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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Considerations for Winter Concealed Carry

As always, sorry for my English. More used to writing than talking and you lose practice. If I talked in English as much as I write, I'd do much better in no time. :-)
Anyway, a few things to keep in mind during winter time, specially in very cold locations.
Take care, and more (and better spoken :-) ) videos to come.

FerFAL



FerFAL

12 comments:

Jason Haggard said...

Enjoyed the video. Your English is fine, man. I had no problems understanding any of it.

Thanks!

EN said...

It's good. No problems with your English.

Uncle George said...

The video is fine. Please stop apologizing for your English. It is better than the English spoken by a lot of native born Americans in New Mexico.

Carrying your handgun in your jacket pocket is necessary in winter. Otherwise, it takes too long to open a coat to reach a handgun being carried on the belt or IWB. Do not forget to check your gloves. The trigger finger must fit easily within the trigger guard.

Don Williams said...

Off topic, Ferfal, but I saw this Doug Casey interview re why he likes Argentina as a refuge and I thought I would pass it on.

Seems like he was influenced more by the fact that he likes Argentines and their culture rather than coldly rational survivalist tradeoffs.

He thinks anyone who puts money into an Argentine bank account is a fool but loves the fact that the government doesn't require him to report any gold that he imports -- unlike Uruguay.

He likes Uruguay banking , however.

He also seems to like the fact that Argentines don't have an excessively high regard for their government.

http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayCwc.php?id=40

http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayCwc.php?id=5

Anonymous said...

That's right Ferfal, don't be concerned. You did fine.

It's the French that think their language is an art form. Americans view english as a tool... to be bent,shaped & formed to get the job done. And the 'job' is to communicate.

FerFAL said...

Hi Don, I've written about some of the business selling Americans real estate in Argentina. Many, if not most of what he says is not true.
You will pay tax for gold, ANYTHING imported to Argentina gets nailed with a 50% tax. (books are the only exception)
Let me tell you how this goes down: You buy gold, or anything of value, it gets stopped by customs, you've got ot go to Antartida Argentina street, after waiting in line for 4 hours give or take, there the nice custom guys ask you to pay %50 of the delcared value. If they think the value is too low, say $20 bucks for an iphone, they charge you whatever they think is appropriate.
If you buy real esate in Argentina any try to sell it to Americans you'd also find lots of positive things to say about the place.

FerFAL

P.P. Mazzini said...

A couple of additional thoughts:

1. Cold weather carry in a coat pocket is one of the few useful applications that I can conceive for a revolver. One thing that you didn't mention was the possibility of firing the weapon while it is still in your pocket. Obviously that is not the best possible situation, but if it is an extreme close quarters encounter, you might not be able to draw.

2. It is completely normal to walk around with your hands in your pocket in winter, so when you are alerted to possible danger, you can have a grip on your firearm, and be able to deploy it more quickly than having to execute a draw from the holster. Thus, there is an important element of surprise advantage with this approach.

3. A shrouded hammer, not just removing the hammer spur, is optimal for this type of carry.

Great video, and an important subject, seeing as it is cold enough to require a heavy coat for half the year in a lot of temperate latitudes.

PP Mazzini
SemperParatusInc.blogspot.com

2. Pocket carry

EN said...

Mr. Mazzini, I'd be careful about shooting a revolver in your pocket. That first round will be fine but the second can be problematic since debris from the first shot can easily clog the cylinder, not to mention melting anything synthetics. I would certainly do it if necessary but that second shot might be problematic.

Don Williams said...

Ferfal, another off-topic question: I see that the Dakar Rally was held in Argentina and Chile this year and just ended in Buenos Aires. Did you see any of it? Any ideas for Mad Max escape vehicles? heh heh

In the past, the Mitsubishi SUV did well (unfortunately, not sold in USA any longer) but they didn't seem to place this year. Volkswagen seems to have beaten the BMWs thoughly.

P.P. Mazzini said...

Thank you EN. This is going to require some experimentation, particularly concerning your point about synthetics. Have you tried this? I have to admit that I haven't.

PP Mazzini
SemperParatusInc.blogspot.com

EN said...

One synthetic jacket melted about three inches out of the pocket (saw the pocket, wasn't there for the test) with a Glock 22. I've read about the clogging from those who have tried it and dont' recommend it. OTOH, if it's in your pocket you may not have time to draw it and shoot.

thc0655 said...

Ferfal, even people I know who carry concealed all the time for a long time don't take winter carry seriously enough. Excellent video.

Having been robbed at gunpoint 3 times in Philadelphia and carrying in my winter pocket, I have a few observations on the subject.

I agree with PPMazzini - walking with your hands (or at least your gun hand) in your coat pocket looks completely natural and allows you to keep a firing grip on the gun at all times. This is a big advantage. On my second robbery my assailant came up behind me and began his draw before I did. Still I drew my Glock 27 from my pocket as I had trained and put him down with one quick shot from 8 yards. At that time I only carried one gun in the winter: I transferred it from holster on hip to jacket pocket, and back.

I was not so lucky on my 3rd robbery, still carrying my then favorite Glock 27 in my winter coat pocket. I saw the first guy in front of me carrying a pipe. I missed the guy behind me with a semiauto. #2 was 8 feet away pointed at my face: too far for a disarm move and too close for him to miss. While #1 approached and prepared to club me, I considered firing through my pocket at #2, but hadn't trained o that and was sure I'd have a misfire. Snow was falling and had reached 12", making my ability to get away while surrounded very doubtful. I got 5 stitches in the scalp and lost $45 and my favorite gun but gained experience and new tactics/ hardware.

After this experience, I went to the range and fired my G27 in that pocket at a target 9 ft away. I got a decent (not great) torso hit. But I also got a new stoppage I've never seen before. The ejecting case stovepiped and the round feeding into the chamber got stuck on the feed ramp!! What a mess. I did not get any burns on the ruined jacket and couldn't care less if my jacket caught fire if I had to do that to save my life.

As a result I made the following changes:
1. I now carry 2 guns in the winter, as you illustrated.
2. The gun I carry in my winter pocket is a S&W Model 640-1: .357 mag, stainless, 2" barrel, hammerless.
3. I train firing this gun simulating the position it would be in if fired from my jacket (I don't want to ruin anymore jackets, except in actual combat).
4. Even in winter I don't wear anything that interferes with my peripheral vision and hearing (I was wearing a hood over my head and didn't see or hear the guy with gun until it was too late.

It's been 10 years since I was robbed, so I can't tell you how the revolver works. Oddly, maybe not having a hood on has kept predators at bay because they can see I can see them.
3.