Pictured at top with the BLUE GUN Glock 19 is the SOB (Sheriff of Baghdad) “Condom,” holster, popularized by world-famous trainer, John “Shrek” McPhee. As advertised, the Condom holster is very low profile, comfortable, and concealable. I don’t often carry a G19 these days, but when I do, as work or training environment requires, this rig is great for low profile carry under casual clothes, and allows large RUGBY players like Shrek and I to carry a G19 virtually invisibly.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, fair reader, but there was a time in the recent past when the majority of holsters for serious purposes (personal defense, law enforcement, security) were made of LEATHER! They were not vegan-friendly like the kydex, Boltaron, and various other polymer type synthetics that are the off-shoots of the Bill Rogers (Rogers Holster and later SAFARILAND) “plastic,” holsters of the 1970’s. Leather holsters have a lot going for them, and are still quite serviceable and workable for the modern CIVILIAN DEFENDER. Chief among the positive qualities of leather holsters are their increased level of comfort. They tend to conform to the body over a period of time, and this makes user compliance higher. My old buddy Paul Gomez preferred leather holsters over synthetics, because while synthetics allowed a quicker draw (and they most certainly do) they give up quite a bit in terms of weapon’s retention. Leather holsters rely on surface area contact with the weapon to keep the holster and gun together. “Boning,” or forcibly bending the leather with a tool (made of bone in traditional leather-working) to fit the gun it was designed for, and other features like trigger guard detents, can allow the pistol to, “snap,” into the holster. I have yet to purchase a quality leather holster that doesn’t require some accelerated break-in before I use it in my regular carry. Thus, additional break-in steps have to be taken to get the holster to a point of snug retention, but not so much that it takes two hands, an elephant, and a length of chain to remove the gun from the holster. It isn’t hard to spot the rookie in a concealed carry class who hasn’t broken in their holster adequately, as the wedgie and belt pulled up to their neck is a dead give-away.
When I was a young police cadet, a wise Sergeant told me to use rubbing alcohol to stretch the leather on my duty belt accessories, since the alcohol would evaporate quickly, and thus prevent the leather from losing it’s shape. While that is true, because alcohol evaporates so quickly, it dehydrates the leather, which can cause a wet-molded holster to lose its shape. Most holster manufacturers recommend using the thick, plastic bag (or a freezer bag if you don’t have the factory container) to stretch the holster…this isn’t rocket surgery, but it can certainly cut down on your frustration if you haven’t encountered something like this before.
You’re going to need a bag. If the holster is very tight, you may need MANY bags. I keep a stack of these in my storage closet, at the ready for breaking in holsters. This is a Galco Summer Comfort that I won at the Rangemaster Tactical Conference. It is Galco’s version of Bruce Nelson’s Summer Special II. And it comes out of the box TIGHT. It won’t allow the wearer to draw the holster without help. And I assure you I’m not lacking in physical strength! You can use a Blue Gun like I’ve done here, or you can use your (unloaded and cleared) live pistol as well.
Put the pistol into the plastic bags (start with one…if that doesn’t get the rig to relax some, go to two bags. Increase if necessary). Push the bags and pistol into the holster, to the limit of its insertion. THEN FORGET ABOUT THE HOLSTER/GUN. Leave it in a dry place, and let the leather and the stitching relax, over a period of days or weeks. Depending on the construction and materials, a break-in with this method can take a couple of weeks to complete.This AE Nelson duty rig looks brand new…it IS NOT. If you take care of your leather gear, it will take care of you. A little bit of love and regular maintenance will keep your gear looking good, and in fine functioning form. Worn stitching can always be replaced, but smashed edges, chunks missing, and other misuse should be avoided when possible. After all, with a uniform holster like this, you’re expecting the holster to protect the gun from the elements, as well as allow you to mount an effective defense against disarmament. So take the extra steps and allow your gear to do some of the work for you!It looks like leather…but it isn’t! (The belt is). SAFARI-LAMINATE is a synthetic leather, which gives the appearance of leather, with the lower maintenance requirements of nylon or plastic. AND, you can still break it in with the plastic bag method.
I HAD THE RECENT pleasure to attend Dave Spaulding’s highly-regarded, “Combative Pistol,” at the great Dover TN, “Hilltop Firearms Training Center.” I’ve known of, and read Dave’s writing since I was a young police cadet, back in the 1990’s. Prior to the internet, Harris Media and magazines like, “Guns and Weapons for Law Enforcement,” and, “Combat Handguns,” were where folks went to get information on what was good in the personal defense, law enforcement and training industries. Dave has been a literary figure of the industry for decades, and is a full-time firearms trainer, now that he has retired from law enforcement.
If I break out my old (paper) copy of the dictionary and look up the word, “epistemology,” the definition reads:
e·pis·te·mol·o·gy
əˌpistəˈmäləjē
noun
the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.
Bear with me! It’s a $5 word for sure, but don’t let it run you off. “COMBATIVE PISTOL,” is Dave’s flagship course. Although I wouldn’t consider it, “basic,” or, “beginner,” at all. There were no fluff drills, nor drills strictly designed as, “feel good,” exercises. Every round was sent downrange with intention and accuracy behind it. At this point in my life, I’ve taken thousands of hours of training classes, and probably tens of thousands of hours of classroom instruction in the pursuit of my degrees in law enforcement, biology, philosophy, and medical education. I’m really at the point in my life where my, “polymath maintenance,” is dependent on being able to find, consume and assimilate boli of high-yield information. Don’t give me the fluff or the long, James Fenimore Cooper-esque version! Just boil down the facts into easily consumed packets of information I can digest, and then put to use, “On Monday Morning.” This is one reason why I like Tom Givens’ classes so much, and now why I enjoyed Dave Spaulding’s class in the same way.
So, in my usual, “free association power hour,” fashion, I will present to you the raw notes and my exposition thereof of that material, along with other points of importance you may find interesting.
THE GOAL: “To prevail, (kill) combatants with a handgun, while under the duress of combat, given real world conditions with prevailing speed and accuracy.”
-Kelly McCann
In Dave’s view, the goal towards mastery of, “The Combative Pistol,” should allow the user to be ready and willing (to engage with an adversary), use tactics, techniques and procedures that function as an individual but can be adapted to a team environment, and be used in close-range confrontations (10-12 yards) against a person/persons with unknown intent (process or resource predators). Working a B8 target at distance is a good measure of skill, but is it applicable to what we do? “If you can’t hit it, don’t shoot at it!” The majority of our shooting should be 10-12 yards and in (two car lengths distance).
PISTOL ATTRIBUTES (what a pistol/user should be capable of)
deliberate, individual shots
limited ammo supply (but remember that all errant rounds will hit something)
user should be able to recognize and engage threats within 25 yards (can you even SEE 25 yards? I CANNOT always) and the pistol should be able to accurately deliver rounds at that distance
speed and accuracy is important
fast follow up shots are essential
pistol skills should be reactive/responsive
you can’t ignore the importance of speed (and you must take an expedient response into account)
reasonably short barrel
easy to use but tough (rugged)
high visibility but rugged sights
reliable under a wide variety of conditions
good trigger and ergonomics
reasonable capacity for task (10 rounds or greater is ideal)
reload quickly (not like revolvers with their 6-20 second reload)
not excessively bulky and lightweight
reasonably powerful (although in general, handguns suck for power…but why carry a .380 when similarly sized 9mm [which IS ballistically superior] pistols exist?)
ON PREVAILING…
You need awareness and willingness to prevail (in a violent confrontation)
AWARENESS = DISTANCE
DISTANCE=TIME
TIME=LIFE
EFFICIENCY IS THE least amount of time and effort that can be expended to achieve a goal
DRAWSTROKE is when the gun arrives where you need to use it
RECOIL CONTROL is the gun returning where it started from before the shot was fired
PROPER GRIP “Don’t be a grip dick by accepting a shit grip.”
TRIGGER CONTROL is the independent depressing of the trigger straight to the rear, without the interruption of the target/bore alignment. This is the most critical aspect of shooting
The next section deals with what Dave calls the, “Three S’s,” and this section I found particularly relevant. As both a perpetual student and trainer myself, I often find myself asking, “why” am I being taught a specific thing? What will it do/not do for me? If I can’t explain the, “why,” behind it, then WHY THE HELL would I consider it for regular use, or teach it to another? This doesn’t apply to just defensive pistolcraft…it applies to life in general. Dave has put together a simple codification behind the reduction of, “why,” for our use that looks like this:
SIMPLE?
MAKE SENSE?
STREET PROVEN?
SIMPLE-if you can’t do it easily, you won’t do it under stress. These techniques will be easier to teach, easier to understand and easier to refine on the range
SENSE-does it make sense to you? Does the WHY of it make sense to you? Don’t buy the, “This is how I do it so just do it that way.”
STREET-does it work time and again, in real-world encounters?
If you apply the, “3 S'” and something doesn’t fit, don’t use it!
In the course, I used a Spencer Keepers, “Keeper,” AIWB holster, as well as my EDC, the Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm. This is a late-model of the Keeper, and it works very well, while still being extremely comfortable to wear in the heat, AND allow the gun to be readily accessible. I do carry my pistol on my hip on certain occasions though, so I found Dave’s section on the anatomical and physiological breakdown of the drawstroke interesting and useful.
HOLSTERS AND DRAWSTROKE
the holster is there to make the gun available to you
STRONG SIDE carry is the physiologically preferred position for carrying a firearm since your strong side is closest to your shooting hand
YOUR ELBOW LEADS YOUR DRAW ALONG A PREDICTABLE ARC OF MOTION
3 O’clock and AIWB carry…the arc of movement isn’t any different because the elbow leads the arc
ATTACK the juncture of the trigger guard and the grip, so you can wrap your hand around the grip and draw
ATTACKING THE GRIP when carrying appendix makes the draw easier (since the front strap of the gun is often close, or in contact with the waistline/belt)
the, “shortest distance draw,” works great for competition but not so well for combat, thus we adopt the, “upside down L,” drawstroke
the gun should arrive where you are looking at the terminus of the drawstroke
THE ARC OF READY
We used a number of ready positions in this class, and none of them were, “Sul”! Dave was quick to point out that Sul isn’t a ready position to shoot from as much as it is a movement position to allow people to move about in a shoot house with a catwalk, without muzzling observers overhead or their own teammates (many instructors overlook this and give you the, “just do it my way, kid” line). Dave demonstrated and had us try out a number of ready positions along what he calls the, “arc of ready.” This series of movements allow the individual user to pick a position relative to the circumstances that they find themselves in. Some positions are faster on target (because the front sight stays visible in the peripheral vision) or offer better weapon retention capability, since the gun is closer to the body (or #2 position, as it is commonly known). The interesting tie-in between Dave’s presentation on strong-side carry and draw stroke, is that the, “arc of ready,” also coincides and dovetails nicely with this. While the arc of movement for the drawstroke guides the presentation of the gun from the holster to the target, the arc of ready guides the pistol from a position OTHER THAN THE HOLSTER, to the target, along a path that is common and still, GUIDED BY THE ELBOW. It may sound weird to the reader, but in practical application, it really makes good sense. As Tom Givens says, “There are three places your gun can be…IN YOUR HOLSTER, AT THE READY, OR ON THE TARGET!” When you consider the applicability of the, “Arc of Ready,” to that heuristic, the possibility of movements extraneous to that path of movement, become irrelevant. This idea works, because it makes our study SIMPLER (remember the, “3 S’s!”). Additionally, due to physical limitations the, “Arc of Ready,” doesn’t exclude any particular kind of student, since if one of the positions in the arc is outside of their range of motion, chances are, another position earlier or later in that arc, will work for that individual.
RELOADS
Another section I got a particularly great amount of reflection, scrutiny and guidance from Dave on, was my reload. I can pull off a predictable, fast reload. But, unbeknownst to me, I was making it very difficult on myself. After watching my reload a few times, Dave stopped me and said, “You’re doing too much work trying to thread that needle there. Isolate your movements and line the magazine up with the side of the magwell, and you’ll have fewer issues.” HOLY SMOKES! Nobody had ever said that to me, and it immediately made me think, “What the hell have I been doing?” In classes, if you’re faster than the group and execute a skill with precision, care and safety, you’re not likely to draw the eye of the instructor, and thus, a less-than-ideal execution goes from rehearsal to hard-wired, relatively quickly.
why reloads fall apart?
the gun is moving
the magazine is moving
both are moving
use the side of the magazine well or the interior of the backstrap of the magwell to guide the magazine into the proper seating direction
THIS is how we hold most everything, right? Holding onto objects, especially with any degree of strength and/or precision, THIS grip, as pictured, makes far better sense than holding onto something with our ring and pinky fingers, does it not? Keeping this in mind, look at the way you grasp and actuate the slide on your firearm when loading, unloading, or manipulating for malfunction clearance.Using Dave’s preferred method of manipulation of the slide has numerous advantages. You have far more power and grasp in the, “pinch,” grip between your first and second fingers and thumb, than you do in your other fingers. Also, it is intuitive since you hold everything else in the world like this (as pictured above). By turning the gun upside down or inboard, whatever is stuck in the ejection port, whether a double feed or a stovepipe, gravity will help it fall out and free up the slide to function normally.
THE, “POWER STROKE,”
proponents will say that the, “POWER STROKE,” gives the slide an additional 1/4″ of travel
you grab the pistol slide with the weakest part of the hand, which defies motor learning and performance
NOBODY grabs anything else in the world like that!
keep the gun in the basketball sized workspace known as the, “sphere of coordination,” which some folks call the, “workspace”
in real-life, they’re hot and sharp, which is difficult to simulate on the range
to clear them:
turn the gun upside down
run the slide
stovepiped round will fall free of the gun
‘IF YOU FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE, REMEMBER THE GOAL IS TO: *GET THE GUN OUT BETWEEN YOU AND THE THREAT AND WORK THE TRIGGER CALMLY AND CONTROLLED*’
IN CLOSING
As the essay title states, this class really conveys to the student Dave Spaulding’s EPISTEMOLOGY. Meaning, everything in it provides for the justification of Dave’s ideas, as gleaned from his experiences as a student of combat pistolcraft, an educator, and as a peace officer. Underpinning his philosophy is a sound basis in WHY. Because without the WHY, you only have partial command of anything. The market is flooded today with trainers who expect their students to accept their methodology as gospel without any logical grounding other than, “Because this is what I say!” Unfortunately, if that person came from an institutional training system, that might very well be because they were taught that TTP (tactic, technique or procedure) by a person who didn’t know the WHY either, and they simply passed on information, because that is the information they had received. And with that methodology, un-owned, baseless knowledge continues to live on in perpetuity. That’s no way to live or learn, folks!
It kills me to write this, everytime, but guys like Dave aren’t going to be around forever. When they go, we will have their teaching and their writings to go off of. And more good people will die learning and re-learning mistakes and errors that men like Dave Spaulding, Tom Givens, John Farnam, Massad Ayoob and their peers have delineated through their careers, that they’ve learned the hard way. Don’t wait to train with these folks. Months turn into years, and before you know it, you will have missed the opportunity.