firearm returned

548
00:37:33,988 –> 00:37:38,048
back to the holster as safely as you possibly can.

549
00:37:38,648 –> 00:37:44,228
And the saying that I heard that I stick with, and I’m going to tell it to you

550
00:37:44,228 –> 00:37:47,728
too, is quick out, slow in.

551
00:37:48,048 –> 00:37:52,848
Meaning, you know, if you’re having to draw that firearm, you better be quick out of that holster.

552
00:37:52,948 –> 00:37:58,068
But when it’s time to put it back. It’s slow and easy and calculated and you’re

553
00:37:58,068 –> 00:37:59,708
looking where it’s going.

554
00:38:00,248 –> 00:38:03,648
You know, you’ll see a lot of guys reholstering without looking and they’re

555
00:38:03,648 –> 00:38:06,748
able to get it in there because, you know, it’s like if you ride motorcycles,

556
00:38:07,028 –> 00:38:08,668
you just know where the foot pegs are.

557
00:38:08,748 –> 00:38:11,928
You raise your feet up off the ground when you start off from the stoplight

558
00:38:11,928 –> 00:38:13,848
and you don’t have to look where the foot pegs are.

559
00:38:13,948 –> 00:38:17,988
And if you train enough, you know, you can put that gun back in the holster,

560
00:38:18,008 –> 00:38:18,988
but that’s not the point.

561
00:38:19,348 –> 00:38:23,868
What if it’s winter time and you’ve got a jacket on that has the elastic plastic

562
00:38:23,868 –> 00:38:25,828
drawstrings or tassels on it.

563
00:38:25,868 –> 00:38:29,688
And that gets caught up in your trigger guard and you wind up shooting yourself

564
00:38:29,688 –> 00:38:32,668
because the tassel pulled the trigger when you weren’t looking.

565
00:38:32,788 –> 00:38:37,028
What if, what if a part of your, I don’t know, something hanging out of your

566
00:38:37,028 –> 00:38:41,748
pocket, whatever it is, something could have gotten into that trigger guard and press that trigger.

567
00:38:42,208 –> 00:38:44,628
All you were trying to do was reholster it.

568
00:38:45,279 –> 00:38:51,339
You know, there’s no merit to reholstering quickly because the fight’s over

569
00:38:51,339 –> 00:38:55,099
or whatever you’re practicing on is over. So just go slow.

570
00:38:55,379 –> 00:38:58,139
It’s just going to be safer at the end of the day.

571
00:38:58,199 –> 00:39:01,299
It’s going to be safer for you and it’s going to be safer potentially for anybody

572
00:39:01,299 –> 00:39:05,219
that’s standing behind you as well because you’re looking and you want to make

573
00:39:05,219 –> 00:39:08,759
sure everything’s cleared out of the way, which looking enables you to do.

574
00:39:09,239 –> 00:39:15,339
And you want to also make sure that trigger finger is off the trigger when you go to a reholster.

575
00:39:15,419 –> 00:39:19,199
There was a gentleman that actually shot himself in the thigh because he reholstered

576
00:39:19,199 –> 00:39:22,359
with his trigger finger still in place. So that’s not good.

577
00:39:22,979 –> 00:39:26,059
Remember out quick and in slow.

578
00:39:26,619 –> 00:39:31,379
And look, the argument for not looking at your holster is maybe something might

579
00:39:31,379 –> 00:39:34,659
pop up again, down range that you’ll have to deal with.

580
00:39:34,739 –> 00:39:38,759
So you don’t want to take your eyes off the bad guys. And typically this would be true, right?

581
00:39:38,819 –> 00:39:43,099
If I was telling you in a self-defense empty hand scenario, even when backing

582
00:39:43,099 –> 00:39:45,679
away, you don’t take your eyes off the bad guy.

583
00:39:46,079 –> 00:39:50,159
But at the end of the day, if you’re still concerned that you need to be dealing

584
00:39:50,159 –> 00:39:55,059
with potential bad guys, or you need to re-engage a bad guy that you’ve already stopped,

585
00:39:55,259 –> 00:39:58,379
you thought you stopped the threat with, you don’t, you’re not to the point

586
00:39:58,379 –> 00:40:01,319
of being able to reholster or needing to reholster yet anyway.

587
00:40:01,759 –> 00:40:06,559
So do what you need to do. And then when you go reholster, do it slowly,

588
00:40:06,739 –> 00:40:11,199
do it intentionally and look, Look, and I won’t beat that horse to death anymore.

589
00:40:11,539 –> 00:40:16,979
This next one, and this is another one that I’m fairly passionate about,

590
00:40:17,079 –> 00:40:19,659
and I’ve even had to have the conversation with my own dad,

591
00:40:19,879 –> 00:40:24,039
is look, if you’re going to carry for defensive purposes,

592
00:40:24,259 –> 00:40:29,799
if you’re lawfully carrying with a concealed carry permit, a concealed carry

593
00:40:29,799 –> 00:40:35,559
weapons permit, as they call them here in Georgia, a CCW, you need to be carrying

594
00:40:35,559 –> 00:40:37,939
with a chambered round, period.

595
00:40:38,759 –> 00:40:43,859
There are some military groups like the IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces,

596
00:40:44,019 –> 00:40:46,299
and there’s some military groups in the Philippines,

597
00:40:46,479 –> 00:40:55,999
I think it is, that practice and train and know how to go to work without a round in the chamber.

598
00:40:55,999 –> 00:41:02,059
In other words, that’s either their government regulations, the police or military

599
00:41:02,059 –> 00:41:03,599
regulations that they have.

600
00:41:03,999 –> 00:41:09,199
Because of their environments, they’ve found that they’re better off not carrying

601
00:41:09,199 –> 00:41:14,159
with a round chamber for whatever reason they’re doing it. we’re not the IDF here.

602
00:41:14,459 –> 00:41:17,159
We generally can’t and don’t train that way.

603
00:41:17,579 –> 00:41:21,239
There’s no reason for us to not have a round in the chamber.

604
00:41:21,719 –> 00:41:26,759
The only reason that you could come up with for not carrying with a round around

605
00:41:26,759 –> 00:41:31,079
in the chamber is that you’re not comfortable carrying a loaded weapon.

606
00:41:31,319 –> 00:41:34,119
And if that’s the case, let me break it to you.

607
00:41:34,379 –> 00:41:36,579
You’re not ready to carry concealed yet.

608
00:41:37,340 –> 00:41:42,220
And you need to go get some training so you can get more comfortable with carrying concealed.

609
00:41:42,540 –> 00:41:48,500
And more importantly, you learn why you need to be carrying with a round in the chamber.

610
00:41:49,040 –> 00:41:52,500
If you’re not carrying a round in the chamber, it’s useless.

611
00:41:52,700 –> 00:41:59,740
You will never get a round chamber or likely not going to be able to be successful

612
00:41:59,740 –> 00:42:02,920
getting a round chambered in order to be effective with it.

613
00:42:02,920 –> 00:42:06,200
And so much so that enough

614
00:42:06,200 –> 00:42:08,980
time may go by that the bad guy can get your

615
00:42:08,980 –> 00:42:13,400
gun away from you and use it on you if nothing else is a hammer so if you’re

616
00:42:13,400 –> 00:42:16,960
going to carry carry with a round chambered if you’re not comfortable with that

617
00:42:16,960 –> 00:42:22,540
then go train train train until you do get comfortable with it if you feel like

618
00:42:22,540 –> 00:42:27,540
that’s not an option for you then you probably need to reconsider carrying concealed,

619
00:42:28,020 –> 00:42:32,420
carrying, you know, again, we’re talking about lawful, law-abiding citizens.

620
00:42:33,060 –> 00:42:37,480
You probably just need to consider the fact that carrying concealed and carrying

621
00:42:37,480 –> 00:42:43,340
being ready for a defensive scenario is not in the cards for you.

622
00:42:43,660 –> 00:42:46,960
This next one is more of a pet peeve of mine.

623
00:42:47,100 –> 00:42:52,440
I classified it here as best tips for you, and they are tips definitely,

624
00:42:52,660 –> 00:42:56,380
but it all hinges on safety.

625
00:42:57,140 –> 00:43:01,480
So I’m certified NRA range safety officer, RSO.

626
00:43:01,740 –> 00:43:06,700
I had the privilege of volunteering part-time occasionally on weekends for a

627
00:43:06,700 –> 00:43:10,340
little over a year at a local gun range that I support.

628
00:43:11,140 –> 00:43:15,240
And I got to see a lot of things that I didn’t want to see.

629
00:43:15,340 –> 00:43:19,620
I got to, I would like to think I got to head off a lot of potential issues

630
00:43:19,620 –> 00:43:21,720
that could have gone south otherwise.

631
00:43:22,540 –> 00:43:27,220
But at the end of the day, I got to see a lot of things that are inexcusable.

632
00:43:27,380 –> 00:43:33,620
You can’t be vigilant enough when it comes to handling firearms correctly and safely.

633
00:43:33,900 –> 00:43:39,320
So let me just talk about some of the things that I’ve seen repetitively on

634
00:43:39,320 –> 00:43:46,700
the range and what needs to happen instead will hopefully become be very, very, very apparent.

635
00:43:47,220 –> 00:43:51,480
I’ve seen people in the aisles, in their booths, getting ready to shoot,

636
00:43:51,560 –> 00:43:55,580
point their weapons straight at their buddy or their loved one that they were

637
00:43:55,580 –> 00:43:58,160
shooting with for the day and not think twice about it.

638
00:43:58,500 –> 00:44:06,060
I’ve seen people turn around, swing around with guns in their hands and flag, cover,

639
00:44:06,280 –> 00:44:13,100
point their gun, you know, unintentionally, I assume, at practically every person

640
00:44:13,100 –> 00:44:16,940
in the gun range possible because they weren’t paying attention to their doing.

641
00:44:16,940 –> 00:44:22,360
I’ve seen more trigger I’ve seen more fingers left on the trigger.

642
00:44:23,387 –> 00:44:28,247
Then I can count whether they’re in between taking shots down range,

643
00:44:28,607 –> 00:44:32,367
pointing their weapon at their loved one or their buddy that they’re in the

644
00:44:32,367 –> 00:44:38,127
booth with shooting, or as they spin around flagging, covering everyone in the

645
00:44:38,127 –> 00:44:40,447
room with their finger on the trigger.

646
00:44:40,507 –> 00:44:46,187
Still, I had one woman walk right up to me, not only pointing her weapon at

647
00:44:46,187 –> 00:44:47,747
me, but her finger on the trigger.

648
00:44:47,747 –> 00:44:51,287
Trigger and so i i mention all

649
00:44:51,287 –> 00:44:54,247
those things that i’ve seen happen and not just happen

650
00:44:54,247 –> 00:44:57,887
once or on occasion but regularly to

651
00:44:57,887 –> 00:45:03,887
remind you the importance of those first four safety rules if nothing else and

652
00:45:03,887 –> 00:45:07,807
if you don’t know what you’re doing you’re just getting started out or it’s

653
00:45:07,807 –> 00:45:12,847
been a while since you’ve shot or you’ve just bought a new gun whatever the

654
00:45:12,847 –> 00:45:17,007
quote-unquote reasoning or excuse could be,

655
00:45:17,167 –> 00:45:23,767
I would not want something horrible to happen to somebody near you or around

656
00:45:23,767 –> 00:45:27,707
you because you weren’t being as careful as you needed to be. These aren’t toys.

657
00:45:27,927 –> 00:45:33,507
I don’t want to talk down to anyone, but a firearm is not a toy and you don’t need to treat it as such.

658
00:45:33,987 –> 00:45:37,667
Learn the safety rules and be vigilant about following them.

659
00:45:37,807 –> 00:45:40,047
Be aware of that muzzle at all times.

660
00:45:40,247 –> 00:45:45,167
Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re actually pointing down range at the target.

661
00:45:45,587 –> 00:45:52,747
And you’re ready to shoot. And the other one that I’d like to remind everyone of it of is don’t.

662
00:45:53,436 –> 00:45:58,836
Load, don’t take your firearms in and out of their bags behind the firing line.

663
00:45:59,016 –> 00:46:04,076
Take the bag up to the aisle, your booth, unload it there, take the bag back

664
00:46:04,076 –> 00:46:05,876
wherever and put it down.

665
00:46:06,136 –> 00:46:11,336
And certainly don’t load and unload your firearms off the firing line.

666
00:46:11,576 –> 00:46:15,396
Never load or unload your firearms off the firing line.

667
00:46:15,516 –> 00:46:19,876
Wait until you’re inside the booth pointing the gun in a safe direction to clear

668
00:46:19,876 –> 00:46:24,216
it or to reload it again if you’re going to carry it or put it away that way.

669
00:46:24,336 –> 00:46:28,816
You really shouldn’t be storing firearms loaded anyway because over time,

670
00:46:28,916 –> 00:46:31,336
I guarantee you’ll forget that it’s loaded.

671
00:46:32,036 –> 00:46:39,196
And last but not least, on the flip side of that quarter, when you’re at the

672
00:46:39,196 –> 00:46:42,996
gun range, it is your responsibility to be responsible for you.

673
00:46:42,996 –> 00:46:47,596
This not only means following the proper gun safety rules, but this also means

674
00:46:47,596 –> 00:46:50,376
being vigilant and watching those around you.

675
00:46:50,716 –> 00:46:55,016
Don’t be so blind inside your shooting stall, your booth, your aisle,

676
00:46:55,116 –> 00:46:57,156
whatever you call it at your gun range.

677
00:46:57,556 –> 00:47:01,976
Don’t be so blind and caught up in shooting and having fun that you’re not paying

678
00:47:01,976 –> 00:47:05,816
attention to those people that are loading and unloading their guns on the table

679
00:47:05,816 –> 00:47:07,596
that happens to be behind your booth.

680
00:47:08,196 –> 00:47:11,236
Don’t be so caught up in what it is you’re doing that

681
00:47:11,236 –> 00:47:14,596
you’re not paying attention to those around you because those

682
00:47:14,596 –> 00:47:18,096
around you are the ones that potentially are doing unsafe things

683
00:47:18,096 –> 00:47:23,736
that could have impact and potentially devastating consequences for you and

684
00:47:23,736 –> 00:47:27,696
someone you’re at the range shooting with so i know i’m harping on safety but

685
00:47:27,696 –> 00:47:34,476
i always harp on safety and at the end of the day you really should too so going

686
00:47:34,476 –> 00:47:37,556
back to what we’ve talked about a little bit before is get some training.

687
00:47:38,196 –> 00:47:43,536
If you’re new and it’s your first time, ask questions, get the guidance,

688
00:47:43,736 –> 00:47:48,676
have a once over of the safety rules and proper handling of any firearm you

689
00:47:48,676 –> 00:47:51,816
decide to shoot, whether it’s something new you bought to yourself because you

690
00:47:51,816 –> 00:47:57,276
thought it was cool, or you’re renting something from behind the shop before you go out on the range.

691
00:47:57,856 –> 00:48:03,436
Don’t be shy, ask questions, get guidance and have a once over of safety and

692
00:48:03,436 –> 00:48:05,196
how that firearm operates.

693
00:48:05,676 –> 00:48:10,276
If you’re new and you’ve just gotten a new firearm, take the time to read that

694
00:48:10,276 –> 00:48:11,756
manual from cover to cover.

695
00:48:11,876 –> 00:48:17,216
It’ll not only give you tips and tricks for, you know, breaking down the weapon

696
00:48:17,216 –> 00:48:19,956
correctly for cleaning, but it’ll also…

697
00:48:20,758 –> 00:48:24,718
Point out all the parts and how that firearm functions. So at least you have

698
00:48:24,718 –> 00:48:28,178
some knowledge of the basics before you go to use it for the first time.

699
00:48:28,398 –> 00:48:33,498
Or if it’s been six plus months since the last time you’ve shot, refresh your memory.

700
00:48:33,678 –> 00:48:38,898
It won’t hurt. It’ll only serve to make things better for you and more than

701
00:48:38,898 –> 00:48:40,438
likely more safe as well.

702
00:48:40,658 –> 00:48:43,538
And again, if you don’t know something, go and get some training,

703
00:48:43,678 –> 00:48:48,398
ask somebody, even private lessons one-on-one are not that expensive in the

704
00:48:48,398 –> 00:48:53,758
overall scheme of things if it means that you’ll be better and more safe.

705
00:48:54,158 –> 00:48:58,918
If I’m your firearms instructor, I’m going to teach you how to shoot and learn

706
00:48:58,918 –> 00:49:03,878
the basics, but I’m most concerned with safety and how safe you are.

707
00:49:03,998 –> 00:49:08,238
I could care less how well you shoot. That will come in time with practice,

708
00:49:08,458 –> 00:49:13,818
but I’m going to be focused on safety and I can’t emphasize that enough as I’ve

709
00:49:13,818 –> 00:49:15,438
I’ve already said about a dozen times here.

710
00:49:15,998 –> 00:49:20,258
If you’re a seasoned shooter, still go get some training, especially if it’s

711
00:49:20,258 –> 00:49:24,258
been six plus months since you’ve shot left, get some training,

712
00:49:24,438 –> 00:49:26,118
keep training and practicing.

713
00:49:26,578 –> 00:49:29,478
Every time you go to the drill, every time you go to the range,

714
00:49:29,638 –> 00:49:34,098
you shouldn’t be just shooting at paper, uh, unless you’re a competition shooter

715
00:49:34,098 –> 00:49:37,018
and that’s where you have your focus, which is perfectly fine.

716
00:49:37,238 –> 00:49:42,718
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t talk highly enough about the spirit of competition shooting,

717
00:49:42,918 –> 00:49:48,178
how fun it is, how it brings people together, how it’s so cool to see yourself

718
00:49:48,178 –> 00:49:53,318
improve and be able to knock out those bullseyes at further and further distances out.

719
00:49:53,478 –> 00:49:58,098
If you’re competition shooting, by all means, go and practice and shoot the

720
00:49:58,098 –> 00:49:59,938
piece of paper and enjoy it.

721
00:50:00,476 –> 00:50:05,176
And get better and introduce your friends and family to it. Cause I bet they’ll have fun doing it too.

722
00:50:05,316 –> 00:50:10,056
If you’re learning or you’re carrying a firearm for defensive purposes,

723
00:50:10,216 –> 00:50:15,116
you’re shooting reasoning and you’re shooting techniques are arguably considerably

724
00:50:15,116 –> 00:50:17,296
different than the competition shooter.

725
00:50:17,516 –> 00:50:21,736
And you don’t need to be going just plinking at paper, except when you’re bored

726
00:50:21,736 –> 00:50:24,436
and just want to go once in a while. And that’s perfectly fine too.

727
00:50:24,616 –> 00:50:31,296
But as the defensive shooter, or as the lawful concealed carrying person needs

728
00:50:31,296 –> 00:50:33,716
to do, they need to be focused on techniques.

729
00:50:33,796 –> 00:50:37,416
They need to be working on a different procedure or technique.

730
00:50:37,596 –> 00:50:41,236
Every time they go to the range, they need to be working on what they just learned

731
00:50:41,236 –> 00:50:42,916
in any training classes they have.

732
00:50:43,276 –> 00:50:48,956
And ideally, instead of just plinking at paper for 50 rounds or 100 rounds, make every round count.

733
00:50:49,316 –> 00:50:53,236
Go and get you, learn about a couple of drills that you think you want to try

734
00:50:53,236 –> 00:50:57,696
for yourself. Two of my favorite, just as examples that I use regularly that

735
00:50:57,696 –> 00:51:02,256
help make me such a better shooter is one is called the dot torture chest.

736
00:51:02,736 –> 00:51:07,136
And it’s fantastic because it makes you work everything in different numbers.

737
00:51:07,336 –> 00:51:15,396
You’ll do a strong hand, weak hand, double taps, multiple targets, reloads.

738
00:51:15,416 –> 00:51:20,176
It’s just a good way to train a lot of different things and you can do it all

739
00:51:20,176 –> 00:51:26,756
in 50 rounds. And the other one that I like that I use regularly is what’s called the 2x2x2 drill.

740
00:51:27,056 –> 00:51:33,716
Now it’s meant to be two rounds in two seconds at 20 feet, meaning I pull my

741
00:51:33,716 –> 00:51:36,716
firearm from my holster, which is concealed, of course.

742
00:51:36,736 –> 00:51:39,556
I put two rounds on target in two seconds.

743
00:51:40,392 –> 00:51:44,972
And I can do that in 50 rounds too. So none of this stuff is super time consuming.

744
00:51:45,132 –> 00:51:49,572
I can do either one of these in probably 20 minutes or less in most cases.

745
00:51:50,032 –> 00:51:54,192
I only really need to use 50 rounds for either one.

746
00:51:54,392 –> 00:51:58,032
But there are a lot of other drills out there that you can find for yourself

747
00:51:58,032 –> 00:52:00,852
that work to make you more effective shooter.

748
00:52:01,172 –> 00:52:04,992
You’ll have fun doing it because I got to tell you, these drills are a lot of

749
00:52:04,992 –> 00:52:09,132
fun and you’re not just wasting ammo plinking at paper. Because again,

750
00:52:09,212 –> 00:52:12,792
if you’re carrying, you need to be doing something more working to get better.

751
00:52:13,172 –> 00:52:17,752
Because if you find yourself in a situation, in a scenario, a situation where

752
00:52:17,752 –> 00:52:21,272
you’re going to need to use that firearm in a defensive or tactical scenario,

753
00:52:21,632 –> 00:52:25,432
you’re going to want to be as effective and proficient as you possibly can be.

754
00:52:26,152 –> 00:52:30,452
I believe it was episode four, but if you go and look at our list of podcasts,

755
00:52:30,772 –> 00:52:32,532
you’ll find the training versus gear.

756
00:52:32,672 –> 00:52:35,632
I’ll talk about that one for a moment. It’s outstanding.

757
00:52:35,932 –> 00:52:40,052
Van talks a lot about the importance of choosing training versus some of the

758
00:52:40,052 –> 00:52:43,952
silly gear that we’ll find ourselves wanting and purchasing for firearms that

759
00:52:43,952 –> 00:52:45,852
we only shoot once every nine months.

760
00:52:46,232 –> 00:52:49,372
Get that training, but listen to that episode if you haven’t yet.

761
00:52:49,372 –> 00:52:54,432
One of the best tips that I can give you, bits of advice that I can give you

762
00:52:54,432 –> 00:53:00,152
is don’t look to the movies and TV on how guns should be handling.

763
00:53:00,312 –> 00:53:02,492
And if you are, stop.

764
00:53:03,172 –> 00:53:08,572
It’s the last place you need to get any sort of advice on firearm handling or

765
00:53:08,572 –> 00:53:11,072
usage. usage in movies and television.

766
00:53:11,352 –> 00:53:14,232
I know I see it all the time. Guns get pointed at everybody.

767
00:53:14,372 –> 00:53:17,932
And if they’re not the bad guys, they’re still getting covered,

768
00:53:18,112 –> 00:53:22,612
flagged with the barrel of the good guy’s gun because he’s got no clue who’s

769
00:53:22,612 –> 00:53:25,692
around him or it doesn’t matter because he’s not pulling the trigger.

770
00:53:25,812 –> 00:53:31,012
Whatever their philosophy is in doing it, I suspect that gun safety is a very

771
00:53:31,012 –> 00:53:36,652
small to having no significant role in the script or storyline.

772
00:53:36,772 –> 00:53:41,752
So that’s why they’re not focused But, you know, they’re pointing their firearms at everybody.

773
00:53:42,412 –> 00:53:46,512
How many times have you seen some guy’s finger on the trigger?

774
00:53:46,592 –> 00:53:51,452
I was watching a classic movie that arguably is a Christmastime movie with a

775
00:53:51,452 –> 00:53:56,612
big action hero and one of the cops at the end when he kills the bad guy,

776
00:53:56,692 –> 00:53:59,832
when he gets through shooting the bad guy, he’s still got his finger on the trigger.

777
00:54:00,891 –> 00:54:04,071
It seems like every movie, every television show where guns are involved,

778
00:54:04,411 –> 00:54:07,291
somebody has their finger on the trigger when they shouldn’t have.

779
00:54:07,351 –> 00:54:08,511
And I’m not talking about when they’re shooting.

780
00:54:08,591 –> 00:54:11,111
They’re just walking around with their fingers on the trigger.

781
00:54:11,631 –> 00:54:14,651
Think about it. Next time you watch something involving guns,

782
00:54:14,831 –> 00:54:19,191
watch how many basic gun safety rules are broken.

783
00:54:19,791 –> 00:54:23,731
And, you know, the other thing that we’ll see in movies and in Hollywood and

784
00:54:23,731 –> 00:54:27,751
on TV a lot is warning shots, right? Shooting over the people’s heads.

785
00:54:27,951 –> 00:54:31,171
Let me tell you, most states that I know about, most places,

786
00:54:31,211 –> 00:54:32,371
a warning shot’s illegal.

787
00:54:32,931 –> 00:54:37,291
Warning shots are illegal and rightfully so. If you shoot a warning shot,

788
00:54:37,511 –> 00:54:41,491
you deserve whatever happens to you. I know that’s a strong statement, that’s true.

789
00:54:41,791 –> 00:54:45,191
A, you’re likely going to get shot and killed if you’re shooting warning shots

790
00:54:45,191 –> 00:54:49,371
at somebody that’s got guns and or shooting back to you. You’re probably going to get yourself killed.

791
00:54:49,651 –> 00:54:52,431
B, where is that round going to?

792
00:54:53,251 –> 00:54:59,771
You’re accountable for every round that goes down range, meaning that shot out the end of your gun.

793
00:54:59,911 –> 00:55:02,591
Where are those rounds going? Where do they land?

794
00:55:02,891 –> 00:55:07,551
There’s been people killed by stray bullets that have been shot as warning shots

795
00:55:07,551 –> 00:55:10,091
or shot off in the air, shot off in the distance.

796
00:55:10,311 –> 00:55:14,531
What goes up must come down. Got to think this stuff through people.

797
00:55:14,851 –> 00:55:16,671
Warning shots are not an option.

798
00:55:17,051 –> 00:55:21,471
And how many times have if somebody had been shot in the arm and leg to quote

799
00:55:21,471 –> 00:55:25,611
unquote, stop them or slow them down, not in real life, you want to know why?

800
00:55:25,911 –> 00:55:30,931
Cause that, if it’s a scenario where you’ve been threatened life and death,

801
00:55:31,631 –> 00:55:32,951
in other words, it was you or them.

802
00:55:33,031 –> 00:55:35,331
You got no business shooting them in the leg or arm.

803
00:55:35,451 –> 00:55:38,171
Anyway, you shoot them to stop the threat period.

804
00:55:38,551 –> 00:55:41,331
That sounds cruel and harsh, but that’s the way it is.

805
00:55:41,711 –> 00:55:46,631
Not to mention that if you shot somebody in the arm and leg and they lived and,

806
00:55:47,081 –> 00:55:50,421
Even if they were a bad guy, they were coming to do you and your family harm.

807
00:55:50,621 –> 00:55:54,121
They were robbing you. They were ultimately going to rape your wife or your

808
00:55:54,121 –> 00:55:57,881
three-year-old or whatever it is, whatever the most horrible thing is.

809
00:55:57,961 –> 00:55:59,501
And you shoot them in the leg and they live.

810
00:55:59,901 –> 00:56:03,561
Guess what’s going to happen in all likelihood, especially in today’s society?

811
00:56:04,161 –> 00:56:07,201
They’re going to sue you for everything you’ve got.

812
00:56:07,901 –> 00:56:12,801
Or their family’s going to sue you and or their family’s going to sue you in

813
00:56:12,801 –> 00:56:18,541
civil court for everything you got. and what little bit of legal whatever that I’ve gotten.

814
00:56:18,601 –> 00:56:21,841
And I’m not trying to give any legal here because I’m not a lawyer and I’m not

815
00:56:21,841 –> 00:56:22,981
going to give legal advice.

816
00:56:23,401 –> 00:56:29,801
But the thing that I’ve been told that just has stuck with me is it’s not that

817
00:56:29,801 –> 00:56:33,361
the quote unquote bad guys have more rights than the good guys do,

818
00:56:33,481 –> 00:56:36,121
but the end of the day, they have the same rights.

819
00:56:36,701 –> 00:56:42,801
So again, we have to act intelligently when we act, especially when it comes to the use of firearms.

820
00:56:42,981 –> 00:56:45,941
So again, don’t follow Hollywood and TV.

821
00:56:46,261 –> 00:56:50,081
Get out there, do your homework, do the research online.

822
00:56:50,561 –> 00:56:53,201
There’s a lot of bad information, but there’s a lot of good.

823
00:56:53,381 –> 00:56:57,621
And the guys in the community at your local shop, at your local range,

824
00:56:57,881 –> 00:57:01,541
they can get you pointed in the right direction and tell you who to see and

825
00:57:01,541 –> 00:57:03,301
maybe even who not to see.

826
00:57:03,401 –> 00:57:06,581
But it definitely shouldn’t be Hollywood and television. Again.

827
00:57:07,041 –> 00:57:09,381
We’re kind of covering a lot of different things here.

828
00:57:09,441 –> 00:57:14,141
I think in terms of carrying for defensive purposes and using a firearm for

829
00:57:14,141 –> 00:57:19,541
defensive purposes, but certainly competition and just fun shooting all has a place.

830
00:57:19,541 –> 00:57:25,401
When it comes to defensive purposes, though, we need to use ammunition that’s

831
00:57:25,401 –> 00:57:26,961
intended for defensive purposes.

832
00:57:27,161 –> 00:57:30,181
When we’re just plinking targets or we’re competition shooting,

833
00:57:30,501 –> 00:57:33,801
ball ammo is perfectly acceptable.

834
00:57:34,101 –> 00:57:39,661
It’s meant to just go downrange and be wasted and expended. They even make some

835
00:57:39,661 –> 00:57:44,781
more paper-oriented targets like wad cutters and semi-wad cutters you’ll see,

836
00:57:44,921 –> 00:57:48,441
you’ll find, especially if you’re reloading your own stuff.

837
00:57:48,741 –> 00:57:53,821
But when it comes to defensive purposes, ball ammo, or for that matter,

838
00:57:53,881 –> 00:57:56,741
even regular hollow points, really don’t have a place.

839
00:57:56,741 –> 00:57:59,641
It’s primarily because that ammo

840
00:57:59,641 –> 00:58:02,981
while yes it’s a bullet and will still hit somebody or

841
00:58:02,981 –> 00:58:06,801
something and do damage it likely won’t

842
00:58:06,801 –> 00:58:12,361
do the necessary damage to stop the threat and the more important piece is again

843
00:58:12,361 –> 00:58:17,901
because we’re aware of every round we put down range and because we need to

844
00:58:17,901 –> 00:58:23,561
be aware of our target and what’s beyond it ball ammo and even regular old hollow

845
00:58:23,561 –> 00:58:26,021
points will have a a tendency to over-penetrate.

846
00:58:26,683 –> 00:58:32,523
So you run the risk in defensive scenarios of that ball ammo continuing on through

847
00:58:32,523 –> 00:58:37,123
the body and out the other side, going through the wall and striking whatever’s

848
00:58:37,123 –> 00:58:40,543
in the next room, hitting the child down on the sidewalk,

849
00:58:40,963 –> 00:58:46,323
going through your house, the neighbor’s house, striking the baby in the crib next door.

850
00:58:46,763 –> 00:58:51,583
We have to be more conscientious about our selections and the things that we

851
00:58:51,583 –> 00:58:55,723
think about out and do as defensive firearms carriers.

852
00:58:56,783 –> 00:59:04,023
And I would just remind you that, you know, ball ammo has no place in the defensive world.

853
00:59:04,443 –> 00:59:10,243
And now, nowadays, there are lots of good, effective defensive ammo.

854
00:59:10,363 –> 00:59:13,563
I’m not going to get into the research here and the statistics and all of that.

855
00:59:13,603 –> 00:59:17,083
There’s plenty of research for you to find online where you can read about it.

856
00:59:17,083 –> 00:59:22,303
But, you know, even 9mm today is more effective than it ever was because of

857
00:59:22,303 –> 00:59:28,523
the defensive ammo that’s available for it today, even when compared to .40 caliber and .45 ACP.

858
00:59:28,663 –> 00:59:32,943
And look, I’m not here to do the debate, the classical age-old debate of what

859
00:59:32,943 –> 00:59:36,643
caliber is right. Again, you’re going to find the caliber that’s right today.

860
00:59:37,216 –> 00:59:42,416
For you, I’m just illustrating, I’m just talking about the point that with the

861
00:59:42,416 –> 00:59:47,116
advancement of defensive ammos, 9mm now has been brought more in line with some

862
00:59:47,116 –> 00:59:49,856
of the larger, more powerful calibers in the past.

863
00:59:50,136 –> 00:59:54,076
And you know, the advantage of 9mm is the fact that, you know,

864
00:59:54,096 –> 00:59:56,916
you can carry more on board, so to speak.

865
00:59:56,996 –> 01:00:01,296
It’s less cost in a lot of cases, especially the defensive stuff.

866
01:00:01,296 –> 01:00:04,936
And with 9mm, it’s lower recoil to manage.

867
01:00:05,096 –> 01:00:11,396
So for all those reasons, you know, defensive ammo makes 9mm an option.

868
01:00:11,576 –> 01:00:15,936
Not that it hasn’t always been an option, but you know what I mean, just a better option.

869
01:00:15,936 –> 01:00:21,196
But nonetheless, you need to find the right defensive ammo for the caliber that

870
01:00:21,196 –> 01:00:26,296
you’re going to carry for yourself and carry that and not ball ammo or even,

871
01:00:26,336 –> 01:00:31,016
like I said, regular hollow points because it’s not as effective and you run

872
01:00:31,016 –> 01:00:33,796
the risk of bad overpenetration.

873
01:00:34,296 –> 01:00:39,136
One of my quick tips here, don’t carry your firearms where you aren’t supposed to.

874
01:00:39,236 –> 01:00:44,236
And look, if you’re a law abiding and you’ve gotten your permit for concealed

875
01:00:44,236 –> 01:00:46,256
carry, then you already know these things.

876
01:00:46,396 –> 01:00:50,336
But just a quick reminder, don’t carry to federal buildings.

877
01:00:50,336 –> 01:00:54,196
You know, don’t try to get in the courthouse with your firearm strapped to you

878
01:00:54,196 –> 01:00:58,776
because you going in there showing them that your concealed carry permit is

879
01:00:58,776 –> 01:01:00,436
not going to do you any good.

880
01:01:00,736 –> 01:01:04,976
And a federal building that you don’t think about that you may not think about

881
01:01:04,976 –> 01:01:08,176
or even be aware of is the United States Postal Service.

882
01:01:08,256 –> 01:01:11,736
Do not carry your firearm to the USPS.

883
01:01:12,076 –> 01:01:17,076
It’ll get you in a heap of trouble. And you certainly don’t want to be carrying

884
01:01:17,076 –> 01:01:19,916
your firearm to schools. I know there’s a debate.

885
01:01:19,996 –> 01:01:24,816
There’s a debate on armed guards and armed teachers and whether or not a concealed

886
01:01:24,816 –> 01:01:29,716
carry permit can come in with a firearm or should be permitted with a firearm.

887
01:01:31,040 –> 01:01:35,220
Don’t do it. It’s not worth it. And plus, when we try to do things we know we

888
01:01:35,220 –> 01:01:38,020
shouldn’t be doing, it makes the rest of the community look bad.

889
01:01:38,180 –> 01:01:41,740
And that’s a point we need to keep in mind too, across the board for all of this stuff.

890
01:01:42,180 –> 01:01:46,540
Another safety conscious tip for you is keep your guns locked up.

891
01:01:46,600 –> 01:01:50,940
If you’re not at home and even if you are at home and you’ve got kids,

892
01:01:50,940 –> 01:01:53,580
especially keep your firearms locked up.

893
01:01:53,660 –> 01:01:59,640
We’ve seen a lot of this in the news in recent past parents not having the firearms

894
01:01:59,640 –> 01:02:02,160
locked up and their children being able to get to them.

895
01:02:02,300 –> 01:02:06,260
Keep your stuff locked up, especially when you have kids.

896
01:02:06,300 –> 01:02:11,940
If you don’t have that firearm in your hands and your control at all times, it needs to be locked up.

897
01:02:12,300 –> 01:02:16,320
And if you’re not at home or you’re away on vacation, you’re at the office during

898
01:02:16,320 –> 01:02:20,160
the day, whatever it is, if firearms at your house, they need to be locked away,

899
01:02:20,400 –> 01:02:23,500
especially if you have kids, it’s just not an option.

900
01:02:23,980 –> 01:02:28,520
And, you know, just a tip to keep in mind there, yes, locking up your firearms

901
01:02:28,520 –> 01:02:29,980
can be a little bit of a hassle.

902
01:02:30,060 –> 01:02:33,920
If you’ve got kids at home, if you’ve built out your safe room,

903
01:02:34,060 –> 01:02:38,460
which we talked about making your home safer a couple of episodes ago,

904
01:02:38,640 –> 01:02:41,600
but if you’ve built out your safe room, you know that’s where you keep your

905
01:02:41,600 –> 01:02:43,000
defensive firearms staged.

906
01:02:43,300 –> 01:02:48,180
But if you’re not home or your kids are there, you need to keep those locked up.

907
01:02:48,280 –> 01:02:52,520
So while you want to remember to keep them locked up, you do want to be sure

908
01:02:52,520 –> 01:02:57,020
to plan for it and train for them being locked up so you, A,

909
01:02:57,060 –> 01:02:59,080
obviously know how to get to them, but B,

910
01:02:59,240 –> 01:03:04,340
you incorporate the timing that you need to get to them and get them unlocked

911
01:03:04,340 –> 01:03:08,040
and get them out and up and ready to go in an effective manner.

912
01:03:08,260 –> 01:03:13,240
So just that little tidbit to keep in mind, but please, for the gun community,

913
01:03:13,480 –> 01:03:15,160
keep your stuff locked up.

914
01:03:15,480 –> 01:03:21,080
And with that, that concludes this episode 8 of the best gun tips we want to

915
01:03:21,080 –> 01:03:25,520
thank you for listening be sure to be on the lookout for upcoming podcast and

916
01:03:25,520 –> 01:03:28,300
be sure to tell all of your friends of family about us.

917
01:03:28,240 –> 01:03:49,493
Music.