46 total voters

36 (78%) say “Yes”
5 (11%) say “Only assault rifles”
3 (7%) say “No”
2 (4%) say “Who’s Obama?”

The interesting thing is that despite Obama openly saying he opposes conceal carry licenses, and believe that all semi automatic firearms (handguns and rifles) should be banned 7% of the people who voted in the poll still said no.

An intoxicated burglar invaded two homes in Anchorage, Alaska. The incident began when the criminal, Bowen Alexander, crashed the vehicle he was driving, and then broke into a home to steal the resident’s vehicle. Before he was able to steal the vehicle, Alexander left the residence, and entered an adjacent home.

This resident heard the commotion, and fired on Alexander. The shot missed, but Alexander immediately fled, falling through a window on his way out, causing minor injuries.

The police were able to apprehend Alexander, with the help of a canine unit. Alexander faces charges including, assault, burglary, driving under the influence and resisting arrest.

From: The Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, Alaska 11/16/08

His barking dog awakened a Baptist minister early one morning.  Deciding to investigate, he grabbed his .454 Casull revolver and slid open the front door.

What he found was quite alarming — a man high on narcotics was holding a brick in the air, pounding on the side of the house and shouting.

The minister retreated inside, but the crazed man forced his way through the door.

Fearing for his safety, the minister pointed his revolver at the suspect, ordered him to the floor and held him for police.

A responding deputy had to use a Taser on the suspect before taking him into custody.

- the armed citizen December, 2008 / Troup Country News, LaGrange GA, 08/15/08

This is a review for the Galco Concealable Holster for the Springfield XD. I purchased this holster a little over a year ago and have carried it for over 400 hours.

Overview:

The Galco Concealable Belt Holster is Galco’s pancake holster and is designed to be worn behind the strong hip. It is constructed of leather and is custom molded for the firearm it is designed to hold.

The interesting thing about this holster is only the front is molded to the firearm, the back of the holster is designed for the contour of the holster wearer. This contouring is said to increase comfort and also create a flatter, more concealable look.

Construction Quality:

The Galco Concealable Holster is very well constructed and as shipped is tight and needs some break in, Graco thoughtfully includes break-in instructions with the holster. I have not experienced any fading or loose stitching.

Concealment:

True to it’s name the Galco Concealable Belt holster is very easy to conceal, especially for an OWB holster.

The holster rides close to the body but not so much that it interferes with drawing. Even with the fairly large Springfield XD 45 ACP I am able to conceal this holster very well with an untucked polo shirt so it is acceptable for both winter and summer carry.

Comfort:

I’m not sure I buy the hip molded back side has anything to do with it but the Galco Concealable Holster is very comfortable, I have carried it in excess of 16 hours in a day without any discomfort.

It is important to use the holster as designed and carry it behind instead of on the hip as carrying directly on the hip isn’t comfortable with any holster and makes concealment more difficult.

It is far more comfortable than IWB holsters as the firearm is not resting between the pants and the body.

Drawing and Holstering:

The holster is easy to draw from and is stiff enough that it does not collapse, making re-holstering easy.

Retention:

This holster is an open top holster with no thumb break and is not designed to thwart gun grubs but like all good holsters offers some retention. Retention is important so that the gun does not work lose from the holster when walking, bending over, or other activity.

The holster comes from the factory VERY snug and requires a good amount of break in, even once broke in the holster remains tight enough to provide good friction and prevent the firearm from moving.

I believe the fact that the holster is only molded to the firearm on the front contributes to snugness.

Overall:

This holster is an extremely good value, it is well constructed, comfortable, and conceals easily. It is not quite up to par with some of the better custom holsters but it is also immediately available at a very fair price.

If you are looking for a good OWB concealment holster give the Galco Concealable Belt Holster a close look, it gets a solid A.

This is a review for the Blackhawk Serpa Retention Holster for the Sig P226 / P229. I purchased this holster for open carry use. I have used it for a year and a half for concealed carry, open carry, and running.

Overview:

The Serpa Retention Holster is made by Blackhawk and is available both online and in many local stores. I have seen it in Sportsman’s Warehouse, Cabelas and various local shops.

The Serpa Holster is carbon fiber injection molded holster fit to a specific firearm. It is a level II retention holster it uses friction and a locking action to keep the firearm in the holster.

The holster can be used as a paddle holster or the paddle can be removed and standard belt loops attached.

Holster Construction

The holster itself is visually appealing and feels as though it is constructed very well. Over the past year and a half I have impacted walls, doors, and other various objects with the holster and have not caused any damage to it.

There are two potential weak points on this holster.

The holster locks onto the trigger guard, and there have been some reports of gravel and sand getting into the holster and disabling the lock release. While somewhat concerning I have no intent of rolling around in the dirt with this holster and don’t anticipate running into this problem.

The holster can be used as either a standard belt loop holster or a paddle holster, both modules are provided in the box. Unfortunately the attachment uses somewhat small screws, I am concerned that in a retention the holster may separate from the belt loop or paddle module.

Retention

The primary use for this holster is for openly carrying a firearm. Because the firearm is in plain view when open carrying firearm retention can be more of an issue when carrying concealed.

The Serpa system locks onto the trigger guard when the firearm is holstered. There is a nice audible click that notifies the user the locking system has engaged. To release the lock the user obtains a firing grip on the firearm and indexes the pointer finger along the holster, the finger will naturally rest on the lock release button.

The Serpa system is viewed as unsafe by some firearm instructors because it requires the user to use the trigger finger to disable the lock. When drawing the user presses towards their body with the trigger finger and it is in theory possible for the finger to slip from the holster onto the trigger as the firearm clears the holster.

There has been a lot of heated debate between people on this issue with advocates on either side. I myself have not experienced the finger slip but it is something I’m aware of and watch out for with this holster.

It took very little time to master the system and drawing is no slower than drawing from a holster without retention. Disabling the lock is so natural I am somewhat concerned that an attacker may also naturally rest their finger along the release button.

The paddle attachment system locks to the belt but it can still be removed fairly easily with tugging.

Concealment

I have occasionally concealed this holster in locations where open carry is not possible and while not ideal it is acceptable. I would not purchase it for a concealment holster however as there are better choices.

This holster is a polymer holster and is very rigid, this means it tends prints more than a leather holster that can smooth out the edges of the firearm.

When configured as a paddle holster I found this holster rode too far from the body to be concealed.

Running

I am an avid runner and have experimented with various methods of carry while running. This holster works very well as an open carry running holster, the retention feature keeps the firearm securely in the holster and I have not experienced any accelerated firearm wear.

It can be made to work as a concealment running holster but I found I had to continually pull my shirt down, this is common to all OWB holsters though and nothing specific to this holster.

Overall

Overall the Blackhawk Serpa Holster is a good but not great holster with decent retention capability for general use. It is far surperior to the Uncle Mike’s line of polymer holsters.

That said I do not think it is constructed heavily enough or has enough retention features for duty use.

If you are considering a Serpa holster I also recommend you take a look at the Safariland 6367 holster as it is more heavily constructed in the belt loop area and also features more retention, it is a more expensive holster though.

ccasionally a person mentions they shoot to kill, or ask why can’t the police just shoot to wound. In this post I explore shooting to kill, to wound, or to stop the threat.

Shooting to wound

When a person mentions shooting to wound they often mean to shoot someone in the shoulder, arm, leg or other non fatal location. After all they don’t want to kill the person, they just want to defend themselves or cause the person to stop their aggressive action and it seems to make sense on the surface, let’s consider some additional information though.

#1 Shooting someone in the arm is still using lethal force. The rules for using lethal force are clear, you must be in immediate danger of grave bodily injury or death. If you are not, then you are not authorized to shoot them all.

#2 During a violent confrontation the body enters fight or flight mode. The brain dumps hormones including adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol into the body to prepare our itself to survive. These hormones decrease our reaction time, increase our alertness and strength and endurance. Blood is diverted from our extremities and from the surface of the skin to decrease bleeding if we were to be injured, functions not necessary for survival including digestion are slowed or completely shutdown.

Unfortunately this mode is not without drawbacks, our fine motor skills are greatly diminished, tunnel vision (focusing directly ahead or on a specific object) may occur, many people begin shaking, not out of fear but as a response to the hormones being released into the body.

In this state some people have lost the ability to unlock doors, operate phones, or other actions that require fine motor skills. Being accurate with a handgun is exceedingly difficult, that ability is greatly reduced.

#3 The bad guy probably is probably mobile.

Shooting at a moving target is far different than a stationery one. The head, arms and legs all naturally move considerably when our body moves, making these targets much harder to hit.

On average law enforcement officers are able to hit a stationery paper target more than 90% of the time, however when movement is added to the equation that percentage drops to only 12 to 18 percent. Now consider that those 12 to 18% of hits are almost always to center mass (the chest) and it becomes clear hitting a moving target is extremely difficult.

#4 The bad guy is trying to hurt or kill you

Shooting at a paper target is far different than shooting at someone trying to kill you. There is far less time, the bad guy is not standing still waiting to be shot as a paper target does but instead is armed, moving, and trying to hurt you.

#5 The human body is extremely sturdy

The fact is when someone is shot they do not get flung across the room, crumple to the floor or drop dead. There are exceptions of course, if a head (electrical) shot is used the person will immediately drop, but the vast majority of shootings are center mass (chest) shots.

In 1989 the FBI released a study titled “Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness” in it they state that even after the heart is destroyed an average person has 10-15 seconds of alert and willful control, that means they have 10-15 seconds to kill or wound you.

Next consider that the human body is capable of operating normally until about 20% of the blood supply is lost and far longer in an impaired but still possibly lethal state.

In the US we have a very good chance of surviving gunshot wounds, even ones to the chest or stomach. Recently in Boise a criminal was shot over 20 times by the police and survived.

Shots to the arms, and legs while not lethal also do not let a sufficient amount of blood out of the body to force the person to stop. In fact it is not uncommon for people to not realize they’ve been shot until after a violent encounter is over. It is going to hurt considerably later but in the case of self defense we have an immediate need for them to stop NOW not in a few hours or days.

Shooting to kill

The next option is to shoot to kill, I’ve often heard people mention that they will “shoot to kill” in a defensive situation and recommend other people do the same. How does one shoot to kill though, is it a valid approach?

Shooting to kill is exactly that, shooting someone with the intent to kill them, to achieve that one must inflict enough damage to the other person that they can no longer live. That typically means shooting them in vital organs such as the heart, lungs, in areas that will cause rapid and uncontrollable bleeding or the head.

It also means that the person does not stop shooting until the person is dead, even if the reason for originally shooting no longer exists. For example if the bad guy enters someones house and they shoot the BG, then pursue him as he flees and continue to shoot until he is dead.

As cold hearted as it may sound shooting to kill is a valid in military combat during war where the intent is to kill the enemy.

Killing is not the goal of self defense, the goal is to stop the bad guy from killing or injuring us, the person may well die but that is not the intent. It is widely held in court that in self defense situations use of force must stop once the threat is over. For example if a home owner shoots an invader and he runs away, or collapses and no longer poses a deadly threat then the home owner must not continue to use lethal force.

Finally words matter, when the police arrive if you make the statement that you shot to kill it will be assumed you meant to kill the person. In court a prosecutor can use those words against you and portray the event not as a self defense situation but as a cold blooded attack where unnecessary force was used.

Shooting to stop the threat

I’ve discussed shooting to wound, and shooting to kill and presented information as to why neither of them are workable strategies in self defense situations, that leaves shooting to stop the threat.

The words “Shooting to stop the threat” are sometimes seen as a politically correct way of saying shoot to kill there are similarities but there are also important differences.

When a person shoots to stop the threat they are responding to an immediate and grave threat against them. The general strategy is to shoot center of mass and attempt to hit or destroy the heart and lungs. This is why some people say it is “shooting to kill” however it is not correct. We shoot for center mass because is the most reliable way to force the bad guy to stop.

Unlike the head, arms and legs the chest does not move a great amount when we move our body, making it an easier and very large target, having a large target is important because in the fight or flight mode even accomplished marksmen can have trouble being accurate. Hitting the heart and lungs is important because it will let blood out and (hopefully) force the bad guy to stop what they are doing. In the case that the bad guy continues the defender may be forced to shoot for the head.

The important thing to realize here is the intent is not to kill the bad guy, only to stop him. Also realize that the bad guy is in complete control over how much force is used, if he surrenders or quits when the gun is drawn he wont be shot at all, if he gives up after he is shot the first time he will not be shot again.

So although the end result of shooting to stop the threat and shooting to kill may happen to be the same the reason and the intent are entirely different. In shooting to stop the threat he will not be needlessly pursued or finished off while someone who is shooting to kill must do exactly that to be successful.

Conclusion

In self defense situations in the United States the proper response to deadly attacks is to shoot to stop. The bad guy is in control over (a.) if he will be shot and (b.) how many times.

In most states law enforcement is held to the same rules for use of force and they are also trained to shoot to stop the threat, not to shoot to kill. They can not afford to shoot to wound because if they fail the bad guy will likely kill them, or many other innocent people. They must stop the threat in the most immediate and effective way possible.

I hope you found this article informative, there is a lot of information on the Internet and various books and publications and I can not cover it all here. I encourage you to seek out other sources of information and to never stop learning.