Two weeks ago I listed ways in which concealed carriers should avoid emulating law enforcement. Not everything cops do is bad, however. Law enforcement as a whole does some things that are worthy of emulation by concealed carriers. There are some ways you should strive to be like the police, despite the things I said a couple weeks ago. Here are a few ways to try to be like the police.
Keep in mind this refers to law enforcement as a whole. As I stated in my last article, I’m not anti-cop. I’m also not bashing individual officers: some are extremely knowledgeable about and capable with their firearms. Let’s get into it.
1. Get a Solid Basis of Training
The vast majority of law enforcement officers in the U.S. go through somewhere between 40 and 60 hours of entry-level training. In my “Don’t Be Like the Police” article I made it sound like this was a bad thing. It is only a bad thing if you stop there. For most concealed carriers who only take state-mandated, minimum training, 40-60 hours would be huge upgrade!
A solid basis in the fundamentals of marksmanship and firearms manipulation will allow you to practice on your own without building bad habits. You have to know what to practice before you start practicing. Things that I think are important to learn are safe gun handling, basic manipulations (loading/unloading), the basics of marksmanship (grip, stance, sight alignment/picture, trigger control), reloading (speed/emergency), and basic malfunction clearance (tap, rack, bang).
Once those things are learned they can be practiced and overlearned (“An amateur trains until he gets it right; a professional trains until he can’t get it wrong”). Just be sure to seek competent training periodically to avoid “drift” in your technique.
2. Open Carry with Retention Holsters
As Spencer Keepers is often attributed with saying in regards to open carry, “I support the right, but not the practice.” If you are going to open carry, it should be like cops who open carry: in a retention holster. Someone may attempt to disarm you. Greg Ellifritz has an article entitled “Friends Don’t Let Friends Open Carry” that details dozens of instances of “gun grabs” against armed citizens, and police/security personnel.
That way you can still get whatever perceived benefit you get from open carrying without presenting an easy target to a bad buy. I don’t think you need to go will a full on, Level III holster, but a Level II would be a really good idea. Safariland is probably the most prolific manufacturer of retention holsters, and they make something for just about everything. Just be sure to avoid the objectively terrible Blackhawk! SERPA.
3. Use Quality Firearms
One thing police agencies do exceptionally well is adopt high-quality firearms. Some departments issue guns, some make cadets purchase them, and some provide a list of approved carry sidearms. One thing all these guns have in common are their quality. Even though public safety is chronically underfunded, very few departments are using budget guns.
Let’s take a look at the firearms carried by state police/highway patrol agencies, put together by my friend Mike at RevolverGuy.com. The following is a breakdown of the manufacturers of guns used by these 50 agencies, arranged in numerical order:
- Glock (25)
- Sig Sauer (14)
- S&W (8)
- H&K (1)
- Shadow Systems (1)
- Walther (1)
There are some other good manufacturers out there like Beretta, CZ, FN, and Ruger. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good pistol. Some models from many of these manufacturers are only a few hundred dollars. You can even find police trade-in guns for as little as $300. Remember, most cop guns get shot for 100 – 200 rounds a year for five years or so, then traded in. That’s a couple thousand rounds, but Glocks will often go far beyond 50,000 rounds. Even if you are on a tight budget you can still come by a high-quality gun if you’re willing to shop for a bargain.
4. Use High Quality Ammunition
My last article criticized police for using untested duty ammunition. That aside, the police do a great job at selecting ammunition. Of the nation’s 17,000 police departments, almost all choose from among just a handful of brands and types of ammunition. The Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST, Winchester Ranger, and Hornady Critical Duty lines of ammunition are all top-notch, and these four probably represent well north of 90% of law enforcement agencies in the country.
That said, bullet style is typically a very small factor in defensive shootings. One thing premium ammunition has going for it is overall quality of components. I’ve seen tons of malfunctions, deformities, light strikes, and other problems with practice ammunition. You’re probably less likely to run into a problem with a box of premium JHPs.
One other thing of note: many law enforcement agencies do a reasonably good job of matching practice ammunition to duty ammunition in regards to point-of-impact. Most of my local departments using a 147-grain duty ammo also use 147-grain FMJ practice ammo from the same manufacturer. Also keep in mind that if you are zeroing a carry optic, it should be zeroed to your carry ammunition, even if the point of impact is only slightly different than your practice ammo.
5. Carry a Flashlight
Most uniformed law enforcement officers in the U.S. now carry a weapon-mounted light. This makes really good sense, as the ability to identify a target is incredibly important. Additionally, the ability to hit a target is largely dependent on one’s ability to see it. One thing that law enforcement officers are NOT doing is giving up their handheld flashlights. You don’t see police officers patrolling with pistols in hand so they can use their WML to search a dark alley. Cops aren’t pulling their pistols to scrutinize an ID or read a vehicle registration.
And for good reason. Your firearm IS NOT a general-purpose flashlight, even if it has a light attached. Handling your firearm greatly increases the risk of shooting something with it; the light on it is ONLY to be used when the gun is already out for “gun reasons.” Even as flashlights become more common on concealed carry firearms, you should still carry a dedicated flashlight for your administrative tasks. I have carried the very versatile Fenix LD12 for about five years now and love it.
For what it’s worth I rarely carry a firearm with a weapon-mounted light. The odds of use just aren’t there to justify the extra bulk, weight, and upkeep. If you do, good on you…just don’t use your gun as a flashlight.
Be Like the Police: Closing Thoughts
Like most things, this is a topic with some nuance. Cops are often treated as authorities on firearms because of the symbol a firearm is to the profession of law enforcement. In reality, I have found that most cops know little more than the average gun-owner about firearms…and sometimes even less.The “universal” firearms knowledge of LEOs is a symptom of the symbolic nature of a cop’s gun.
That said, some cops truly are experts in skill-at-arms. Some of the top firearms trainers and thinkers in the country have LE backgrounds. Think Darryl Bolke, Greg Ellifritz, Chuck Haggard, Simon Golob, Rob Haught, Scotty Reitz, Mike Seeklander, and Dave Spaulding . These men are truly masters of instruction and exceptionally mature and deep thinkers about firearms. Just because someone is a LEO doesn’t mean you should blow off their skill with firearms; I have been in classes with cops who are ridiculously good shooters. The men and women in this small minority are the cops you should strive to be like.
