Anyone carry cross hand ?

[Rgoodwin]

Say between 10 and 11. OWB tried it yesterday and liked it.

 

[dullh]

It's a handy way to carry in certain circumstances. If you have a private place to shoot practice with that mode of carry is great, but every public range around here forbids drawing and shooting that way and will oust you for it.

 

[kudzu3]

I like carrying crossdraw while driving. Much easier to access the gun.

 

[Rgoodwin]

My thoughts exactly plus it just feels better and yes I'm lucky to have 10 acres here in the Ozarks and have an OD range and just put one in the upper floor of my shop/barn for indoor 7 and 10 yards. Lighting is not quite good enough yet but should be able to fix today. Thanks

 

[3hounds]

Tried it but I'm to fat at the moment.

I could do it but it's not pretty.

3

 

[sierra255]

I concur with kudzu3 for longer driving trips cross-draw style holsters are easier on you and access is faster for me. My LE agency will not allow any regular or retired officer to shoot on the range with a cross-draw holster, and in my latest HR-218 qualification, the public safety range had specific rules against it. I have a Bucheimer combat with a belt clip and it is easily attached and removed on my longer trips.

 

[Lee Jones]

Why LE and range objections?

Why the objection to crossdraw?
It is actually a "natural motion" draw, easily learned.

Lee Jones(Celtgun)

 

[Marshal Amp]

Why the objection to crossdraw?
It is actually a "natural motion" draw, easily learned.

Lee Jones(Celtgun)

I think one aspect is the arc that the muzzle takes when pulled and brought on target. on a firing line you could sweep across shooters next to you, never a good thing. then there's an argument that the weapon is easily accessible to an aggressor as the pistol is presented butt forward. and there are those I've heard say that the reach alone handicaps you in a SHTF
moment that isn't there with a strongside draw. I carried a nice little Baby Eagle .40 for about 5 years in a crossdraw slide from Kirkpatrick leather and loved it but I had to address all the negatives that I'd heard before I committed to it.

 

[gdnagle]

Why the objection to crossdraw?
It is actually a "natural motion" draw, easily learned.

Lee Jones(Celtgun)

I've read where by cross drawing you are sweeping everything in front of you, in case of unintentional firing, good and evil and by pulling from strong side you are straight on the threat. In your vehicle crossdraw is the easiest way should you have to draw especially with a shoulder holster, unless you are a passenger where as waist and iwb are harder to get into action. I will go either way depending what I am carrying at the time. It is also faster to draw strong side then cross draw and be on target.

 

[okav8tor]

I like to carry cross draw. It is easier in a car or sitting down to access your gun. It is a natural presentation for me. I dont have to contort my shoulder like I have to when drawing from my strongside. To protect it from a snatch I use my weak hand leaving my strong hand for combat. Since my finger is not on the trigger when I draw sweeping is not a concern and if sweeping is a concern a slight turn to the right takes care of it. For me it just works a lot better than strongside.

 

[Rgoodwin]

Good points Okav8tor!

 

[shawn mccarver]

Say between 10 and 11. OWB tried it yesterday and liked it.

I take it by your "clock face description" you are referring to "cross-draw" (butt forward on weak side) versus "calvary draw" (butt forward on strong side).

Cross-draw is so dangerous that is it not legal to use in any NRA sanctioned match and it is so dangerous that properly trained law enforcement officers are not allowed to use this method (or, at least discouraged from doing so in agencies that have actually given thought to the problem).

In match use, presentation results in the barrel pointing at all of the competitors to your left (or weak side) as the pistol is presented and swung into line with the target. I do not know about you, but I will not tolerate having a gun pointed at me at any time, for any reason, under any circumstance. I want to go home after the match at least as intact as when I arrived. On most well-run ranges that allow presentation from the holster, this method is simply not allowed, and it will get you kicked out, perhaps permanently.

As far as LE use is concerned, cross-draw puts the weapon in a position where it is actually more convenient to the opponent facing you than it is for you. It is even worse for these unfortunate horizontal shoulder holsters, which are very convenient to the opponent, not to mention that everyone behind the wearer gets to look straight into the muzzle of a loaded weapon. A circuit court marshal where I lived was nearly killed when a large prisoner knocked him down, got on top of the marshal and was latched onto the SIG .45 Auto in the marshal's horizontal shoulder holster. On a less threatening level a gun store in St. Louis had armed employees carrying the the brand of nylon holsters they sold, one of which was a horizontal shoulder holster. Anytime I visited, I always felt a knot in my stomach when I was able to look right into the muzzle and see a .45 hollow point facing me in the employee's auto pistol.

There are very narrow exceptions to this rule of no cross-draw, such as always sitting in a car like a chauffeur or executive protection vehicle driver, helicopter or other pilot, a desk sergeant, etc. For ordinary citizens, a better option, if you feel the need, is to learn how to lean forward and draw while seated in the manner taught by Massad Ayoob and demonstrated by him on one of the TV shows. If you are too heavy or simply unable to bend forward enough in the confines of the car, then a quick on and off cross-draw is a better answer. That way, when you leave the car, you can re-holster in the proper holster. Carrying a weapon can sometimes be a cumbersome procedure, but if you are not willing to go to the trouble to do it properly, then I would say don't do it at all.

So, cross draw is generally dangerous to both bystanders and to the user, except for very limited cases such as chauffeurs or helicopter pilots, desk officers or similar workers who are seated all day.

A local officer near where I live insisted that he could protect his butt forward draw better from a grab attempt. When he actually went to a training that dealt with weapon retention, he was called out by the instructor at the beginning of the class. The instructor had the hapless officer explain his reasoning behind his mode of carry, and the long-serving, but little trained officer from the little department, impatiently explained his retention method. The instructor warned him to get ready for a grab attempt. The poor guy did so, and the instructor had the poor officer's heavy barreled Model 10 in his hand pointed at the officer's chest in about one second. We had all warned him, but he would not listen. The next shift, the officer had changed to strong side and worked another 15 years wearing his weapon the preferred way. The best that can be said is that he never got killed and, to the officer's credit, he "sucked it up" and admitted to everyone he was wrong and learned from it. I always like this officer, and I was quite proud of his ability to admit he had been wrong for the 15 years before that day. Although I have not seen him in many years, we remain friends.

Remember that just because holster makers offer cross-draw rigs it should not be taken as a good idea. Ken Null has this to say on his website when he describes his excellent XDR model, designed for drivers to carry the weapon at a steep angle while seated for easy access from the seated position: "While I do not adhere to this mode of carry, I have heard your call of need and answered it."

In my opinion, cross-draw makes me think "inexperienced cowboy" and reminds me of the Rod Steiger character in the original movie "In the Heat of the Night."

Read the book "No Second Place Winner" by Bill Jordan. The book explains it all in far better detail than I have done.

 

[vytoland]

cross draw = that's the way I like it. I can have my hand on the gun, ready to draw, underneath the cover shirt, before anyone knows that I have a firearm. one continuous motion, in the same direction.