3 Problems With Carrying A Gun While On Crutches

By Jason Parks – Guest Contributor 

If you didn’t read my first post, I wrote about the disadvantages of physical disabilities when it comes to carrying a concealed weapon. I also talked about how I have been on crutches for a couple of years. I did not receive my conceal carry permit until recently, but the issues that go with the crutches while carrying have been in the back of my head for a long time.

Being on the crutches presents three major problems when it comes to carrying a concealed weapon.

First of all, being on crutches partially lowers your situational awareness. We all know the best way to stay out of trouble is to be aware of what is happening around you and avoid potential problem situations. Using crutches takes away from a person’s situational awareness to varying degrees depending on where you are. You have to keep your attention on not catching a crutch on a curb or crack or on not putting a crutch down on a slick surface or in a hole.

Hanging out at the SASS practice.

The plus side to this problem is that you also have to watch out for other people because they are not paying attention to you which is why this only lowers your situational awareness slightly.

Second, the crutches are simply in the way. You need at least one free hand to draw your pistol and in some suggested tactics, you need two. You have to drop or otherwise get the crutches out of your way before you can draw a pistol. I guess you could always throw a crutch or cane at your attacker before drawing. Or not. Up to you.

I need to figure out how to get the crutches out of my way while simultaneously making sure that they do not interfere with drawing my pistol. This is going to take some trial and error and a lot of practice which is what a lot of you suggested that I do in your comments about my last post on Beretta's Facebook page.

Third is the issue of balance and mobility. Once you have the crutches out of your way, you have basically locked yourself into an immobile situation where your main tools of balance and mobility are laying on the ground. I can stand on my bad leg and even take a few steps without crutches so I can still shoot from a balanced position. But there are people who can’t do that. What do they do? Best option I can come up with right now is to Stop, Drop and Shoot.

Maybe I should apply for a trademark for that and start teaching it? I’m going to try it the next time I practice and see how it goes.

The United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) website www.usconcealedcarry.com has some good articles on concealed carry and shooting with a physical disability here and here.

This post and its contents are the views and opinions of the author only, and do not necessarily represent those of Beretta.

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You can follow me on Twitter @thejasonparks.

Independence Day

By Carrie Lightfoot, Guest Contributor

As Well Armed Women we enjoy our own personal form of Independence Day each and every day! 

By taking responsibility of our personal self defense, we gain a sense of independence which is both physical as well as emotional. 

Physically, we are equipped and trained to carry and use a firearm to use effectively if heaven forbid our lives are at risk. Emotionally we have a confidence and sense that if we have to, we will know what to do and will have the strength and courage to defend ourselves effectively.

I will never forget the overwhelming sense of personal confidence I felt when I began carrying a firearm. Internally I felt strong and capable. It really changed the way I "moved" through my life. My self confidence rose and for probably the first time in my life, I knew what it was to be truly empowered and independent!

I recently posed the following question to the women on Facebook: As a Well Armed Woman, one word that describes how that makes me feel is ____________. The words the hundreds of women used to describe this feeling was really inspirational. Let me share a few of them with you. 

Secure

Empowered

Safe

Strong

Smart

Normal

Confident

Capable

Self-assured

Peacekeeper

Protected

Self-sufficient

Fabulous 

Independent

Prepared

Ready

Equal

Free

Dressed

Responsible

Beautiful

Covered

Bad A**

Smart

As we all celebrate our nations independence, I want to celebrate YOURS!  

I'm proud to be your Sister In Arms and I salute your commitment to safe and responsible gun ownership. 

Happy Independence Day! 

Carrie Lightfoot is owner of The Well Armed Woman and quest contributor for the Beretta Blog. Join the dynamic group of women shooters on Facebook orTwitter and visit www.thewellarmedwoman.com

Make sure you follow Beretta on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

This post and its contents are the views and opinions of the author only, and do not represent those of Beretta.

Ode to the Range Bag

by: Phil McNaughton, Guest Contributor

More thoughts and theories, this time regarding that most abused, underrated piece of gear: the range bag.

When I started shooting, I went to the range with a Beretta and a box of ammo.  Now I have a range bag that is bigger than my first car, and my ammo won’t even fit in it.

Before you leave for the range, make sure the magazines in your range bag fit the guns in your range bag.  Ditto for holsters.

Carry extra eye and ear protection in your bag.  Somebody will show up without them.

Multigun Match Math: 1 range bag + 2 arms + 3 guns + 4 types of ammo + 5 stages = GET A CART.

Yoda: “When using range bag for rifle rest, mindful of muzzle blast, you will be.”

Use black duct tape for patching your range bag.  It’s more tacticool than the gray stuff.

Spare gun:  if your race blaster goes down in the middle of a match, and you drove 4.5 hours to get there, are you going to just leave?  Of course not, that’s why you carry that huge bag!  Break out the backup and get back in the game.

Got fiber optic sights on your favorite blaster?  Got extra fiber optic rod in the bag?

A shooter should have a caddy, like a golfer.  I’ve tried offering the job to those girls in the lingerie catalog, but they don’t return my calls. L

Electronic optic?  Check.  Electronic hearing protection?  Check.  Batteries for both? 

At one time or another, there has been a holster, magazine, or part in your bag for a gun you don’t own.

I carry two towels in my range bag: one for my guns and one for me.  When I leave the range, my face is covered in gun oil and my guns are covered in sweat.

First Aid: small bandages, sunscreen, bug spray, and Skittles are necessities for every range bag.  

Whenever a “discussion” ensues about the rules of a specific shooting sport, someone pulls a rulebook out of their bag.  I’m that guy.

Ink pens are scarcer than humility at a match.  Carry a few, loan them out.  You will never see them again.

Squib rod: $10.  Small screwdrivers: $5.  Multi-tool: $30.  That funky doohickey that adjusts my front sight: free with purchase.  Having the right tool in your bag for quick repairs and adjustments at the range: PRICELESS.

Stapler & staples:  ever drive to range and realize you have nothing to put your targets up with?

Gloves:  if you’re an asset to our sport, you help with match setup and teardown.   So just remember, splinters in the trigger finger can ruin your day.

Guys, if you are carrying a range bag that is smaller than say, a child’s backpack, it is perfectly acceptable for your shooting pals to call it a “man purse.

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This post and its contents are the views and opinions of the author only, and do not necessarily represent those of Beretta.

Shotgun Shells: The Ins and Outs of Selection (Part 2)

By Brad Wilson - Guest Contributor

In the last segment we talked briefly about a few different factory loads and hand loading.  We saw a few examples of how different characteristics work in different loads and how those characteristics determine how the load performs when it comes to ballistics. Now let’s tie all this together and find what works best in our guns….

...after the jump.

Daddy's Little Girl

By Carrie Lightfoot, Guest Contributor

Have you ever wondered where all of these women shooters are coming from? They are everywhere; at the range, at gun stores and they are even going to gun shows! It’s like they are crawling out of the woodwork. Even the color and shape of gun gear is  changing because of them all. They are EVERYWHERE. 

Did they just appear out of nowhere, are they some new form of creation?  Where did they all come from and how did they become such good shots?  It actually isn’t all that mysterious. Many have just been busy being girls and since the world of shooting for the most part, has been a “manly” culture,  they have left it to them. But as with most things, the times have changed. The door has swung wide open for women and they are skillfully and happily - stepping over the threshold. 

Many in fact aren’t new to shooting at all.  If you ask them you are likely to hear that their father showed them how to safely use a firearm when they were young. They will share their fondest memories of falling on their behinds because of the recoil, or of hitting the bullseye on their first shot and the shocked look on their dad’s face at the sight. Time with dad is a very special thing to a young girl and they remember every minute of their times shooting together. For many it was one of the few places where they could really connect with their fathers. They will lovingly give him the credit for teaching them about safe gun handling and for making them such good shots. Many share that they had put these times and the guns behind them to move into womanhood to assume their roles as wife, mother and/or professional. But, as I said, the times have changed. Necessity drives many of these women to return to their roots and pick up a gun again to protect themselves. 

What great gifts for a father to give his daughter; precious time with him and the skills to safely handle a firearm. As so many women are sharing their memories of shooting with their fathers this Father’s Day and how grateful they are because of it, I hope the dads of today continue to invest in their little girls and realize that it is about so much more than guns.   

Happy Father's Day!

Carrie Lightfoot is owner of The Well Armed Woman and quest contributor for the Beretta Blog. Join the dynamic group of women shooters on Facebook orTwitter and visit www.thewellarmedwoman.com

Make sure you follow Beretta on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

This post and its contents are the views and opinions of the author only, and do not represent those of Beretta.   

Shotgun Shells: The Ins and Outs of Selection (Part 1)

By Brad Wilson - Guest Contributor

How I love my hand loads!

In a previous entry by fellow blogger Adam Brassfield titled “Shell Selection for Waterfowl”, Adam talks about what size shot he would typically use for different types of waterfowl.  What he based everything off of was the size of  bird he would be chasing that certain day.  Adam laid down some great groundwork for new and old hunters that sometimes get mislead on what size shot they should be using.  This is the first thing everyone should take into consideration when choosing shot.  I would recommend reading that post as he has some great information in it.

For the next few segments we will take it a step further now that you understand that using 3.5” BB during early teal season is akin to bringing a SCUD missile to a boxing match.

I could honestly go on for hours and probably lose your attention with everything I am about to throw at you so for the sake of time and attention I will break this up into 3 different segments.  Factory VS hand loads, patterning, and what you can do to manipulate variables to achieve the outcome you are looking for.

After the jump I will talk briefly about factory ammo as well as hand loads….

Clay Shooting, a Beginner’s Thoughts

By Keith Hollar – Guest Contributor

I wanted to chronicle some of the things that I have been learning as I start my journey into the world of clay shooting and bird hunting.

Even though I’ve been shooting for over 20 years I’ve only shot at flying targets a couple of times before.  I had some friends that enjoyed clay shooting that took me along a few times and gave me some basic instructions, but it didn’t really help me understand what I was doing, wrong and right.  I wasn’t very successful at breaking the clays those times.  Recently I’ve been able to go with someone who has been shooting at clays for a while and was able to explain things to me that made a light bulb go off in my head.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned while shooting trap and skeet; when shooting a field gun in trap you need to cover the clay with the barrel to get a hit, also in trap you want to hit the target while it is still rising, in skeet the leads are for station 1 = 1 foot, 2 = 2 feet, 3 = 3feet, 4 = 4 feet, 5 = 3 feet, 6 = 2 feet, 7 = 1 foot, and of course with both keep the barrel going.  Now these may not be huge revelations to most of you but I’ve never had anyone explain these things to me in such clear terms.

The next lessons have to do with the shotgun itself.  Since I’m used to shooting rifles I got into the habit of bringing the weapon to my shoulder and then bringing my head down to the sights.  That works fine for a rifle, but not a shotgun.  What you want to do is bring the shotgun up to the eye, then mount it to the shoulder.  I’ve found this works lots better getting the sighting rib aligned correctly.  Also you need to make sure the shotgun fits you.  I purchased a nice used side by side shotgun and took it to a local guy who was recommended to me to have the butt stock shortened to fit my arms.  Now that I’ve had it cut to a length of pull of 14 1/8” (including the new recoil pad) it now mounts quicker and feels more natural.

Now I’m not ready to be taking on a competition but I have noticed my scores improving each time I go.  I hope to be able to get more proficient and consistent and also try sporting clays and other more difficult clay sports.

One last piece of advice, don’t worry too much about not breaking all of the targets at first, even if you’re shooting with guys that complain about shooting a 24.  Everyone started at the beginning.  I know that is something that was difficult for me to do at first.  I know I need to concentrate of making sure I’m doing things right in order to hit the target.

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This post and its contents are the views and opinions of the author only, and do not necessarily represent those of Beretta.