In the case of saving your own life, "There was once this guy" is not inconsiderable. And I have no idea what happened to that guy "two counties south" of Palm Beach County. That said, my Holy Grail remains a belt mounted holder system from which I can draw while seated at the steering wheel and that does not cause me so much discomfort that I won't wear it in that situation. I'm looking forward to starting my try-outs from BOM.
Thanks for the input, Erik. I'm actually set to try out other holsters, including IWB and OWB.
1986 Miami FBI shootout. If you're the least bit serious about handguns being used in self-defense, research this.Originally Posted by oboe
Apparently, FBI Agent Manauzzi removed his gun from its holster and placed it on the seat, so it was not available to him when the car crashed and the pistol slid out. In no way have I been suggesting that a pistol carried off-body in the car should be loose and unsecured. Again, the Holy Grail is strong side on-body in a way that is not so uncomfortable in the car that one would feel the need to remove it. That said, if the Holy Grail is not found, the next places to go - at least in the car - are shoulder holster or off-body in a secured holster.
No, the takeaway lesson here is that Manauzzi had to un-ass the vehicle in the middle of a raging gunfight without a firearm secured to his body. It doesn't matter if it's because it was loose on the seat, secured in some special "car holster", or duct-taped to the headliner.
. . . so my question - why did he take it out of his holster in the first place?
I'm no clairvoyant, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was because apparently he didn't feel he had adequately trained in drawing from the holster while seated, and sought a hardware solution to a software problem.
That's one reasonable hypothesis. Another is that the strong side on the belt location of his weapon made it really difficult to draw regardless of training. If the second hypothesis were fact, the solution would be another location for carry while driving. The jury's still out for me. If I find an acceptable strong side belt carry that works while behind the steering wheel, my search is over. Haven't even begun the try-out period yet [IWB will be in the mail to me today].
Or a dedicated gun in the console, there are aftermarket lockable consoles available for most makes of vehicles. Get in car, unlock console, get to destination, lock console. If you feel that your vehicle is especially prone to burglary, bad idea. Other than that, keep your serial numbers and insure your guns.
I don't think this is ideal, but I think it's a worse idea to be handling your gun everytime you enter and exit the vehicle - every time is an AD waiting to happen. It's safer to leave it the holster, but if you're taking off and on your holster throughout the day you are probably eventually going to just leave the gun in the car, because that is a giant PITA.
As multiple people in this thread have already stated, the second hypothesis is not fact. Further, it is the opposite of fact.
You lean forward and draw the gun pretty much just like you would when you were standing. Unless you're suffering from some chronic range-of-mobility issues, there's no drama to it, especially if you're engaging targets to the passenger side. To the driver's side you need to get the muzzle over the steering wheel, but that's a separate issue from the drawstroke.
