Concealed Carry Handguns – August 2019

S

ometimesabadguydoes

bringaknifetoagunfight.

It’samistaketounderesti-

matetheknife.

Manyreadingthiswillbeawareof

thephrase“The21-FootRule,”butfor

thosewhoarenot,thisreferstothe

tenetdevelopedbySgt.DennisTu-

elleroftheSaltLakeCityPolicethat

anattackerwithaknifecannormally

reachandstabatarget 21 feetor

lessawaybeforetheintendedvictim

candrawandfirehisweaponaccu-

ratelytostoptheattack.Ofcourse,

thisappliesnotonlytoknives,but

toclubs,hatchets,chainsorother

dangerousweapons.

THEHOLSTER

MATTERS

Onecountertoaclose-rangeattack

isdrawing,acquiringthetargetand

engagingwithinthe1.5secondsnor-

mallyconsideredtheamountoftime

itwilltakemostattackerstotraverse

the 21 feet.Choiceofholstercan

affecttheabilitytodrawandengage

quickly.Manyconcealedcarrylicens-

eeschosetheirholsterforcomfort,

concealmentandsecuritymorethan

foraccessibility.Allareimportant,but

Oneoftheeasiest

methodsfor

counteringan

attackerrushing

towardsyouisto

putsomething

suchasa vehicle

betweenyouand

theattacker.

ifyoucan’taccessyourweaponwhen

youneedit,itcan’tprotectyou.

Forme,thetwofastesthipholsters

havenormallybeenastrong-side

forward-cantedonethatholdsthe

weaponinplacethroughfriction

ratherthanaretentionstrap,yetstill

allowsafastpresentationoracross-

drawholsterthatallowsmetoaccess

theweaponquicklywitheitherhand.

Across-drawholsterhastheadded

advantageofallowingtheuserto

quicklyturnsidewayspresentinga

smallertargetandallowingthesup-

portsidearmtofendofftheattacker

ifnecessary.

CLOSEQUARTERS

Assumingatwo-handedshooting

positiontakeslongerandgetsthegun

closertotheattackerwherehecan

knockitaside,slashtheshootinghand

orotherwisehinderengagement.As

aresult,forclose-rangeshootingIdo

drillsfiringfromthehiporinfrontofthe

chestwithonehand.AsIoftencarrya

secondgunonmyleft(support)side,I

practicethedrillswitheitherhand.

Fordrawingfromastrong-sidehip

holster,Inormallybringthesupport

handovertomygunhandasthegun

clearstheholsterandcomesacross

mychestsoIcanshoottwo-handed

atanypointasthegunisthrustfor-

wardtothefulltwo-handedshooting

position.BecauseIpracticethisdrawa

lot,Icanengagevirtuallyasquicklyas

withaone-handshot.

Ialsopracticemovingtotherightor

leftasIdrawbasedontheassump-

tionthatmanyuntrainedattackers

willhavemoretroublehittingatarget

movinglaterally.Amovelaterallyand

angledawayfromanattackercan

gainanotherfractionofasecond,but

toreallygainatacticaladvantage,you

musthavepracticedengagingacross

yourbodyasyoumove.Evenat 21

feet,thistakesquiteabitofpractice

tobeeffective.

I’vefoundthatlaser-equippedhand-

gunsusuallygiveanadvantagefor

quickengagementatcloserange.I

alsopracticeinstinctivetargetacquisi-

tionbylookingwhereIwantthebul-

lettohit,aimingcenterofmass,and

practice,practice,practice.Becauseof

televisionandfilms,thelasermayde-

tersomeattackers,especiallyifthey

notethereddotontheirtorsos.

72 CONCEALED CARRY HANDGUNS  FALL 2019

“...AN ATTACKER

WITH A KNIFE

CAN...REACH

AND STAB A

TARGET 21

FEET OR LESS

AWAY BEFORE

THE INTENDED

VICTIM CAN

DRAW AND FIRE

HIS WEAPON...”