“I’m right handed…and I carry on my right hip at 5 o’clock..do I need to learn how to extract my weapon with my left hand?” “Should I learn to draw my weapon with the opposite hand?” “If I’m in a tight situation will I be able to extract or draw my weapon with ONE hand”? These are questions that every RESPONSIBLE Conceal Carry Holder SHOULD BE ASKING themselves. To start off… Let’s look at a scenario I experienced a few months back…
Its 10am, mid December about 40 degrees. I’m walking to the bus stop. I hear a large dog bark aggressively, but I couldn’t determine WHERE the dog was barking. SO, I stop and made an about face to figure out the dog’s LOCATION. I see a medium sized healthy American Pit Bull Terrier sprinting down the stairs and eventually made his way on to the ground. Distance was about 50 yards. Dog was running towards me, mouth wide open, ears slicked back. I hear the owner screaming at the dog…”Molly!!!…you better not bite him!!!..Molly!! Leave him alone!!!” Molly gets about 5 yards from me and I hold my ground and look her in the eye and she retreats. Luckily for Molly I’m a dog lover…or else she would’ve ended up being vulture meat. Let’s take a look at some variables in this scene…because I learned a LOT.
Threat Assessment
Know when its time to run. Of course you can’t outrun a pit bull terrier. I was thinking….”If this dog bites me on my right forearm..will I be able to extract my gun with my opposite hand and put the dog down?” “Should I extract my weapon and discharge a warning shot to scare the dog”? “What If I draw my weapon and shoot and miss the dog?” “Surely this 180gr .40 S&W FMJ at 5 yrds would go through the dog like paper and tear up somebody’s car…or worse”. “Let me hold my ground and see what Molly does because she hears her owner’s voice yelling at her.” All of these were calculations I had to make in less than 4 seconds. Luckily, Molly was a dog that just wanted to play. I actually made the right call in this instant. I made eye contact with the owner afterwards and told her “MOLLY NEEDS A LEASH!!” This incident with Molly also made me consider another discipline in the realm of RESPONSIBLE CONCEAL CARRYING. The EXTRACTION.
The Opposite Hand Extraction
Later that night, I practice on extracting my weapon at home with the opposite hand. I was thinking “What IF Molly had been an aggressive dog and she latched on to my shooting hand and disabled it?” If Molly had been a REAL attack dog…I would been on the ground instantly and she would’ve been on my neck. See how quickly things happen? Police, Troopers, Soldiers, and anybody with ANY type of Paramilitary training practice and train on this. “What if my shooting hand is disabled?…Can I draw my weapon and fire a few point blank shots with the opposite hand?” ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS AND ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE. PRACTICE THE OPPOSITE HAND EXTRACTION WITH AN EMPTY CHAMBER.
Issue with this extraction?…We didn’t see him draw with the other hand. What if the OTHER arm was shot and disabled??
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