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XDm4life wrote:"tactically" sob is bad choice?

Welcome to the Forum!

I suggest you read the posts in this Topic, as well as links referenced in those posts.

Yes, small-of-back carry is a very poor tactical choice.

PM me if you want more info.

PappaGun wrote:Carrying SOB is by far better than not carrying at all.

I don't think that's the issue. Any measure of preparedness is better than none at all, but it's a continuum. Carrying a four-year-old, half-ounce, generic pepper spray may be better than no extra defensive tool at all. But if given the choice, why not carry a more effective solution?

My personal opinion, stated often, is that small-of-back carry is a very poor tactical choice: the worst, in fact, of any waist-carry position. And my arguments never included the fall and spinal injury possibility because that is often the first one, and sometimes only one, presented. I won't describe my reasons here because I've already linked in this Topic to posts where I went into some detail.

My best advice is to take an advanced handgun class from a credible instructor that focuses on close-quarters defense: those situations where danger is less than 10 feet from you before you can realistically identify it as a threat. The best statistics we have say that, outside of a home or business, these are the distances at which innocent people are most likely to encounter violence. In most urban environments, the VCAs simply do not stand 10 yards away and threaten you with a weapon. It isn't in their best interest; ergo, those aren't the distances in which they operate. And it also isn't uncommon for them to operate in pairs.

If you can find a class that includes force-on-force drills with Airsoft guns, all the better. It still can't mirror real-world situations, but it's about as good as we can safely get it. If the instructor will allow you to use small-of-back--and it's a big "if"--I believe you'll come away understanding that it's a weak position with little practical benefit.

I said I wouldn't delineate any specific points against small-of-back, but that last paragraph describes one that is seldom mentioned: training. You can practice dry-fire in your own home. If you're lucky enough to own land that's large enough to afford you your own shooting range, you can practice live-fire there. But I know of no nationally-recognized instructor that will allow small-of-back in any of their live-fire courses. No NRA instruction will allow it. No public shooting ranges will allow a draw from small-of-back, and my bet is that precious few, if any, private ranges will allow it. I know I've never been to one. No competition shooting will allow it, not IDPA or USPSA.

That no nationally-recognized firearms instructor teaches small-of-back carry as a viable choice should be a strong message. That you can't practice it at public or private ranges, or in practical shooting competitions should be a limitation worth considering.

In a sudden and violent encounter, you simply will not know how skilled or capable your attacker may be. If you can't practice live-fire from small-of-back, and you can't get professional instruction on how best to use it, how will you ever hope to be good enough to come out on top of the average, jittery, meth-head, much less an experienced felon?

Skiprr wrote:There have been several threads and opinions about small-of-back carry. Here's one: viewtopic.php?f=53&t=21342" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Just a reiteration.

Tactically, small-of-back carry is a very poor choice.

Your mileage may vary, but I'm just sayin'...

There have been several threads and opinions about small-of-back carry. Here's one: viewtopic.php?f=53&t=21342" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.