I'm with Todd, mine's is on my off-hand front pocket and it's a SW342.
If you are a CCW holder I'd stick with a firearm and not worry about a non lethal device. If you do, expose yourself to it, know what it will do to YOU! There is hardly ever perfect conditions when spray is deployed and you more than likely will be affected by it in one way, shape or form. You need to know ahead of time what that stuff will do to you and know that you can function through it.
I've had a change of heart about some of that thinking. OC spray is a good option against dogs and drunks; it's a way to help you disengage from something that you'd really probably rather not shoot, but that could hurt you if you let it. A strobing light is a nice option to have as well.
When I carry a BUG, I carry it in my left front (weak side) pocket, for all the reasons previously mentioned.
I can't disagree that the non dominant hand can be trained, but to what degree? Yes, perhaps we can play the guitar perfectly non dominant, but can we do it while a 200 pound drunk is trying to beat the piss out of us and your dominant hand is pinning your gun in your holster?Originally Posted by derekb
I've had a couple of hands on my weapon that were not mine and it amps you up in quite an uncomfortable way.
+1
Once another person touches your holstered weapon, I find that finely trained ideas don't always pan out.
I shoot/strike reasonably well left handed, but am a big believer that weapons should and will be (absent obvious circumstances) used strong hand. I have always used OC/baton/knives/saps etc strong hand. Doesn't mean I carry them strong side always, but they are set up to be drawn and used strong hand. If you need to transition to your pistol, I either re holster the current weapon, or just drop it. Trying to manage OC in one hand and a pistol in the other is not my idea of a winning solution.
Then there are the in-fight access issues (Southnarc?). I'm a small guy, but I have always believed that if someone tries to grab your gun or enter your hand to hand space, you need to be able to FIGHT, and that hardware solutions to software problems don't usually work. Having said that, i really like my Clinch Pick, set up for strong side access. This just my opinion, as there are lots of ways to skin a cat, and your fighting experience/training/size/dexterity and preferences will all be different than mine.
This is one of the reasons I'm such an advocate for appendix carry. My pistol is usually around 1230 or 1oclock, it is easily accessible by both hands. I carry a folder, but I think one of the best contact tools is a small Surefire E2 or an equivalent. Hammering on someones face or hands with that raised bevel is a good hasty less lethal option. I think it is good to consider less lethal options since not all problems are nails.
I'm not a big believer in using an off-side folding knife as a retention aid. When I've been in classes that do advocate it, they usually set up the scenario so it's easy to deploy the knife -- either the defender is backed into a corner and can't be tossed around, or the attacker focuses 100% on the gun and doesn't try to disrupt the position or orientation of the defender. As soon as someone aggressively and purposely tries to get the gun while preventing you from opening that knife WHO under stress during a wrestling match, it doesn't seem to go as well.
I'm signed up for Snarc's ECQC class later this year down in Culpeper, and imagine that a Clinch Pick will be on my shopping list very shortly thereafter.
That's really the answer to this thread. I've taken that class 3 times and each time I learn more, and learn even more I don't know. All the talking about it on the internet doesn't mean much until you've actually tried it with a resisting opponent. I think folders are next to useless for fighting. I carry one to open boxes and cut rope and such, but I have no illusions about being able to access it reliably in a fight.
To build on both Rich and Todd, my off-side carry is a Ka-Bar TDI knife because it is fixed, easy to deploy, and designed to be used in a rather clumsy manner.
"PLAN FOR YOUR TRAINING TO BE A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE INSTEAD OF HOPING THAT REAL LIFE WILL BE A REFLECTION OF YOUR TRAINING!"
The small fixed blade positioned for access during entanglement is the optimal set-up. Now with that being said, a fixed blade only augments a weapon retention technique. Small fixed blades don't have kinetic energy like a bullet and most will not realize that they are cut or stabbed.
I'm not a fan of "just" locking the gun down with the strong hand and stabbing away with the off-hand. Ideally your weapons retention technique works EXACTLY the same regardless of whether you have the ability to augment said technique with a small fixed blade or not.
Most of the answers will become self-evident from doing the required work in the problem area.
Ther are several folding and fixed blade deployments in these videos, some succesfull, some not so.
http://www.vimeo.com/1072283
http://www.vimeo.com/4271788
http://www.vimeo.com/4447329
I probably am missing it, but---if carried "off-side", where would/do you place a small fixed blade so you do not draw it under stress and try to reload your pistol with a knife? I can see me doing that and slicing and dicing my own dominant-side wrist.
Sorry if that is a dumb question.
Bill
Reply With Quote