First up, I want to thank Greg Ellifritz at Active Response Training for linking to my post on birdshot for self-defense in his most recent Weekend Knowledge Dump. Links to a bunch of other (am I being vain?) good articles there, so be sure to check out the whole thing.
One that particularly stuck out to me--because I had recently linked to another article on the topic of recommendations for a beginning prepper--was an article entitled "Starting From Scratch, a Beginner’s Guide to a Basic Armory" in which the authors goes over several categories of firearms for "a serious new gun owner" wanting to be a "martial marksman." The author doesn't stick to just one recommended firearm for each category but lists several firearms that he would recommend. He breaks the acquisition of weapons down into several steps ("tiers"): a basic tier (essentially a handgun and a starter rifle), a second tier (shotguns and training weapons in .22 LR), and a third tier for a precision rifle.
Although not part of his Weekend Knowledge Dump, Greg had also published an article last week entitled "My Concealed Carry Fail". Although it wasn't exactly clear how she spotted the firearm, he nevertheless had a female police officer that appeared to have spotted (or at least been suspicious) about a concealed handgun that he was carrying in the AIWB position showing that it can happen to the best of us. It didn't turn into a problem for Ellifritz--he made a comment that got the officer to stop her surveilling him and he lives in a Constitutional carry state--but it could have been a problem if he was in a non-permissive environment or a non-gun (anti-gun) person spotted the firearm and made a fuss. He gives some advice on comments to make if someone is taking too long of a stare at your waist where you are carrying. For women, it generally an easy "eyes up here" statement, but he has advice for the guys.
Also, check out his latest article--"The Best Tourniquets- A Research Review"--which not only goes over questions/points that separate a good tourniquet from a bad one (beyond the basic issue of whether it can occlude the blood flow) and his thoughts (and many, many links) concerning specific tourniquets, and using tourniquets on children and dogs, and a brief discussion of improvised tourniquets.
I wish he had asked the cop "what made me?" That would be useful information. It's possible the cop would not have wanted to reveal her secrets, but if he carries retired LEO docs - I'm assuming he's obtained LEOSA certification, but he may not have - flashing the card would earn the cred.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been nice to know, but I suspect that the cop wasn't sure herself whether it was a weapon or something else, hence the staring.
DeleteI had not considered that; I've noticed "something" numerous times on the street without being able to fully identify what it is. Given that most "somethings" are innocuous but a couple are very much not, the default mental process is to suspect it's one of those few, and since Ellifritz knew it was a gun, not a pager or colostomy bag, that's what he assumed; I'm not convinced AIWB is as well concealed as it's widely claimed to be, mostly because it changes the symmetric balance of the abdominal curve rather than creating a bulge.
ReplyDeleteAnd, just realized it might have been embarassing to have asked the female cop, especially if she came back with a Mae West-type line.
Another issue that comes up is that while we often look in the mirror to see if we are printing or maybe even ask a spouse whether we are printing, most of us are standing still or perhaps, at most, just turning a bit one direction or another when we do so; we aren't walking or bending or sitting, which could cause printing that is not noticeable when just standing.
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