DirtyShirt
Member
I was shot through the hand with a .22 Magnum when I was 14. I recovered fully since then but it is a sobering thing to be accidentally shot. Maybe I was lucky that it happened when I was young and I could learn from it. It made me realize at a young age just how dangerous this thing is that we do. You don't even realize it when it happens, it just happens and now you're dead(or shot). You better do the things necessary to keep yourself safe before that moment comes.
I've been shooting for over 30 years. I have been concealed carrying for 15 years. Sometimes we get complacent with what we've been doing and need a reminder that what we do; as people who use and carry guns everyday, is really dangerous. Guns are fun but guns are dangerous. They're supposed to be dangerous. That's the point. If I could magically stop a murderer by shooting him with a paintball gun then that's what I would use. But that doesn't work so I have to carry very deadly dangerous tools.
With that being said, the controversies around the P320 has made me think about what I do in my daily carry routine and with my carry guns. I carry a Glock 32 in an IWB Kydex holster on my right hip. Glocks are safe enough for a striker fired pistol but there was a time when the phrase Glock Leg was commonly used bc people were shooting themselves with their Glocks. Many of you here are probably old enough to remember this. That doesn't mean Glocks are unsafe. It just means that the trigger mechanism on a Glock requires extra care and attention when holstering and handling the pistol. You can see pictures from decades ago of cops with their revolvers and they have their finger on the trigger as soon as the revolver comes out of the holster. They would run & chase suspects with their finger on the trigger. This was deemed acceptable back then because those revovlers had 14 pound double action service triggers. That's something you would never do with a Glock. Traditional double action triggers are more forgiving and this becomes important when discussing concealed carry and the proficiency level of many concealed carriers today.
I grew up shooting traditional double action pistols. Beretta 92, S&W Third Gens, all kinds of revovlers. Handling a DA trigger and the transition from the DA first shot to the SA second shot is just second nature for me.
I recently decided to switch from my Glock 32 and start carrying my S&W 6906 again. I took my 6906 to the range today and put 300 rounds through it. It ran like sewing machine. Such a nice handling gun. The grip is the perfect size for my hands. I was using the 15 round 5906 magazines with the magazine sleeve on them. The recoil impulse is really nice. No snappiness, just a soft push and I ride the sights back to the target. I'm also going from 357 SIG to 9mm so that too may be why it feels so nice.
What's my point? Glocks are safe enough, sure. But once you are trained on the traditional double action pull it's nice to have a gun that gives you that extra layer of protection from 'Glocking' your leg when holstering or unholstering. Your finger instinctively wants to pop into that trigger guard. Under stress our fingers naturally squeeze. Grabbing or squeezing with the one hand causes sympathetic movement of our other hand. We're never perfect all of the time, especially under stress, especially under pressure. The things we do at the range shooting paper in the air conditioning are not the things we're going to do in the middle of a gun fight. On a traditional double action gun that initial DA trigger pull keeps you from cranking off a round prematurely because your adrenaline is through the roof and you unknowingly pulled back your trigger too much too soon. The Glock NY trigger was created for this very reason. Under stress we do things we don't realize we're doing. Many concealed carriers don't have any training besides going to the range and shooting paper. Which is fine, honestly. That's honestly fine but the issue arises from the gun handling aspect. Does this person have enough training to safely handle their firearm under stress. BTW I love Glocks and am not knocking them. I'm just using them as an example because it's what I carry.
Also, the difficulty of learning to shoot a traditional double action trigger is WAY overblown. People today act like learning to shoot a Beretta 92, Beretta PX4, P220, P226 or a revolver is some monumental task. Everyone used to shoot traditional double action guns years ago. Also, if you learn to shoot a traditional double action trigger you will be a better shooter across the board. Learning to shoot a traditional double action trigger will improve your skill at holding your sight picture, holding sight alignment, grip, stance. You can't fake it when learning a traditional double action trigger. You can fake it with a Glock, M&P, P320, etc. People with very poor proficiency and low skill levels can pick up a striker fired gun and shoot a paper target acceptably well. This is one reason police departments switched to striker fired guns. Qualification levels improved. However, the shooter gains a false sense of confidence with their gun. They'll equate that relatively decent performance a shooting paper to thinking they are skilled with their gun across the board. They are not. Handling your gun under stress IRL is not the same thing as shooting paper.
In conclusion, my point is that we should step back for a moment and look at what we're doing and if we doing it safely. Are the things that we're doing actually in line with our own personal proficiency levels? Are we just using something because it's the latest thing on the market? Or because it looks really cool with the compensated slide? Or because we saw a YouTube video and now 'I need that new gun so my friends and people at the range don't think I'm a boomer fudd'.
Step Back and Honestly Assess Your Situation
I've been shooting for over 30 years. I have been concealed carrying for 15 years. Sometimes we get complacent with what we've been doing and need a reminder that what we do; as people who use and carry guns everyday, is really dangerous. Guns are fun but guns are dangerous. They're supposed to be dangerous. That's the point. If I could magically stop a murderer by shooting him with a paintball gun then that's what I would use. But that doesn't work so I have to carry very deadly dangerous tools.
With that being said, the controversies around the P320 has made me think about what I do in my daily carry routine and with my carry guns. I carry a Glock 32 in an IWB Kydex holster on my right hip. Glocks are safe enough for a striker fired pistol but there was a time when the phrase Glock Leg was commonly used bc people were shooting themselves with their Glocks. Many of you here are probably old enough to remember this. That doesn't mean Glocks are unsafe. It just means that the trigger mechanism on a Glock requires extra care and attention when holstering and handling the pistol. You can see pictures from decades ago of cops with their revolvers and they have their finger on the trigger as soon as the revolver comes out of the holster. They would run & chase suspects with their finger on the trigger. This was deemed acceptable back then because those revovlers had 14 pound double action service triggers. That's something you would never do with a Glock. Traditional double action triggers are more forgiving and this becomes important when discussing concealed carry and the proficiency level of many concealed carriers today.
I grew up shooting traditional double action pistols. Beretta 92, S&W Third Gens, all kinds of revovlers. Handling a DA trigger and the transition from the DA first shot to the SA second shot is just second nature for me.
I recently decided to switch from my Glock 32 and start carrying my S&W 6906 again. I took my 6906 to the range today and put 300 rounds through it. It ran like sewing machine. Such a nice handling gun. The grip is the perfect size for my hands. I was using the 15 round 5906 magazines with the magazine sleeve on them. The recoil impulse is really nice. No snappiness, just a soft push and I ride the sights back to the target. I'm also going from 357 SIG to 9mm so that too may be why it feels so nice.
What's my point? Glocks are safe enough, sure. But once you are trained on the traditional double action pull it's nice to have a gun that gives you that extra layer of protection from 'Glocking' your leg when holstering or unholstering. Your finger instinctively wants to pop into that trigger guard. Under stress our fingers naturally squeeze. Grabbing or squeezing with the one hand causes sympathetic movement of our other hand. We're never perfect all of the time, especially under stress, especially under pressure. The things we do at the range shooting paper in the air conditioning are not the things we're going to do in the middle of a gun fight. On a traditional double action gun that initial DA trigger pull keeps you from cranking off a round prematurely because your adrenaline is through the roof and you unknowingly pulled back your trigger too much too soon. The Glock NY trigger was created for this very reason. Under stress we do things we don't realize we're doing. Many concealed carriers don't have any training besides going to the range and shooting paper. Which is fine, honestly. That's honestly fine but the issue arises from the gun handling aspect. Does this person have enough training to safely handle their firearm under stress. BTW I love Glocks and am not knocking them. I'm just using them as an example because it's what I carry.
Also, the difficulty of learning to shoot a traditional double action trigger is WAY overblown. People today act like learning to shoot a Beretta 92, Beretta PX4, P220, P226 or a revolver is some monumental task. Everyone used to shoot traditional double action guns years ago. Also, if you learn to shoot a traditional double action trigger you will be a better shooter across the board. Learning to shoot a traditional double action trigger will improve your skill at holding your sight picture, holding sight alignment, grip, stance. You can't fake it when learning a traditional double action trigger. You can fake it with a Glock, M&P, P320, etc. People with very poor proficiency and low skill levels can pick up a striker fired gun and shoot a paper target acceptably well. This is one reason police departments switched to striker fired guns. Qualification levels improved. However, the shooter gains a false sense of confidence with their gun. They'll equate that relatively decent performance a shooting paper to thinking they are skilled with their gun across the board. They are not. Handling your gun under stress IRL is not the same thing as shooting paper.
In conclusion, my point is that we should step back for a moment and look at what we're doing and if we doing it safely. Are the things that we're doing actually in line with our own personal proficiency levels? Are we just using something because it's the latest thing on the market? Or because it looks really cool with the compensated slide? Or because we saw a YouTube video and now 'I need that new gun so my friends and people at the range don't think I'm a boomer fudd'.
Step Back and Honestly Assess Your Situation
