Back when I was the editor of Concealed Carry Magazine, Karl Rehn wrote an excellent article titled, “Is a Pocket Gun Enough?” In it, he discussed many of the common experiences people have with little guns and some of the concerns people express about them (caliber, accuracy, capacity, shootability). It’s worth reading in its entirety, but one of the more fascinating things he did was that he ran a bunch of people through the same shooting test. Each person took the test twice: once with a full-size gun, and once with a pocket pistol.
He tested three groups of people:
- new, inexperienced, and untrained shooters
- intermediate shooters who had taken classes
- highly skilled shooters
What Karl found was that shooters who were not highly skilled — this would include long-time shooters who had taken no classes other than the basic carry permit class — gave up a LOT of skill when they moved to smaller guns. He also found that well-trained shooters could move down to the small guns with very little loss of skill. (You can see his data at this link.)
My observation as a long-time instructor (I've been teaching for around 14 years now) squares with Karl's measured data. I've seen that most people learn good gunhandling and shooting skills much quicker and much more easily on mid- to full-size guns. Once they have learned the skills with the "easier" gun, they can then transfer their skills downward to smaller guns. But people who start their serious training with a small gun often do not learn the skills easily at all. They get hit with a double whammy: they must shoot more rounds to achieve the same level of skill, and they struggle with physical fatigue and battering from higher levels of recoil -- which means they need to shoot more, but actually shoot less.
My own recommendation on the gun question would be to bring a mid- or full-size gun to your first class beyond the state-required permit class. After that class and an appropriate amount of practice, you can move down to the smaller gun you carry in daily life. That's likely to be the fastest route to skill development.
That brings us to the holster question. In my own classes, I require people to bring sturdy, non-collapsible holsters to class. Don't have a rule on IWB versus OWB, but I truly don't want people using squishy holsters in class. In some cases, I've gotten pushback from prospective students who don't understand why I would suggest they bring anything but the (generally craptastic) holsters they use in daily life.
The dirty little secret of the defensive firearms training world is that putting a loaded gun into a holster is the single most dangerous thing anyone ever does in a professional firearms training class. That's no exaggeration; ask any serious trainer and they will tell you the same thing. It's rare for someone to shoot themselves during a class, but when they do, it almost always results in either a stripe down the dominant leg (wayward finger + overquick sloppy holstering) or a serious injury to the non-dominant hand (hand steadying a floppy holster + wayward finger + overquick sloppy holstering).
Back to holsters. Every trainer has specific rules about which holsters can come to class. Almost without exception, these rules are designed to reduce the likelihood of a student shooting himself during the class, or (in the worst case) to reduce the seriousness of the injury if he does.
When I teach a class, I want to be sure every student is as safe as I can keep them. So until I have first taught the student how to safely use the holster and have helped them build in some good habits, I have to see what their trigger finger is doing every time they holster the gun. That’s one reason I don’t allow belly bands or purse holsters on the range, because these carry methods hide the students’ trigger fingers and hand placement from my view.
There’s another thing about belly bands and other types of squishy holsters. When students use collapsible holsters, it’s very hard for them to avoid passing the muzzle over the top of the non-shooting hand when they put the gun away. That’s because they’re holding the holster mouth open with the non-shooting hand. (There’s also a non-safety but equally valid concern with squishy holsters in a multi-person class: putting the gun safely back into these types of holsters can be very slow. It can be done safely, and I teach each student how to do it before the class is over. But since we draw and holster repeatedly during the class, students using collapsible holsters really slow down the class for the other students. That’s not fair.)
Our range work begins the process of building in safe behavior related to holsters. By the end of the weekend, the student's trigger finger and gun hand will be quite reliable at working safely around the holster they brought to class. This simple motor program will transfer over to other types of holsters as long as the student practices appropriately after class.
With this in mind, during class I teach students the basic principles of a safe draw. After we've done this, I help each student learn the appropriate draw for their own preferred carry method. So whether it’s a shoulder holster, an ankle holster, a purse or pack or bag, or some other carry method, I can and do show them how to use it safely. Even though we won’t use the alternate carry methods on the range, I do encourage my students to bring their own carry gear -- whatever it is -- so we can demonstrate, discuss, and practice the safest ways to use it. By the time class is over, the student will be able to take their own gear and use it safely, and they will know how to do the same whenever they buy new gear. That's the goal.
Closely related to this, the other reason I like to see students with their own sturdy range holsters is because I do want them to practice on a regular basis. Having that holster opens some doors that would otherwise be closed. For example, many ranges won’t allow people to work from the holster, but of those that do, they all require a belt-carried holster. Formal shooting competitions always require this type of holster. For those who continue learning (as I encourage all my students to do), the advantage of having this type of holster available is that they’re required in almost every other class from reputable trainers. So having a good, sturdy "range holster" lowers the barriers to regular practice and attending other events.
