CQB. Being safe in the car.
After all the great replies to my home defense expose, as Rastus so rightly called it, I thought about maybe doing a couple other in depth personal defense essays and see what happens. I learned a great deal from the replies to the home defense essay and hope that others did as well. A reply to use a "code word" to let others in which you live with know that we are under some sort of an attack and act accordingly is just one of the great things I heard that may just save a life in the future. So with this essay I hope to hear something similar or maybe give some ideas to you all as well.
So as you all know by now, my pup was in the hospital and I had to do something to get my mind on something else and yet spend some time on something that would be constructive. Television was not working. So I decided that I would like to look into Personal Defense in my car. I wanted to get in my car and go over some things I already have learned, that I don't practice enough, and maybe learn a couple things that may help me should I be in a situation that endangers my life or that of my passengers that does not have to do with some sort of vehicular accident. In other words when I am driving downtown and some one wants my car while I am still in it. Getting "Car Jacked."
I guess the first thing to this is the choice or weapon. I am like many of you and have heard and read all the advantages to the Taurus Judge and the 410 shot shell followed up with the .45 colt as the definitive car gun. Well this poor boy has not had the chance to use this fire arm so in that sense I don't own one to make that case or debunk it. From everything I have seen with it I would have to say that it sure does look like the best choice if money and\or availability is not an issue. With all this said my primary carry gun is the gun I use in my car. I do not have a separate car gun nor do I have a safe or lockable box in my car to store one if I should leave my vehicle for any amount of time. So what I carry is what I got. My typical carry gun is a Glock 19 and on some occasions a Kimber Desert Warrior.
So the first thing I did was I got in my car and put my seat belt on and practiced my draw. The first scenario was Glock 19 in Bianchi IWB with thumb break. (one of the most popular Bianchi's sold)
http://www.bianchi-intl.com/product/Prod.php?TxtModelID=3S. This went through my head while practicing: Window down rockin to some tunes just a typical summers day. Next thing you know you are in the stuff. Now to draw this firearm with my seat-belt on, from the drivers side, was a real pain and most likely would not end up well for me in a Car Jacking situation. For one the element of surprise would be lost with the fumbling that would ensue, no doubt, in the high stress situation. Now what I have found with wearing any holster on the hip, on the drivers side, is you have an element of surprise. The perpetrator is unable to really get a good look at where the seat belt buckle is\ where your holster is. So when he\she thinks you are complying and reaching down to unbuckle your seat belt you are really drawing your gun. So another good reason to always have your seat belt buckled. But with that said there is a lot in your way down there when you are trying to draw in a high stress situation. Now I guess this is as good of time as any to also state that possibly of a treat is not always just some guy with a gun in your ear, this could be someone just outside your car trying to do you harm. A video posted on here one time of a guy bashing some woman's car with a crowbar for a camera, well the person in that car if armed, had all the right to defend them selves. And as Michael Bane says maybe it is just a time of Social Dislocation and people are going crazy. So either way if you are going to draw your gun and you need it right then, you have sort of a labyrinth you must pull it out of all while not looking most likely, when drawing from an IWB in the car. So practice is imperative. You have to be able to do this blind, in the dark, and in a very stressful time. Practice. One thing I did was I got out of my truck and ran up and down my driveway as hard as I could a couple of times and threw in some pushups so my arms and hands we shaking a little and my heart rate was up and I tried this draw a couple times. It was not easy.
So that covers one holster. Not the best option as you can tell. Now another option that I have available to me is a Black Hawk Serpa 2 paddle holster.
http://www.blackhawk.com/product1.asp?P=4100&C=C2090 Again I was dealing with seat belt but is seemed with, this the position of this holster, I was able to put the seat belt over it. So the firearm and was more available, thus making it easier to see. So if I was in a true up close car jacking, gun in the ear situation, I believe that I wouldn't have very much surprise so I would have to rely on my speed and technique. Now this goes for any waist holster draw in a car. I found that a technique I saw on a Gunsite video with Tom Gresham works the best. You draw, keep the gun close to your body, pointing away from you, while bring the gun up keep it sideways, to make sure you clear the steering wheel, then rotate it to present it and get on target.
www.Gunsandammomag.com then go to view all videos in the Misc file you will find a video called Preventing Car Jacking. Now in this video Mr. Gresham unbuckles his seat belt and this is something I would have to practice more, and it does seem to help of course, but also I think it is just one more thing to get tangled in and you are easier to pull out of your car with out it on.
I drive a lot in a day. I have to go from my house to south Seattle which is about 27 miles each way. Doesn't seem much, but traffic and being in downtown can lead to times of over an hour one way and most of that is in Urban areas, and the south end of Seattle is the "bad area." So being armed in my car and being able to access that firearm quickly is very important. Also when I step out of my car I need to be armed. So it is hard in a well populated area, in a parking lot in that area, to transfer a hand gun from off body to body, with the handgun not being seen. So basically I have to keep the firearm on me in the car so I can be armed when I exit the car. If someone should see me holstering a handgun before I exit the car, where I live, the cops will jump me before I have a chance to say I have a license. People will freak and call the cops immediately where I live. So I must carry concealed while driving. Now the best way I have found to this through trial and error and spending a ridiculous amount of time in my car is with a Galco Miami Classic shoulder rig. For one, on long trips to Eastern Washington, it is so much more comfortable that having something digging into my hip for hours on end, Also I have found, as you can tell I am right handed, with the shoulder holster, and gun being on my left side, I can draw with it faster and uninterrupted from seat belt, steering wheel, all those problems I faced with the hip holster are not there. it is a fast draw, with practice, and the gun is already there on target, there is no bringing it up sideways all that stuff. It is draw and I am there. So for me and what I have experienced is the shoulder holster is the way to go in the car. Also when I exit the car I am concealed and in the summer time I just wear a button up short sleeve shirt and i am good to go. And of course winter time any jacket will conceal the shoulder system. So I am an advocate of the shoulder rig. It just makes sense for my life and the ways I need to be able to access my firearm.
Now I am not saying for everyone to go out and buy a shoulder rig system, but it is something to think about. It is one way I have found to be able to draw quickly and be on target in a car quickly. Now that I went over some of that, here are some ways I have found to help avoid being in the situation that you must use your handgun in your car. Air-conditioning is your friend. If you are not on the freeway or high way doing 80 mph or on some hidden road in the back country and haven't seen anyone in hours, leave your window up. I know some people don't have A\C but man when I drive into SODO (south seattle) area and see these guys with the window down at the stop light rockin out to Phil Collins I just smile cause I know I am safe. That person will be car jacked way before the perps even think about me. Know the area you are in, and know the roads where ever you live. I hate when I get in someone's car and they have lived here their entire life and cant get around. Be able to know the roads and so if you need to dodge out you can. Every time I travel to a city and I have to drive I always get a road map at the gas station or where ever of that city. Now I am not talking about every where I drive, but if I go on vacation to Phoenix I buy a map of the city find where my motel is, and look at all the roads around me. I highlight main access to my motel and to the freeways out of town. I have done this ever since I did Robin Sage in the Army and I was in this town in North Carolina and me and my partner where doing simulated surveillance, we were compromised, and we were trying to get away from the bad guys in a Van and we got lost cause we had no idea where we were and hit a dead end. That was the only mission our team failed in those two weeks. And maps were handed out, we just didn't think about it. Also bullets will go through car doors and windows, so you are not safe if you are getting shot at in your car. It works the other way too, if you got someone that you need to take down and don't have time to roll down your window just start shooting.
I used to ride almost sideways with one foot out the door when I was in Iraq so at all times I had my rifle ready to aim anywhere in my field of fire. Also I had guys on the other side of the Transportation doing the same that I was. Since you cant do that here, sit in your car and turn yourself in your seat with your seat belt on and off to see where you can aim. Can you shoot out your rear passenger door\ window if you are in your drivers seat? A rifle, no matter if its a .357 lever gun, AR, AK, or Shotgun is very acceptable to carry in your car if you feel the need that it may be useful, Check the laws of course. But I would always rather have too much firepower than not enough. Run Flat liners for your tires, though expensive, are worth it. When bullets start flying, tires are like trees and walls for some reason bullets just love hitting them. If I was to ever live in Los Angles I would have those on my Truck no matter the cost. I have a little S-10 pick up and since I have bought it I have decided I will always own a small truck like this. I find that they are very useful. Just big enough but not too big. With the 4x4 on, in low, I can go anywhere and I sit up just high enough to have good visibility on the road. Just something to think about. Having the lowered sports car isn't always the best for getting away. A curb, field, or set of stairs could be between you and death when the need should arise to bug out.
In my truck behind the seats are pockets. In each pocket I have a 50rd box of 9mm ammo. And now that I have my rifle, when I drive to Eastern Washington, I carry a box of .357 as well with my rifle. On the drive over there I have to go through the Cascade Mountains. So really my biggest threat is my truck breaking down or in the winter getting snowed in. Four weeks ago, although one of the greatest things I have ever seen, a Black Bear ran down the side of a highway I was on and turned into the dense forest, up on top of the pass. I was going to get a Milk Shake at this little burger place off the main highway and and she was right there. That was an eye opener, you know I drive through there almost every weekend when I go to my cabin and I guess the wilderness gets lost to the highway and cars i see. I forget that it is one of the largest and highest mountain ranges in the US. And that is flourishes with animals that are bigger, stronger, and faster than I am.
Well this is what I have gone through in my attempt at car self defense review. I hope you all can add to it. I know I didn't get into the details of thinking like the criminals and the many situations as I did before but I am trying to make this so people will read it without getting bored.
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