LT, that actually sounds like a pretty good idea, and I confess that I have not been very disciplined in that regard. I have several carry pistols of different types, and several different holsters of different types. Worse yet, I rarely practice from the holster.longtooth wrote:My rule of one that I teach new to carry folks is:
1 gun
1 holster
1 position
1 year.
That develops muscle memory & when it needs to be instinctive - it will
Like you, I deal with a significant amount of pain on a daily basis. I have degenerative disc disease, and x-rays of my spine show almost no visible space between my vertebrae anymore. I've also had vertebrae fused in my lower back, and so the joints immediately above and below the fusion have additional stress on them. I've found that no one method of carry is perfect for all the time carry. I originally bought my shoulder rig for this reason, but I've found that even that method eventually becomes uncomfortable. The extra weight of the gun and magazines tends to cause the muscles of my upper back to tire out prematurely, particularly when carrying my much loved, steel framed 5" 1911.
Consequently, movement for me tends to be very deliberate, and that has framed my mental preparedness for possible encounters of the unwanted kind. I tend to be very cautious about where I go — not paranoid, but just observant of what's going on, and choosing to avoid places where trouble is more likely to develop than other places. That deliberateness of motion also means that I haven't focused as much on getting really fast on the draw. If I go to the gun, it isn't going to be a spontaneous reaction at speed, but rather more of a "I can see that this situation is headed into the toilet at a rapid clip, so I'd better get my hand on the grip of my gun now, in case I need it in 10 seconds from now." Once I have my hand on the gun, I can probably draw and shoot with reasonable accuracy as well as the average CHLer, and I'm actually pretty good from the low ready. But getting to the gun in the first place just has to be more deliberate, because that is what my body will permit me to do. So that is what I work with.
I realize that there can be potentially serious legal implications for a CHLer who draws their weapon without actually using it, as that can be taken as an act of "aggravated assault," but I have to rely heavily on my own sense of what is actually going on, and if it is appropriate, I will draw the weapon as far in advance of actually using it as I can get away with, because that is my best hope for survival if use of a gun is the appropriate response. I know that this may get me arrested, and that is a possibility which I accept and am prepared to deal with if necessary.
If you have any suggestions I can use to improve on this situation, I would be most interested.