Download This Issue - US Concealed Carry

The Ultimate Resource for the Armed Citizenmay/June 2007 Issuemay 25 th , 2007Official Publication of the:In the News - Duane A. Daiker - Column EditorProposed Assault Weapon Ban for 2007“Licensed to Fear:” Column by: JPFO Liberty CrewThe True agenda“The Ordinary Guy” Column by: Mark A. Waltersthe roanoke times spark the grassroots“Armed Senior Citizen” Column by: Bruce N. Eimer, Ph.Dreasonable accommodationsTim’s ThoughtsGun Review - George Hill - Contributing Editorwilson combat adpU.S. Concealed Carry - MOUTH MARKETINGtRADITIONS PERFORMANCE FIREARMSVolume 4 - May/June 2007FEATURE STORYFEATURE STORY - Gary Hoff - Guest EditorTDI F.i.s.t. full of challenge 16FEATURESCCM “Profile” - Walt WorkmanTimothy J. Schmidt/Maria Harris/John Welch2nd Amendment - Ken Hanson - Guest EditorSelf-defense bill of rightsCOLUMNS“Grassroots: In The Spotlight” Written by: Paul PawelaRedman “reality training program for civilians”“Got Class?” Column by: Kathy JacksonFind firearms training that’s right for YOU“Real World Carry Gear” - Duane A. Daiker - Column EditorRoss Sporting Goods, Heine Sights, Crimson TraceLasergrips, DeSantis Scorpion, KKM Barrel“Street Tactics: Reality-Based Gun & Knife Fighting”Column by: Gabriel Suarezdeveloping speed and accuracy“SIGARMS” Column by: George Harrisfitting the concealed carry pistol to the shooter“It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense: It’s Just the Law”Column by: K.L. Jamisonknife lawDEPARTMENTSCCM True Stories - Compiled by Sten Jackson0636091221272933384202Letters to the Editor 05Gear Review - Ed Miller and Phil Elmore - Guest Editorsis the glock inherently unsafe?503710244552www.usconcealedcarry.com162443 4536Concealed Carry Magazine

CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINEPublisher & EditorTimothy J. SchmidtManaging EditorMaria HarrisArt DirectorTonnie M. LundCirculation ManagerLaura OttoCopy EditorKathleen EllisTechnical EditorsSten JacksonFred W. BlackHank J. O’MearaColumn EditorsJPFO Liberty CrewDuane A. DaikerBruce N. Eimer, Ph.DGeorge HarrisKathy JacksonK. L. JamisonGabriel SuarezMark A. WaltersContributing EditorsGeorge HillGuest EditorsPhil ElmoreKen HansonGary HoffEd MillerPaul PawelaJohn WelchAdvertising SalesBob Cole360-665-0542E-mail: bobcole@centurytel.netSigned articles in Concealed Carry Magazinereflect the views of the author, and are not necessarilythe views of the editors at Delta Media, LLC. Theclaims and opinions in the paid advertisementspublished in this magazine are not necessarily theclaims and opinions of Delta Media, LLC. DeltaMedia, LLC takes no responsibility for these views,claims or opinions. Concealed Carry Magazineand the U.S. Concealed Carry Association areregistered trademarks of Delta Media, LLC. AllRights Reserved.Published for U.S. Concealed Carry by:4466 County Road P - Suite 204Jackson, WI 53037(877) 677-1919 Customer Service(262) 677-8877 U.S. Concealed CarryVolume 4 - May/June 2007 IssueConcealed Carry Magazine - May/June 2007Issue; May 25 th , 2007 (USPS: 022-302, ISSN:1550-7866) is published 8 times per year for$39.00 per year by Delta Media, LLC, 4466County Road P - STE 204, Jackson, WI 53037-9272. Periodicals postage paid at Jackson, WIand additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:Concealed Carry Magazine, 4466 County Road P- STE 204, Jackson, WI 53037-9272.tIM’S THOUGHTSDear Friend,VIRGINIA TECHIt is hard not to think about the tragic events that occured recently on the VirginiaTech campus. My heart goes out to the families of the victims. I can only imagine thegrief they must be feeling.When I reflect on what happened, I can’t help but think about my little sister whoused to attend college at Marquette University.In case you don’t know, Marquette is located in downtown Milwaukee, WI.—rightsmack in the middle of a crime-ridden neighborhood. But by the grace of God, anda lot of prayers from my mother, my sister made it through there without so much asa scratch!Unlike the victims at Virginia Tech, my sister was lucky.But luck doesn’t have to be a factor in situations like this! We live in an imperfectworld. There will ALWAYS be evil among us. Heck, our elected officials can passlaws all day and all night trying to make us safe, but the evil will still be there.It is OUR responsibility to prepare ourselves to be able to fight against this evil.I hope and I pray that YOU never come face to face with the type of evil that thosefolks at Virginia Tech faced. But if you do, I trust you’ll be prepared to face thesituation and survive.Be safe & God Bless,Tim SchmidtMay/June 2007 - Cover PhotographWalt Workman, 46, of San Antonio, Texas, has been a shooter and a huntersince the age of 12, and he has steadily amassed the skills and has collectedthe equipment to become a competent shooter. At a recent marksmanship outing,which is depicted in the cover photograph, Workman used a vast array of gear,to include his Para-Ordnance Para Carry6 LDA .45, a Mitch Rosen Tito’s RevengeIWB holster and a Milt Sparks black sharkleather gun belt. To bolster his nighttimeefficiency, Workman also uses a StreamlightTwintask 2L tactical shooting light. And fora greater degree of safety, Workman alsoutilizes a pair of Wiley X shooting eye wearand a pair of Peltor Ultimate 10 paddednoise-reduction earmuffs. Walt also usesBlack Hills .45 in 185 gr. for his tacticalammo. Workman has had a Texas concealedcarry handgun license since PresidentGeorge W. Bush signed the legislation whenhe became Governor of the Lone Star State. Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Volume 4 - May/June 2007www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine

Item No. Product Description Size Qty. Price Ea. Sub-Total Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

LETTERS TO THE EDITORDear Editor,I just wanted to let you know that$69.00 is a heck of a bargain for allthe great new information availablefrom the USCCA. My wife has startedpeeking over my shoulder when I amon your website. She has not had anyinterest in shooting during our 20 yearmarriage, but after reading some of yourarticles she has decided to start goingto the range with me. Looks like Smith &Wesson will be getting a new customer.Take care and keep up the good work.Billy LanderLexington, SCDear Editor,I received my first issue today andread it cover to cover! I think this maybe my first magazine where I’ve readevery single article! CCM is a greatmagazine and it has very informative andinteresting stories. I’m eagerly waiting mysecond issue.Gary DortchMoultrie, GADear Editor,I read Mark Walter’s article in theApril 2007 issue of CCM and wanted todrop a note.Back in 1994, about 30 firearmsowners joined together and contactedother firearms owners and their groupsacross the state of North Carolina andacross the nation. The whole thing wasmerely a grassroots reaction to theClinton gun control law.We built up lists of candidates, bothincumbents and challengers, with theirpositions on a number of issues pertainingto the Bill of Rights. Of course, we werea bit heavier on the 2nd Amendment,but we also recognized the need to haveelected officials that were behind theBOR without being 2-faced.I realize that for some what happenedin 1994 was pinned on a lot of otherthings and not on the gun owners of thisnation who banded together for the firsttime in I don’t know how long to defeata political party dedicated to tearing ourrights from us.It seems to me that we must do thesame thing this election. In fact, weneed to start now building a grassrootsmovement that will take on the leftists andtheir fellow companions in both parties,like Specter and others in the GOP.If we fail this time, we may findourselves in real serious trouble come2012, or sooner.I appreciate articles like Mark’s.The thing is that we need to have morearticles of this nature in the press. Andif the press won’t print them, let’s startan internet campaign. Maybe we canget many websites to form that will dealwith not just the 2nd Amendment, but theentire Bill of Rights. I am now working onstarting a website of my own—somethingthat will be a part of my larger efforts.I have also been thinking aboutdoing a newsletter that I can then takeand leave in doctors’ offices, at the VAhospital where I go for treatment for mywar-related injuries, at the local library,or just about any place that looks good.The newsletter should be devoted to BORissues—and the more of these around thenation the better. Maybe we can even doa newsletter that others can use as thebasis of their own, but then add in localand state information that would makethe newsletter even more informativeand compelling.I’m a 61-year-old, Vietnam vet. I hadto retire early due to issues related tomy service and a heart that decided itwas time to act up—nearly killing me inthe process. However, I’m a tough, oldcodger and it will take more than thatto kill me. As I look back on my life, Ihave come to the realization that the onething I can leave my kids, grandkids andgreat-grandkids is freedom. To do that, Imust continue fighting for our rights in thisnation. So, I’m dedicating myself just as Idid when I defended this country duringa very unpopular war. Anyway, thanksfor the article.Gene GrossSagle, IDHi Gene,Thank you very much for writing.Since the receipt of your letter wehave been witness to the killings of 31unarmed students on the campus of VA.Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Your callingfor a strong campaign at the grassrootslevel has taken on a much greater senseof importance since this tragedy.Grassroots efforts are incrediblyeffective as we witnessed first-hand whenthe Roanoke Times was forced to reactto the incredible response of gun ownersnationwide when it printed the names andaddresses of every VA. gun permit holderin March. Now, we as a group must pulltogether in greater numbers than everbefore to fight the enemies of freedomin a battle that we have probably neverseen the likes of.I urge you and all USCCA membersto join the NRA and any other localorganization that fights for your rights.Write letters to the editor to counter theinevitable flow of mis-reporting in thewake of this tragedy. Write and call yourlegislators at the local and national level.The gun grabbers and knee jerk liberalsare going to be falling over themselvesas they come pouring from the burrowsthey live in. We, at the grassroots level,must stop them in their tracks with everyavailable tool at our disposal.Thanks for your service to ourcountry and for dedicating yourself aswe have here—to fighting the battle forour freedoms. Make no mistake Gene,we have a very difficult road ahead.Mark WaltersThe Ordinary GuySend your letters to:Concealed Carry Magazine, Attn: Editor,4466 Hwy P - Suite 204 - Jackson, WI 53037Or use our contact form: http://www.usconcealedcarry.comDue to volume received, not all letters can be answered. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.Volume 4 - May/June 2007www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine

Each issue of CCM contains an article that“PROFILES” an everyday individual whocarries a concealed weapon. This article is aninspiration to our readers by helping them torealize that they are not alone in their lifestyledecision to always be armed.Interview by: John Welch Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Walt Workman hasachieved an eclectic mix of life experiences duringhis first 46 years on Earth. Workman, who is a lifelongresident of Alamo City, is employed by NorthEast Independent School District, where he has beena coach and physical education teacher at JacksonMiddle School since 1985, and the head coach theresince 2002.Workman came by his athletic calling atan early age as a football, basketball and trackparticipant at Chester Nimitz Middle School andon numerous baseball teams during the summermonths. Subsequently, Workman participated inbasketball and baseball at Robert E. Lee HighSchool, where he graduated in 1978.Outdoor activities such as fishing andhunting were commonalities for Texas youth andWorkman did his share of both of them. A stintto the Great State of Iowa for undergraduatecollege work and more hardball time for theUniversity of Dubuque Spartans roundedout Workman’s undergraduate experiencequite nicely, and he graduated with a B.S. inbiology and general science in 1983. WhenWorkman returned to the Lone Star Statefor good in 1983, he decided to work on histeaching certificate at the University of Texas-San Antonio and then enter the ranks of publicschool educators.Like most Texans who have a flair for theoutdoors and an equal affinity for self-defense,Workman was eager to obtain his concealedcarry handgun license. But with then GovernorAnn Richard’s refusal to honor Texan’s right tocarry, Workman, like a host of others from theLone Star State, had to wait till George W. Bushtook the Governor’s race from Richards in the1994 state election. One of Bush’s first officialacts as Texas governor was to institute a programleading up to concealed carry.“I’ve been an outdoorsman all my life,fishing and hunting, but I got really into handgunshooting around 1984,” said Workman, whosewife, Shari, is also an educator in the NEISD, asa science teacher at Churchill High School. “Asfar as the need to carry a concealed handgun, Ifeel that you have the right to protect yourself atany time against essentially man or beast. I don’treally like the idea of somebody else determiningmy outcome on something that could be anendangerment to me or my family.”The Workman’s also have a daughter,Mindy, 6, whom the couple adopted in 2001from Hangzou, China, shortly after Mindy’sfirst birthday. And the family also has a needfor protection on the road, as they travel eachsummer and during most extended schoolvacations to their second home in Woodman,Wisconsin. It is there on their 73-acre farmthat Workman gets to shoot his weapons to hisheart’s content and fish in the clear waters ofadjacent Big Green River.“When you’re going about your normaldaily business, doing your job, just enjoyinglife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, youhave a right to protect yourself,” Workman said.“Other people don’t have the right to determinean outcome that is dangerous or harmful to youand your family. And that’s why I legally carrya firearm.”Continued on page 8Volume 4 - May/June 2007www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine

CCM InterviewCCM: Was there a specific incidentthat caused you to carry a gun?WALT: There’s not a specific incidentthat caused me to carry a gun, but everyday you listen to the news and see wherepeople are carrying out their daily livesand end up being in harm’s way. Justlast summer, my daughter, Mindy, and Iwere going into a sporting goods placein Wisconsin and we encountered a guywith two Pit Bulls in the back of a pick-upthat were not on a leash. As we got closeto the truck, both of the dogs came to theback of the truck, standing up, growlingand barking at us. This was an instanceof an innocent, small town and I thoughtthose dogs were going to come out ofthe truck and attack us. Watch the newsalmost any day and you can hear aboutsimilar things happening. I am also fullyaware of the armed attack that happenedat a restaurant in Killeen, Texas a fewyears ago.CCM: Have you ever had to useyour firearm in a defensivesituation?WALT: I have never had to pull myfirearm on an animal or a person. But Iwould do it in a heartbeat if I had to.CCM: What training methods doyou employ? Do you have anyrecommendations?WALT: I’ve done some close quarterspractice, and that was shown to me bytwo different brothers-in-law who arepolicemen as some of the training thatthey do. I’ve also set up several metaltargets at varying distances and shotat them for speed and while aimingcarefully. I’ve also done some shooting inthe prone position, kneeling position andsitting position like if I was in a vehiclehaving to shoot through the window of thecar. I’ve also done some practice whereyou run and shoot at the same time. I’vedone some shooting with the right handand with the left hand as well in case onehand was injured. I think shooters shouldnot be restricted with just one method ofemploying their weapon.CCM: How long have you carrieda concealed weapon?WALT: I’ve carried a concealed handgunfor a little over five years. I just renewedmy license a little over a year ago.CCM: What weapons do youcarry?WALT: I carry a variety of weapons.One is a Para-Ordnance 3-inch barrellight double action .45, which is calledthe Carry. Another one is a Smith &Wesson 340 PD Airlite in .38 Special,and it equipped with Lasergrips fromCrimson Trace. And for a while, I carrieda Beretta 92F 9mm and it also hadLasergrips. I really like using the laser.I’ve done some fishing in Wisconsin andin other northern locations, and althoughit isn’t concealed, I carry a Smith &Wesson Model 460 XVR in .454 Casullwhere there might be grizzly bears andblack bears.CCM: What type of ammunitiondo you carry?WALT: I really like the WinchesterSilver Tip rounds. I also carry FederalHydra-Shok.CCM: What concealment holstersdo you use?WALT: I use a Mitch Rosen ankle holsterwhen I carry the .38 Smith & Wesson.When I carry the 3-inch Para-Ordnance,I also use a Mitch Rosen Tito Revengecross-draw holster, this time on mywaistband.CCM: What do you do for a living?WALT: I’m a physical education teacherand coach for Jackson Middle School inNorth East Independent School District inSan Antonio, Texas. I teach six classes ofphysical education 45 minutes long eachday. I also coach football, basketballand track after school with seventhand eighth graders. We teach quitea bit of health and nutrition, physicalfitness, strength and flexibility. All this isgeared towards making the kids morephysically fit and more able to lead ahealthy lifestyle.CCM: Do you have any advice forour readers?WALT: I have been a strong member ofthe NRA for many years. I go shooting atleast once a week, where I practice withnot only handguns, but with shotguns andrifles, too. I would advise all shooters tobe active politically in the sense that theyknow what is going on in their state andcommunity as far as guns and shootingare concerned. There are plenty ofpeople in our society who want to take allfirearm rights away from us and we can’tlet that happen. All of us certainly needto be aware of what’s going on with thepolitical process in our respective states.We also need to promote the sport ofshooting to other people, because mostfolks who are against guns have probablynever had a positive experience wheresomeone took the time to educate themabout guns and shooting. You can takesomeone with you and teach them thebasics, starting with a small caliberweapon and then work your way up tobigger things. Some people who didnot grow up in a shooting environmentare sometimes more intimidated by thewhole thing. These are the people whowe need to get on our side. It may take alittle work on our part to know what ourpolitical representative’s views are, butnot letting them be vague on the subject.Research their records, and find out ifthe politicians we think are gun friendlyactually live what they are preaching. Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

“gun control” laws:the true agendaWith the change in control ofCongress in 2007 has come renewedpressure to enact more federal “guncontrol” legislation. Although concealedcarry permit holders have licensesissued by their state governments, newfederal legislation can limit or overridestate laws. All American firearmsowners need to understand the trueagenda of the “gun control” lobby.The citizen disarmament activistsusually claim that their laws will “fightcrime” or “promote public safety.” Infact, “gun control” laws do very little toreduce crime or enhance public safety.Such laws have a very different—andvery political—goal.All “gun control” laws aim inone direction: to discourage privateownership and use of firearms. Theselaws are not anti-crime or pro-safety;they are simply anti-gun ownership.Here is the proof. Every “gun control”law makes owning and using firearms:• more difficult or inconvenient• more costly• more embarrassing or humiliating• more legally riskyEvery “gun control” law adds moreweight to one or more of these factors.Why are these factors important? Whencost, inconvenience, embarrassment orpotential liability increase, then fewerpeople take an interest in firearms.In addition, those who already havefirearms are discouraged from keepingor using them. These discouragingfactors affect private citizens the most.Criminals intentionally violatethe laws that protect persons andproperty, such as laws threateningsevere penalties for murder, robbery,kidnapping, burglary and rape.Criminals are not much affected bythe gun laws that carry much lesssevere penalties.So what is the point of “guncontrol?” The “gun control” agendaadvances by making firearms ownershipand use become less popular. As thepopularity drops, the number of voterswho oppose gun prohibition will drop.Soon, the pro-gun constituency willbe so small that it will not matter topoliticians and judges.The goal of “gun control” laws isthus to weaken the pro-self-defensecitizens’ voting power. If the citizendisarmament lobbyists were truly tryingto reduce crime, then they would try torepeal “gun control” laws that failedto work as hoped. Anti-gun politiciansnever repeal such laws because thoselaws successfully do their intended job,which is discouraging law-abiding,private citizens from owning andusing guns.New “gun control” laws will notreduce crime, but they will advancethe gun prohibition agenda. The newlaws will increase the costs and hassleof buying and using firearms, whetherfor recreation or for personal defense.When governments declare that they“must act to control firearms,” then thepublic starts thinking that there mustbe something “wrong” with firearmsand private firearms users. More lawsalso force gun dealers and ownersto struggle to avoid warrantlessinspections, potential criminal chargesand civil lawsuits. For the averagecitizen, buying, selling, owning andusing a gun become expensive,humiliating and legally risky activities;and therefore, not worth the trouble.The “gun control” agenda winsevery time an American says thatowning or using a firearm is “not worththe trouble.” The agenda advanceswith each new so-called “reasonable”or “sensible” restriction on self-defensetools. When the pro-gun voters arereduced to a few scattered remnants,there will be no political barrierto any laws restricting or banningfirearms entirely.In the next issue, this columnwill offer gun owners several strongstrategies to rebut the claims of thecitizen disarmament lobby. In themeantime, readers can learn more atwww.jpfo.org.Volume 4 - May/June 2007www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine

VICTIM FIRES BACKDURING ROBBERYCHICO, CALIFORNIA — The sixth homeinvasion robbery reported to Chicopolice since December victimized a 54-year-old man in the 1100 block of EastLindo Avenue Tuesday night.The resident, who isn’t beingnamed for his safety, told police hewas awakened by a masked man whoshined a flashlight in his face, just after10:30 p.m.The suspect reportedly displayeda handgun and took cash from theman’s wallet. As the suspect fled, thevictim retrieved a handgun and fired twoshots into the air.Chico police Sgt. Dave Barrow saidthe suspect got in through an unlockedwindow. He said the description ofthe man, and the costume-style maskhe wore, match that of suspects insimilar robberies.The perpetrator was said to beabout 5-foot-8, with a slender build, andwearing a Halloween fright maskIn Tuesday’s robbery—and theprevious five going back to December—victims were unable to tell the race ofmasked intruder.Chico Enterprise-RecordApril 5, 2007MAN WAKES UP TO ROBBERMADISON, TENNESSEE — While TomKeating, of Madison, was surprised tofind a stranger standing in his bedroom,his quick action helped solve a half dozenburglaries in his neighborhood.“All I know is I’m lucky to be alive,because if I didn’t have the gun I don’tknow what could have happened,”Keating said. “For some reason I sat upin the bed and there he was standing inthe bedroom door, so I just yelled ‘whatare you doing here?’ and tried to keephim from doing anything else while Ireached for my gun.”Keating realized the man brokethrough a window to get in.“I didn’t hear him break in becausemy ears are clogged up with allergies,”Keating said.The man got away, but not beforeKeating called 911. A short time laterpolice arrested Jonathon Brown. Browntold police he had committed nearlya half dozen burglaries in the sameneighborhood.Councilman Michael Craddocksaid Keating may have single handedlybrought down the crime rate in Madison.“Sometimes it takes proactive citizens toget things done, and Mr. Keating to me isa proactive citizen,” Michael CraddockMetro Council MemberFor the year overall crime inCraddock’s council district is down11 percent, but burglaries are up tenpercent. Police believe Brown may havecommitted several of the burglaries, butthey can’t prove it.Jonathon Brown agreed to pleadguilty to burglary. The plea agreementwith prosecutors included a six yearjail term.Nashville’s NewsChannel5.comApril 13, 2007STORE CLERK SHOOTS SUSPECTPINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS — Quickthinking by a Pine Bluff conveniencestore clerk kept a would-be robber fromgetting away with cash and mer-Springfield Armory EMPhttp://lundestudio.com/firearms.htmlPhotograph by Ken Lunde10 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

chandise. It happened just before 8:00p.m. Saturday at the United filling stationon Hutchinson and Dollarway road.The suspect entered the businessand demanded cash from the employee.That’s when the clerk reportedly told therobber he would comply if the suspectshared a portion of the money andwaited for a customer to leave the store.(Lt. Bob Rawlinson, Pine Bluff PoliceDept.) “The suspect went into the backroom while a customer came in. Whenthe customer left that’s when the suspectcame out and by then the employee armedhimself and they exchange gunfire.”Officials say the suspect wasapparently struck by gunfire and fledon foot.Meanwhile, minutes after theincident, officials were called to ashooting victim in a residential area.There they found 20-year-old NormanBullard with multiple gunshot wounds.Bullard alleged he was robbed by aman fitting the description of the suspect.An investigation is ongoing.KATVApril 16, 2007MAN SHOOTS INTRUDERGASTONIA, NORTH CAROLINA — AGastonia homeowner says he shot a manthrough the door of his Log Cabin Roadhome early Tuesday because the manwas trying to break-in.“I just wasn’t going to allow (thebreak-in) to happen. I had no idea whathis intentions was and I wasn’t going tofind out,” he said.The homeowner, who didn’t want tobe identified because he’s still frightened,says he was sitting in his house whensome time after midnight one of hisyoung children heard something at thefront door.“My oldest child alerted me thatthere was someone on the porch tryingto get in,” he said.He grabbed his pistol and startedwalking to the door, but before he gotthere it began to open.“I saw the door open and I beganto fire. I purposely aimed down. I didn’twant to kill nobody,” he said.The intruder came very close togetting inside, but instead ended uprunning to a car waiting nearby.“I fired over their heads and scaredthem off,” the homeowner said.Police say a short time later theintruder was dropped off at GastonMemorial Hospital with gunshot woundsto one leg. He had to be flown toCarolinas Medical Center for treatment.Investigators are still trying todetermine whether the homeowner firedin defiance or self-defense. Gun lawsin North Carolina say homeowners arejustified using any degree of force if theybelieve the intruder is a threat or think theintruder intends to commit a felony.WSOCApril 24, 2007man shot during invasionAUGUSTA, GEORGIA — A manis recovering from a gunshot wound tothe chest after breaking into a house justbefore 4 o’clock this morning at 3721Lexington Drive in Augusta.Deputies say a woman living thereshot the man once. Then he ran acrossthe street tossed the gun and was foundlater lying on a picnic table. He is beingtreated at MCG.Augusta’s WRDW.comApril 26, 2007Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 11

REDMAN “REALITY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CIVILIANS”here is a rather famous quotethat goes something like this,“With great power comes greatresponsibility.” Unfortunately, it’s kind ofsad that these words of wisdom did notcome from a famous gun writer or guninstructor; instead, they flowed from thepen of a comic book writer for a popularsuperhero comic book character whichwould lead to a multi-million dollar comicbook series and movie franchise.And yet, I cannot think of anybetter quote that fits the bill for peoplewho take on one of society’s greatestresponsibilities, as well as the possibleconsequences that are involved incarrying a concealed weapon.Unfortunately, for the average citizenwho has been indoctrinated into thebelief that the state in which they receivedtheir carry permit from, sufficed all theirown individual training requirements withthe common misconstrued thinking, thatamount of training for state requirementsmeets all the training they will ever need.Since many states mandate only one totwo hours of training (in my state, it’s amandatory one hour class and shootingone bullet to satisfy state requirements) aresponsible citizen would realize that forwhat it is, it’s both a joke and a farce.So, the next logical question is where doyou go to get good training on a limitedbudget and what training program bestsuits your needs?There has been a plethora of gunmagazine articles devoted to the subjectof “shooting schools” as well as writtenprofiles on individual, well-knownshooting instructors. What you mightnot know is what vested interest thatparticular magazine has to promote thatparticular school over another. Manytimes it simply boils down to money andwho advertises with that magazine andwho does not. Brace yourself: what I’mabout to say may come as a completeshock to many of you.The majority of shooting schoolsacross the country do not in fact caterto teaching law-abiding citizens, eventhough the majority make most of theirmonies off those citizens. Shootingschools are primarily centered on trainingmilitary and law enforcement personnel.The vast majority of tactics, as well astechniques, taught by those schools havealmost nothing in common with lawabidingcitizens.Before going into cardiac arrest,please let me defend that statement. Ihave personally attended ten nationalInstead of a law enforcement scenario, imagine this as a countercarjack scenario.shooting schools (some multiple times),of which I am a certified instructor for sixof them. I have attended those schools inthree different capacity roles: the first asa solider, the second as a police officerand the third as a regular citizen. Do youknow what? There were no differencesin any of the materials covered at thedifferent schools regarding lesson plansgeared to the clientele those schoolswere teaching. This is simply wrong.This is wrong for several reasons. Theprimary reason being that each studentcategory (military, law enforcement andcivilian), by law, has a different set of ruleson the use of deadly force requirements,but the shooting schools rarely, if ever,break this down to their students.The second reason this is wrong isthat all you have to do is take a look atthe majority of the advertised shootingschool’s websites and ask yourself howmany of those students attending thoseschools are actually wearing clothes thata normal citizen would wear—from aconcealed carry stand point?In just about every photo thosestudents are wearing BDU-type cargospants, generally carrying a gun in anexposed plain sight fashion and don’tforget the particular firearm they carryeither. Some are over-priced 1911’s thatshould be tucked away safely in a displaycase to be forever admired, or some arehigh capacity semi-auto’s accompaniedby three or more magazine pouches withsix to eight extra magazines strappedto their person. Now, what normalcitizen carries that way? And are we notsupposed to live by the mantra—train theway you fight?As another point of interest: whenwas the last time you ever saw aninstructor have a student on the line witha shoulder holster? How about a purse?Or how about drawing a gun from thepants pocket? They don’t because theythink that’s not a practical way to carry,but for whom? That’s right friends, forlaw enforcement and military that’s who.And yet these are the very applicationsin which ordinary citizens carry theirweapons on their person every day.12 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Learning a defensive tactics skillusing the Redman ® weaponsdefense training suit.Now, imagine utilizing your firearm at real speed under realisticconditions.Third, the very tactics these shootingschools are teaching to civilians arewrong. Usually, these schools cover thetireless combat shooting triad which is:marksmanship (the shooters ability tohit the target quickly), tactics (the useof position, cover and concealment),and weapon presentation (the drawand handling of the weapon includingreloading skills).What’s wrong with that you ask?Most shooting schools have studentsshoot thousands of rounds to improve onhitting the target. This is precisely what isneeded if you are a tactical operator, butif you’re a regular citizen, it’s completelyunnecessary, due to the fact that whencivilians are involved in deadly forceencounters it is generally at distances ofseven feet to contact distance. At theseclose distances all the general principalsof marksmanship training go right outthe window.Most shooting schools, althoughthey advertise they are going to build onindividual’s skills, they are really teaching“team tactics.” Think about that for amoment. When a student is on the firingline is there not someone to the left or rightof them? Does not the shooting instructorteach move, shoot and communicate?Well, who’s communicating with whom?The simple truth is that all the shootingschools are built around the tactics of aContinued on page 14Stop this frombeing the doorto your home!JPFO has exposed phony testing procedures thatimprisoned thousands of innocent gun owners.Keep your guns and stay free.Support the making of The Gang.For a tax-deductible donation of $25.00, you’ll receivethe best insurance of your life—disposing of the BATFE.For other donation options or to find out how to become amember of The Producer’s Circle, please contact:JPFO - Hartford, WI(262) 673-9745 Donation line: (800) 869-1884www.thegangmovie.comwww.jpfo.org(reenactment)The Gang: Using the Law to Destroy YourFreedom and Security video documentaryexposes the criminal behavior of BATFEand calls for its abolishment.Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 13

What shooting school teaches you to fight on the ground with this much realism?small military team or, at the very least,a two person law enforcement team. Thisis because rarely, if ever, do military orlaw enforcement personnel go after badguys alone. If on rare occasion they do,those operators are armed to the teethwith primary and secondary weaponswith back up knives, grenades (flashbangs), plenty of spare ammunition, etc.Now what civilian has that luxury to havethat kind of support when faced with alife-threatening situation?Relating to tactics, there are generallytwo ways a citizen engages in a deadlyforce situation: 1) They interrupt a crimein progress, i.e. home invasion, localstore robbery etc. or 2) They are thevictim of a crime in progress, i.e. robbery,carjack, attempted rape etc. Therefore,before a citizen can even attempt to gofor a weapon there is a huge probabilitythat citizen is going to have to fight theiraggressors first before shooting them.Many times there is no time for a citizento use cover and concealment.Once again, this is hardly everaddressed at a shooting school, more overshooting schools spend countless hoursteaching malfunction drills and tacticaland speed reloads. I couldn’t even findany documented case of a civilian everneeding to do a reload—ever!Generally when you are looking togo to a training school, the followingchecklist of questions is usually a suitableguideline to help assist you in yourdecision making process:. Who developed the training programand what are the instructor’s credentials?. What is the safety record of the school?. Who endorses the programs? You’relooking for agency’s endorsements,not individuals.. What are the certification requirements?. How long is the certification valid?. Will the trainer back you if you endup having to defend the training or theuse of the technique, tactic, or productin court?To me, the latter question is the mostimportant question that should be asked.While government employees areoften sued for excessive use of force—they are almost always covered by theirmunicipality’s insurance coverage andrarely held personally accountable evenif they were in fact wrong for their actions.That is not the case for civilians. Aspreviously stated, carrying a concealedweapon gives the person great power(literally, what power is greater than thepossibility of taking a human life?) butbears the heavy burden of responsibility.That responsibility requires the besttraining you can get!One of the best training programsin the world is that of Redman Training ® .Every major police agency on this planethas been through a Redman Training14 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

program because they are the leaders inthe industry. They utilize Redman TrainingGear ® in the full-spectrum use of forceon-forcetraining that includes, but is notlimited to, defensive tactics, correctionalfacility disturbances (prisoner cellextractions and prison riot training),ground defense, and water survivaltraining to include lethal force trainingusing approved projectile training roundslike AirSoft and the Simmunitions marking round.The man in charge of the RedmanTraining Gear program is Dave Young,who also happens to be the director ofspecialized programs for the RedmanTraining Division of NorthcentralTechnical College. Dave Young is oneof the major power player trainers inthe business today. He is a twenty-yearveteran of both civilian and military lawenforcement and is the chairman of thePoliceOne.com advisory board, technicaladvisor for Force Science ResearchCenter, and is on POLICE Magazine’sadvisory board.Recently, I had the pleasure ofmeeting up with Dave while he wasdoing a photo shoot for the new RedmanTraining Gear catalog. Dave wanted toshare something with me as an exclusiveannouncement for Concealed CarryMagazine. Redman Training is workingin alliance with Northcentral TechnicalCollege and one of the largest martialarts organizations in the country. Forthe first time they will offer a trainingprogram specifically catered to civilians.The benefits of such a combined programare mind boggling.First, civilians will benefit from theopportunity to utilize the Redman Trainingsuits, and I will tell you from myown personal experiences, Ihave used every suit available onthe market today which includesFist ® , Spear ® , Bulletman ® andRedman and I can assure youthe Redman suit—especiallythe new Redman WeaponsDefense Training suit—is theway to go. I personally ownthree of the four mentioned suitsand I have no vested personalinterest other than telling youthe truth.Why this gear is soimportant? As Police OfficersSafety Association’s Director ofTraining, Ralph Mroz, said inone of his books, “In the need forempty hand skills, number one isthe foundation of all defensiveskills is empty hand skills, numbertwo, no matter what weaponsyou carry and are trained with,you are still most likely goingto have to depend on emptyhand skills.”To put it plainly, if you’regoing to simulate fighting you bettermake it as real as possible and definitelyas safe as possible. Redman Training hasa long history of doing both.The civilian martial arts RedmanTraining program has five differentphases: the belt equivalent to that iswhite through black. The topics rangefrom learning how to fall, the importanceof verbalizations skills, fighting on theground, defending against clubs, knifeand guns, using high level simulationstraining scenarios utilizing AirSofttraining guns, and everything in between.Two different types of Redman ® traininggear.This program will also teach the studenthow to prepare written statements for thepolice and how to testify in court.Once the student completes eachtraining phase they will receive acertification of completion from the NTCRedman Training Division moving towardan advanced degree certificate diplomafor “personal self-defense,” issued byNorthcentral Technical College. Why isthat such a big deal you ask? You willhave attendedmc and graduated fromthe only college-accredited personaldefense course in the country today. Bycompleting this program you will becomeinstructor certified by Redman to teachthe reality self-defense training program.With all those credentials backed bytwo, well-known training institutions, noone could ever accuse you of not takingthe time and responsibility that bearsthe weight and power you will wield forcarrying a concealed weapon.For more information on the RedmanCivilian Training program go to:www.redmantraining.netRedman ® training director, Dave Young.Paul Pawela has combined 25 yearsof martial arts, police and militaryexperience. He is a nationally recognizedpolice, firearms and defensive tacticsinstructor. Paul was a military certifiedhand-to-hand combat instructor and isdirector of training for ytraining.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 15

FEATURE STORYFinal Intense Scenario Training (F.I.S.T.)is designed for students who havecompleted the Tactical Defense Institute’s(TDI’s) Level VI handgun course. The classruns two days and involves numerous livefire and force-on-force (FOF) scenariosthat are run with Airsoft and Code-Eagle ®guns. In addition, the TDI instructors workwith the students on any problems thatthey are having either with their guns ortheir shooting skills. The class is offeredevery two years. Nineteen studentsattended this year’s class, which wassupported by 6 instructors and 12 to 15role players.I had a chance to talk with JohnBenner, the president of TDI, about thegoals of F.I.S.T. Mr. Benner designed thecourse to allow high level students to getadditional scenario-based training andto practice skills that were learned in theprevious 6 levels of handgun training. Healso wanted to update students on recentdevelopments in personal defensivetactics. The results of the scenarios areused to assess the TDI teaching methodsand content. The instructors all havecareers in law enforcement and theycritique the results of each scenario withinthe framework of the law and tactics. Thedesign of the realistic live fire and FOFscenarios ranged from the simple to thecomplex, but they were not unsolvableby the student. What the student gets outof F.I.S.T. depends on how willing thestudent is to learn and participate in thescenario. In each scenario, the studenthas several options to choose from forthe solution, based on how he sees thescenario unfold.John Benner and TDI have beendoing live fire and FOF training for the last20 years. FOF started with .38 caliber,primer fired, softened wax bullets thatwere fired from .38 caliber handguns.Today they use Airsoft guns and Code-Eagle rounds (38. caliber, primer fired,paint marking bullets). Live fire scenariostake place in two live fire houses and onthe range using range cars. The TDI livefire houses are built into shooting bermswhich become three sides of the house.The fourth side of the house is designedso that no bullet leaves the house. Thehouses are “furnished” with simplewooden mock-ups of furniture. That wayan errant bullet doesn’t destroy the props.For example, the bad guy (or gal) canhide behind a wooden mock-up of a TVjust as easily as they can hide behind thereal thing. Each day was divided up intothree segments: live fire practice on thelower range, live fire house exercises,and FOF scenarios. In addition, onehandedmalfunction drills were taughtand practiced.LIVE FIRE PRACTICEJust to get our blood moving a littlefaster, the first shot of the day was timedfrom the chest ready (or chest retention).The distance was seven yards and theplates were 12 inches square. The timesran from about 0.6 seconds to about 1.2seconds. Then we were timed on one shoton each of three plates, at about five feetapart. The times here ranged from about1 to 2 seconds. Warm up continued onthe steel plates for about 250 rounds.Since all of the students were high levelstudents, each was left to devise his orher own warm up routine. We wereencouraged to take a series of singleshots on the plates and then engagemultiple plates. We practiced from thechest retention position and from theholster, with and without a concealmentgarment. When each student finishedhis drill, he scanned down-range forany more bad guys, then pulled back toa chest ready and “checked his world”(scanned 360 degrees around him forother bad guys). TDI instructors were16 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Student has dropped out, identified and engaged the threat found atthe end of the hard corner. Note that the student’s foot has not passedthe edge of the wall so that he did not give himself away before thedrop out.never far away, so they could help theshooters correct problems.One of the more informativetraining drills that we did was shootingas fast as we could while still gettinggood hits. Three drills were run: simplepoint shooting from the chest ready (ameasure of the student’s reaction time toa “lethal threat”), pushing the arms outfrom the chest ready and shooting, anddrawing from the holster and shooting.Targets were three yards away and werestandard human size targets. The studentswere encouraged to shoot as fast as theycould until they started missing targets.The results were very interesting.From the chest ready, or simplepoint shooting at the target, the reactiontimes were between 0.16 to 0.25seconds. When you add the push-outfrom the chest ready toward the target,the times increased to about 0.35 to0.50 seconds. In other words, addingthe simple movement of pushing the guntoward the target used up another 0.25seconds before the shot was taken. Thenfrom the chest ready, we pushed out andengaged 3 targets that were about 5 feetapart as fast as we could. This drill wasrepeated from the holster. From the chestready, the fastest times were about 1.1seconds. Adding the additional motionof drawing from the holster increased thetimes to about 2.1 seconds. So the drawstroke added about 1 second to the timethe shooter perceived the threat and thetime he engaged the last target.Morning practice.Student engaging three paper targets as fast as he could get hits.LIVE FIRE SCENARIOSOver the two days, we engaged infive live fire exercises through the shoothouses and on the upper range. In thelive fire houses, the exercises werecomplex and used the entire house. Twoexercises revolved around your wifebeing attacked inside of your house. Ofcourse you found out that she was beingheld in nearly the last room of the house,so you had to fight your way to her. Andjust to add some stress to the exercise, youonly had 4 minutes. Once you got to her,you found that she was injured and notmobile. You also found that the only wayto save her was to take a head shot on thebad guy who was holding her hostage.Once you addressed the bad guys, youneeded to assess/attend her injuriesand give her a way to protect herselfwhile you finished clearing the house.Continued on page 18Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 17

In the second exercise, your wife was notinjured and was mobile. Here you ledher to safety. The difference between thetwo exercises was in how you addressedyour wife’s situation. In the first exercise,you had to attempt to treat her injuriesand set her up to protect herself whileyou cleared the rest of the house. In thesecond exercise, you had to find andfree your wife and “get out of Dodge.” Inthe after-action debriefing, the instructoremphasized the importance of good,accurate shots.At the skill level of this course, youshould be shooting fist size groups, evenunder the stress of the of the 4 minutetimer. More importantly, if you have totake the head shot, just any head shotwon’t do. The shot has to be in the oculartriangle to have a chance of immediatelystopping the bad guy. A shot to the chinor to the side of the head may leave thebad guy mobile enough to simply turn hisgun on your wife and kill her.At the wall on the upper range, theshooter has to navigate the wall whileshooting through selected openings at 8inch targets at a distance of 25 yards.This involves standing, sitting, kneeling,climbing steps and ramps, etc. Then thestudent advances on the steel targetswhile using cover along the way. Heends up at about 7 yards from the targets,moves sideways to the end of the targetline, and then backwards to the wall startpoint. All the while the student is doingthis, he is firing to cover his movement.Hits are called out by the instructor.The biggest challenge in this exercise isremembering to breathe. I found myselfholding my breath and having to pauseto catch my breath. It’s amazing that indoing this type of exercise the studenthas to remember to do something thathis body does automatically everyday,which is to breathe. The same is true inself-defense encounters.FORCE-ON-FORCE SCENARIOSThe real meat of the two dayswas the ten FOF scenarios. Safety isalways most important in these types ofscenarios. All weapons and ammunition,including knives, were secured outsideof the scenario area. Students werechecked for weapons before their turnin the scenario. Students wore full facemasks during the scenario. Each studentdid not see the scenario before his turnand was told only the basic starting pointfor the scenario. After the scenario, theywere allowed to monitor the followingStudent searching his house for his hostage wife.Student shooting the wall. At each position he has to shoot through thesame opening. Targets are 8” steel plates at 25 yards.Here the author has just been shot by the “bad gal” hidingbehind the chair (note red spot on the vest from the Code-Eaglemarking cartridge.18 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

The student has just “popped up” above the floor of the up stairs inthe force-on-force house.A look from the first floor at searching up the stairs with an openlanding.Suddenly three people come rushing down the stairs straight at you.Is there a gun?students through the same scenario. Thisallowed each student to continue to learnfrom the actions of the following students.After each scenario was completed, theaction was debriefed with the instructor,the role players and the students. Themost important part of the debriefing wasthe legal ramifications of the action. Wasthe action legal? Was the action takenjustified considering the knowledge thatthe student had at the time? Did thescenario require that a gun be drawn?Did it require that the gun be used?Could other action have been taken andwould it have been more reasonable andnot involve a gun? The debriefing alsoincluded an analysis of the tactics usedby the students. Were good flashlighttactics used? (The FOF house can bedarkened to require flashlights, even onthe brightest day.) Did the student usegood search techniques? If the studentmessed up on the tactics he usually founda red spot on his person.One of the lessons that wereemphasized was: just because you wereshot, it did not mean that the scenariowas over and you were out of the fight.The students in this class were not taughttactics by Hollywood films and the liberalmedia. Okay, so you were shot. You hadto keep going and keep fighting until youachieved your objective. Your goal wasto prevail in this fight until you won. Youcouldn’t give the win to the bad guy justbecause you took a round or two.Another lesson was to disarm allpresent in the fight, even if one of themwas your friend. He may have beeninjured, drunk or scared out of his wits.You needed to take control of his gunso that he could not inflict damage onyou and other innocents. And you had toremember to disarm the bad guys oncethey were identified and secured. Youwanted the immediate environment tobe in your control until law enforcementshowed up.In one scenario, you were waitingfor a job interview and you heard ashot upstairs. Almost immediately, threepeople came rushing down the stairs,straight at you. You had no time to “beatfeet” out of the place for your safety.Was the bad guy there? The lessonlearned was to look at the hands. Thelethal threat would come from the hands.In this case, the first two people both hadempty hands up in the air. In my scenario,I drew my gun and was ready. I pushedthe first one to the side with a sweep ofContinued on page 20Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 19

Driver didn’t give up the money quick enough and the “bad kid” shothim. Was the money worth it?my arm and side-stepped the second. Ithen saw the third person with a gun andshot him. The debriefing went well. It wasa good shoot with good tactics, even ifI did fall over the chair while trying toget space. (My style points were prettylow for this.) Lesson learned. When yousense a problem, watch the hands. TheOld West admonition to “watch theireyes” will get you killed.We are probably the most vulnerablein our cars and scenarios at F.I.S.T. dealextensively with cars. In one scenario, youwere waiting for your wife to finish someshopping when a woman and youngboy showed up at the driver’s windowwanting money. I said sure, handed themmy wallet and they left, while I left thecar by the 180 degree opposite route.All they got was cash; no credit cards nordriver’s license, as I keep them separate.And no shots were fired. If you argued fora few seconds, the young boy steppedaround to the front of the car and pointeda gun at you, and if you hesitated a fewseconds more, he fired at you. The lessonlearned is that it is only money. Is it wortha gun fight?The most interesting scenario withcars was illustrated with the picture at thebeginning of this article. You were withyour wife and stopped at a store. Shewalked a few steps toward the store andwas attacked by two ugly bad guys thathad her down on the ground, kicking andstomping her in the lower back and thehead. I exited the vehicleto a position of cover andordered the bad guys,“Stop; drop you weapon!”After several commands,I shot both of them. Igathered my wife andgained distance to call thePolice. The interesting thingabout this scenario wasthe time from first attack toshooting the bad guys. Mytime was 14 seconds, whichwas about average for allof the students. The range intimes was from 4 secondsto 48 seconds! The afteractiondebriefing discussedthis time delay. The shootwas a good shoot since thewife was in danger of great bodily harmor death, especially with the blows to thehead (which is considered lethal force inmany jurisdictions). The lesson learnedwas that your action must be timely. Insome cases involving lethal force on aloved one, the timing should be short.In other cases a little more time can betaken to try to resolve the situation.Finally, the overall lesson learned inthese two days was: at the first sign oftrouble, move; get “off the dime.” Lookfor cover and look for distance, but don’tstand still. If you delay, you becomea bull’s-eye. You also need to haveconsidered a number of options ahead oftime for what you would do if this or thathappens. You must immediately decidehow far you are willing to go to defendyourself and your loved ones. If you cansafely escape, great, but you must beready to act. Once you commit, it’s on.Follow through and don’t quit.I am proud to say that in the 10scenarios, I was able to prevail in threeof them without using my gun. In six of thescenarios, I was able to act and prevailby stopping the bad guy’s attack withthe gun—all justified actions. However,in the tenth scenario, I was shot becauseI gave up looking for the gun too soon.I won’t make that mistake again! Andthat demonstrates the ultimate goal ofF.I.S.T., which is to find our mistakes andcorrect them.Sincere thanks go to the instructorsand role players for their patience andassistance in preparing this article.ABOUT THE AUTHORGary Hoff has recently retired after41 years in the steel industry as anengineer/metallurgist. In 1998, hebegan taking professional handgun,shotgun, knife, and open hands selfdefensecourses. Most of these classeshave been taken at the TacticalDefense Institute (www.tdiohio.com).He has also completed the HandgunLevel Three course at Storm MountainTraining Center in Elk Garden, WVwww.stormmountain.com). He hascurrently accumulated a total of 400hours of training, including 300 hoursof gun training. He is also a memberof IDPA and regularly shoots monthlyand regional matches. He anticipatesbecoming an NRA Certified pistol andhome defense instructor within thenext year.20 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

COLUMN By: kathy jacksonfind self-defense classes that run for afull week. Self-defense classes usuallyfeature a balanced mix of range timeversus classroom time, and sometimeshomework will be given either duringthe class or as required reading beforethe course begins. Classroom discussionmay include the legal implications ofusing deadly force and other topicsspecific to concealed carry. Skills taughtusually focus on defensive shooting skillsat short distances (15 yards and closer),firing at cardboard silhouettes or otherhuman-shaped targets. Cost for selfdefenseclasses vary greatly, but expectto pay upwards of $150 per day as arough minimum.Gila Hayes of the Firearms Academy of Seattle demonstrates shooting from Isoscelesin front of a class.ooking for a firearms instructorwhose teaching matches yourlearning style might not be quite asdifficult as finding a life mate, but it’sprobably a little harder than just findinga date for Saturday night. One reasonfor this is that firearms instructors don’texactly advertise. You’ll rarely find aninstructor directly through print or radioads (though you might find one throughthe pages of a firearms magazine).The yellow pages are worth a try, butfor the most part, firearms instructorsrely upon word-of-mouth to reachpotential students.WHAT TYPE OF CLASSDO YOU NEED?The first step, before doing anythingelse, is to define the type of class you wantto find. There are a wide variety of classesaimed at specific types of students. Thereare classes for law enforcement, classesfor beginners, classes for target shootersand competitors and many more. Sortingout this muddle of possibilities is goingto take a little effort, but it can be doneonce you know a little about class types.Familiarization class: This would bea basic, entry-level class, often taughtby a part-time instructor or volunteer.Consisting mostly of classroom time, afamiliarization class is usually very short,often only a few hours in length. Rangetime may not be included; if it is, roundcounts are very low, perhaps 50 roundsor so. Because these classes are intendedfor absolute beginners, instructors oftensupply everything needed, sometimeseven including firearms. A basic familiarizationclass is required in some statesin order to apply for a concealed carrypermit. If the class is not required bythe state, it may be very low cost oreven free.Sport class: Often associated withIDPA or IPSC, this type of class may beadvertised as a way to “improve yourscores.” Sport classes usually have superhighround counts, upward of 1000rounds per day, and consist mostly orentirely of range work, with little or nolecture. If classroom time is included,the lectures will not include discussion ofdefensive firearm use or legal concealedcarry. Sport classes usually focus ondeveloping gun-handling skills and purespeed. The recommended gear willusually be sport-specific, not necessarilyappropriate for concealed carry. Cost forthese classes can be quite high, possiblybecause they are often taught by firearmssports celebrities.Self-defense class: These classes aremost commonly offered in a two-day,weekend format, but it is not unusual toFINDING POSSIBILITIESOnce you decide which type ofclass you’re looking for, it’s time to startgathering leads to instructors and schoolsin your area. Firearms stores, gun shows,and shooting ranges are a good placeto start. A full service gun shop whichincludes range facilities is likely to havean instructor associated with it, but don’toverlook smaller stores. Don’t knowwhere the gun stores are? Walk yourfingers through the local yellow pagesbecause the odds are that there are alot more stores in your area than yourealized. Look under “Guns,” “Rifles,”and “Firearms.” Don’t bother callingpawn shops. These might be good placesto get a deal on a gun, but a pawn shopproprietor isn’t likely to know much aboutthe shooting world. You can do a lot ofyour research on the phone, but mighthave better luck in person, because inperson you can check the bulletin boardsand counters. Look for flyers, businesscards, or brochures offering classes.Next call: your local cop shop. Thelocal police very often will have leadsto local instruction which is otherwisenot advertised. Similarly, if your statehas a training requirement, the policedepartment or sheriff’s office willprobably have a list of state-approvedinstructors in your area.If you do your research via phone,remember that at this point you arejust after names and phone numbersof potential instructors. Any details youContinued on page 22Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 21

Lead and smoke fill the air as studentspractice during a class from LethalForce Institute.get are going to be fuzzy and might beoutright wrong, so unless it is obvious thatthe person on the other end of the linehas some personal experience with theinstructor, take all details with a grain ofsalt. Just get the names and move on.Note for women: Don’t ask specificallyabout women’s classes at this stage,even if that’s what you’re looking for.Just ask about classes. Third parties oftendo not know exactly what an instructoroffers, and may not tell you about aknown instructor if they think you arelooking for a specific type of instruction.But you want that instructor’s namebecause even if that instructor doesnot offer what you are looking for, heprobably will know someone who does.When calling a gun store, club, orrange, first ask whether they themselvesoffer instruction, then whether theyknow anyone who does. Finally, askif they know someone else you cancall who might know someone whoteaches classes.Unless you are really internet-savvy,researching shooting schools online isn’tas easy as it sounds. For one thing, toomany professional trainers aren’t quiteup to speed on this whole “welcome tothe early 90’s” internet phenomenon.Once you have the name of a school orinstructor, however, you may be able toGoogle the specific name and get someuseful information.NARROWING DOWNTHE CHOICESNow it’s time to call the instructorsand figure out if they are offering whatyou need. Remember the basic categoriesup above; you are listening for buzzwords that might tip you off to the typeof training being sold. Here are somequestions you might want to ask.Do you have a few moments tochat about your class? This isn’tjust common courtesy; you’ll get betteranswers if they aren’t rushed for time andare able to concentrate on your questions,rather than pondering how to get you offof the phone without being rude.How long have you been teaching?How often do you do classes? Bothof these questions will give you a feel forhow much instructional experience theperson has had.How many students in yourclasses, on average? What kindof instructor/student ratio doyou aim for? One-on-one may notbe comfortable for you if you are veryshy, whereas 20 to 1 is definitely not agood idea. One instructor or coach forevery 4 to 6 students is about right for abeginning level class.How many women do you usuallyhave in each class? Unless youare prepared for it and not blindsidedwhen you walk in, it can be daunting todiscover you’re the only female student ina large group of guys. The answer to thisquestion may tell you how comfortablethe instructor is working with women, andgives you a general idea about whetherother women have been comfortableworking with him or her.Do you work with other instructorsor have assistants helping withyour classes? An instructor who hasgathered a team of people around him,rather than being a Lone Ranger, is moreprofessional and probably has moreteaching experience.What topics do you cover in class?What would I need to bring withme? This helps you figure out whetherthe class is a familiarization class, a sportclass, or a self-defense class.Where did you get your trainingand instructional credentials?22 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

• Excellent answers: “I was trained ata nationally known and establishedfirearms school (Gunsite, Thunder Ranch,DTI, Front Sight, and others) or by anationally-known professional trainerwho travels (Jim Cirillo, Massad Ayoob,Ken Hackathorn, and others).” Ideally,more than one name or school willbe mentioned.• Good answers: “I was trained by alocally-known instructor, and have beenteaching for more than two years,” or, “Itook instructor classes through the NRAand I work with a team.”• Bad answer: “I have never taken anyclasses, but I’ve shot a lot.”Can you give me the names andphone numbers of some formerstudents who are willing torecommend your classes? Mostreputable instructors will be happy todo that. Be brave and call those people.Ask about their experiences with theinstructor, and before you hang up, besure to ask if they have any advice foryou when you take the class.Where can I find the state lawsabout concealed carry? This one’sa sneaky question. How the instructoranswers will tell you whether he isknowledgeable about self-defense issues.He doesn’t have to have the statutenumber on the tip of his tongue, but heshould be able to tell you where to findthe actual text. If he can’t, look elsewherefor a self-defense class.Keep in mind that the answers tothese questions don’t matter nearlyas much as the “feel” you get fromthe conversation. If the class fits withinthe category you want, you hit it offwell with the instructor, and you don’tspot any red flags, chances are that youwill enjoy taking that class.A little note about class costs: Pricesfor local instruction vary wildly fromone part of the country to another. Forprofessional training from an establishedschool with a dedicated range, expectto pay upwards of $150 per day ofinstruction. Local instruction will costless than that, sometimes a lot less. Ifmoney is an issue for you, discuss thisfrankly with your prospective instructor.Some schools offer scholarship programsand some instructors (especially at thelocal level), may be willing to considera work exchange if you have skills tobarter with.If it turns out that the instructor is notoffering the type of class you are lookingfor, or isn’t the type of person you wantto work with, conclude your conversationby asking him about other instructors youmight try. Most trainers have a prettygood idea of who is offering classeswithin their general area, and will usuallybe willing to give recommendations tostudents who aren’t a good fit for theirown classes.Kathy Jackson is a freelance writer wholives with her husband and their fivechildren in Washington state. An AssistantInstructor at the Firearms Academy ofSeattle, Kathy takes special pleasure inteaching other women how to shoot.Her personal website may be found at:www.corneredcat.comSHOULD I TAKE AWOMEN-ONLY CLASS?Female students have anadditional option not open to men:They can opt to take a firearmsclass offered for women only. Willsuch a class be a good fit for you?That depends.Classes for women offer:• Friendlier, less competitive atmosphere.Women’s classes tend to bea lot of fun because the students aremore likely to feel comfortable witheach other, rather than competingwith each other.• More personalized instruction.Women’s firearms classes tendto be less crowded than the sameclasses offered in co-ed format. Thistranslates to more one-on-one timewith the instructor and more timefor questions.• Help with female-specific issues,such as how to find a holster thatworks with a woman’s body shape,or how to most safely carry ina purse.• A chance to learn how to shootwithout a well-meaning loved onepushing you along.• (Sometimes) Instruction tailoredfor verbal and visual learners, andfewer assumptions about students’mechanical knowledge.Co-ed classes offer:Two tired but happy students show off their targets at the conclusion of a class.• More choices. At all levels, it issignificantly easier to find co-edclasses than it is to find womenonlyclasses.• More classes at upper levelsof training. It isn’t too hard to findan entry level class intended forwomen only, but advanced classesfor women are rare and difficultto find.• More competitive atmosphere.This can be a good thing atintermediate and advanced levels,when increased pressure helps astudent focus. At lower levels, itcan be a distraction, sometimes asignificant one.Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 23

GUN REVIEWBy: george hillhe cats at Wilson Combat and Ihave had a great relationship.To this date, I’ve written reviews of twodifferent 1911s and here is anotherWilson Combat. Reviewing a WilsonCombat 1911 is hard after the first time.How many words for “awesome” can youcome up with? I like to point out problemsand areas that can be improved uponwhen doing gun reviews, but there arenone with the Wilsons. Luckily, this is notanother 1911. The ADP is a completelydifferent thing altogether.The ADP has been around forawhile now and under different names.It’s best been known as the Stealth fromHeritage. If you don’t know Heritage,they are probably most famous for theirline of .22 single action revolvers called“Rough Riders.” These are revolvers forthose who wanted a Ruger Single Six, butsaw the Rough Riders for only $150 andsnagged one. Then they spend the nextsix months saying, “I wish I had splurgedfor the Ruger.” Where was I? Oh, theStealth. The Stealth is a South Africanpistol that Heritage imported. The firsttime I tried the Stealth I found that it wasdisappointing and I didn’t like it. It wasrough and nasty. They were cheap pistolsfor around $250. They were what theywere and never really went anywhere.When I saw the ADP at the 2006SHOT Show, I was impressed. It lookedbetter than the Stealth ever looked.I picked it up and felt the slide. It wasas smooth as a puma. Wilson workedsome serious magic on the Stealth. Theysmoothed out the action and the trigger,and they applied their Armor Tuff finishto it. The magic has really transformedthe old pistol into something verygood. I’m not just saying this becauseWilson Combat is an advertiser for themagazine. I’m saying this because theytook something that is average at best,and made it something fantastic (liketaking your Mustang to Chip Foose fora makeover). At the 2006 SHOT show,from the Wilson Booth, this was the firstWilson Combat that I wanted to review. Iwas happy when the ADP finally arrived.Since it did, I’ve been packing it withgreat regularity, but more on that later.The ADP is a simple pistol. It uses agas delay system similar to the HK P7.Most automatics mechanically lock theslide to the barrel. When the gun fires,during recoil the barrel moves back withthe slide, locked together until the internalpressure has had time lower down to safelevels. Then the slide and barrel unlock,and the slide continues back and ejectsthe spent case. Browning perfected thissystem. A gas delayed system bleedsoff a little gas from the shot and usesthat to hold the slide until pressure hadsubsided. This system allows you to havea pistol with a fixed barrel. This helps alot of things, and accuracy is one of them.The P7 is a very accurate gun. The ADP isalso a very accurate pistol. One thing thisgas system does for you is make it oneof the smoothest slide actions you willever feel. Since there is no mechanicaldisconnect, there is no hitch in the action.The slide pulls freely to the rear and theonly thing you feel is the weight of therecoil spring. Blowback pistols can alsobe this smooth, so this isn’t unusual in andof itself, but since this pistol isn’t a .32 ora .380, it is unusual. The striker system isalso a bit different. Most blowbacks likea SIG P232 and a Beretta Cheetah havehammers. The only striker fired blowback24 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

LifeAct. Powerful non-lethal self defense tools from Kimber.The new Guardian Angel® is the most powerful and technologically-advanced non-lethalself defense tool available today. Small, light and ergonomic, it carries easily and clips tobelt, jacket, waistband or seat belt. Each unit holds two blasts of liquid agent containing adevastating payload of OC (oleoresin capsicum), the effective ingredient of pepper sprays.A single blast will incapacitate an assailant for up to 45 minutes.• Instantly incapacitates an assailant.• More effective than sprays.• Revolutionary non-aerosol delivery.• Jet delivery stops cross-contamination.• Suggested retail is just $39.95. May be unlawful to own or possess in some states or jurisdictions. Use for any purpose except lawful self defense may be punishableby imprisonment, fines or both. Avoid use where it may harm children or persons with respiratory disorders. Names of other companiesand products may be property of their respective owners. Guardian Angel® protected by U.S. Pat. 6,951,070B2. Copyright 2006, KimberMfg., Inc. All rights reserved.I can think of is a Hi-Point, but sayingthe ADP is like the Hi-Point is like sayingthat BMW is like a Yugo because theyboth have four tires and run on unleadedgasoline. (Oh great, now I’m going to getmessages saying that I should not knockYugos and only review BMWs. I couldhappily live with that.)For the P7, this system has onedownside. The gun gets hotter than mostpistols, and they heat up quicker. Thisisn’t a problem with the ADP, thanks tothe polymer frame insulating things. HKdid a quick and dirty fix by wrapping apiece of plastic around the frame where itgets hot and uncomfortable. Of course,the P7 is my favorite HK handgun. It’sbrilliant. I think the ADP is right up therewith the P7 in terms of being accurateand reliable.Night sights came on my exampleand I’m guessing that these are standard.This is a good thing, as I think all pistolswith this purpose should have them.The trigger is strange. The pull is longand of moderate weight, but very smoothwith no stacking. There is no break. Itjust sort of falls off all of a sudden,Continued on page 26Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 25

with no tick, no catch or anything thatcan pull your shot off of there at the lastsecond. I’ve not felt a trigger quite likethis before. If I could, I’d have it installedinto all my DAO guns. Other gun makerstake note. This is how it is done. Thisis probably a large contributor to thepistol’s accuracy. I was surprised, evenshocked by the shot groups this pistolwas able to print. I did not expect thislevel of accuracy from a funky littlecompact polymer framed gun. This sortof accuracy is a welcome bonus to theother nice CCW qualities. The ADP alsopoints naturally and right where I want itto point, exactly. Shooting it is fun. I’venot had so much fun shooting a semi-autopistol since “Duck Hunt.” Guns this smalland light are not supposed to shoot thiswell. This is what full size handguns arefor, right? Reliability was perfect with allammunition tested. Ejection is consistentand uniform, another thing that is unusualfor small handguns.The pistol is light, slim, and smoothsided...dangnear perfect for concealedcarry work. I say, “near perfect” becauseas small as it is, the length is a bit toolong for universal carry. But I wouldn’twant this gun any smaller. I like it theway it is. This is a perfect alternative to aGlock 26 or an XD Subcompact 9mm. Itwould make a great ankle gun.Thanks to the Armor Tuff finish, thegun looks good and will always lookgood. Wilson’s finish process gives thegun a coating that other guns wish theycould have. I’ve talked about it in detailbefore, so I won’t here. Just know thatthis Armor Tuff finish allows this gun towork in areas where other guns wouldnot like to go. Humid southern states orsalty coastal areas with the gun wornunder concealment all of the time? Nota problem.The gun is not perfect and doeshave one wart that annoyed me duringshooting: the magazines. While theywork flawlessly, when loaded and duringfiring, the ADP gets a gap between thefloor plate and the grip frame. The fingerhook on the floor plate during recoilwould wedge the gap wider. This is notanything that effected function or pinchedme; it was just something I noticed thatannoyed me, but not so much as the rattleof rounds in the magazine. I noticed thatwhen I walk and carry the gun, there isa small rattle that I can hear. It’s a smallsound, very slight, but when I’m walkingdown a hallway alone and quiet, itreminds me of a western movie when thehero walks down the street with his spurson. Nice dramatic touch, but I’d ratherhave magazines that just stayed silent.These are about the only complaints thatI have.An other thing, not a complaint,but an observation: The safety lever isdifferent. There is no slide release, andthat isn’t a problem. But where a sliderelease would normally be, there is asafety lever, not like a SIG, but like abackwards Beretta. This is something thatyou are going to want to pay attention toand take some time to get used to if youshould you decide to buy an ADP.Now that is a good question.Should you get an ADP? I’ve got twowords for you. Hell yes! It’s small, light,easy to carry, reliable and accurate...absolutely. Why not buy an ADP? WilsonCombat has done it again. They havetaken something coarse and unrefined,and made it slick and civilized. This isRob Zombie directing the Boston PhilHarmonic. This is Henry Rollins teachingsensitivity classes. This is an Australianplaying James Bond. This isn’t somethingthat happens regularly. While it workedfor James Bond (for firearms), only WilsonCombat can pull this off. The reallyamazing part of this? The price is onlysix Benjamins. A lot of guys are goingto balk at that when considering that theStealth was originally so cheep. Manybalked at the price hike of the HS2000pistol when it became the Springfield XD,but let’s look at it this way: How manyCCM readers knew what the HS2000was before? Wilson is doing the samething here; adopting a worthy design,bringing it in, working it over and puttingout a resulting product that you can finallytrust and count on, which is backed up bya company with a solid foundation andhistory. That is worth the extra bucks tome every time. I still have a challenge forWilson Combat to work over an AK-47.If you build it, I’ll buy it, Wilson. If youreaders like that idea, contact WilsonCombat and tell them that you are withme on this!By the time you read this, WilsonCombat has already received a check formy test pistol. Not only have I purchasedthis one, but it has actually replaced myCZ P-01 as my CCW gun of choice. Outof all of the guns that I’ve reviewed so farfor Concealed Carry Magazine, not oneof them has been adopted like this. I mayhave purchased other guns and lovedto pack them around, but none havereplaced my regular carry gun for morethan the duration of the review process.None have become the gun that I reachfor if I hear strange noises at night. Weare starting an IDPA group out herewhere I live, and this is the gun I’m goingto shoot with.George Hill is an NRA Certified Pistoland Personal Protection instructor and thewriter and publisher of MadOgre.com.Visit his website for more information onMad Ogre. www.madogre.comPhotography by George.26 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Ross Sporting Goods Glocksmithing, Heine Sights, Crimson TraceLasergrips for Glock, DeSantis Scorpion and KKM Barrelhe ubiquitous Glock. Some peoplelove them, some people hate them,and there are few who don’t have anopinion. One thing is certain. A lot ofpeople carry Glocks. I have owned myfair share, and I have certain gear thatI find particularly useful with the Glockplatform. This issue will cover my favoriteGlock related gear. I always like to hearfrom readers, so if you have some favoritecarry gear you would like to see featuredhere, whether new, cutting edge stuff orold favorites, please send me an e-mailat: daiker@realworldcarrygear.comRoss Sporting GoodsGlocksmithingAs good as the Glock platform is,there is a lot of room for improvementand personalization. The basic Glockcan definitely benefit from some attentionby a quality gunsmith. Unfortunately,there are a lot of people out there whothink that owning a Dremel tool qualifiesthem to start grinding plastic off of yourG-17. While searching for a truly qualifiedGlocksmith, I found Cope Reynolds atRoss Sporting Goods in Farmington,New Mexico. Cope’s work is top-notch,G-17 showing chopped and reducedgrip, rounded trigger guard, andHeine rear sight.and he can transform your basic Glockinto a tailor-fitted carry gun.One of the most universally criticizedfeatures of the Glock is the grip size andangle. The factory grip has never fitme properly. My first request for Copewas to do a grip reduction on my ThirdGeneration Glock 17. Although my handsare large, I never cared for the feel ofthe standard Glock grip, including thepronounced curvature of the backstrapand the finger grooves that never quitefit me. The full grip reduction by RossSporting Goods eliminates the fingergrooves, and removes the backstrap palmswell, much improving the grip angle. Aspart of this process, you can also havethe frontstrap and backstrap stippled forbetter grip and control. This grip changemade my Glock’s fit much better for me,and it has a great appearance too. SomeGlock grip reductions can be hideouslyugly, but not this one.I also opted for the grip shortening(having my Glock 17 grip chopped tothe Glock 19 size). I had never heard ofanyone doing this before, but now I amsold on it. The grip is the hardest part toconceal, and a Glock 19 grip with the fulllength Glock 17 barrel and correspondingsight radius is a great combination forconcealed carry. The grip shortening hasa near factory appearance, and now fitsGlock 19 magazines perfectly! If youalready have a Glock 19, you can chopthe grip to accept Glock 26 magazines.Ross Sporting Goods also did theirsignature oval shaped mag release,which is easier to operate than thenormal extended mag release, offeringa much larger surface area. I had themfinish off the frame work by rounding offthe trigger guard, a modification thatis partly cosmetic and partly to makereholstering easier. I did not opt for anytrigger work, but I have no doubts thatthe work would be top-notch.I highly recommend the Glocksmithingservices at Ross SportingGoods. The work I had done was veryreasonably priced, and the turn-aroundtime is usually about two weeks. How canyou beat that for quality gunsmithing?Details on these services and othersoffered by Ross Sporting Goods,together with pricing, can be found at:www.rosssportinggoods.com or bycalling (866) 886-8753.Heine SightsAnother known weakness of theGlock design is the very basic plasticsights. Sights are an obvious area forContinued on page 28Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 27

improvement on the factory design. Ofcourse, handgun sights are like shoes; Ican’t tell you what will fit you. However,I have found that serious Glock shootersgravitate toward Heine sights. HeineSpecialty Products makes a wide varietyof handgun sights in a variety of styles.The Heine Slant Pro sights offer a greatno-snag profile together with a goodsight picture.If you prefer night sights, Heine offersthe Slant Pro in a “Straight Eight” modelwith two self-luminous tritium dots, oneon the center of the rear sight and oneon the front sight. To line up the sights inthe dark, you just put one dot on top ofthe other, like an “8.” I like the “StraightEight” system, and much prefer it to thestandard three horizontal dot system seenon so many sights.Heine also offers the option of a“race cut” rear notch that is a bit widerthan the standard notch. This permits alittle bit of light to show on either side ofthe front sight, and tends to make a quicksight picture easier to obtain. I preferthe race cut rear notch on all my guns,including my carry guns.Heine sights are reasonably priced,and Heine will install them for you if yousend in your slide. For more informationon Heine sights, visit www.heine.com orcall 1-877-SIGHTS1.Crimson Trace Lasergripsfor GlockCrimson Trace makes Lasergrips for awide variety of handguns with removablegrip panels. I have extolled the virtuesof Lasergrips on many prior occasions.However, the polymer framed Glock hasalways posed a particular challenge forCrimson Trace since there are no grips inwhich to mount the laser unit. Althoughthere were earlier models for Glock thatrequired permanent modifications toyour gun, Crimson Trace now has a userinstalledGlock model.The Lasergrips for Glock are a hardplastic, wrap-around unit that meldsinto the existing curves of the grip. TheLasergrips are secured with a singleframe pin and the end result is nearlyseamless. While the grips change thefeel of the Glock grip to some degree,it is not an unpleasant change. In fact,the additional girth of the Lasergripsactually makes the sub-compact guns alittle easier to hold onto.Finally, the advantages of Lasergrips—likeease of installation, use ofstandard holsters, intuitive activation,and a laser adjustable for windage andelevation—are available for most Glockmodels. For information on CrimsonTrace Lasergrips, visit www.crimsontrace.com or call 800-442-2406.DeSantis ScorpionThere is no shortage of holstersfor the Glock. Almost everyone whomakes holsters makes Glock holsters.Finding the right holster may take sometime. However, I have one particularmodel that I like for concealed carry.To me, plastic guns work best in plasticholsters, so I tend toward Kydex holstersfor my Glocks. My current choice foran inside-the-waistband holster is theDesantis Scorpion.The Scorpion is not your typicalKydex IWB design. The belt attachmentpoints are spread out to the front andrear of the holster to reduce the widthof the holster, to increase the stabilityand to help distribute the weight. Themolding is very rigid, so the holsterkeeps its shape and offers easy onehandedreholstering.This holster is designed to be wornbehind the strong side hip, and has anatural curvature to bend around yourbody. I find this style of holster to bevery comfortable for extended periods.This design is not tuckable, but worksvery well for all day concealment undera cover garment. Unlike some of theother kydex designs, the belt clips onthis holster are replaceable in the eventof breakage.I enjoy carrying my Glock 17 inthe Desantis Scorpion, and you are alsolikely to if it fits your body and yourcarry methods. For more information,simply visit www.desantisholster.comor call (800) 424-1236. Desantis hasvery reasonable prices, and can shipmost holsters within just a few days ofyour order.KKM BarrelThe Glock factory barrel worksvery well, but the octagonal rifling is notrecommended for use with lead bullets.Since lead is inexpensive to shoot, manypeople opt for a replacement barrel.Alternatively, some people are looking toincrease accuracy with a better qualitybarrel. KKM Precision has been a leaderin drop-in replacement barrels for manyyears. KKM Precision offers a variety ofaftermarket Glock replacement barrels.I had an opportunity to test a KKMbarrel in my Glock 17. The KKM barrelis a drop-in part that requires no fitting.The barrel features KKM’s unique “buttonrifling” that appears to be the secretbehind KKM’s well-known accuracy.The barrel also adds a nice look to yourGlock, replacing the standard blackfinish with an attractive matte stainless.My KKM barrel fit well, and functionedflawlessly with a variety ofammunition. I am probably not qualifiedto assess the differences in accuracyor ballistics between the factory barreland the KKM replacement barrel, butthe accuracy seemed to be noticeablyimproved. If you have a need ordesire for an aftermarket barrel, theKKM products won’t disappoint you.For more information or to order,visit www.kkmprecision.com or call775-246-5444.Duane A. Daiker is a Contributing Editor forCCM, but is otherwise a regular guy, notmuch different from you. Duane has beena lifelong shooter and goes about his lifeas an armed, responsible, and somewhatopinionated citizen. Duane can be reachedat: Daiker@RealWorldCarryGear.comAdditional RWCG columns can be viewedat: www.RealWorldCarryGear.com28 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

ordinarytheguy19THE ROANOKE TIMES SPARK THE GRASSROOTSAn Interview with Mr. Philip Van Cleave of theVirginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL)Date: March 11, 2007Place: Roanoke, VirginiaPublication: The Roanoke TimesPerpetrator: Mr. Christian Trejbal and theeditors of The Roanoke TimesThe column was entitled SheddingLight on Concealed Handguns and it ranin The Roanoke Times on March 11th,2007. Big deal; lots of ignorant, anti-guncolumnists print rubbish every day and ittends to roll right off of me like a bead ofwater on a freshly waxed big, red DodgeRam pickup truck with a Hemisphericalengine. What made this anti-gun columnany different and why should I care abouta rogue columnist based out of the NewRiver Valley of Virginia? I mean, whatdamage can a local newspaper coveringthe sparsely populated Appalachianmountain area of Virginia really do thatsomeone like Sarah Brady hasn’t alreadyattempted? You may be surprised!Mr. Trejbal, the editorial writer of theabove entitled column, under the guiseof “sunshine week,” took it upon himselfto include in his editorial a URL link tothe entire database of every law-abidingVirginian with a concealed carry permit.It included the name and address ofevery citizen, approximately 135,000strong, who has a permit to carry a gunin Virginia. The decision to print the linkto the database was approved by thesenior staff at The Roanoke Times; andfor approximately one and a half days,anybody who wanted to could searchthe database and fish for whomever theywanted to see.Like many of you, I was absolutelyinfuriated. Why? I no longer live inVirginia and my name wasn’t on the list.Why should I care? For that matter, whyshould anyone who doesn’t live in Virginiaand whose name does not appear onthat list give a rats tail that Mr. Trejbaland his employers would advertise thatinformation? Okay, I’ll admit that I stillhave some nostalgic fondness for theNew River Valley. I graduated fromRadford University, located right in theheart of that valley, and I have manyfriends residing throughout the state ofVirginia. My sister and her family live inNorthern Virginia and there is no doubtthat if I still lived there, my name wouldhave appeared on that list. But that’snot the worst part. What lit my fire thatday were the tactics used by the left togo after what they disagree with. TheRoanoke Times is a well-known liberalnewspaper with a full-blown leftist tilt.No surprise there, but when one sees theFirst Amendment abused to attack theSecond Amendment, it is an affront toall gun owners nationwide…You and I,regardless of where we call home, havea dog in this fight.On the USCCA website, thediscussion board heated up and many ofyou responded with the same anger andfury as I did. And believe me; the RoanokeTimes felt the heat. That afternoon, Iplaced a call to Mr. Philip Van Cleave,president of the Virginia Citizens DefenseLeague (VCDL), and was surprised thathe was able to get back to me as quicklyas he did with this firestorm eruptingin his front yard. Mr. Van Cleave wasastounded at what he was witnessingfrom the grassroots. The following is adiscussion with him about why this issueerupted like it did and what it meansto all of us as gun owners and carrypermit holders.**********Hi Phil. Thank you for taking the time tospeak to the readers of Concealed CarryMagazine. As president of the VirginiaCitizens Defense League (VCDL), can yougive us some history and backgroundon your grassroots organization and itsgoals and accomplishments?VCDL was originally formed asthe Northern Virginia Citizens DefenseLeague (NVCDL) back in the fall of 1994.At that time, one key gun organization wassaying that Virginia would not get ’shallissue’until the republicans controlled theGeneral Assembly. (Both the House andSenate were controlled by the democrats.)So they were willing to accept the statusquo (discriminatory ’may-issue’) until afterthe elections (which, as history shows,did not deliver the General Assemblyinto the hands of the republicans).Because of horrible inequities in issuingthose permits [for example some countieswouldn’t issue to women, others wouldn’tissue to minorities, some would issue toanybody that asked, and others only toa judge’s friends] NVCDL was formedby Paul Moog to get the law changed to’shall-issue,’ regardless of whether othergroups thought it possible or not.NVCDL experienced enormousgrowth in membership statewide andContinued on page 30Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 29

was incorporated as VCDL in May 1998(dropping the word ‘Northern’ from itsname). We started with 5 members in thefall of 1994 and now have over 3,300members. In addition, we have over6,000 subscribers to our free VA-ALERTe-mail system.VCDL believes that to win the fightto restore our rights, we have to go onthe offensive and make use of the bestlobbyist, the voter. VCDL rejects theapproach of focusing on a defensivebattle until ’the time is right.’ Even if youwin 95% of the defensive battles, youlose 5%. Over time, this defensive war ofattrition slowly whittles away our rightsuntil we have none. The time isn’t goingto magically become right to introducepro-gun legislation. Instead, we have tomake the time right. And we do that byconstantly pushing a pro-gun agenda:getting pro-gun legislation before theGeneral Assembly, getting voters tocontact their legislators, and houndingany locality that violates the law. Even ifwe win only 5% of our pro-gun agendaeach year, we are advancing our rightseach and every year, instead of losingthem bit by bit.VCDL doesn’t have a paid lobbyist.Instead, we rely upon the voters ineach legislative district to contact theirlegislators. Voters are very effectivelobbyists that legislators do listen to.VCDL has been a key player in gettingmany of Virginia’s pro-gun laws passedPhilip Van Cleavepresident of the Virginia CitizensDefense League (VCDL)Photograph courtesy of:Philip and the VCDLand anti-gun bills defeated. For example,it was a bill put in on our behalf thatgave Virginia full firearms preemption,wiping out all local gun control exceptfor discharge and hunting regulationsback in 2004.VCDL serves as a watchdog againstlocalities violating the rights of gunowners. In 1999, Fairfax County enactedan administrative rule banning guns in alltheir government buildings, which wasnot allowed under Virginia law. We tookthem to court and won handily, with thejudge ordering them to remove the ‘Noguns’ signs. Fairfax lost so badly thatthey didn’t even appeal. We have takenon police abuse of gun owners, mostrecently in Manassas, Virginia whereeight officers pressured a restaurantowner to kick out seven gun owners whowere peaceably enjoying a meal. Thegun owners were openly carrying theirhandguns, as is the law in Virginia whenin an establishment that serves alcoholfor on-premise consumption. The policedidn’t like that the gun owners knewVirginia laws better than they did andsought vengeance by getting the gunowners publicly removed.Over 150 angry VCDL membersand supporters showed up at the nextManassas City Council meeting andpolitely, but firmly asked City Council tofire at least three of those officers. TheMayor said at the start of the meeting thathe had never seen so many people showup for a City Council meeting. In fact, hehad to get the fire marshal to make anexception to allow all those people inthe meeting room at one time! Video ofmany of the VCDL members speaking atthat city council meeting are on the VCDLwebsite at: http://www.vcdl.org/Tonys/mcpd.htmlVCDL has a Petition for Rule Makingin front of the Department of the Interior,asking the DOI to allow gun owners tocarry in national parks for self-defense,as long as the state where the park islocated allows such carry. See: http://www.vcdl.org/index.html#PRMVCDL has also been protectingVirginia gun dealers from the frivolouslawsuits that New York City Mayor,Michael Bloomberg, has brought againstthem. As I write this, we are gettingmajor press on VCDL’s “BloombergGun GiveAway,” which is a drawingfor a free firearm. To participate in thedrawing, all one has to do is spend$100 in any of three gun stores inVirginia. Unfortunately, the drawing isgoing to be over by the time that yourreaders see this. Depending on whathappens down the road, we may haveanother such drawing. VCDL also has alegal defense fund for the dealers underattack by Bloomberg. You can contributeby going to our web site at http://www.vcdl.org/index.html#DefenseFund. Fora grassroots gun organization of allvolunteers, we have been busy.On March 11th, 2007, “The RoanokeTimes” ran an editorial written by Mr.Christian Trejbal, an editorial writerfor their “New River Valley Bureau,”entitled “Shedding Light on ConcealedHandguns,” in which they published thelist of Virginia’s concealed carry permitholders. The backlash on the USCCAwebsite was enormous. What kindof reaction did your organization getthat day?In the 12 years I have been involvedwith VCDL, I have never seen anythingeven close to that reaction. I receivedaround 700 e-mails and 30 phone callsin a single day asking VCDL to helpshut down that database. The passionand anger from gun owners over whatThe Roanoke Times did was somethingto behold.Besides just everyday permit holders,I received calls from police officers andfederal forensic experts who were onthat list and had many criminal enemies.Many calls were from females who30 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

were distraught over their safety beingcompromised. One had been stabbedeight times by a previous husband (who isnow in prison) and her ex-in-laws wantedvengeance against her. Now they mightknow where she lives.Can you tell our readers what actionyou took or threatened to take thatday against the “Times” and theeditorial writer?Our first action was to notify our VA-ALERT subscribers of the situation, andwe told them to contact the newspaper.Next, we created a list of the variousways we could respond and ran it by ourlegal advisory committee, consisting ofseveral lawyers.Proposed responses included:1. Hiring a private investigator to get asmuch personal information as possibleon the columnist who wrote the story, aswell as the management of The RoanokeTimes who approved the publishing ofthe CHP database, and put it out all overthe internet.2. Contacting the major advertisers ofThe Roanoke Times via a huge e-mailcampaign and asking those advertisersto tell The Roanoke Times to issue aformal apology to gun owners and tofire the columnist and the president ofthe paper.3. Picketing the major advertisers to getthem to withdraw from advertising in TheRoanoke Times.4. Possible legal action based on thepaper releasing information on peoplethat are specially protected by the law,including those who have testified incourt against dangerous criminals.The last option seems the hardestto do at this time. The first three are inpreparatory stages as I write this.Has any of the newspaper staff attemptedto contact you, or were you able to speakto anyone at the paper directly?I was interviewed at length by oneof the paper’s reporters. He was veryinterested in how VCDL planned torespond to his paper. Other than that onereporter, we have not had direct contactwith the paper.Like you, I am fed up with this type ofreporting and these tactics used bythe opponents of freedom and morespecifically, our Second Amendmentrights. What is the VCDL doing to stopthis from happening again?We are currently pressuring twosmaller papers to stop printing thenames of local people who are gettingnew permits. In addition, we are lookingat legislative options to prevent suchinformation from being published.”The Roanoke Times” is a well knownliberal paper with a full tilt leftistagenda. Do you believe that this wasdone with malicious intent against thelaw-abiding citizens of Virginia by theeditorial staff?Absolutely. Since the article was onsunshine laws, which are about opengovernment and have nothing to do withindividuals, they should have stoppedat just getting the list. That was proofenough that Virginia’s sunshine laws areworking. Instead, they took that extra stepof publishing a searchable database. TheRoanoke Times even quoted a VirginiaState Police spokeswoman as sayingabout the list, “It is up to the recipientContinued on page 32The Kahr CW series (available in9mm and 40 S&W) has the combinationof features that makes it thebest Concealed Carry Pistol in themarket. It has the ideal combinationof stopping power and shootingcomfort, and is smaller, slimmerand lighter than competitivebrands. Its smooth double-actiontrigger reduces flinch, improvingshot placement, and is safer. Instressful situations, fine motor controlis impaired contributing to thepossibility of accidental dischargewith traditional single-action triggers found on many semiautosand revolvers. The CW Series' natural point of aimand low-felt recoil make them the ideal guns to shoot and carry.Made with Pridein the U.S.A.CW9093CW4043With the introduction of new manufacturing processes in the production of the CWseries, the Kahr pistol represents an unrivaled value. Go to your nearest retailer andask for the CW series and see just how affordable it is!® KAHR ARMS: P. O. Box 220, Blauvelt, NY 10913 Sales: 508-635-1450, 508-635-1449Websites: www.kahr.com / www.kahrshop.com Service: 508-635-1418, 508-635-1400Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 31

of that information to be a responsibleguardian of the information.” There is nodoubt in my mind that The Roanoke Timeswas NOT a responsible guardian of theinformation and that what they did wasmalicious and mean spirited.The “Times” claimed that they pulled thelist down after they were made awarethat some of the names on the list weremade public in violation of Virginia law.They then attempted to blame the VirginiaState Police for not redacting the namesthat shouldn’t have been on the list. Hasthere been any feedback from the statepolice regarding this incident?We have not been contacted bythe state police about this. However,The Roanoke Times is attempting to shiftthe blame to the VSP for the paper’sirresponsible actions. That’s a lot likeblaming the gun instead of the criminal.Of course you and I both know that thislist has exposed the names of employees,those under protective court orders, andlaw enforcement officials, among manyother good people. To your knowledge,has any harm come to the folks whosenames were made public?One parole officer contacted me andsaid that three parolees have shown up athis house this week! Each one admittedthat he got the officer’s address from thatdatabase. One of those parolees showedup at his door while he was at work andjust his wife and child were at home. Afew days after that list came out, anothergun owner (who had a collection of over200 guns) was found murdered in hishome. A connection? We don’t know yet,but that is very, very suspicious.This was a personal issue for me, as Igraduated from college in the New RiverValley. I have family residing in Virginiaand spent many years as a resident ofVirginia. I have many friends who hadtheir privacy invaded as a result of theirresponsibility of Mr. Trejbal and theRoanoke Times, but there is more to thisthan a personal vendetta. This story hasnational implications for ALL gun owners.For example, can you tell us why thisincident matters to someone living inKansas, Florida or Arizona?Sure. The anti-gun press is alwayslooking for an angle to poke gun ownersin the eye. If The Roanoke Times hadsucceeded in keeping that databaseonline, then other papers would havebeen encouraged to pull the same trick intheir state. The onslaught of angered gunowners here in Virginia might deter otherpapers, but there is no guarantee.As a final thought, it appears that Mr.Trejbal and “The Roanoke Times” bit offa little more than they were willing tochew with their despicable decision andunderhanded scheme to expose theirlaw-abiding neighbors to every criminalelement not only in Virginia, but in theentire nation. After feeling the wrath ofgun owners nationwide, do you thinkthey regret their decision?Oh, you bet they do! While newspaperslike controversy, as it sellsmore papers, this was in a differentcategory. People were furious at thepaper itself, and in huge numbers. Onone of The Roanoke Times’ own polls,98% of respondents were against whatthe paper did! In the hundreds andhundreds of emails the paper printedin response to that article, I didn’t seea single one saying that the paper didthe right thing. Papers are struggling inthe age of the internet and can ill affordthis kind of massive disapproval oftheir actions.**********My heartfelt thanks to Phil for histime, which has been well spent withFox News, numerous local papers andnational publications, as well as a recentappearance on CNN with Paula Zahn todiscuss this very issue.Needless to say, The RoanokeTimes pulled the list within 2 days ofits publication, claiming that they weretrying to verify information containedon the list from the Virginia State Police.The Roanoke Times has since issued anapology for its shoddy handling of suchsensitive data, albeit a weak one, butan apology nonetheless. Hopefully, TheRoanoke Times has learned a valuablelesson, one that I hope all politiciansrunning in 2008 were paying closeattention to as well: that we as gunowners will not sit idly by and be takenadvantage of simply because we aregun owners. We must remember that theenemies of freedom will use whateverdirty, underhanded schemes that areat their disposal, and it remains ourresponsibility to remain vigilant. TheVCDL is not lying down on this, andduring subsequent conversations withMr. Van Cleave, he has assured me thatthey will relentlessly pursue this until theyare satisfied with the results, rather thanwhen The Roanoke Times decides that itshould go away.Mr. Trejbal and the staff at the Timeswill never understand that what theyhave done is wrong. For all of their elitistsmugness and (like most ideologues),they can not see past their own agendas,but when we rose to the occasion as onevoice, they knew that we meant business.As Mr. Van Cleave said to me during oneof our phone calls, “Imagine what wecould accomplish together if we reactedlike this during every election cycle.”Something tells me that we’re going tofind out in 2008!The Virginia Citizens Defense Leaguecan be reached at www.vcdl.org.**********Subsequent to this column beingwritten, the nation’s deadliest massmurder occurred at the Virginia TechCampus in the heart of the new RiverValley of Virginia…Literally down thestreet from Mr. Trejbal. I have reviewedThe Roanoke Times editorial coverageduring the two days since the shootingsand the two days before this columnwent to print. I am quite relieved to seethat the paper’s editorial coverage hasactually been fair during the 48 hourssince this murderous, whack-job tookso many lives. I will continue to monitorthe Times’ editorials and report at alater date.I ask all of you to support the VCDLright now as Mr. VanCleave and hisorganization will no doubt be fighting anonslaught of knee-jerk reaction directedat law-abiding Virginians.My deepest prayers and thoughtsgo out to the families and victimsof the Virginia Tech tragedy.Mark is the director of Gun SafetyEducation and a NRA Certified Instructorin three disciplines. He is the owner of45 Caliber Transfer, LLC and 45 CaliberTransportation, Inc as well as a SecondAmendment activist in his home town.Mark is a member of the ProfessionalOutdoor Media Association (POMA) andthe National Shooting Sports Foundation(NSSF). He encourages readers tocontact him at:theordinaryguy@comcast.net32 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Developing a uniform and consistent grip is oneof the most important aspects of developingspeed (not to mention accuracy), yet is one of themost ignored. Develop a strong and consistentgrip and watch how fast and accurate you get.peed is very important in thetactical employment of pistols. Mostoften, you will be responding to a threat,so you will already be “behind the powercurve.” Any increase in your speed isimportant. But I must point out that wewant “controlled speed.” An Old Westgunfighter once said, “No one was everkilled by a loud noise.” That statementis worthy of note! Always rememberthat the purpose of shooting is to hit.That is paramount and more importantthan speed.A slow hit that arrives on target longafter the fight is over is as worthless aslightning, like a shot that misses by amile. We must strive for balance betweenthe two extremes. We want a balancebetween the speed of the shot and theaccuracy of the hit. Let’s discuss how tofind that balance.There are three parts to presentingthe pistol and firing the shot. The firstis the movement of the pistol from theholster to the point position (on target).This must be done as quickly as humanlypossible, regardless of the size of, ordistance to, the target. The second partis the time spent on the pause to verifythe sight picture, as well as its alignmenton target. This is simultaneous with the“prepping” of the trigger. As the pistolarrives on target, the shooter must pauseat the top of the stroke in order to preparethe trigger for discharge, as well as toverify the sight picture. The time spenton this pause is greatly dependent uponthe difficulty of the shot. A large targetat three meters requires relatively littlesight picture verification; whereas a fiftymeter target will require considerablymore verification time, and a much moreprecise sight picture. The final portionof the presentation is simply holdingeverything in place while the last ouncesof pressure are applied to the trigger untilthe shot is fired.In order to gain speed, youmust perform the correct proceduresmoothly. This means the exclusion of allunnecessary motion specifically relatingto the procedure. This also means movingquickly from a position of rest. The bestway to develop the type of speed needed(without sacrificing accuracy) is to breakthe presentation down into its componentsand practice each one independently ofthe others. In other words, in phase one,you move the pistol up to the target as fastas possible without pressing the trigger. Inphase two, you prepare the trigger andverify the sight picture. In phase three,you hold everything in place as you exertthe final press on the trigger. Here aresome dry practice drills that will assistyou in developing controlled speed.Drill #1: After following the drypractice safety procedures, set up the drypractice target the appropriate distanceaway. With the fastest movement thatyou can muster, present the pistol tothe target. Make sure that you did nottake any shortcuts that violated safetyprinciples, such as covering your supporthand with the muzzle or touching thetrigger too soon.It is important that you do not pressthe trigger at this point. Continue theexercise until you can bring the pistolfrom the holster up to, and aligned with,the target in one second.Drill #2: Continue with drill #1,but add the preparation of the triggerand the verification of the sight picture.As the pistol rises into the line of sight,the trigger finger takes up the slack onthe trigger. When you arrive on target,do not let the trigger break. Controlthe trigger! Simultaneously, pick up thefront sight through the rear sight notch.Close the non-dominant eye and focuson the top edge of the front sight as itis perfectly aligned with the rear sightand super-imposed on the target. Holdthat position!This drill takes the act of firing theshot right to the very edge of discharge.Hold the trigger preparation and the sightpicture for one to two seconds. Mentallythink the words “pause” and “verify.” Donot allow the trigger to break.Drill #3: Continue with drill #2,taking the firing stroke to the very pointof discharge. Mentally think the words“pause,” “verify” and “press.” As soon asyou think “press,” press carefully throughthat final stage of the trigger. Monitor thefront sight for movement.Continued on page 34Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 33

Speed is especially important when caught behind the reactionary curve. Here, Suarez moves dynamically off the line of fire from a seated position.The first drill is lightning-quick,almost as if you were intending to throwthe pistol at the target. Drill number twoteaches you to stop (pause) at the top ofthe stroke to verify sight picture and getthe trigger ready to go. The trigger doesnot break in either one of these drills. It isimportant to realize that the final press isa distinctly different move from the actualpresentation of the pistol. Drill numberthree puts it all together. When you thinkthe word “press,” you press through thefinal stage of the trigger pressure untilthe hammer or striker releases. Moveup to that point as fast as you can, andpause as long as you need to in orderto guarantee the shot. That is the secretto fast shooting. These drills may also beconducted as live fire drills.Only hits count! That is a statementthat is as true as it is forceful. All of thetactical tricks and high-speed guns in theworld will do you little good if you cannothit on demand. Speed without accuracyis as valuable as a glass of water to adrowning man.You are already familiar with thebasics, the secrets of marksmanship.These are paramount to developingaccuracy. Some self-appointed tacticalgurus with little or no experience inpersonal combat will tell us that gunfightsare close enough to not have to worryabout accuracy. “Just hit him somewhere,”they pontificate.Excuse me! When you stop toconsider the stresses that a man undergoesin a real fight (a fight to the death),it is clear that abandoning the principlesof marksmanship is tantamount tosuicide. Think back to your best day atthe firing range. When you are shootingfor blood (and your targets are doinglikewise), you will be half that good!Now if you always practice to “just hithim somewhere,” the most importantshot of your life will go...you guessedit, nowhere!Take a page from the sniperdiscipline. Police snipers train to makeeyeball shots at 100 meters. Their actualencounters are generally much closerand rarely require such precision. Theidea is that if they are that accurate intraining, the better they’ll be able toplace decisive shots on larger targetsunder stress. As long as realistic timeintervals are adhered to, this is also sageadvice for pistoleros.Don’t mistake the foregoing asadvice to “accurize” your pistol. Yourpistol is already inherently more accurateout of the box than you are. Instead,“accurize” your shooting technique. Thatis what will save you. The following aresome accuracy enhancing drills for youto practice. Note that these are live-firedrills that must be performed at the firingrange. During these accuracy enhancingdrills, your goal is to keep all of the shotstouching each other. If they go into thesame hole, you are on the right track.Remember, this is an exercise whichdevelops a skill, much like pushups andpull ups develop arm strength. Duringtactical operations, we may settle for lessin order to gain some speed. However,developing the ability to fire a surgicallyaccurate shot will allow you to sacrificerelatively little when you “go fast.”34 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Drill #1: Set up a standard combat/humanoid target at five meters. Make asmall aiming point on it, such as a crossor a dot (about an inch in size). Bringyour pistol up to the point position andfire a group of five shots without takingthe focus of your vision or your attentionoff of the front sight. Strive to place themall in the same hole, or at least touchingeach other. Shoot slowly for accuracyonly. When five meters is no longerchallenging, move to seven, and so on.Strive for as small of a group as possible,and do not fire until every aspect of thesight picture and trigger press is perfect.Drill #2: Follow the same procedureas the previous drill, but begin in theready position. Move from ready topoint quickly, and then carefully (withoutrushing) fire a single, perfect shot.Drill #3: Use the same procedureas the first drill, but begin with the pistolholstered. Remember, perfect shots only.Your group should be approximatelythe same size as in the two previousexercises.Drill #4: Use the same procedureas drill #3, but fire two controlled shots.Press the trigger for the first shot. Holdthe trigger to the rear on recoil and donot release it until you obtain a secondsight picture. Now release it only as farSpeed of draw is essential to survival in areactive gunfighting environment.as necessary to reset it for a secondshot and again focusing visually on thetop edge of the front sight, press for thesecond perfect shot.Once you can fire extremely accurateshots on demand, begin to include anincreasingly shorter time interval. Thisbegins to blend into the chapter on speeddevelopment. Your goal as a student ofthe pistol is to find your personal balancebetween speed and accuracy. That jobbelongs to all of us, doesn’t it?Reading your targets: It is sometimesdifficult to gauge your performance atthe firing range because of the noise andtumult associated with a live-fire drill. Itis helpful if you look at your target as a“final exam” paper. It will tell you thingsabout your grip, stance, trigger press andso forth...if you know how to read it. Lookat where your shots have hit. Assumingthat your pistol is properly sighted in, anyvariance from a center hit is all you.1) Shots Low: If you find that yourshots are low on the target, it is a signthat you are not pressing the triggercarefully. Sometimes shooters will anticipatethe shot and hurry the triggerpress abruptly (a.k.a. “jerk”). They mayeven reflexively force the muzzle downslightly in anticipation of the shot. In turn,this causes the front sight to dip low andeither to the left or the right as the bulletleaves the barrel.The training solution to this is topractice the “ball and dummy” drill.This drill is extremely useful, and I makeit an ongoing part of my training. Fill amagazine with 2/3 dummy (inert) roundsand 1/3 live cartridges. Now carry onwith your training. Mentally convinceyourself that the pistol is completelyloaded with dummy rounds. The bulkof the trigger presses will bear this out.Eventually, however, you will experiencea live round being fired (and get a realsurprise break). Prolonged use of thisdrill will desensitize you to the reportand noise of the shot and will curethe problem.2) Shots right or left: If your shots areconsistently hitting the target to the right ofthe paper, you probably have too muchtrigger finger on the trigger. The result isthat when you press to the rear, you arealso pulling to the right. You may thinkthat everything is perfect, but the paperwill not verify your “feeling.” If your shotsare hitting too far to the left, invariablyyou are not placing enough trigger fingeron the trigger, and you are causing theopposite of the previous situation. Notethat a left-handed shooter will reversethese circumstances.3) Shots high: This is most oftencaused by not focusing intently enoughon the front sight, and instead looking upat the target at the final moment. It is alsocaused by not “stopping” on the targetduring a presentation and instead tryingto “ambush” the target as you pass it.The solution is to maintain visualfocus on the front sight as the shot isfired. In fact, look for the front sight liftingoff of the target on recoil. Additionally,be certain that you have in fact stoppedmoving before the final pressure isexerted on the trigger.Gabriel Suarez is an internationallyrecognized trainer and lecturerin the field of civilian personaldefense. He has written over adozen books and taught courses inseveral countries.http://www.suarezinternational.comhttp://www.warriortalk.comSuarez International, Inc.303 E. Gurley St., Ste. 461Prescott, AZ 86301 USA(Office) 928-776-4492Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 35

IN THE NEWSBy: DUANE A. DAIKERProposed AssaultWeapon Ban for 2007:What Was Old Is NewAgain (and Then Some)hen the Clinton era AssaultWeapon Ban of 1994 expired in 2004,many of us suspected this day wascoming. When the democrats tookcontrol of Congress following the 2006elections, many of us knew this wascoming. The gun grabbers have theirsights set on your Second Amendmentrights again. U.S. Representative, CarolynMcCarthy (D-New York), has introducedH.R. 1022, which reinstates the provisionsof the 1994 ban, but with some newtwists that make the ban far more onerousthan its last incarnation.HOW WOULD THE PROPOSED BANAFFECT CONCEALED CARRY GUNS?Our primary focus at CCM is onconcealed carry handguns. The 2007version of the Assault Weapon Ban(“AWB”) doesn’t appear to have anysignificant new restrictions on youraverage handgun. However, the proposedlegislation will reinstate theban on “large capacity ammunitionfeeding devices,” which is legal-speakfor magazines with a capacity of morethan 10 rounds. Obviously, this affects alarge number of carry guns. Even manycompact 9mm pistols are designed toaccept magazines with more than 10rounds. Of course, the ban won’t makethe guns themselves illegal, just the “largecapacity” magazines.Many of you will recall that eventoward the end of the 1994 AWB,“large capacity” magazines were stillreadily available if you were willing topay a premium for them. This apparentlyannoyed the anti-gun lobby, whichhas added restrictions to the new banto prevent the import of “pre-ban”magazines, and to further complicate thesale of “pre-ban” magazines once theban is in effect.HOW WOULD THE PROPOSEDBAN AFFECT OTHER GUNS?The focus of the ban is on reinstatingand expanding the ban on “semiautomaticassault weapons.” The billhas a much expanded list of specificallynamed semi-automatic rifles that arebanned, which now includes the RugerMini-14, the Hi-Point Carbine, and the Kel-Tec Sub Rifle. The ban includes copies ofany named rifles, together with any semiautomaticrifle that has a detachablemagazine (of any size), and any one ofthe following “evil” features: a folding ortelescoping stock, a threaded barrel, apistol grip, a forward grip, or a barrelshroud. The prior ban permitted any two“evil” features, but apparently that didnot ban enough evil looking rifles to suitthe gun control crowd. Furthermore, anysemi-automatic pistol with a detachablemagazine and a second pistol grip,a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud,or the ability to accept a magazine atany location outside of the pistol grip,is banned.Also very troubling (perhaps becauseof the inherent ambiguity) is the banon any semi-automatic rifle or shotgun“originally designed for military or lawenforcement use” that is not particularlysuitable for sporting purposes, asdetermined by the Attorney General. Thebill even makes it clear that the mere factthat a particular rifle is used for somesports is not conclusive that the rifle issuitable for sporting purposes.The bill also bans a “conversion kit,”or any collection of parts designed toconvert a firearm into a semi-automaticassault weapon. This provision isvery troubling because it could makecertain gun parts or combinations ofparts (such as collapsible stocks, pistolgrips, or vertical foregrips) illegal topossess, separate and apart from thefirearm itself.Perhaps the most sweeping changesin the new version of the AWB arethe severe restrictions on the transferof “grandfathered” assault weapons.You will be able to continue to possess“banned” weapons that you ownedprior to the ban. However, the sale ofany such assault weapons will have tobe conducted through a licensed FFL;i.e., no more private sales. While manypeople may question how such a lawwould be enforced, an illegal private salemay earn you a ten year sentence in afederal prison.THE BOTTOM LINEThis 2007 version of the AWB maynot become law this time around. Withany luck, H.R. 1022 will die a silent deathin committee before this issue hits yourmailbox. However, at the very least, thisbill should be a wake-up call for thoseof us who value our Second Amendmentrights. The AWB concept is far from deadand gone in the hearts and minds of ourDemocratic Congress. There is no doubtthat many democrats would see H.R.1022 as a “refinement” and continuationof the 1994 ban. I see it as a major newstep toward disarming private citizens.If we are not vigilant in protecting ourrights, some version of an AWB will beback, and it will be far more restrictivethan the previous ban. And make nomistake; the ultimate goal of the antiguncrowd is not just to ban evil looking“assault weapons.” The goal is to getall of your firearms. Only when you arecompletely disarmed will RepresentativeMcCarthy and her cronies feel safe. Howsafe will you feel?Duane A. Daiker is a Contributing Editor forCCM, but is otherwise a regular guy, notmuch different from you. Duane has beena lifelong shooter and goes about his lifeas an armed, responsible, and somewhatopinionated citizen. Duane can be reachedat: Daiker@RealWorldCarryGear.com. Hiscolumns and feature articles can be viewedat: www.RealWorldCarryGear.com.36 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Column By: George Harris - Director of SIGARMS AcademyFitting the Concealed CarryPistol to the ShooterSponsored By:COLUMN By: kathy jacksonwww.sigarmsacademy.com 603-679-2003t the SIGARMS Academy, wespend more than fifty percentof our instructional time training thecivilian population in our wide varietyof Responsible Citizen programs. In allof these courses, the vast majority ofstudents show up with a handgun thatis too big for them. It seems that theaverage gun owner perpetuates theongoing theory of, “If some is good,more must be better.” Some of theequipment that passes through our doorscould only be concealed if the studenthas a Middle-Eastern tent maker as thecreator of their outerwear ensemble.Conversely, there are those that carry alittle handgun because it is “cute” andhave given little thought past that idea.Fortunately, the Academy has a largestock of loaner pistols and the associatedgear necessary to properly outfit thestudent. When selecting a concealedcarry handgun, we believe that handsize is the most important considerationfor the prospective buyer.More often than not, when we askour students for the primary reason thatthey wish to carry concealed, they saythat it is for personal protection. Withthat being said, there is a high likelihoodof firing the handgun if we have toproduce it for self-defense. Carryingthe thought one step further, we have toconsider that the objective of shootingfor defense is hitting what you intend tohit and eliminating the danger with asfew shots as possible. Statistics tell usthat an encounter where such violencemight occur is most often within a closeproximity and within a short time, andalso in a low light environment. Therefore,the handgun must be produced quicklyand be able to deliver effective fire invery close quarters without the luxuryof a clean sight picture and a smoothtrigger press. The likelihood of success inthis type of situation is greatly enhancedby having a correctly fitted handgun towork with, rather than something thatjust seemed like the right thing to haveat the time we selected a concealedcarry handgun.Let me be more specific as to howand why the correctly fitted handgun isso important to your success: Our naturaleye/hand coordination provides thebasis for success in a close and quickattack encounter. In the face of danger,our eyes are forced by our survivalinstinct to gather as much informationas possible about the object (or being)that is threatening our personal safety.This means that our eye focus is goingto be on the object of danger. We oftenrefer to this phenomenon as tunnel vision.Another protective response to this typeof situation is to extend our arms andhands toward the attacker. Throughour natural eye/hand coordination, thehands and arms are projected towardthe object of our visual attention as partof our survival mechanism. By having aproper fitting handgun in our hand(s), themuzzle of the barrel is naturally pointedat the area where our eyes are focused.Pressing the trigger will result in hits ontarget where the eyes are focused, with ahigh likelihood of eliminating the dangerto your personal safety.Fitting the handgun to the shooter’shand is so simple that anyone can doit without the help of others. There aretwo concerns that are separate, butrelate to one another that should beconsidered. The first is palm size, whichcorresponds primarily to the handgungrip circumference. The bigger the palmof the hand is, the bigger the grip thatcan be accommodated. The second isthe trigger finger length, which refers tothe index finger of the dominant hand.In order to press the trigger to fire thehandgun, the index finger must have fullcontact across the face of the trigger.The procedure for ensuring properfit goes as follows: First, make surethat you are working with an unloadedhandgun and that there is no ammunitionin the training area. Next, hold the handupright, as in shooting, and point at asmall object across the room (such as alight switch) with the index finger. Whilemaintaining that hand position, extendthe thumb parallel to the index fingerwith the remaining fingers extendeddirectly beneath the index finger. Next,seat the grip of the handgun in the webof the hand between the thumb andindex finger so that the muzzle of thebarrel points where the index finger ispointing. Wrap the three support fingersnaturally around the grip, holding thehandgun parallel to the index finger.Finally, be sure to point the handgun in asafe direction and place the index fingeracross the face of the trigger. The desiredresult is to have full contact across theface of the trigger with the end of theindex finger. If these parameters are met,the handgun will point where the eyesare focused through our natural ability ofeye/hand coordination.Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 37

COLUMN BY: BRUCE N. EIMER, PH.D.REASONABLEACCOMMODATIONSetting ill is no picnic. Over thepast year, I have been burdenedwith increasing shoulderpain associated with bursitis and a bilateralshoulder impingement syndrome.Recently, I had to have surgery on myright (strong arm) shoulder to shave off aspur, relieve the inflammation, and releasethe impingement on my rotator cuff.Complications after general anesthesianecessitated my having to wear a urinarycatheter for a couple of days. Too muchinformation? Not really. I am leading tothe point of this article.Carrying a catheter and a bag ispainful! I was in no mood to carry ahandgun strapped to my hip as well. But,isn’t this when we most need to have ameans of personal protection—when weare most vulnerable?Well, I didn’t want to go out, but Ihad to because I had work and personalobligations. It was bad enough goingto and coming home from the hospitalunarmed. My wife drove me, but she’snot the protector in the family. I’mthe bodyguard.For the first 24 hours after surgery,I had to keep my strong arm in a sling.To make matters worse, after sheddingthe sling since the surgery, I still haveweakness, limited range of motion,and pain in the shoulder that wasoperated on.Alternatives:All of this pain dulls you down.What did I do? How did I cope?For starters, I carried a snub revolverin my weak side pant pocket. After I shedthe sling, I moved to strong side pocketcarry. Boy, am I glad that I have loggedthousands of rounds with my snubbyand that I am used to carrying one inmy pocket.I also turned to my Crimson TraceLasergrip equipped snubby. Theadvantages of having a lasergrip onyour snub are:1. You don’t have to bring the gun up toyour line of sight to aim.2. You don’t need to acquire a traditionalsight picture.3. You have a greater “wobble zone”which you can gauge with the movementof the laser dot.The virtues of the snub revolver’ssimplicity make it an ideal choice for mewhen I am physically and mentally down.As I got to feeling better I phased backinto carrying my Glock 26 in a weak sidebelt slide holster. The high ride put toomuch strain on my strong shoulder when Iwould draw the gun, so strong side carrywas out at first. Gradually, I evolvedback into carrying on my strong side in avertical drop belt scabbard rig. Too muchof a forward cant hurts my right shoulderwhen I draw.With this condition, economy ofmotion in the draw is really necessary!However, I discovered that practicingdrawing a triply–checked, unloadedGlock from my strong side belt holsterhas been good physical therapy! Icompulsively practice my fast draw fromthe holster anyhow. Here was anotheropportunity to do so with a mission.I also discovered that teachinghelped my physical rehabilitation. I had afew beginning students who wanted verymuch to learn “the secrets” of concealedcarry. There is nothing like this tomotivate me.The point of this article is that whenyou are physically challenged, you mustmake reasonable accommodations sothat you can still go armed. Many peoplethink that they can’t carry when they arefeeling weak. They think that you canonly carry when you are strong andhealthy. Well, the truth is that if you wantto remain healthy, you should carry at alltimes—especially when you are feelingweak and vulnerable, because one neverknows when it’s your time to meet theboogeyman. Any gun, even a “mousegun,” in my opinion, is better than no gunat all. But there is a better alternative!The Defensive Snub RevolverI believe that a .38 special snubrevolver, given its size to power ratio, is areasonable accommodation if you cannotcarry more gun with a larger caliber andgreater firepower. After all, so many of usnormally talk about .45’s, practice at therange with our 9mm pistols, and yet carrya .38 special or a .32! One big firearmsretailer in Oklahoma City reports thatthe one handgun they sell more of thanany other, week in and week out, is theSmith and Wesson Model 642 snubby.38 Special revolver!Most customers purchase the 135grain Speer Gold dot round to carry intheir new snub. Interestingly, the Glock19 and 23 are in second place.The Essentials of theDefensive Snub RevolverI recently had the opportunity to takea class on the essentials of the defensivesnub revolver taught by Michael deBethencourt. Michael is the director ofthe Massachusetts-based NortheasternTactical Schools, and he also teachesat the Smith and Wesson Academy inSpringfield, Massachusetts.Michael’s forte is the snub. Hehandles snub revolvers like no one I’veever met. He’s developed a scientific andteachable system for carrying, shooting,and maintaining the snub all of which hecovered in his packed one-day course.38 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

In this class, Michael taught us how tocircumvent these limitations and much,much more.First of all, Michael taught us that it ispossible to shoot the darn things quicklyand accurately. At typical gun fightingdistances (9 feet and in), a traditional,perfect sight picture is seldom necessary.Just point, acquire an instantaneous“flash sight picture,” “stress point” frontsight index, or silhouette index of thegun, and shoot.In this class we did the lion’s shareof our shooting work one-handed.Continued on page 40Michael de Bethencourt teachingabout snubs.This excellent class opened my mind tothe versatility of the snub as a main carryfirearm of choice, as opposed to its beingrelegated to the status of back-up gun.Your main carry firearmshould be with you 100% of thetime. Given the excellent choices of lightweight, small frame snub revolvers madeby companies such as Smith and Wessonand Taurus, this is not unreasonable.Carry in a pocket holster is probably themost convenient way to always have asnub with you.Of course, snubs do have limitations.Most carry only 5 or 6 rounds. Sights aretypically very rudimentary, the triggeris heavy, and the gun has a high boreaxis which makes recoil control an issue,especially with a lightweight handgun.Flash site picture.Cover garments are not necessary.Snub in a DeSantis Nemesis pocketholster.Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 39

After all, the snub is a “hand-gun” not a“hands-gun.”Michael took the class through ashooting drill that drove home how naturalit is to point and shoot these little, butpowerful, guns. First, we shot a five shotstring at 9 feet with no time limit. No onehad trouble keeping their shots within thehole. Unbeknownst to us, Michael timedeach of us. Then he halved each of ourtimes and had us shoot another five shotstring within that time limit. Each studentkept all five shots in the hole at half theallotted time! Then, Michael took each ofthese times and had each student shoot athird five shot string within that time limit.And again, everyone halved those timesand kept most rounds within the hole!The point of the exercise? That mostof us take much too long to shoot. Whenwe practice, we ought to shoot at thepaper target with the mindset that it is ahomicidal maniac coming to murder ourloved ones. That’s something to get youradrenaline flowing and keep you fromtaking your sweet time!In one very long day (8:30 AM to8:30 PM), Michael de Bethencourt tookAll in the hole.One-handed shooting.us through all of the essential foundationsof the defensive snub revolver: Snubnomenclature, daily snub function checkskills (check tightness of the cylinderrelease screw, yoke screw, and theejector, check cartridge head space),concealment holster and stock/gripoptions for the snub; how to choosethe proper ammunition for your snub,one- and two-hand grip fundamentals,trigger contact and control, alternativeshooting stances, drawing/presentingyour snub from concealment (a retentiondraw), flash sight-picture, “stressfire,”and silhouette sight picture drills,speed shooting fundamentals, practicaladministrative and speed loading skills,subconscious cylinder indexing, partialcylinder loading tactics, loose round,speed strip and speedloader loadingtactics, coat pocket shooting drills, andemergency contact shooting skills.Michael’s methods are unconventional(e.g., how to reload), but wellthought out and make good sense. Ilearned a lot from this class and stronglyrecommend it.Is a Snub the Carry Gun for You?Recently, I had the opportunity towork with a pair of beginning students(a charming husband and wife) whowere out to purchase their first handgun.I introduced them to the revolver first, butneither one took to it like a duck to water.Neither student demonstrated the manualdexterity nor motivation necessary forlearning the revolver’s manual of arms.It just didn’t meet their wants or needs.However, they both took to the Glock 17auto-loader and ending up purchasinga Beretta 92 full-size pistol to get themanual safety. Their plan is to use theirfirst gun as a “house gun.”The snub is not for everyone, and inmy experience as a firearms instructor,many first time gun owners and “one-gunpeople,” prefer auto-loaders. However,for many experienced pistoleros, thesnub comes in handy for many reasons,and many “gun people” own cratesof them.Michael de Bethencourt’s partiallist of snub advantages as re-statedin an excellent article by Ralph Mrozin Combat Handguns and my ownpoints include:1. Minimum maintenance required.2. Superior point and shoot reliability.3. Easy to see live round indicator.4. Simple manual of arms.5. Similar manual of arms for all doubleaction revolvers.6. Not ammunition sensitive as are manyauto-loaders.7. Easy to correct a misfire—just pullthe trigger.8. Revolvers can make contact shots.9. Convenient to conceal in a pocketor wherever.10. Revolvers can shoot through clothingif necessary.11. Not sensitive as is an auto-loaderto a poor grip.12. The heavy and long trigger providesanother safety mechanism.13. Great size-to-power ratio. .38Special +P’s and .357 magnums areserious calibers with good“stopping power.”The best gun is the oneyou have with you at the timethat you need a gun. A snubrevolver in your pocket is a reasonableaccommodation when you do not wantto wear a belt holster and want to havea gun immediately available. If you dowant to wear the gun on your person,but not in your pocket, you can try anice, tight-fitting belt scabbard such asthose made by Desantis, Galco, or J.W.O’Rourke Leather.One particularly beautiful andpractical holster is an inside-thewaistband(IWB) handmade by JohnO’Rourke of J.W. O’Rourke Leather. Theone I received was molded for my RugerSP-101, an excellent carry snub and oneof my favorite .357 magnums. The holsterfits like a glove and the workmanship issuperb. The leather pancake holsterJohn sent me for my Glock 26 is alsoRuger SP-101 in an O’Rourke IWB.40 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

S&W Models 340PD, 642 and 638.very nice. It rides tight to the body forgood concealment and has a near verticaldrop, which is good for my shoulder!My favorite light weight snubtypes for concealed carry in order ofpreference are:1. The Smith and Wesson Bodyguardstyle (with the shrouded hammer) in anAirweight model (e.g., a Model 638.Around 15 oz. empty.)2. The Smith and Wesson Centennialstyle (with the totally internal hammer) inan Airweight model (e.g., a Model 442or 642. Around 15 oz. empty.).3. The Smith and Wesson Centennialstyle Airlite models (e.g., 340PD, 342PD.Around 12 oz. empty.).I am least partial to the ChiefsSpecial style with the external hammer.The hammer tends to snag and a cockedhammer creates a hair trigger. These gunsare meant to be shot double action onlyfor both safety and tactical reasons.I would definitely say that carryinga snub is a reasonable accommodation.They have a simple manual of arms, areeasy to carry, and are fast into action.They may in fact be the perfect carrygun—for some people.Sources:Michael de Bethencourt. NortheastTactical Schools. 8 Kingsbury Lane. NorthBillerica, MA 01862.Phone: 978-667-5591www.snubtraining.comDeSantis Holster and Leather Goods. 431Bayview Avenue. Amityville, NY 11701.Phone: 800-424-1236www.desantisholster.comJ.W. O’Rourke Leather Products. P.O. Box1296. Hartselle, AL 35640.Phone: 877-680-5789www.gun-holsters.comSmith and Wesson. 2100 RooseveltAvenue. Springfield, MA 01104.Phone: 800-331-0852www.smithandwesson.comBruce N. Eimer, Ph.D. is a licensedclinical and forensic psychologist,NRA Certified Firearms Instructor,Florida and Utah Concealed FirearmsInstructor, and a Professional Writerin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a coownerof Personal Defense Solutions,LLC, Bruce offers individual shootinginstruction and teaches concealedcarry and handgun safety classes thatprepare people to apply for the FloridaNon-Resident Concealed Carry Permitwhich is honored by 28 states. Formore information, he can be reachedby phone at 215-938-7283 and bye-mail at:Dr.Bruce@PersonalDefenseSolutions.netFor a schedule of upcoming classes, youcan log on to the PDS website:www.PersonalDefenseSolutions.netBruce is also the co-author of the“Essential Guide to Handguns: FirearmInstruction for Personal Defense andProtection.”HORNADY TAP®-FPDThe Best Ammo for the Worst Situation.Protecting your home and family requires ammunition that delivers unquestioned reliability,pinpoint accuracy and superior terminal performance. That’s exactly what you get fromHornady’s new TAP ® For Personal Defense ammunition.• Loaded with the same premiumHornady bullets trusted by lawenforcement• Improved feeding with black,nickel-coated brass cases• Protects your night vision withlow flash propellents• TAP ® – FPD Buckshot producesthe tightest patterns of anybuckshot on the market.223 Rem | 308 Win9mm | 40 S&W | 45 ACP12 Gauge BuckshotWhen lives are on the line, trust Hornady.TMwww.hornady.com308-382-1390 PO Box 1848 Grand Island, NE 68802Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 41

It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense:IT’S JUST THE LAWKNIFE LAWA Missouri Court ruled that a butter knife was a weapon; much like anothercourt which found that a BB gun was lethal at 400 yards. This has themakings of a column on stupid decisions.decidedly primitive hunter attractedthe attention of game wardenswho admired his Stone Age bow andequipment. But his stone knife was aproblem. The knife was double-edged,which was authentic for the StoneAge, but a violation of modern statelaw. The hunter was advised to nevercarry the dagger again, and warnedthat the next time he might encounter amore rigid officer concerned with legaltechnicalities. 1 The hunter thought thathe had already met such a person, butperhaps it is a matter of degree.People who carry guns for defenseoften carry knives as well. There isa famous picture of a W.W. II Britishcommando showing off his Commandoknife. He is also shown to be carryinga “Smatchet” (a heavy fighting knife),a machete, a 17-inch Enfield bayonet,and he probably had a straight razor inhis pocket. Such knives are almost neverused in combat, but they are comforting. 2A character in a recent zombie moviebrandished a machete and boasted thatit would never run out of ammunition.Knives ensure that given the very worstdevelopment of the very worst thing,we will not be helpless. Knives are alsosubject to fewer regulations than guns,but busy legislatures are trying to closethe gap. 3Knives inspire a primal reactionin the viewer, especially if the viewersees the business end coming his way.During the bitter fighting for the PusanPerimeter, a platoon was assigned toseize a hill that had already been hit withartillery, only to butcher the last platoonsent against it. The new platoon fixedbayonets and drove the North Koreansfrom the hill. 4 Prisoners reported that thesight of American bayonets made thedifference. A veteran of the First WorldWar’s shellfire and trench raids recorded,“Once when I had a bayonet a few inchesfrom my belly, I was more frightenedthan by any shell...” 5 FBI profilers havefound that sadistic rapists prefer to useknives “because it is so intimidating andcauses mental anguish.” 6 This associationwith criminal activity, when coupledwith primal reaction, demands that knifeowners be discrete in carrying theirfavored blade. 7 This is not fair, this is notright, this is not just, but this is one reasonfor the title of this feature.A knife is typically defined as anythingwith a point, an edge, or both. Thisseems to be a straightforward definitionencompassing ice picks, razors, axes andcleavers. It also includes awls, scissors,saws and screwdrivers, really. In Octoberof 1942, a correspondent watched aMarine company go into combat onGuadalcanal. Each rifleman carrieda bayonet with a sixteen-inch blade.One also fortified himself with a twelveinchscrewdriver with this reasoning:COLUMN By: k. L. Jamison“Never can tell, might lose my bayonetwith some Japs in the neighborhood.” 8Courts have labored long over screwdrivers,scratch awls, keyhole saws andsimilar tools, only to fall back on a bloodtest. If the user carried the tool in orderto shed blood, then it was classified asa weapon. The purpose of the tool’smanufacture is not especially importantto this analysis. In one case, a threataccompanied by a butter knife convertedthe butter knife into a weapon. This wasa kitchen butter knife, not a butterflyknife. 9 One defendant was convicted ofcarrying a concealed weapon, specificallya pair of scissors (two points). 10 Thedefendant claimed to be carrying themto cut the hair of another resident of hisgovernment housing complex. The factthat the government housing complexwas a state prison was not described asa factor in the decision, but doubtlessplayed a role in the charges.The specific style or type of knifeoften becomes an issue. Pocketknivesusually suffer fewer restrictions, but notalways. Missouri considers all knives tobe weapons, except for “ordinary pocketknives with a blade of four inches orless.” 11 The statute does not define an“ordinary” pocketknife. The OregonCourt of Appeals, in defining identicallanguage, ruled that the term “pocketknife”was a folding knife that fits in a pocketSaw features on knives are oftentaken as designed for lethal effect,but appear on knives clearly notdesigned for fighting.42 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

“and until a defendant arrives with afolding machete and a long pocket, theterm is not likely to be a primary cause ofconcern.” The term “ordinary” was moredifficult. Because it was difficult it wasvague, and therefore unconstitutional.The statute was rewritten to allow allfolding knives which fit in a pocket. 12There actually are folding machetes andlarge pockets, but they have yet to reachappellate courts.Federal law excludes from thedefinition of “dangerous weapon” anyknife with a blade less than two and a halfinches long. 13 This means that box cuttersare not deadly, although experienceAn Oregon Court ruled that afolding knife was not a weapon“until a defendant arrives witha folding machete”. Shown is afolding bowie, a folding Carcanobayonet, and a folding machete.shows us that they are. 14 The statutes donot specify how to measure a blade, buta straight line at right angles from the hiltis the most straightforward.Some states ban carrying doubleedgedknives. California is terrifiedthat its citizens might carry “dirks ordaggers” and bans carrying both styles.The California Supreme Court ultimatelydecided that the statute could be violatedby carrying concealed “steak knives,scissors and metal knitting needles...but there is no need to carry such itemsconcealed in public.” 15 Not only areCalifornians prohibited from carryingvirtually any type of concealed knife, butgrandma had better look out too.Knives with saw blades or serratededges for cutting rope or seat belts areoften assumed to be designed for causingunusual damage to human flesh. Knifeowners should be aware of this prejudiceand stress the rescue and utilitarianvalue of the design. The useless “bloodgrooves” are sometimes taken as proofof savage intent.In 1950, an article in Women’sHome Companion began a campaign tooutlaw switchblades “for the children.”Federal law prohibits switchblades anddefines them as a folding knife whichopens by pressure to a button or otherdevice. 16 This does not require the buttonto release a spring. The knife that kicksthe blade out by a cam-action is as muchof a switchblade as anything in WestSide Story, advertisements of “legalswitchblades” notwithstanding. Thereare “assisted opening” knives whichare partially opened like an ordinarylock blade, and then a spring fullyopens the blade. As switchblades arecalled “automatic” knives, these can becalled “semi-automatic” knives. Assistedopening knives do not appear to betreated as switchblades at this time.Federal law includes gravity knivesin the definition of switchblades. It alsobans knives which open by “inertia.”This and a number of state laws referringto “centrifugal force” appear to beattempts to restrict or ban butterfly knives.Continued on page 44Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 43

A CZ-75 Compact with bayonet andlaser sight. The bayonet must beremoved in states with “handgunonly”licenses.Various objects which have beendefined as knives.Soviet era spring-launched knife.They are illegal to import, gunsare legal.Knives can be comforting, intimidating,and useful.Consultation with a physics professorraises the question of whether these lawssuccessfully describe butterfly knives,but only a question. Federal courts haveexplored the issue and found that butterflyknives are switchblades because theywere marketed as weapons and did nothave “utilitarian” blades. 17 The numberof recently imported butterfly knivesindicates that customs has now foundmore serious threats.Federal law also prohibits a “ballisticknife,” a device which throws a bladesome fifteen feet by spring action. Thedevice is reputed to be an invention ofSoviet Special Forces (Spetsnatz) in the“Evil Empire” days. Its heritage mayexplain why the device was barred fromimportation. It is interesting, however,that Soviet guns were not barred, onlythis knife.Federal knife law only applies tofederal property and importation. Stateand local law will be the only kniferegulation most people will encounter.State preemption statutes typicallydo not cover knives, and some localgovernments have attempted to protectus from walking with sharp objects.A peculiarity of some concealedweapons licenses is that they are notconcealed weapons licenses; they areconcealed handgun licenses. In suchstates, license holders cannot carryconcealed knives, at least those thatqualify as weapons. High capacitymagazines and .500 Magnum revolversare legal to carry concealed, but afighting knife is not. It doesn’t have tomake sense; it’s just the law.CZ International is based in KansasCity, Kansas, and in celebration of the endof the “assault weapons” ban introduceda bayonet for its excellent CZ 75. ButKansans cannot mount them on theirconcealed guns. Kansas is a handgunonly state. Neighboring Missouri hasa concealed weapons license which isvalid in Kansas, but Missourians have totake the bayonet off of their CZs whencrossing the line. A Kansas concealedhandgun license and all other concealedcarry licenses are valid in Missouri, andthey can mount their bayonets when theyvisit. It doesn’t have to make sense; it’sjust the law.Kevin L. Jamison is an attorney inthe Kansas City, Missouri area,concentrating in the area of weaponsand self-defense.Please send questions to Kevin L.Jamison, 2614 NE 56th Ter., Gladstone,Missouri 64119-231. Kevin’s e-mail is:KLJamisonLaw@earthlink.net. Individualanswers are not usually possible,but questions may be addressed infuture columns.----------------------------------This information is for legal informationpurposes and does not constitute legal advice.For specific questions, you should consult aqualified attorney.----------------------------------1Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Spring 1998, No15 at 6.2I have a Viet Nam era knife with six unexplainednotches on the back of the blade. If R. C. Bolen is outthere, I’d love to talk.3See Wong Esq., Knife Laws of the Fifty States,Bloomfield Press, Scottsdale AZ, 2007.4Mack Col (ret), Memoir of a Cold War Soldier, KentState University Press, Kent Ohio, 2001 at 61.5Lord Moran, Anatomy of Courage, Avery PublishingGroup Inc, Garden City Park NY, 1987 at 69.6Douglas & Olshaker, Obsession, Pocket Books NY.1998 at 110.7The United States Knife & Tool Association fights toprotect the rights of knife owners. See www.uskta.org.8Hersey, Of Men and War, Scholastic Book ServicesNY, 1963 at 33.9State v Tankins, 865 S.W.2d 848 (Mo. App. E.D.,1993).10State v Quinn, 647 S.W.2d 166 (Mo. App. W.D.,1983).11RSMo 571.010 (9).12State v Harris, 594 P.2d 1318 (Or. App., 1979).1318 U.S. Code section 930 (g) (2).14A client’s daughter was killed when she tried tomediate a dispute between two 16-year-old girls. Oneslashed her throat with a box cutter. Peacemakers maybe blessed, but they do not always survive.15People v Rubalcava, 1 P.3d 52 (Ca, 2000).1615 U.S. Code section 1241 et seq.17Taylor v United States, 848 F.2d 715 (6th Cir.,1988).License holders often do not takecare to conceal their knives.44 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

GUN REVIEWBy: ed miller and phil elmoreYou’ve seen the endless discussionson internet discussion sites. You’ve readthe articles. You’ve seen the topicsdiscussed ad nauseam by gun ownerswho range from novices to experts.What all these pundits have in commonis a simple enough prospect, but one inwhich they hold the firmest of convictionsand the most powerful of faiths: Theyare convinced that the Glock pistol isinherently unsafe.In fact, the Glock is a remarkablypopular weapon with civilians and lawenforcement agencies alike. There arevery good reasons for this. If the Greekphilosopher, Plato, could have imagineda handgun in his world of forms—thoseconcepts that embody the ideal versionsof all we are capable of imagining,the earthly manifestations of which arebut imperfect copies—he would haveenvisioned a combat firearm with asimple means of sighting, a barrel, ahand grip, a simple and light trigger, anda cocking and ignition mechanism thatfires when the user pulls the trigger (butdoes not fire unless the trigger is pulled).The closest “imperfect” manifestationof this Platonic form would be the Glock.Available in multiple popular calibers, theGlock comprises precisely the minimumnumber of features a combat handgunmust possess. It has a comfortablysized, slip-resistant grip for the averagemale or female hand, which remainscomfortable across a broad range ofambient temperatures. It offers a simple,easily upgradeable sighting system. Itexhibits reasonable combat accuracyat 25 meters. It has an acceptable lighttrigger that is long enough on the firstshot to permit mere mortals to recognizethat the trigger finger is moving, but ithas a very short trigger reset that permitsrapid fire of multiple shots. There is nomanual mechanical safety the usermust remember to use, nor are therecomplicating features such as decockersor double- to single-action transitions inoperation. Consisting of relatively fewparts, yet customizable and availablewith accessory rails, The Glock can betailored to suit almost any operator.The Glock’s specific design forclearance in the generously sizedchamber promotes feed reliability. TheU.S. Utility Patent Numberlight trigger and soft recoil afforded bythe modified Browning action also enablenew shooters to quickly master the gunor simply to qualify with it. Glocks arealso relatively inexpensive (and maycost less in today’s dollars than they didwhen initially introduced). They are alsoinexpensive to manufacture.Glock was the right gun at theright time for the US police market. TheGlock appeared just as the transitionfrom revolvers to semi-automatic pistolsContinued on page 461-888-459-2358(MC or VISA orders)1-727-581-7001Chat Linesmartcarry@univox.comCarry in comfort, all day long, even in 90º + temperatures!SmartCarry ® requires no clothing or movement restrictions,has no downward facing seams, which eliminate snags, anda waterproof rear panel which makes them sweat proof!$47.95+$6.00 S&H 60 day trial period (7% tax FL orders)The smartest way to carryconcealed is with SmartCarry ® ,the “Invisible Holster ”!http://www.smartcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 45

Phil Elmore has taken his third-generation Glock 19 to every pistol class hehas attended. The gun has thousands of rounds through it.began in earnest. The Glock 17 and19 poured gasoline on the blazing“wondernine” revolution of the 1980s,which saw police trading in their sixgunsfor 9mm automatics to fight thedrug wars exploding on Americancity streets. The Glock, like the AK-47,became one of the icons of “the ghetto,”of urban, hip-hop culture. Even as thelatest crop of rap stars go on at lengthabout criminal activity and the Glocksthey carry, even more of these weaponsare riding in the duty holsters of lawenforcement officers.Why then are so many shooters(members of the firearms community,the gun culture itself) so convincedthat the immensely popular Glock isinherently unsafe? Why do they delightin reproducing anecdotal accounts ofcivilians and law enforcement officerswho have experienced negligent dischargeswhile carrying or reholsteringGlocks? And why are they so quick toblame the gun rather than the operator?The reason that the weapon promptsso much outrage, scorn, suspicion, anddebate probably stems from the fact thatit slaughtered a lot of sacred cows whenit was introduced. You may remember theoutrage in the popular press about thesupposed “plastic pistol” that was goingto be slipping past metal detectors left andright. This innovative pistol caused similaroutrage among the firearms community,simply because it was so very different.It was and is a polymer-framed, strikerfiredautomatic with no manual safety.In a world previously (and arguablystill in some circles) dominated by thesteel-framed, single-action, exposedhammer,grip-safety and frame-safetyequipped 1911, in concert with variousother all-metal automatics festooned withdecockers and other safeties in doubleaction,the Glock bucks multiple trends.The Glock’s long-term successhas gone a long way to mute criticismof the weapon, but rumors, myths,misinformation, and general suspicionof this simple, robust, easily maintainedfirearm remain.Some experienced gun enthusiastsrejected the weapon outright on principle,deriding it as “combat Tupperware.”Pistols should be made of metal, theyargued (and still argue). Glocks shouldhave narrower chambers (sometimesreferred to as “tighter tolerances” inslang terminology), they insisted. Glocksshould not ride on such small slide rails,they stated. Glocks should not havesuch light triggers, they warned. Glocksshould have a manual safety, these criticsproclaimed (and still proclaim). Does thisin fact mean that the guns are inherentlyunsafe? Has Glock succeeded in deceivingso many gun owners? Is there alurking danger of which we should bemade aware?As we will see, the factors thatcontribute directly to the Glock’s successare also the root causes of the Glockdetractors’ criticisms. Let us succinctlylist the alleged dangers of the Glock asposited by critics:1. Glocks have too light of a trigger.2. Glocks do not have a manual safety.3. Glocks do not have a magazinedisconnect.4. Glocks suffer more “kabooms” thanother handguns.Glocks do have a light trigger. Ifthey are in good repair, they don’t go offwhen dropped, when racking the slide,or when the trigger is not pulled. Thestandard-weight trigger is 5 to 6 pounds.It can be increased to 8, or 10 to 12pounds. The light, fast-resetting trigger is,however, one of the reasons Glocks arefavored as defense, law enforcement,and combat/defensive style competitionhandguns. The standard light triggerrequires users to practice the basic rulesof gun safety and gun storage. Glocksshould NEVER be stored loaded whennot in use. In use means on or near one’sperson when used for self-defense. If notin use, storage requires unloading thegun and securing it and its ammunitionseparately under lock and key. The lighttrigger makes it much easier for a childor untrained individual who has accessto the gun to experience a negligentdischarge when handling the weapon.A negligently stored 12 pound pullrevolver might be harder for some childrento shoot unintentionally, while the sight ofthe cartridges in the cylinder might givesome adults pause. A Glock, by contrast,allows for no mistakes. Quite honestly, nogun does and all of them require properstorage, but guns with heavier triggersand more complex manual safeties aremore forgiving because they do someof the operator’s thinking for him or her.After all, that is what a safety is intendedto do. It stops the user from firing thegun unintentionally, even if the triggeris pulled. The Glock, by contrast, doesnone of the thinking for the operator.The Glock’s light trigger does notslow down the user. A heavier triggerpull provides a psycho-physical barrier inthe form of the greater force required tomove through it. This greater force likely46 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

educes the risk of negligent dischargebecause the user must, on a heavierdouble-action, both pull a heavy triggerand move the finger across a wider arc.This provides two mental stimuli to theeffect of, “Hey, you’re pulling the triggeron the gun. Did you mean to do that?”In contrast, Glocks afford theoperator much less of a psycho-physicalbarrier when pulling the trigger. Civiliansand law enforcement alike seem to havemore incidents with Glocks than otherfirearms. This is not primarily due to somedanger inherent to the Glock’s design.Rather, it’s a function of probability. Thesheer numbers of Glocks sold mean thatthere are many Glocks out there. Theirlow price, high availability, and iconicstatus mean that many new shootersacquire them, often as a first gun. If theydon’t know what they’re doing and don’tkeep their fingers off of the triggers,the guns will fire. This is not the faultof the gun, which is doing what it wasdesigned to do. This is the fault of theinexperienced operators.The fact that the Glock is often usedin dangerous, stressful encounters andfast shooting sports (and the fact that itis perceived as ideal for these activities)also means that it is more likely to be usedat the edge of the operator’s envelopeof performance. The Glock shooter maytherefore experience a disproportionatenumber of negligent discharges whencompared to those experienced withguns used in other, slower, less stressfulactivities, or when compared to firearmsthat make it more difficult for the operatorto fire the gun. This added difficulty alsoinhibits the gun’s operator from deployingthe weapon quickly and possibly asaccurately (without much more training).You can search the Internet to findnegligent discharge stories. It only takes afew minutes on GlockTalk.com to find theDEA agent shooting himself in the leg orstories and questions from inexperiencedshooters who really require the NRAbasic pistol course. Despite all of this,Glocks are not unsafe. They don’tgo off when in proper condition unlessthe trigger is pulled. Hence, the firstfour rules of gun safety again are beingignored. Keep your finger off ofthe trigger!As an aside, Glocks are alsolikely to contribute to the poor state ofmarksmanship and limited trigger controlexhibited by many shooters today.The lack of learning to handle a 10 to12 pound trigger contributes to poorshooting. The Glock’s moderate accuracydiscourages the shooter from learning tofire a precision handgun, shooting bull’seyeor some other demanding targetsport, therefore diminishing the averageshooter’s ability and belief in his or herability to learn to shoot well.Fans of traditional pistols like the 1911love to liken the Glock to a cocked andunlocked .45. You wouldn’t carry a 1911in that fashion because of the danger itwould entail, so why would you carrya Glock with a round in the chamber?This criticism is specious. Glocks have amanual of arms like that of a revolver, butwith one notable exception. The Glock,with its light trigger pull, must be carriedin a holster that completely covers thetrigger guard. Those who don’t cover thetrigger guard risk negligent discharges.Those who foolishly use cheap holsters,carry inside-the-waistband and withouta holster (Mexican style), or try pocketcarry are a negligent discharge waitingto happen. The occasional self-inflictedgroin or buttocks wound attests to this.Glock users’ propensity to disregardthe manual’s injunction to always use a[proper] holster contributes to the risk.Those who use gadgets that block thetrigger (which are supposed to magicallyleap free when a firing grip is taken), orwho use such a widget in conjunctionContinued on page 48Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 47

Phil Elmore shooting at a Progressive FORCE Concepts close-quarterscombat seminar.with a Clip Draw accessory arecourting disaster.Law enforcement often criticizesGlocks for lacking a manual safety ormagazine disconnect. Again, this is atrade-off made by design. Glocks areintended to be holstered if not being shot.Holding a suspect at gunpoint was notthe primary concern when Gaston Glockdesigned his Austrian military pistol. AGlock holstered in a proper retentionholster provides excellent protection fromdisarming attempts. However, once thegun is out and a suspect is covered, itis up to the officer, his training, and hisphysical abilities to secure the gun. In astruggle, there is no means to drop themagazine or engage a safety to avoidhaving your own gun used against you.Some departments mandate magazinedisconnects for this very reason.It is often asserted that Glocks suffercatastrophic explosive failures (kbs, orkabooms) more often than do other guns.You can’t search long on the internetbefore finding a picture or video of anexploded Glock. The question we must askis what really failed? In nearly all casesof kabooms, the use of poorly reloadedand/or high-pressure ammunition is toblame. Glocks have a loose chamberthat promotes feed reliability. As a result,they should not be used with reloadsand definitely not with lead ammunitionbecause lead ammo fouls the polygonalbarrel and results in higher pressures.If you look for instances of kabooms,you will find that unlike 1911s (whichmay shatter their slides and throw metal)and revolvers (whose frames may bendwhile the exploding weapon throwschunks of cylinder), Glocks that suffercatastrophic explosive failure generallyblow downward. This destroys the frameand blows the magazine out, but inlighter calibers at least, the explosiondoes not result in serious injury. Handinjuries are likely to occur, but for themost part, the “kabooms” are contained.This does not mean they are not verydangerous or potentiallydeadly. Typically, however,the explosions are theresult of bad ammunition orammunition with pressuresthat are not within theGlock’s specifications.These problems are notinherent to the Glock itself.Finally, the biggestissue that the Glock faceshas nothing to do with thecompany or the handgunsthat it manufactures. Thebiggest safety probleminherent to any Glockis the Glock user. Welleducatedand trained gunenthusiasts and policeofficers love Glocksbecause they get exactlywhat they need from them and nothingthey do not need. Inexperienced shootersand some poorly trained police in overstressedsituations, however, sometimespush themselves beyond what they canhandle. The result is that they dischargetheir Glocks accidentally, or they usethe multiple-shot speed that one canwring from the Glock to use what mightbe considered excessive force in thepublic eye.Inexperienced gun owners may alsofind that the light trigger, the need topress that trigger before disassemblingthe Glock, and the ability to fire whenthe magazine is removed all constitutehazards around the home. Perhapstheir maintenance activities or dry firingpractice results in executed televisions,bullet holes in the walls, or errant shotsthat pass into neighbors’ apartments.This is negligence at its most egregious.Before pulling the trigger of a firearm forany reason whatsoever, the user must, byhabit and painstakingly inculcated ritual,check the chamber, check it again, andthen check it once more before checkingit again. The gun is not safe for dryfiring or maintenance until the user hasassured himself multiple times that thereis no round in the chamber and no liveammunition anywhere in the vicinity.The Glock is an excellent weaponthat does what it is designed to do verywell. It is simple, robust, easy to maintain,and easy to operate. Glock owners, likeall firearms owners, must train diligently,obey all the rules of gun safety, andcarry their weapons in quality holsters.They must observe the proper handlingand manipulation of their weapons withan almost religious fervor. This mustbe done so that doing things the rightway becomes habit, something that isdone out of ingrained custom withoutconscious thought. The same is true ofany gun owner, but it is perhaps more sowith a weapon as simple as the Glock.There is nothing inherently unsafe aboutthe pistol, but there is nothing artificiallysafe about it either. ♠Ed Miller is a firearms enthusiast. Hiscoworker, Phil Elmore, is the publisher ofThe Martialist: The Magazine for ThoseWho Fight Unfairly. Phil is a martialartist and professional technical writerwho has published countless articles onself-defense, preparedness, politics, andphilosophy. Visit him online at:www.philelmore.com48 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 49

2ND AMENDMENTBy: KEN HANSONith all of the hype surroundingthe introduction of “Stand YourGround” legislation in numerous differentstates (also referred to as “CastleDoctrine,” “No Retreat” or “Self-DefenseBill of Rights”), you probably arewondering what all the fuss is about.In fact, if you listen to the Brady Bunchversion, you might believe that otherstates are handing out a “license to kill”(or “license to shoot first,” dependingupon which spin master you aretalking to).Quite simply, these bills are anattempt to regulate the aftermath ofself-defense shootings. In many states,such as Ohio, there is a convolutedand burdensome process to establisha shooting as “self-defense.” Since it iseasiest to examine what these changesare all about by example, let’s beginby looking at a self-defense shootingin Ohio.In Ohio, if justified, you claim theaffirmative defense of self-defense in ashooting. It is important to understandthe concept of an “affirmative defense.”It means that you are not really contestingthat you committed actions that aredefined as “criminal,” but rather, you arestating that your actions were justified.This is critical to understand, becausethe burden is on you to proveyour case. It is not up to the prosecutorto prove that you were not acting in selfdefense.It is up to you, at yourexpense and under the threat ofimprisonment, (and sometimes whileactually imprisoned) to prove that youwere acting in self-defense.Think about that for a minute…Theprosecution has to prove almost nothingin a self-defense trial; the burden is uponthe defendant. (Get used to that title.) Aself-defense trial is not about whether youdid X, Y and Z. It is about the defendantproving that she/he was justified. We aretaught from elementary school onwardsthat in America, you are presumedinnocent until proven guilty. Doesn’t itsound like the burden has shifted slightlyin self-defense cases?So in Ohio, if someone kicks downmy front door, runs up the stairs and triesto grab my daughter out of bed and dragher out of the house, I have two categoriesof choices: (1) I can let the bad guy go,call the police, hope my dogs scare themoff, try to tackle/wrestle him, beg/plead,use a squirt gun full of lemon juice orsome other half-measure; or (2) I can usemy gun, then have to prove to a court’s/jury’s satisfaction [at my own expense,probably after a jail stay, or perhapswhile in jail, unemployed and awaitingtrial] that what I did was reasonableunder Ohio’s self-defense test, hopingthat at the end of the day, I can walk outof the front door of the courthouse, ratherthan out of the backdoor, in handcuffs.Should a family have to make a choicebetween losing a daughter and riskinglosing a parent to our legal system?This is the first important change thistype of “Self-Defense Bill of Rights” lawmakes. If someone kicks down my doorto drag off my daughter, or otherwiseenters my house with violent intent, theyare legally presumed to be there to causeme serious physical harm or death. Nomore burden on the homeowner. Theburden is placed back where it belongs:on the bad guy. As long as there are notany extenuating circumstances, the caseends and the healing begins at that point.No hauling off to jail, no worries aboutcriminal trial and the whims of a jury, andno civil suit from the bad guy’s family.It should be noted that these laws areproperly structured to make sure that theyare not abused. You can’t shoot someonewho lives in that house and enjoy thepresumption in your favor. You can’tinvite someone in, shoot them and claimthe protection of the law. You can’t ignorea scenario where the bad guy clearly hasacted inconsistent with the presumptionagainst him (such as running away out ofyour front door), and be protected underthe law.That is really all that these types oflaws do. They codify common sense withregard to the defense of your home. Ifsomeone enters your house violently,they are not there to sell you Girl Scoutcookies. In a self-defense shooting inyour house, you are probably going tobe awaken out of a sound sleep and youmay be undressed or in your sleepingattire. You will have to rush the gun outof secure storage, try to figure out whatis going on, identify targets and friends,maybe fumble for eyeglasses, and try tocall 911. Do you really want a court orjury calmly deliberating over your actions9 months later, and second-guessingwhether you were “reasonable?” Isn’t itmore reasonable to put the burden backon the bad guy?Broadly speaking, these billsimplement two categories of changes.First, a presumption against the bad guyis reestablished, and the person acting inself-defense is granted civil and criminalimmunity for their actions. The secondcategory of change is elimination of theduty to retreat. It is this change, more thanthe others, that creates hysteria amongthe social engineering crowds who claimthat it is nothing more than a license tomurder. (After all, it is very hard to argueagainst creating a presumption against afelon, so this is the only area they haveleft to argue against.)But just what is the duty to retreat,and where does it come from? In Ohioand in most states with a duty to retreat,a person cannot exercise lethal forcein self-defense if they have an abilityto safely remove themselves from thesituation without using force. Typically,this duty does not apply to the actor’sown home or own place of business.Many months later, a judge and jury(in the comfort and security of a welllit courtroom) will calmly and rationallysecond-guess the actor to determineif the actor reasonably met their dutyunder the law. So once again, the actor50 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

(not the prosecutor), at the actor’s ownjeopardy and expense, has the burden ofproof to establish that they could not runaway. If the actor cannot make this casemany months removed from the chaos ofthe encounter, then the actor is ruinedfor life.Given the incredible stakes beingplayed for, there must be a careful,well thought out history behind theduty to retreat, right? There is if youlook to 16th century England andearlier. This occurred during a time inwhich self-defense was not even widelyrecognized, but rather, largely lumpedinto “excusable” homicides wherein theactor would be convicted and then civillyforfeit his property in order to obtaina pardon.That’s right, the duty to retreat comesfrom the days of flintlocks and swords,not Glocks and spring knives. Thecase law talks about highwaymen andhorse chases, not home invasions andcarjackings. As the Minnesota SupremeCourt stated: “The doctrine of ‘retreatto the wall’ had its origin before thegeneral introduction of guns... It wouldbe good sense for the law to require inmany cases, an attempt to escape fromhand-to-hand encounter with fists, clubs,and even knives...while it would be rankfolly to so require when experiencedmen, armed with repeating rifles, faceeach other in an open space, removedfrom shelter, with intent to kill or do greatbodily harm.” State v. Gardner, (1905)104 N.W. 971.If you look at the early U.S. SupremeCourt cases on self-defense, the duty toretreat was soundly rejected. In what iswidely considered the first Supreme Courtcase to do so, Beard v. United States,(1895) 158 U.S. 550, Justice Harlanstated for a unanimous Supreme Court:“[Beard] was not obliged to retreat, nor toconsider whether he could safely retreat,but was entitled to stand his ground, andmeet any attack upon him with a deadlyweapon, in such a way and with suchforce as, under all the circumstances,he, at the moment, honestly believed,and had reasonable grounds to believe,were necessary to save his own life, or toprotect himself from great bodily injury.”Nearly 30 years later, one of our mostcelebrated jurists, Oliver Wendell HolmesJr., examined the absurdity of allowinga jury to second-guess someone actingin self-defense. Once again reaffirmingthat there was no duty to retreat fromanywhere that a victim has a right to be,he stated. “If a man reasonably believesthat he is in immediate danger of deathor grievous bodily harm . . . he maystand his ground…. [d]etached reflectioncannot be demanded in the presence ofan uplifted knife.” Brown v. United States,(1921) 256 U.S. 335.Early Ohio law was alsocontemptuously dismissive of the conceptof running away. As stated in Erwin v.State, (1876) 29 Ohio St. 186: “[T]helaw, out of tenderness for human lifeand the frailties of human nature, willnot permit the taking of it to repel a meretrespass, or even to save life, where theassault is provoked; but a true man,who is without fault, is not obliged to flyfrom an assailant, who, by violence orsurprise, maliciously seeks to take his lifeor do him enormous bodily harm.” Thiswas repeatedly the case in a majority ofstates at the time. As Richard MaxwellBrown stated on page 5 in his excellentwork: No Duty to Retreat: Violence andValues in American History and Society(1991), “Americans rejected such Englishcowardice just as they rejected Englishrule; thus, a majority of Americansgained the right to stand their groundand defend themselves as their fledglingcountry gained its independencefrom England.”It will do no good to examine thereasoning behind the shift away from“stand your ground” to “duty to retreat”in detail, and this article has probablyalready taxed the reader’s patiencewith legal citations. Whether we want toblame liberal activism, the wide adoptionof the Model Penal Code, laziness onthe part of prosecutors and judges, ora society that is willing to engage inmeaningful litigation over how manycable channels a prisoner is entitled to,the fact remains that our legal systemhas now “progressed” to the adoption of16th century legal doctrine.In this day of senseless shootings,carjacking, gang “wilding” attacks andall other horrors we see on the nightlynews, the more appropriate examinationis whether our modern day crimeenvironment allows us, with a straightface, to require the law-abiding citizento prove they couldn’t outrun a bullet.If a loved one is attacked by a repeatoffender who has spent the last 2 years inprison working out with weights for lackof anything better to do, do you want thatloved one to have to prove to a jury, 9months after the fact, that they couldn’thave reasonably gotten away?Before you dismiss the aboveanalogies and instead rely on commonsense alone to acquit you, keep in mindthe fact that Ohio is the state that recentlyinstructed a jury that someone has a dutyto retreat from a locked prison cell, andit was only the Ohio Supreme Courtthat finally ruled that someone couldn’tretreat from a locked prison cell. State v.Cassano, (2002) 96 Ohio St. 3d 94.Still feel like playing those odds,or should we just remove that questionfrom the discussion entirely? Having triedcases from both the prosecution anddefense tables, I’ll sleep soundly doingaway with the duty to retreat.Ken Hanson is an Ohioattorney active in gunrights litigation andlegislation, and is theauthor of The OhioGuide to FirearmLaws. Ken is also anNRA certified instructorand is certified byUtah BCI as a UtahCCW instructor. Ken’scompany, Center Mass Ltd., possessesa Type 01 FFL and is a direct dealerfor several manufacturers. Ken giveslegal presentations for several differentCentral Ohio CCW trainers/ranges,including: Laura’s Pistol Shooting, Ltd.;The Powder Room; Blackwing ShootingCenter; On the Defense, LLC; and RightDefense, LLC.877-677-1919CALLOR VISIT US ONLINEwww.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine, USCCA and Delta Media, LLC arenot responsible for mishaps of any kind which may occur from useof published firearms information, equipment recommendations,tactics and training advice or from recommendations by staffor contributing writers. Carrying a concealed weapon can bevery dangerous if you are not well trained and familiar withthe weapon you carry. Now don’t get us wrong, it’s not thegovernment’s job to tell you how much training you need! It isyour responsibility as an armed citizen. Notice: Some advertisementsmay concern products that are not legally for saleto California residents or residents in other jurisdictions. Ifthis bothers you, GET INVOLVED! Support the bill of rightsand vote for folks that believe in the natural born right to selfdefense.No advertised or reviewed item is intended for salein those states, or in those areas where local restrictions maylimit or prohibit the purchase, carrying or use of certain items.Check local laws before purchasing. Mention of a product orservice in advertisements or text does not necessarily mean that ithas been tested or approved by Concealed Carry Magazine,USCCA or Delta Media, LLC.Volume 4 - May/June 2007 www.usconcealedcarry.comConcealed Carry Magazine 51

U.S. Concealed Carrymouth marketingTraditions Introduces Cap & Ball Revolver Redi-PaksTraditions Performance Firearms, known for theirextremely accurate and dependable muzzleloaders offerstheir ever popular Revolver Redi-Paks, the 9-in-1 revolver andaccessory package.All models of Redi-Paks include a cap and ball revolverplus 25 cleaning patches and a revolver nipple wrench witha nipple pick included. It also comes with 18 (.454 diameter)lead round balls and a brass #11 capper. To keep your gunin proper working order you get Wonderlube 1000 PlusLube and to ensure proper powder charges you receive acalibrated brass powder measure. The Pocket Pistol CleaningKit includes both nylon and brass bristle brushes, cottonswab and a slotted cleaning jag with a 3 piece cleaningrod and a bottle of EZ Clean spray solvent to dig deep intotough fouling.The only items not included are #10/#11 percussion capsand powder.At this time the Revolver Redi-Paks are available in4 models:1851 Navy with a brass frame – Retail $2341851 Navy with a steel frame – Retail $2711858 Army with a brass frame – Retail $2561858 Army with a steel frame – Retail $300For more information on Traditions Performance Firearmscomplete line of products please call: 860-388-4656 or visittheir website at www.traditionsfirearms.com.U.S. Concealed Carry Give-Awaywww.usconcealedcarry.comKAHR ARMS - CW9CaliberCapacityBarrelLength O/AHeightSlide WidthWeightGripSightsFinishMSRP9mm (9 x 19)7 + 13.5 in.5.9 in.4.5 in..90 in.Pistol 15.8 ounces, Magazine 1.9 ouncesTextured polymerDrift adjustable rear sight, pinned in polymerfront sight, white bar-dot combat sightsMatte stainless steel slide$533.00U.S. Concealed CarryAttn: May/June Give-Away4466 Hwy P - Suite 204 — Jackson, WI 5303752 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007

If you want the ultimate concealed carry gun,Para makes pistols for you...Only Para Carry Safepistols have the lightdouble-action or LDAtrigger system. Thepatented trigger systemallows you to safelycarry one of ourLDA pistols concealedwith the hammer down.When the thumb safety is on,the trigger is disengaged.Yet, if the need should arise,in one swift motion you can pushoff the thumb safety and with a light,smooth press of the trigger fire the pistol. Thetrigger’s smooth, natural stroke makes you thebest marksman you can be.Reliability Out of the Box: ThePara Power Extractor, right, is50% larger than standard, leftTraditional double-actiontriggers are heavy, and jerkingon them to make the handgunfire pulls your shot off target.Our LDA trigger system has a light, natural stroke so when youpress it, the pistol stays on target so you can hit the bulls-eye.carry to 5-inch target pistols. Carry Safe pistols willmake you the best shot when it counts, on the rangeor in the field.Para LDA Carry:Available in 9mm,.45 ACP and.45 GAP.You get reliability you can count on with Para’s Power Extractor.The massive claw of the Power Extractor rips empty cases of thechamber and controls feeding of the next round. Only Para givesyou X-ring accuracy inevery pistol. Our ramped,match-grade, stainless steelbarrels come in all models,from 3-inch micro compactVisit your Para dealer today and try thesweet, smooth trigger on a Para LDA.Accuracy Out of the Box: Para’s Match BarrelFor a Product Catalog, Send $2 to:Para USA, Inc., Dept. 501919 N.E. 45th StreetFt. Lauderdale, FL 33308Call (416) 297-7855www.para-lda.com/light