The importance of training with your gear. I learned a valuable lesson while doing some scenario training exercises during a 3-day NRA Carry Guard handgun course in Whidbey Island, Washington in July of 2018.
In my scenario, I was given a trainer Glock with a blue slide, and a cheap cloth appendix carry holster. It was a real Glock, but the blue slide indicated non-lethal ammunition. The rounds I was going to be firing were blanks.
For this scenario exercise I put my Glock 19 and holster away in my truck and put this new Glock and holster in my appendix carry position concealed underneath my shirt.
During my scenario, an attacker came running at me with a knife screaming at me that he was going to kill me. Clearly a threat.
When I first saw him, he was about 15 yards away. He was moving quickly. I hesitated for a second or two and by then he was 10 yards away. This was my first lethal force encounter experience.
Finally, I began to draw my handgun from concealment to engage this lethal threat. When I pulled the gun out of my waistband, the holster came out with it. I pointed in with the holster still stuck to the gun!
The threat was still coming at me. I frantically pulled the holster off the gun and then engaged the lethal threat and he went down. But by then he was literally 2 feet from me. It was a very close call and I almost got stabbed by him.
That scenario taught me many, many lessons. One lesson being that you need to actually train with your gear. I realized, a lot of people, just get a gun, and a holster, and a concealed carry license and think they’re good to go. They shoot 50 rounds once a year and never take the time to really train.
Because I had not trained with this gear, it almost ended up in disaster. So, take time to train with your gear. Don’t underestimate that lethal force encounter or overestimate your abilities.
