[vafish]

This weekend I took the NRA Personal Protection Outside The Home course.

Since I'm planning on becoming an instructor for the course I needed to shoot both from a strong side holster and from a purse.

Let me just say, the holster purses were very difficult for us male instructors to master. The first issue was safety, we had to keep the gun pointed in a safe direction at all times; when drawing and reholstering it was very important to keep hands and arms out of the way.

I also had to swap out my G17 for the G19. The G17 was just too large for the purses. The guys with the 1911's were really having fits.

And I just got to ask, Does this purse make me look fat?

[Mrs.Cicero]

Cute Pic!

Yes, I practice with them... and there WILL be difficulties if ya'll were carrying the purses the way it was in the photo...

Try this...
If you are right handed and carry a purse with a long or adjustable strap, put the strap over your left shoulder with the purse on your right side so the opening for the gun is pointed to the BACK. To draw, grab the strap in front of you where it meets the purse and pull it forward while unzipping the opening with your right hand. Reach in and grab gun with right hand. At close range you may have to shoot thru the purse, one handed. Given enough time/distance, you may be able to draw. Even with practice it will add .7 to 2 seconds to your draw time. Practice, practice, practice...

The other method, if you don't carry a purse with a long enough strap to go across your body (my hobo is like this), is to carry it on your right shoulder, still with the opening pointed back. Grab the purse at the same location with left hand, unzip and draw with right WHILE THE STRAP IS SLIDING OFF YOUR ARM - let the purse fall to the ground as you draw the pistol. (PS Don't practice this with a nice leather purse unless you put a quilt on the ground to keep it from getting scratched up!)

These two methods eliminate the safe direction issue (it's always pointed toward the target, instead of pointing left and crossing everything to that side and in front of you to reach the target), and they are faster draws for the same reason. Also, you are less likely to shoot your left hand because you are grabbing the bottom of the strap at the TOP of the purse, instead of the bottom or side of the purse (which is the tendency when carrying the purse with the opening pointed forward and having to push it across your body to be reachable by the right hand).

If you are carrying the butt-ugly but ever serviceable Maxpedition Fatboy, the opening is at the top and you just unzip it, grab and go. If the strap is across your body (for good retention), be aware the purse will sway when you are in a shooting stance affecting your ability to keep the sights on target. If the strap is only over one shoulder (better for purse snatchers), the purse will fall off and either hang from your arm (yanking your gun down) or you can just let the whole thing fall to the ground, pushing it off the shoulder with your off hand while drawing from it with your strong hand. But if you don't practice with it often (every time you add to or empty the contents of your purse! , you won't have any idea what it will do to your draw or your accuracy, and finding out that your purse holster is velcro-ed in at an angle that causes the hammer to catch on the purse when you really NEED that gun FAST would be... bad.

Hope this is helpful, and not too obnoxious!

Mrs.Cicero

[Gunboat1]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Cicero

Cute Pic!

Yes, I practice with them... and there WILL be difficulties if ya'll were carrying the purses the way it was in the photo...

Try this...
If you are right handed and carry a purse with a long or adjustable strap, put the strap over your left shoulder with the purse on your right side so the opening for the gun is pointed to the BACK. To draw, grab the strap in front of you where it meets the purse and pull it forward while unzipping the opening with your right hand. Reach in and grab gun with right hand. At close range you may have to shoot thru the purse, one handed. Given enough time/distance, you may be able to draw. Even with practice it will add .7 to 2 seconds to your draw time. Practice, practice, practice...

The other method, if you don't carry a purse with a long enough strap to go across your body (my hobo is like this), is to carry it on your right shoulder, still with the opening pointed back. Grab the purse at the same location with left hand, unzip and draw with right WHILE THE STRAP IS SLIDING OFF YOUR ARM - let the purse fall to the ground as you draw the pistol. (PS Don't practice this with a nice leather purse unless you put a quilt on the ground to keep it from getting scratched up!)

These two methods eliminate the safe direction issue (it's always pointed toward the target, instead of pointing left and crossing everything to that side and in front of you to reach the target), and they are faster draws for the same reason. Also, you are less likely to shoot your left hand because you are grabbing the bottom of the strap at the TOP of the purse, instead of the bottom or side of the purse (which is the tendency when carrying the purse with the opening pointed forward and having to push it across your body to be reachable by the right hand).

If you are carrying the butt-ugly but ever serviceable Maxpedition Fatboy, the opening is at the top and you just unzip it, grab and go. If the strap is across your body (for good retention), be aware the purse will sway when you are in a shooting stance affecting your ability to keep the sights on target. If the strap is only over one shoulder (better for purse snatchers), the purse will fall off and either hang from your arm (yanking your gun down) or you can just let the whole thing fall to the ground, pushing it off the shoulder with your off hand while drawing from it with your strong hand. But if you don't practice with it often (every time you add to or empty the contents of your purse! , you won't have any idea what it will do to your draw or your accuracy, and finding out that your purse holster is velcro-ed in at an angle that causes the hammer to catch on the purse when you really NEED that gun FAST would be... bad.

Hope this is helpful, and not too obnoxious!

Mrs.Cicero

That is the best, most comprehensive advice on purse holsters I've ever seen any instructor give, anywhere. This should be a sticky.

Well done, ma'am.

[Mrs.Cicero]

Originally Posted by Gunboat1

That is the best, most comprehensive advice on purse holsters I've ever seen any instructor give, anywhere. This should be a sticky.

Well done, ma'am.

pleased to be of service and feel free to use any of that anywhere it helps...

Mrs.Cicero

[vafish]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Cicero

Cute Pic!

Yes, I practice with them... and there WILL be difficulties if ya'll were carrying the purses the way it was in the photo...

...

Hope this is helpful, and not too obnoxious!

Mrs.Cicero

Very helpful.

The method shown in the picture is what's taught in the course and that was the way we had to draw.

Your way makes a bit more sense

I'm going for the instructor certification class in a couple weeks, I'll get to do it again, so I'll give it a try with some blue guns to see how it works.