Recently I returned from a very much needed vacation in Hawaii with my wife while my guns and my animals all remained under the care of another person. After about 2 weeks it was time to come home to a frozen winter wonderland here in Alaska and get back to doing my routine with my animals and my firearms training. So what is it like to go 2 weeks without even thinking about guns and then jumping back into it again? Well it is not the first time that I have had to jump back into the game after a bit of a pause, but it is an interesting discussion to have.
First thing you gotta realize is that the first priority I have is to my household and to myself. I have to come home and establish control of my environment. Check all the animals over physically, play with them, feed them. Them I have to make sure the house is arranged the way it should be and make sure all the dishes are done and all my luggage is unpacked and getting put away or washed. Only then can I comfortably move onto the firearms aspect of my life. You see, in my life, firearms are not things I need in order to feel safe 24/7. There are plenty of times that I go out without a gun inside my waistband. Some of you may feel differently, and that is okay.
First thing you gotta realize is that the first priority I have is to my household and to myself. I have to come home and establish control of my environment. Check all the animals over physically, play with them, feed them. Them I have to make sure the house is arranged the way it should be and make sure all the dishes are done and all my luggage is unpacked and getting put away or washed. Only then can I comfortably move onto the firearms aspect of my life. You see, in my life, firearms are not things I need in order to feel safe 24/7. There are plenty of times that I go out without a gun inside my waistband. Some of you may feel differently, and that is okay.
The first thing I do when I get to the point of looking at my firearms is to look them over for rust. This is a very important step because your first interaction may need to be maintenance rather than fun and practice. When I got home, there were a couple pistols that had rust on the sights, but no rust elsewhere. That meant that it was time for me to find a few pistols to fondle. Since I have a collection of different pistols, I had to decide what kind of trigger system I wanted to start with. I tried a couple of striker fired triggers, but as always, it felt more like a target trigger than a trigger for a carry gun. For this reason, I decided that I would just stick to double action triggers. My aim was to pick out my EDC pistol when going through these pistols.
A while ago, I came up with a couple of things that I do to test the pistol in my hands and see if it would be the right fit right off the bat. First thing I do is aim the pistol and pull the trigger fast several times and see if the sights move. If the pistol passes that test, I do this test just with the dominant hand. If the pistol passes this test, I do a holster test where I draw from concealment and time the trigger to set off a dry shot right at the point of extension. Here I am looking to see that the sights are pretty close to the point I was hoping for the sights to rest on and that they are aligned properly with my new natural aim.
After about 3 pistols that all fit my criteria for size, but failed the testing, I ran across the PX4 compact. I pulled it out and ran through my test, and it worked flawlessly. I had chosen the PX4 Compact many times over other more expensive and more renown designs like my HK P2000, my Walther P99AS, and the CZ P07.
A while ago, I came up with a couple of things that I do to test the pistol in my hands and see if it would be the right fit right off the bat. First thing I do is aim the pistol and pull the trigger fast several times and see if the sights move. If the pistol passes that test, I do this test just with the dominant hand. If the pistol passes this test, I do a holster test where I draw from concealment and time the trigger to set off a dry shot right at the point of extension. Here I am looking to see that the sights are pretty close to the point I was hoping for the sights to rest on and that they are aligned properly with my new natural aim.
After about 3 pistols that all fit my criteria for size, but failed the testing, I ran across the PX4 compact. I pulled it out and ran through my test, and it worked flawlessly. I had chosen the PX4 Compact many times over other more expensive and more renown designs like my HK P2000, my Walther P99AS, and the CZ P07.
It can be hard to get back in the groove of things when you come back from vacation. Practicing to carry again, if you visit a state you cant carry in, can be difficult and frustrating. But in general, it actually is no different than correcting bad training habits. The first time back to the range is an important one. I highly discourage slow firing right away. Since you have not been using a trigger much, slow fire can bring much anxiety and fear of a miss and it fails to point out your realistic faults in marksmanship. I always encourage shooting like you would during a defensive shooting just as a test. The reason is because doing a warmup during a defensive shooting is not going to be feasible, so how are you going to claim your training like you fight? Test your reactions first and then iron them out in practice. Don't waste your time on things you don't need to practice. Use your ammo and time wisely, even if it is infinite.
Other than my little rant here, I appreciate you reading this, and I encourage you to question everything and actually evaluate methods and their usefulness instead of adopting them just because someone you respect said to do it. Be a thinker, not a sponge.
Other than my little rant here, I appreciate you reading this, and I encourage you to question everything and actually evaluate methods and their usefulness instead of adopting them just because someone you respect said to do it. Be a thinker, not a sponge.
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