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...”