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I definitely agree your friend needs some more training, but each person needs to find out what works best for them. Personally, I'd rather a newbie carry empty chamber than loaded if they aren't going to invest the time in training. At least that way they're less likely to hurt themselves or others. That's my opinion - others may disagree.
If that's how he wants to roll, I would recommend that he do some dry-fire practice where he draws, racks the slide to chamber a round, presents on target, and pulls the trigger. He'll need snap caps to do it properly, but that is a good place to start, and doesn't require range time. If he spends 10 min a day practicing that, he'll at least get the motions down. Not ideal, but better than nothing. It'll also demonstrate just how much of a PITA racking the slide of a pocket pistol is.
Next, still in dry fire only, time him on it. Set up a silhouette and tell him his goal is to draw and fire an "aimed shot" at center of mass in under 1.5 seconds. The required speed will compound the difficulty of the slide rack, and emphasize the added complexity of chamber empty carry when deploying the weapon under the stress of the ticking clock.
Once he's demonstrated his comfort and skill with all of that to the point where you're pretty sure he won't put a hole in his support hand, take him out to the woods (or a training area the lets you draw from holster, if you can find one near you) and have him go through the motions again, this time with the loaded gun. Probably worth doing some dry fire practice out there before loading up for real, just to reinforce the muscle memory. Live ammo will add a new stressor to the situation, so you'll want to have him start slow and take his time.
Once he's gotten used to slow, careful manipulation and draw with live fire, add the timer again. This time start at a much higher number (i.e. 5 seconds) and work your way down toward 1.5 as his confidence improves. Of course, throughout the live fire you will want to call a hard stop and correct any safety issues you see so he doesn't create training scars - practice makes permanent, after all.
These things combined should help get him to the point where he is at least somewhat proficient and comfortable with carrying in his preferred method. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.
Once all that is done and is still fresh in his mind, you should then ask him to think through how he will draw when one or both hands are full. Example scenarios:
- What if he's carrying groceries or bags?
- What if he's carrying his newborn child?
- What if he's trying to shield another person from harm or pushing them to safety?
- What if he's trying to hold a door closed to prevent an intruder from entering?
- What if he's trying to ward off blows from an attacker?
- What if he injures one of his hands or dislocates his shoulder during a confrontation?
If you ask those questions up front without the hands on training, he'll probably just shrug them off. Waiting until after he has gone through the motions and tried it for real will hopefully hammer the point home a little more effectively. At that stage he'll have a more realistic understanding of manipulation in the moment, and if he isn't a total idiot he'll quickly recognize the shortcomings of his carry method. Might not change his mind, but at least he'll be making an informed decision and clearly understand the limitations of his choices.
That's my $0.02 - best of luck!
If that's how he wants to roll, I would recommend that he do some dry-fire practice where he draws, racks the slide to chamber a round, presents on target, and pulls the trigger. He'll need snap caps to do it properly, but that is a good place to start, and doesn't require range time. If he spends 10 min a day practicing that, he'll at least get the motions down. Not ideal, but better than nothing. It'll also demonstrate just how much of a PITA racking the slide of a pocket pistol is.
Next, still in dry fire only, time him on it. Set up a silhouette and tell him his goal is to draw and fire an "aimed shot" at center of mass in under 1.5 seconds. The required speed will compound the difficulty of the slide rack, and emphasize the added complexity of chamber empty carry when deploying the weapon under the stress of the ticking clock.
Once he's demonstrated his comfort and skill with all of that to the point where you're pretty sure he won't put a hole in his support hand, take him out to the woods (or a training area the lets you draw from holster, if you can find one near you) and have him go through the motions again, this time with the loaded gun. Probably worth doing some dry fire practice out there before loading up for real, just to reinforce the muscle memory. Live ammo will add a new stressor to the situation, so you'll want to have him start slow and take his time.
Once he's gotten used to slow, careful manipulation and draw with live fire, add the timer again. This time start at a much higher number (i.e. 5 seconds) and work your way down toward 1.5 as his confidence improves. Of course, throughout the live fire you will want to call a hard stop and correct any safety issues you see so he doesn't create training scars - practice makes permanent, after all.
These things combined should help get him to the point where he is at least somewhat proficient and comfortable with carrying in his preferred method. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.
Once all that is done and is still fresh in his mind, you should then ask him to think through how he will draw when one or both hands are full. Example scenarios:
- What if he's carrying groceries or bags?
- What if he's carrying his newborn child?
- What if he's trying to shield another person from harm or pushing them to safety?
- What if he's trying to hold a door closed to prevent an intruder from entering?
- What if he's trying to ward off blows from an attacker?
- What if he injures one of his hands or dislocates his shoulder during a confrontation?
If you ask those questions up front without the hands on training, he'll probably just shrug them off. Waiting until after he has gone through the motions and tried it for real will hopefully hammer the point home a little more effectively. At that stage he'll have a more realistic understanding of manipulation in the moment, and if he isn't a total idiot he'll quickly recognize the shortcomings of his carry method. Might not change his mind, but at least he'll be making an informed decision and clearly understand the limitations of his choices.
That's my $0.02 - best of luck!
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