I saw a report of a gunshot injury sustained at an indoor range in Terre Haute, Indiana. The report was in the form of a (very good) video posted on YouTube and the presenter explained in detail what happened. He had a holster “kind of like” the holster used by the victim.
In short, the user attempted to holster a pistol (type not discussed) on the range. Something was caught in the trigger guard (not, it appears, his trigger finger) and as he pressed the gun into the holster, he shot the gun into his leg. It was a more or less typical in-above-the-knee (from outboard), traversing and exiting the calf on the inside.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, try reholstering like this: allow your thumb to flag, the muzzle to tilt slightly out. In this way, you can check & sweep the mouth of the holster. Run into an obstruction? Pause and sort it out.
He was treated at the scene by range personnel, transported by first responders and is, based on information in the video, recovering from the injury.
The holster the presenter shows – not the holster in this case – is a thumb-break style leather pancake holster. During his discussion – watch it, it’s worth your time – he explains that straps and items of apparel (like drawstring tabs on jackets) are a problem.
He’s right. And it appears that he’s wearing an IWB holster strong side during a demo he does.
Over time, I’ve added steps to the reholstering sequence. I know that a rapid reholster can be critical in some situations. Likewise, I’m aware of people who insist on looking the gun into the holster – something required when learning a new skill and a new holster – on the theory that nothing else will be happening while you’re trying to stow the sidearm. In any event, a number of dustups occur in hours of adverse or diminished lighting, removing that option.
One thing I do is to tilt the muzzle away from an open top holster, allowing me to draw my flared thumb across the mouth of the holster. This allows me to feel and – one hopes – remove obstructions from access to the rig. As to the thumb break strap, it is an obstruction. It too can be handled.
Back in the old days, Paul Markel demonstrated how to use a holster with a thumb break strap. Our Associate Editor keeps his finger straight, brings the muzzle in behind the strap and captures the strap with his index finger, holding it clear of the approaching trigger. Below, once seated in the holster, he fastens the strap from the front to secure the gun.
The key to using a thumb break holster is to bring the muzzle in behind the strap. As the muzzle enters the holster, the straight index finger traps the thumb break strap (you did keep that index finger straight, right?). The straight index finger keeps the strap clear of the pistol. With your thumb on the back of the slide, sink the gun into the holster.
While not precisely what we had in mind – this video shows an approximation of the thumb break trap technique.
That’s it. Our best wishes to the victim – and to the range, as there’s never just one victim in situations like this.
As for the book, I just received it – it’s a book of shooting drills – and, I have to confess, I’m glad to see it. It’s not that there aren’t other references, there are. But this one comes from a friend of many years who can articulate a particularly good reason for those diverse shooting exercises.
In our companion service, The Tactical Wire, we’ve been cooperating with Rangemaster Firearms Training Services in posting the DRILL OF THE MONTH, something that Tom Givens runs in the Rangemaster monthly newsletter.
Why so many varied shooting exercises? For those of us who come from the police firearms training side of it, we saw so many people “pass” the “no cops left behind” qual courses and leave the range assuming they were ready to face lethal threats.
It ain’t so.
Mike Boyle, retired from NJ Game & Fish and part of the state’s academy training staff, far preferred to get the qual out of the way and spend time on training. Put the trainees into the “non-standing still while firing cylinder-or-magazine dumps repetitively on a huge target” courses of fire. The “passed the qual course” standard doesn’t inspire confidence. He created, borrowed, modified and pilfered as many different types of shooting drills as he could.
The result, 101 Drills for Handguns, Rifles, and Shotguns by Mike Boyle and Alison Sloan, is available at Snub Noir, for just under $20.
Why is his contribution so valuable? He took his bag of tricks on the road as a 21-year member of the Board of Directors of IALEFI, putting his take on police firearms training in front of instructor-members of the group and getting feedback.
His drills include some famous names – the Cirillo Drill and “Wild Bill Hickok,” an exercise developed from an idea by Rick Miller of Combat Handguns.
I’m also happy to recommend the book because Mike and I were not only on the road for the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, but we were part of the “Harris Publications Home for Wayward Gun Writers.”
As always, if you’re not a competitor in IDPA, USPSA, GSSF or other group, and if you have limited or no experience in drawing (and reholstering) a loaded firearm, sort that out first. You can still shoot a number of these drills from low ready or starting with a gun on the bench.
Plus, Mike and Alison have shooting drills for rifles and shotguns.
There’s something in this book for you.
— Rich Grassi
