STARTING AT $19.99 AMBIDEXTROUS, SMALLER, ROUNDER ADJUSTABLE CANT SIGHT CHANNEL EXTRA KYDEX REMOVED CONTENTS 58 HOLSTERS FEATURES THE 52 FIRST AID APPEAL OF CUT TO THE CHASE The ABCs of Your EMTs APPENDIX ❚BY ED COMBS A Contrast to Crossdraw ❚BY BOB CAMPBELL 68 TRAINING TRAINING FOR DUMMIES Set Yourself Up for Failure ❚BY SCHUYLER P. ROBERTSON 80 EDC ADJUSTMENTS ADAPT TO INJURY To Carry or Not to Carry? ❚BY BRADLEY LEWIS 84 TACTICS UP CLOSE 62 & PERSONAL CRISIS RESPONSE Extreme-Close-Quarters Battle HARDENED ❚BY CHRIS CERINO TARGET 92 KNIVES EDC Ballistic Plates PAIR UP ❚BY C.R. WILLIAMS Integrating Knife and Gun Carry ❚BY MICHAEL JANICH 96 GEAR SEND BACKUP A Little Help Is on the Way ❚BY ED COMBS 104 SIGHTS XS VISION 74 The XS F8 Sight TECHNIQUE ❚BY BOB CAMPBELL GROUND WORK Essential Shooting Positions ❚BY KAT AINSWORTH 4 www.USCCA.com | August/September AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 COLUMNS 16 44 AFTER THE SHOT 112 PRIDE Hubris Hurts ❚ BY ALAN KORWIN 34 LEGALLY ARMED CITIZEN (IN)SECURITY Breakdown in the ’Burbs ❚BY ED COMBS 114 38 DEPARTMENTS IT’S JUST THE LAW 6 | PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FILED AWAY 8 | EDITOR’S SHOT Matters of the Law | ❚BY K.L. JAMISON 10 ABOUT THE COVER 12 | ASK THE USCCA 14 | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 16 | BATTLE BLADES 42 | BALLISTIC BASICS 18 IN THE 10-RING 20 | TRUE STORIES GET OUT! | Ejection Rejection 24 BENCH REPORT ❚BY TAMARA KEEL 28 | DRILL OF THE MONTH 30 | LEGISLATIVE NEWS 32 | GEAR WE LOVE 108 | INSTRUCTOR’S CORNER 48 | DEFCON 1 110 HANDS ON 112 | LIFELINE FALLBACK | Keep Your Head as 114 CLEAR IMPACT Others Lose Theirs 116 | MEMBER PROFILE ❚BY JOHN CAILE 118 | PRESS CHECK August/September | www.USCCA.com 5 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Tim Schmidt A HITCH IN YOUR PLAN have to imagine that you wouldn’t have a plan for that: a plan for a failed The morning of the performance, be reading Concealed Carry Mag- plan, if you will. she looked especially miserable. I I azine if you didn’t care tremen- Remember that people and equip- was concerned, and I asked her why dously about your own — and your ment are fallible. And when something she didn’t just stay home. “I really family’s — safety. goes wrong with either one, God for- don’t think it’s a good idea for you to I have to imagine that you have a bid that’s the first time you’ve thought go today,” I told her. plan in place should the worst come about what comes next. She didn’t even hesitate in her re- to pass and that you own and carry (or You already know that the bad guy sponse: “Dad, I can’t not go. My team at least are considering owning and doesn’t care if you’re sick or if you’re is counting on me.” As much as I carrying) a firearm as part of that plan. just trying to enjoy a nice meal with wanted to argue that they’d under- But what happens when things don’t your family or if you’re a new mom or if stand, she had a point: She was slat- go according to plan? you left your gun at home. A critical in- ed to be on the bottom of the pyramid What happens when you’re sick cident is all about surprise (or at least in one of the routines. and the last thing on earth So what happened? you want to do is holster your She showed up. She was firearm for a quick trip to the miserable, but she showed pharmacy? Do you suck it up THE TRUTH IS, EVEN IF YOU HAVE A PLAN, up. and holster that firearm any- THINGS CAN STILL GO SOUTH — AND FAST. And when it comes to way? “ being your family’s ultimate What happens when your protector, you must show up primary firearm doesn’t function prop- that’s what the bad guy is counting too. erly? Do you know (and have you on), so the more you can do to miti- Yes, you should keep your gun practiced) how to perform malfunc- gate that element” of surprise by hav- clean and in good working condi- tion-clearing sequences? ing a plan (and a backup plan), the tion. You should test your ammo and What happens when you’re in an better off you’re going to be. practice your malfunction drills. You unfamiliar city and the five-star restau- Remember, too, that you must al- should consider carrying a backup. rant you had planned to check out ways show up ready to win. When the You should carry your firearm when- has a “no firearms” sign posted on the stakes are life-or-death, losing is sim- ever and wherever you can, even if main entrance door? Do you sacrifice ply not an option. you feel terrible or it’s late and you’re a gourmet meal in exchange for some- I’ll never forget what happened a only running out of the house “for a thing adequate at the gun-friendly joint few years ago that really drove this second.” down the street? point home for me. My daughter Da- But none of that matters if you don’t What happens when you run out of gny, who’s been performing with a lo- show up. So do it. Show up, no matter ammo? Do you carry a spare maga- cal tumbling troupe for most of her life, what. People are counting on you. zine — or a spare gun? was slated for a big out-of-town event. The truth is, even if you have a plan, She was, to put it mildly, not feeling things can still go south — and fast. well for the few days leading up to the And so I’m asking whether or not you competition. 6 www.USCCA.com | August/September EDITOR’S SHOT by Kevin Michalowski TWO IS ONE, ONE IS NONE et’s assume you have heard the old tioning. Maybe you have saying, “Two is one. One is none.” run out of ammunition. L I first heard it from noted firearms Maybe the primary gun trainer Clint Smith as he talked about broke. Maybe you dropped flashlights. My first reaction was some- that primary gun or lost it in a thing along the lines of, “Oh, great. Now struggle. That backup gun can I have to carry two of everything.” be any type, style or caliber of firearm. It But, as is usually the case, Smith can be big or small. It is simply the next made some very compelling arguments. gun you will grab to help you end the I can’t say that he convinced me to car- fight. That is the extent of my definition ry two flashlights everywhere I go, but I of a backup gun. secure than it is that your gun is really certainly added an extra light to my duty Now, let’s talk about the practicality of rapidly accessible. Yes, you want to be gear when working as a police officer. Of actually carrying two firearms with you able to get to it and get it into action, but course, after you start thinking about a everywhere you go. Carrying one gun is you must ensure your gun is where you backup flashlight, the next logical step is difficult enough; now you have to answer put it if you ever need to reach for it. a discussion of a backup gun. all the same questions and overcome all the same problems knowing that your DOUBLE THE COMMITMENT IS IT A NEED OR A WANT? primary firearm already takes your favor- Carrying a second gun effectively If we are doing the math, you are likely ite, most comfortable and most accessi- doubles your requirement for pistol train- to never need a backup gun. But if you ble place to carry a gun. ing and practice. If your gun is of a dif- are involved in a gunfight and your day Settling on where and how you are ferent style, make or size, you now have goes from terrible (the fact that you are going to carry that second gun should to learn to shoot two different guns ef- in a gunfight automatically makes it ter- only be done after careful consideration fectively. You must remember which gun rible) to infinitely more terrible because and practice. Please go through a com- you have in your hands under stress. the gun in your hand suddenly stops prehensive trial-and-error process as Don’t laugh; if you only ever train with working, statistics mean nothing. And I you look for just the right location and your revolver and you suddenly REALLY certainly don’t want your final thought on method. Don’t just strap on an ankle hol- need a backup, will you remember that this earth to be, “Kevin Michalowski said ster and call it good. With an unloaded you just pulled out a micro 9mm auto? I would likely never need a backup gun. gun, practice accessing and engaging Does it have a manual safety? Is there He’s an idiot.” targets with your backup gun. Do this a round in the chamber? Are the sights In reality, you want a backup gun from compromised positions because, the same? All these factors make a dif- because you realize that someday you let’s face it, when you need your backup ference at a time when you need a near- might need a backup gun.