Your Tactical Training Scenario: In-Hand Weapons Retention

Written by: Greg Ellifritz

Have you ever thought about what you would do if a criminal lunged for your gun as you were holding him at gunpoint?  That happened to a police officer last week with very serious consequences.  The cop and another citizen were both shot.  Read about the incident at the link below:

$18K Robbery led to Phoenix Officer, Civilian shot

According to the article, a man robbed a strip club employee and was confronted by the police officer:

“Officer goes towards him with his gun drawn and all of the sudden, the suspect turned around and started fighting with the officer,” said Chuck Parke, a witness.

Parke says he saw Sharp grab Officer Sefranka’s gun and started firing, shooting the posse volunteer who jumped in to help.  That volunteer is also in critical condition.  Police say Sharp then shot Sefranka and took off.

This type of gun grab can sometimes be prevented by keeping a longer distance between you and the criminal you are confronting.  It can also me reduced by using a retention position.  But distance and retention do not always work.  Sometimes you can’t get away.  Sometimes the bad guy is on you before you can pull the gun back to retention.  Bad things happen in gunfights.

When within arm’s reach of criminal, using a retention position like this will reduce the chance that your gun is grabbed.

Turning the gun hand palm up, loosens the attacker’s grip and gives you better range of motion for the upcoming pull

 

Then use all your body weight to pull the gun back and down.

You should have your gun back now.  If you are carrying an autopistol, tap and rack to clear the likely malfunction as you get distance from the threat.

You’ll need to practice this a few times before you get it down.  Find a willing training partner and some gloves.  The front sight will tear up the attacker’s hands in a hurry.  Use a training pistol or triple check to ensure that your gun is unloaded and then give it a try.  You should have the technique down within a couple repetitions.

Rope threaded down the barrel and out the mag well prevents a cartridge from chambering and provides instant visual assurance that the gun is “clear”

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