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08-02-2020, 09:38 AM
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Guns and Canes
C&P of a post I made on the now-defunct Kansas forum some time back. I found it on the Oklahoma forum.
I put about sixty 38 special rounds downrange today and I can assure the board that the mean pizza box will never do any harm again. The gun was my S&W 686 in a 40+ year-old Roy Baker Pancake holster under my 'shoot-me-first' vest. For the most part the ammo was WWB stuff from WallyWorld. The sole exception was six GDHP that I needed to get shot. In other words, the stuff I carried for the past three or four months. The weather was excellent.
I took my cane to better simulate life and when I needed to shoot, I let it go. This showed a problem. The cane is a stand-up type, but I habitually carry it in my right hand, and that is the side my gun is on, so I should strongly consider walking with the cane in my left hand. This won't make any difference to my balance; it is simply a matter of getting used to it and making a few adjustments on the cane. Plus, left-hand carry might be better for my arthritis on my left side.
I taped a seal from a plastic coffee can on the pizza box (roughly 8" in diameter., and used that as an aiming point. Drawing, even from concealment, presented no issues, and I was able to get most of my shots in the seal, with the few that did not hit the seal still hitting the box, and were ones that I shot while moving. I didn't go backwards but moved mostly diagonally (to my ten o'clock and two'clock) and side-stepped to minimize the risk of falling. My shooting was decent, with no real problems noted.
I used the revolver's sights for maybe twelve of the sixty rounds, the rest being point shooting. The range is somewhat uneven and neither this nor my balance presented any real problems this time around.
The primary issue that I noticed today was the one with the cane and that is simply a matter of switching sides and getting used to the switch.
Hope this was helpful to some of you.
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08-02-2020, 09:57 AM
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A good reminder to practice as realistically as possible. To me, it's like the difference between practicing martial arts/self defense techniques in a gi versus street wear. Practicing drawing from concealment in the gear and clothes one actually wears is a good start. If one has a cane or some other assistive device, that should be incorporated, too. Dry fire practice can be a useful supplement/substitution if live fire range practice can't be done realistically. Every once in a while, I'll have a bag or a plastic cup in one hand before my drill, and practice dropping it. I've even put my phone on airplane mode and practiced dialing 911 after a drill. *waits for mocking laughter*
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08-02-2020, 11:31 AM
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100% You dont want anything in your gun hand, especially if it cant be readily let go. I assume your shootng was done at contact or very close. I know I never see sights inside 5y, not even for a head shot while moving. Keep up the practice, at least once a month, but you dont need to shoot expensive carry ammo. I only burn my carry ammo up every 18m or so. It always goes bang.
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Last edited by fredj338; 08-04-2020 at 07:51 PM.
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08-02-2020, 11:56 AM
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I use a cane on my right side but I’m a lefty so it works out. In your case, if confronted, throw the cane at the assailant as a distraction while drawing from concealment.
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Last edited by Old cop; 09-17-2020 at 05:21 PM.
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08-02-2020, 12:07 PM
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As a cane user... I suggest you don't want to drop your cane, at least not in front of you. The last thing you need is to become entangled in it, trip on it.
Throw it away, yes. At the assailant, possibly. Hopefully would make him duck and distract him from his evil thoughts.
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08-16-2020, 09:09 PM
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Since my L3/L4 and L4/L5 disks decided to degenerate and impinge on my right sciatic nerve clusters, I've been using a cane in my left hand. (It's best to use the cane on the opposite side of the injury/disability.) Having been through this years ago with arthritis, this isn't really new to me. I recommend reading articles/books, taking classes (if possible) on cane fighting and getting a sturdy cane to use and practice with it. At the range, practice drawing and firing one handed with and without sights while moving to cover or support (get back against a wall if you can't take cover). Also, if the range allows and you can (might need help here), practice shooting from the ground because you may end up on your back/*****, side, or belly anyway.
My wife is waiting on a liver transplant, so she won't be much help if we run into trouble (just being realistic). Since due to medical appointments we have to travel through/to some cities where recent "disturbances" have occurred, I've put my beloved revolvers in the safe and replaced them with two semiautomatic pistols, a S&W SD9 with Hi-Viz Sights and two spare magazines and a Ruger EC9s with flush base magazine in it and two 9-round magazines in a pocket. There are also hearing protectors inside the car at all times now. I also wear perry suspenders to hold my pants up.
Most of the time, I only carry one or the other, but traveling these days is fraught with more "opportunities" to wind up blocked in by unhappy and vengeful (for reasons that escape me) people in the road. Like the @NRA says, "Refuse to be a victim."
Update: Latest x-rays show extensive arthritis in my spine, too. MRI is scheduled in just over a week to see if my back is as bad as it feels so the docs can decide if there's anything they can do.
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Last edited by elm_creek_smith; 08-27-2020 at 11:27 PM.
Reason: Update
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08-16-2020, 09:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ContinentalOp
A good reminder to practice as realistically as possible. To me, it's like the difference between practicing martial arts/self defense techniques in a gi versus street wear. Practicing drawing from concealment in the gear and clothes one actually wears is a good start. If one has a cane or some other assistive device, that should be incorporated, too. Dry fire practice can be a useful supplement/substitution if live fire range practice can't be done realistically. Every once in a while, I'll have a bag or a plastic cup in one hand before my drill, and practice dropping it. I've even put my phone on airplane mode and practiced dialing 911 after a drill. *waits for mocking laughter*
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<Silence.>
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08-16-2020, 09:30 PM
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A very interesting take! Last November, when I participated in the Adaptive Defensive Shooting Summit, a number of us were relying on canes. A fellow participant showed us all a trick that I have utilized every day since. I use my cane in my right hand, and I carry/draw right handed.
You will need about two and a half feet of parachute cord, two nylon "O" rings, and a carabiner. Tie a "hangman's knot" on your cane near the crook. Leave about a foot to foot and a half dangling to attach to the carabiner. I place an "O" ring above and below the "hangman's knot".
When using your cane, hook the carabiner to a belt loop. That way, when you need to "lose" your cane, just let go and draw. The cane is easily retrieved when you need to move. I have found this "tether" works well when: shopping, in the bank, or at a counter. I no longer have to bend over or drop to the floor in order to recover my cane. It is also helpful when I shoot the kneeling stage of PPC matches.
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08-16-2020, 09:36 PM
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As Elm Creek notes, one should use a cane in the hand on the side opposite from the leg with the problem. Swing the cane out in front of you and plant it when your opposite leg, the leg with the problem, foot hits the ground. This takes some weight off the problem leg and maintains better balance than planting the cane, carried on the same side, next to the foot of the problem leg when it hits the ground. (While I’ve seen the latter approach used, no physical therapist will teach that.)
It seems the OP can stand without his cane. And it seems the OP’s cane is the type with four feet that stands upright when it is released, and he worries it might interfere with his draw. I think the solution would be to tip it over, away from the body, when drawing and shooting. If you need to shoot someone, hobbling off afterwards is the least of your worries.
I have used a cane — I prefer to call it a walking stick — when out walking distances for years. I carry it in my right hand. I had my left knee replaced about a year ago, and now my left knee is much better than my increasingly arthritic right. So I am trying to train myself to use my stick/cane in my left to support my right knee. I am right handed, though, and I do not find this switch easy.
I carry strong side, right side, behind my hip, or in a Mika pocket holster. If I need to draw, I will just let go of the stick if in either hand.
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08-17-2020, 04:50 AM
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Just as important (perhaps even moreso) to those with "significant others" is making sure you aren't holding hands with your shooting hand as you walk!
I read a story about a couple exiting a restaurant while holding hands and they saw a man and woman at a car arguing. The man was threatening her with a gun. When he saw them looking he got angry, and said to them - what are YOU lookin at?...as he turned his gun toward them.
The wife panicked, and squeezed her husbands hand so hard that he couldn't get her to let go so he could draw HIS carry gun. They were BOTH shot dead.
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08-17-2020, 05:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Protected One
Just as important (perhaps even more so) to those with "significant others" is making sure you aren't holding hands with your shooting hand as you walk!
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Walking with a spouse or close other, is a learned technique. Since my wife is left handed it was fairly easy to train her. She walks to my left so both our strong sides are out, Then she learned in the troubling instant to take a pivoting step to the rear and face back the way we came and draw! On our evening walks around the farm we did this with a drill once or twice a week. One night as it turned dark/dark something startled us about 35 feet ahead. I drew and took my step foreword, she drew and went to the rear. AND SHE FIRED! A deer was in front of me (I should have recognized the smell from further away!) She shot and killed a skunk 10 feet behind us! Most reflexes are learned by repeation, and can only be kept sharp by repeation!
Ivan
Last edited by Ivan the Butcher; 08-17-2020 at 05:21 AM.
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08-27-2020, 11:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Protected One
Just as important (perhaps even moreso) to those with "significant others" is making sure you aren't holding hands with your shooting hand as you walk!
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I use a cane, and my wife uses a walker, so there isn't a lot of hand-holding if we're afoot.
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08-27-2020, 11:57 PM
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Quote:
(It's best to use the cane on the opposite side of the injury/disability.)
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I was fixing to point that out, also.
Since it really doesn't matter to me because both of my knees need to be replaced (soon!) I can use the "walking stick" with either hand. I admit to a preference for my strong side because I can hit with the stick rather quickly.
That reminds me of a pre-Wuhan flu incident. Mid-2019. I showed up at a gathering at an upscale part of town where lots of young folks gather. I was wearing a camouflage MAGA hat and my friends got a kick out of it. But when we were leaving one friend noted that it was bold coming to that neighborhood with that cap. I laughed and said, "Have you ever seen a Millenial with his head laid open by an old man with a cane?"
I was carrying "sticks" way before my knees got bad for a reason. And, BTW, if you have one when you fly you can always get "early boarding".
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09-12-2020, 09:30 AM
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I use a cane for stability (3rd point of contact with the ground), but what I use is a 36" hickory livestock cane from Lehmans, handmade by the Amish.
Easily cut to length if too long and if they can push a 500lb hog around, it's like having a 3' long billy club, ~$36 at Lehmans. Basically a fighting cane without the $100+ price tag. I steamed the crook a scootch open just a bit for better hooking. It was a tad tight when I tried it on my kid. It worked, but you had to be more precise than I would likely be in a stress situation. Opened it about 1" +/- and now, close will work.
When walking, I worry way more about dogs than people in my neighborhood.
Rob
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09-12-2020, 10:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old cop
I use a cane on my right side but I’m a lefty so it works out. In you case, if confronted, throw the cane at the assailant as a distraction while drawing from concealment.
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That was what I also came up with last year when I had a cane after my new left knee was put in. In my case I carried a LCR.38 in a right side pocket holster. I practiced both just dropping the right hand held cane or using it a a weapon/ distraction. It was not a "fighting cane" just a helper type cane but it was good for at least one solid swing then go into my pocket.
As usual nothing bad happened and it stayed just theory!
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09-14-2020, 07:37 PM
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My right hip is bone on bone so I’m waiting to have a hip replacement done. For now I hobble around with a cane in the left hand and a 642 in my RF pocket. My favorite cane is one I made 1.25” thick Sasafras topped by a solid brass Hame. Makes great defensive stick!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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09-14-2020, 09:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AZretired
My favorite cane is one I made 1.25” thick Sasafras topped by a solid brass Hame. Makes great defensive stick!
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A hame! Or rather, the brass ball that goes on the top of a hame! I've been trying to think of where to get a ball to go on the top of a homemade cane, and that is the perfect thing. A quick search found several places where you can buy a ball or a hame tip. Like this, for one Woodworker.com: SOLID BRASS HAME TIPS
Decades ago I made a cane out of an elm sapling with a vine growing around it, which I cut in my F-I-L's hog pen. With the vine removed, it is a nice spiral shape. The handle I put on it works great for a cane, but not for a club. I think I will replace the handle with a brass hame.
Thanks, AZretired!
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09-16-2020, 04:55 PM
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I have one with a heavy antique brass door knob on the top.
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09-17-2020, 08:54 AM
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Think that I need to clarify something. I use a cane due to balance issues. It provides a 'third leg' so which hand I use it in is irrelevant. I'd consider using my left hand for the cane except that that wrist was recently broken, and it won't support the weight.
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09-17-2020, 12:40 PM
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I have been using a cane lately for balance issues. using the right hand since I tend to drift/fall to that side. However, I am left handed, so that isn't a problem. At the range, I spend time shooting two handed without the cane, as well as strong (left) side one-handed with the cane, as well as weak (right) side one-handed both with and without the cane. So far, so good.
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