For the Ladies....Good information From Tiger Mckee

Skill Set: Ladies' Carry

Today's column is for the ladies, or for you guys who are going to help a lady get started with a handgun. The big news is that men and women are different. Yes, you know this, but apparently when it comes to helping a lady choose a pistol and how to carry it guys have a tendency to forget this. Women will have completely different requirements for a pistol and how they are going to carry the weapon. Here are some important things to consider.

According to Jeff Cooper, the three important features of a pistol are size and fit, good sights and a crisp trigger. First off, the pistol has to properly fit the hands so the shooter can acquire a proper grip. A pistol that "fits" means you can efficiently operate any features such as safeties. For example, smaller pistols have small thumb safeties which are more difficult to switch from "Safe" to "Fire" and back. A lot of women don't have the hand strength to work the thumb safety properly. With the various designs in handguns today I really don't see that a traditional thumb safety is needed, as long as the shooter has received the proper training and the accompanying practice.

A pistol that fits allows the shooter to get the proper position of the finger on the trigger. Ideally the finger is positioned with the trigger in the center of the first pad of the finger where it can press the trigger straight to the rear, as opposed to pushing or pulling it to one side, which will affect accuracy. Also, can you actually press the trigger? Most ladies have a hard time pressing the ten to twelve pound trigger on a standard revolver. In order to shoot accurately you have to press the trigger smoothly, and spend a lot of time doing it.

"Fit" also comes into play for manipulating the pistol. Again, think about hand size and strength. A pistol may fit the hand, but can the shooter operate the slide, manipulating it in order to load, unload or reload? Can they press the mag release without having to struggle or juggle the pistol in their hands? All of these actions are necessary to operate the pistol safely and efficiently.

You also need to think about "Fit" along carry lines. Will the pistol fit the way they need to carry? I've heard guys tell ladies, "You have to carry it in a holster on your belt, otherwise don't even bother carrying it." What? Again, women and men are different. Most ladies can't carry a handgun on the belt, either due to their size and shape or the way they have to dress. There are a lot of different options for carrying, and while a lot of people – guys – don't like carrying in a purse or bag it does have advantages. A lady can walk through the parking lot with their hand in their purse – and grip on the pistol – without attracting any attention. When your pistol is on the belt it's hard to do this without attracting attention.

Another factor to consider in the "Fit" department is recoil. Yes, carrying a big fast bullet is great, until it keeps you from shooting because it hurts the hand. Again, practice is mandatory. In my opinion a .380 pistol that "fits" someone - they'll actually shoot and practice with it – is much better than a lightweight .357 that they only shoot a few times and never touch again. We usually start beginners, both men and women, out with .22's and then have them move up to larger calibers.

"But," the guys complain, "Now I have to buy more pistols." Or, and this one really kills me, "My wife shot my XXX and now she wants one." What? You're complaining that your wife wants you to buy more pistols? Get that girl whatever she wants. If it's something she likes she'll probably shoot and carry it more.

Ladies, you need training. Guys - don't try to teach your wife or girlfriend how to shoot. Training is necessary to learn how to operate a firearm safely, the number one concern, and efficiently, which is mandatory for self-defense. I actually recommend new shooters to get training before buying a firearm. Most places will have pistols you can rent or use in the class, and the instruction will help you determine what type pistol is going to work best for you.

A great source of information is The Handgun Guide For Women by Tara Dixon Engel. This book has chapters on almost everything you need to get started. (Guys, I recommend you read it too.) It even has a chapter on "How To Visit A Gunshop," which is a difficult thing for most women.

Ladies, you need to be armed and ready to defend yourself and family. Guys, remember helping may not actively involve you. Everyone who is capable and ready should prepare. It's getting ugly out there, and I don't see it getting better any time soon.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, 

One Gun....Rich Grassi

One Gun

The first Glock 19s in the stable: the Gen 2 (right) was the first and it's very old. The second is the Gen 3, which saw lots of use in the waning years of my law enforcement career.

Are you the type that buys "one of these, one of those?" – A collector? There's not a thing wrong with it. Those who like guns often like lots of them and they enjoy the variation, learning different operating systems and simply enjoying range time or collecting.

There seem to be increasing numbers of practically minded folks who slavishly adhere to one type of handgun on the basis that they can only really learn one system – and there's something to be said for this as well.

The likelihood of a 'battlefield pickup' – snatching up a gun from someone who's down to use in an on-going emergency is currently (and thankfully) very slim. It's far more likely you'll need to dance with the one you brought along. Will you ever have all the skill you need? Is it possible to wish you hadless skill with the piece you have when the fight starts?

I don't believe so. I think you'll have more than enough to worry over. Having to learn your weapon system during the battle is just too much.

The story I always tell is my own experience. I yawned at the appearance of the early Glock pistols in the 1980s and shook my head as I watched them take over the US law enforcement scene in the 1990s. As I was teaching at seminars around the country in the middle and the latter half of the decade and into the 21st Century, it was Glock everywhere the eye could see. I was confronted with the fact that showing up with a "traditional double action" (trigger-cocking) pistol was just a source of confusion for folks who had the Wonder Plastic.

The current 'duty' gun is the Gen. 4 Glock 19, as refitted. Some parts were installed to bring the gun into line, others as a test.

I got a Glock 19 used in 2000 and worked with it some. Mike Rafferty was to attend a Glock armorer's recertification class. He'd looked my prize over, noted that it was an early U.S. G19 and took it along. The instructor did all the "updates" – and there were many. I got a Gen. 3 Glock 19 in the summer of 2001.

That gun accompanied me to an annual conference of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors and I took every shooting class I could get into, including one from contributor Dave Spaulding. A set of XS Sights was installed and it went to the following IALEFI Annual and to Gunsite Academy on a media event. I consumed every bit of 3,000 rounds of ammo to get accustomed to that thing and it later became my "most trained with" firearm of all time. As a writer, I was pulled away from the gun to test others. I always seemed to go back to it.

Is it ideal? Well, I'm no 'caliber commando' – so the issue of the 9mm chambering is no issue for me. The gun has to function and hit to the sights. It has a consistent trigger shot-to-shot requiring no 'transition' from trigger-cocking to single action. It holds fifteen rounds in the magazine, can accept the 17-round magazine of its bigger brother – something I seldom take advantage of. That's in a form factor that the manufacturer calls "compact." The first auto I carried in police uniform – a Colt National Match – had a standard capacity of seven rounds.

The Glock 19 has a smaller sibling, the Glock 26, which accepts the magazines of the G19 and G17 – making it an ideal backup gun. I carried that way on the job, the G19 as the main holster gun and the Glock 26 in an ankle holster made by the late Lou Alessi as the backup. I supported them with two spare Glock 19 magazines. The older 2nd Gen Glock 19 waited in a safe in case my up-front gun was held as evidence in a shooting and to back it up at shooting classes.

Primary changes were sights, extractor and trigger -- but only because the factory action was substandard. The slide cover plate is simply vanity.

Since then, I've taken almost four years to get a Gen. 4 Glock 19 in shape to move to the front of the line. The trigger was the worst I'd found in the Glock line and it got replaced with the Glocktriggers.com duty trigger. The ejection was "so-so" and I installed the Apex Tactical Specialties Glock 'Failure Resistant Extractor.' That solved the issue. A Vickers slide stop, magazine release button and magazine floorplates were installed, as were Spaulding CAP sights from Ameriglo. I had to make a 'factory adjustment' to the rear sight as I have always shot decidedly left with this gun – something that never happened with the Gen 3 version or the Glock 26. This year, the Gen. 4 went on paper at the retirees' LEOSA range.

Your primary artillery doesn't have to be a Glock of any kind. I found the S&W M&P9C to be a perfectly fine carry gun – and nothing was done to the trigger, though it too has Ameriglo sights. I like and have carried 1911 pistols of various flavors. Which gun you choose isn't the point – my solution may not be good for you.

The gun I've fired most in training and practice is the Glock – the gun I have the most handling hours on is the double-action revolver, specifically the small, snub-nose five- or six-shot .38 revolvers from S&W, Colt and Ruger. I have one on now as a spare gun.

It's not the gun, it's the reps you have in. The dry practice, handling and competent disassembly for cleaning and maintenance and the live practice. That's what will carry the day because it's something you won't have to think about in the fight.

-- Rich Grassi