Cross draw or same side

[TheAmericanGreed]

I would like to know from those who have experince in the feild rather law enforement or any type of agency which is more reliable and practical in the concealed carry. And also members from this site. Just like some feedback on how you carry and why?

 

[Jarheadcool]

I like the cross draw because it's comfortable.

 

[TheAmericanGreed]

Does comfort out weigh ability and mobolity, and the time it takes to react?

 

[jreXD9]

I've got a Bianchi 105 size 13/15 that can be worn strong side or cross draw. (it'll also fit in my boot with my cw45 or cw9 or pm9, or pocket carry with my pm9, believe it or not! VERY versatile holster!) Very little cant enables that. I like wearing crossdraw but usually don't because I also wear my extra mag on that side and that side droops with that much weight on it. Room for both also becomes an issue. Otherwise, I like it.

 

[kelcarry]

Agree with part of jre comments. Holster goes both ways. I prefer cross--just do not like that holster "hitched" up on my waist strong-side where I have to get under my shirt and try to pull up and still have shirt in the way--just my opinion. This is a "to each his own" thing.

 

[HootmonSccy]

You asked for Law Enforcement comments, Which I am not..
But Like others, I'll throw in my 2 cents.. Something to think about.

For me, it was as much about comfort and being able to conceal. How often do I carry? (everyday) How often do I pull? (Hopefully Never!)
I don't live in the old west (I live in a reasonably nice area)..
The chances of me pulling in the 1st place is slim.. THEN needing to pull fast in a draw, even less..
I'll take my chances and go with what is MOST comfortable and ability to conceal, and have reasonable access to my weapon.
I have chosen to wear a left hand holster at 4:30 (right handed) BECAUSE it conceals well and is comfortable for me.
I understand there is a Sweep issue with my arrangement and I compensate for that in practice.
IF I lived in Beirut or a bad part of town where shootings are common, I might choose differently..

Life is about choices.. Choose Wisely this day..

 

[perrypu]

Draw preference

I don't carry very often but when I do, I prefer cross draw. More comfortable and is easier for me to conceal. Strong side for cell phone. Lets be honest, I draw that much more frequently.

 

[eaccents]

Practical concealed carry

I would like to know from those who have experince in the feild rather law enforement or any type of agency which is more reliable and practical in the concealed carry. And also members from this site. Just like some feedback on how you carry and why?

I am not a LEO, but I do carry every day in an IWB custom holster at the 2:30 position. My shoulders are just wide enough for my shirt to hang naturally without the gun printing.

When I carry a larger weapon, I will wear a custom IWB holster in the 4:00-5:00 position as the bigger grip hides in the curve of my spine.

I find both positions very comfortable (could be the custom holsters), but I prefer the appendix position because I am typically bending and lifting and moving around a lot and if I bend over with the gun behind my hip, it will definitely print. Plus, lifting my cover garment with my weak hand while I get a grip on the gun with my strong hand feels like a very fluid movement.

I think that I originally tried the appendix position because of some of the ideas in this article: WARRIOR TALK NEWS - Appendix Carry - Comfortable, Concealable, Quickest

I don't know who the author is really (is he famous or just someone with their own two cents?), but many of the advantages that he listed make sense to me (protecting the gun from others, less motion when drawing, and how close your hands are to the gun when your hands are hanging naturally and loosely at your sides).

 

[CDWilliams05]

i carry strong side, when I carry where I can. I don't feel comfortable with a cross draw, and have always grown up with a strong side draw. I feel I can conceal best at 4-5 position I do have a large frame pistol, so I have never tried appendix carry, but it is something to try.

 

[NavyLCDR]

If you are driving, left side is easier access to the gun. If you are a passenger in a vehicle, right side is easier access. So, if you are in a vehicle a lot, you might want to think about that.

I would say whatever feels the most natural to you, be consistent, and practice with your consistent choice.

I am not LEO, though.

 

[TheAmericanGreed]

If you are driving, left side is easier access to the gun. If you are a passenger in a vehicle, right side is easier access. So, if you are in a vehicle a lot, you might want to think about that.

I would say whatever feels the most natural to you, be consistent, and practice with your consistent choice.

I am not LEO, though.

Thats what I think to as well. I carrry cross draw for that purpose and that its easier and a little bit more comfortable in confidence and feel. And the reason I asked for experince people because they are more likely to been in a shoot out or something to that likes. Didnt mean to disrespect you are anyone else. I respect all comments thank you.

 

[whitetiger]

I also carry my 45 1911 on my back side in a lefthand draw on a belt. It is concealed very well in side my pants holster. I can get it out very fast and on target. There is a sweep risk. But I do not have to lift my arm just swing my hand back grab the grip with my hand back side to my back and swing froward. Grab with two hands and hit the safty. Because there is no arm lift ya can't tell I am going for my gun till it comes in view barrol first. I used this in paintball test and I was able to hit first time on 22 trys with different paint ball shooters. The test was they walk in and there are three people in a garage ten feet from badguy he knew one of us had a paint ball gun. we switched around who had the gun. He was playing he was robbing a bank so his main view was on a teller Played by a 4th person. If he did not say put up your hands I won most of the time cause my hand was nearer to my gun, with hands up, it's about 50/50 cause he knew someone had a paintball gun and was ready to shoot,
but he still had to deal with the teller we waited for his eyes to go to the teller and then went for our gun.
it was alot of fun cause no one got hurt for real but man I tell you it makes you think. With hands up 50/50 you die or he dies or both real close. ten feet is what we shot at. Thats so close you can see the sweat on each others face.
Oh and we shot for center mass, there were misses on both sides. Three out of 20 shots were misses for 2 of the goodguys and 1 for the badguy. He has his gun out while we are swinging up.
I would love to hear what anyone who can do this too what you come up with, ten feet and we missed. 3 times it blew our idea of being great shots. I think its because when you are in gun fight you get down and they miss you or it throws off your aim.
good guys shot over and the badguy missed low. we tryed this 25 times. time to do this took over 1hr and 30 mins.
good training i think so if I was in a bank and there was one guy and he was not looking at me and noone else in the bank except one teller, if he was just going take the money and run i would let him go and make no move. if he was going to put us in a backroom I would go for my gun. Oh and two or more badguys if they were going to take us to a backroom I think they were going to kill us well I hope I am as fast as i think. cause its going to get loud in there, I carry a 45.
I think someone will go with me to the gates and tell his side of the story to st pete.

 

[Grognard Gunny]

Different strokes...... etc.

I like to carry my Ruger SP 101 IWB at 10-1100 (I'm a leftie). It's comfortable and easily accessed. (If it ever "went off" in that position, however..... another "gelding". LOL) (I've been known to drop it hooked inside a front pocket of my canvas shorts, with a shirt that will cover it adequately.)

I have a Beretta 9000s that I have a neat pancake holster for. Haven't tried it yet. Will take winter clothing to cover properly. Carry strong side at 9:00.

Have a Beretta Tomcat that I sometimes tuck into pockets in my winter "hoodie" sweatshirt and into the "change pocket" in my pants. (Right or left, don't mean nothin', I've trained myself to shoot nearly as well with my "weak" hand as I can with my strong hand.)

Same holster for the 9000s will hold my Taurus PT 58, even narrower than the 9000s.

Different weapons for different situations. Sometimes I will take a gun along, just to leave it in the car and STILL take the Tomcat with me.

Comes under the heading of "threat assessment". Understanding that probabilities are low to begin with, I just consider which situations are of even lesser probabilities and "carry" accordingly.

GG

 

[Irishcopper]

I've attended two LEO academies and currently work in law enforcement. The first was a Peace Officer Standards Training academy in the South and the other at FLETC Glynco, GA. The first firearm I qualified with was a S&W Model 66 and eventually we qualified with full sized and compact Glocks. Neither of the agencies that I've worked for would permit shooters to qualify on the range in a "cross draw" position due to safety reasons. It's simply too easy to accidently shoot another shooter on the range or yourself with a crossdraw position. It also violates one of the four safety rules "Keep your weapon pointed down range!" I've also been told by numerous firearms instructors that most shooters can not cross draw as quick as they can draw from their strong side. I've never observed this being tested AND I'm well aware that many people will argue this point. I'm unaware of any major law enforcement agency that allows this practice in the field. If they are I've never seen it and I've worked all over the U.S. An exception to this are in Aviation and Marine units were LEO's often carry their weapon in an approved shoulder holster. I've routinely "broken leather" in the field for many years and always been able to draw quickly from my strong side. You should practice like you plan to fight. As a LEO I'm a proponent of keeping my weapon holstered on my strong side unless I have my back up in an ankle holster.

 

[old curmudgeon]

Thanks.

My opinion, not an LEO.

What do you think will be the most likely situation where you must protect yourself?

Probably something similar to walking to your car in a large parking lot.

10 ft. from you directly in front and rushing you is a guy with a knife or gun.

Cross draw you draw. As the weapon comes out of the holster, your arm is across your belly, gun pointed to your left, assuming you are right handed.

We know that a guy good on his feet can cover 21 ft. in less time than you can draw. So what happens when he is 10' away rusing you and you are halfway through a cross draw? He will get you before you can bring your weapon into position.

Now assume same situation holster at 3:00.

The instant you clear the holster, you can fire.

So it is under your shirt. You are probably wearing the shirt tail out. If so, you can lift the shirt, or at least I can, with the left hand as fast as the right hand can get to the weapon. No time lost.

Where cross draw is good is when you are wearing multiple layers. Say in very cold weather...two shirts, one with the tail out so you can take your jacket off and still conceal, and a very heavy insulated jacket. It is hard to get through all of that if the weapon is strong side but not so hard if cross draw.

As for in the vehicle, the states I travel have open carry as well as CC. So when I get in the truck, I pt mine in a holster between the seats. I have one of those inside the belt holsters that feels like velvet. I stuck Velcro on the side and the Velcro sticks to the seat so that there is no chance that the holster will come up with the weapon.

This makes the weapon free and clear of all seat belts, jackets, etc. and is instantly available.

When I arrive at my destination, simple and quick to slip it into the belt holster under my Hawaiian style shirt.

 

[whitetiger]

Ok same badguy rushing you I am standing with my left foot forward and sideway to the badguy. if I had a crossdraw i pull and shoot, 5 inch pull and bang,bang,bang,bang,bang, if your carrying concealed not a cop who might have to arrest someone they don't know you got a gun till they get hit. most of us are not cops. in a crossdraw if your face to face w/a bg your crossdraw is easyer to grab. It comes down to this the way you train is the way you will fight. No crossdraws for cops because they arrest badguys and most of the time they fight with their hands and have to be careful about the badguy taking their gun.
I am not fighting with a badguy, it looks like I am going to get attacked. I stop turn and face them left foot forward and talk to them if I have time if not turn pull and fire. the turn is what lines them up, your facing them and can talk and use youur left hand to grab him if he is close pull and empty the mag in his torso. I carry a 45apc.also you can protect almost 280 % in that pose. there are other ways to carry too that are not main stream like a lefthand holster behind your back for a righthand draw.
I like this one for walking around a lot. and the front crossdraw in building when people are close i can have my hands by the guns most of the time -folding my hand over each other or hiding it with a jacket and my left hand. crossdraw are not made for hand to hand fighting. but if your going shoot look out its fast and the barrol is already point in the bad guy's face.

 

[whitetiger]

get two paintball guns and get two people w/googles one in a righthand hip draw and the other with a crossdraw left foot forward and turned sideways. say go and see who gets hit first. I would not try this with bob monden, I would say I give up and can I buy you a beer. LOL saw him draw and shoot one time WOW. and I go the the range two times a week and shoot 150 or so rounds. I don't think I could blink faster than he can draw and shoot.
If you don't know him look him up on youtube.
I like to share ideas and then see what works and what is slow.
I test stuff and draws and what have you, it's a hobbie.

 

[Irishcopper]

I canvassed a few of my agency's F.I. on the "pro's and cons" of cross draws and we are in agreement on the safety concerns of this practice. Most LEO's don't crossdraw just because because "they fight bad guys" but because the practice is considered dangerous on the range and in the field. The first GSW I ever treated as a young Navy Corpsman was a Marine NCO that accidently shot himself with a 1911. No one likes looking at the business end of a firearm, especially when you are supposed to be on the same side. Carrying your weapon in a cross draw leaves it more vulnerable to someone taking it from you. Civilians need to be just as careful as a LEO with regard to weapon retention. Most savvy street cops and many thugs can often tell if some one is carrying by their body language. Nearly everyone's stance and stride changes when they are carrying a firearm. Inmates practice disarming techniques as well as knife attacks in prison. Remember the 21' rule. Civilians should practice weapons retention just as LEO's do. A cover up alone is not going to keep your weapon out of an assailants hands particularly if you use a Level 1 holster. A lot of ranges teach advanced shooting classes that include weapons retention techniques. Practice like you are going to fight.

As with a lot of stuff in firearms, if you practice drawing from a cross-draw you may be faster than someone, with a strong-side holster, who does not practice…but generally, a strong side draw is quicker, and there are reasons that a LOT of agencies do not allow their people to wear cross-draw.

I have one question for you proponents of crossdrawing. Are there shooting ranges that let you practice this technique? I've been a "range rat" for over thirty years and spent hours on military, law enforcement and civilian firearms ranges. Crossdrawing always raised the shackles of the range master when the red flag was flying. As with anything what ever works for you and keeps you safe!

Go N.R.A!

 

[old curmudgeon]

And Jelly Bryce, Bill Jordan and Applegate all wore theirs strong side.

Bryce and Jordan could hold a quarter at arms length, shoulder high, drop it and draw and shoot it before it hit the ground.

Bryce and Jordan fired the instant the weapon cleared the holster, giving them another split second.

We will never be that good, but every little bit helps.

I forgot to add that both Bryce and Jordan started squeezing the trigger as soon as the weapon is out of the holster, timing it so that the hammer falls at the exact moment the barrel comes up level. Neither looked at the sights when shooting at close range as in personal encounters.

Squeezing that early on a cross draw would be a receipt for disaster.

 

[old curmudgeon]

As for cops fight,we don't: There are experts in self defense that teach that you will most likely have no idea what is going to happen until you are hit, stabbed or accosted at such close range that it amounts to physical contact.

Those instructors insist that the serious will take courses in physical contact fighting so as to survive long enough to get to their weapon.

At my age, I don't have that option so my statement is intended as food for thought for those who might find themselves in a physical encounter.