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I have been thinking a lot lately about how awesome it is to be a part of the USCCA. Ask any member, and they will tell you that the USCCA is more than just a club or organization, we're a close knit-community, full of some of the most virtuous, and wholesome people I've ever met.
God bless the USCCA!
If you remember, for last week's "Video of the Week" I showed you Part-One of this AWESOME three-part video series I found online. The videos were made by the Surefire Institute, and they are all about lighting techniques, and how to use your flashlight with your gun. Well, as promised here's part two!
Remember: The videos aren't segmented very well, and the first one ended abruptly, with the instructor finishing showing us how to properly shoot one handed.
Know someone who would LOVE to see this? Make their day!
You Get Pulled Over While Carrying- What Do You Do?
by: J. Pieters
I am a cop.
I stop you for a violation of motor vehicle code or law.
You have a weapon.
You have a concealed weapons permit. What happens now?
I am writing this article as a cop. I am and have been that armed citizen, but that is not what I want to focus on. I am writing this article as a guide to dealing with us cops. Now, everyone has a story about cops. A large majority of those stories may not be what one could describe as "the most wonderful and joyous occasion in recent memory". Realizing that we are always judged as a group, I try not to be "one of those cops". I have a background in the Marine Corps and grew up shooting and hunting from my earliest memories. My part time job (most cops have some other gig) is working in a local gun shop selling firearms.
I do not question the armed citizen's reasons behind carrying a gun. I understand and promote the concept of an armed and educated citizenry. There are differences in how you and I carry and employ weapons and how we may be involved in a deadly force encounter, but that isn't what I want to focus on either. My goal here is to provide food for thought when dealing with a police encounter on the street or in your vehicle, while you are armed. I want to do this from my prospective as it may help you to understand it better. Sometimes in order to see things clearly, we have to see it from the reverse angle.
Where I work and live, in Michigan, folks who have a concealed pistol license are required to inform the officer stopping them that they have a weapon with/on them. They can be subject to a civil infraction fine if they do not disclose this information. When not carrying the weapon, they need not do this. I realize that other states may not require this disclosure to be made. Some people may say that it is none of my business whether or not you have your weapon on you or in your car. To a certain extent, I can understand this. It seems intrusive when you are stopped and detained on a traffic offense. It certainly seems intrusive when you get a ticket right? My question is why not tell the officer? What do you have to lose by telling me that you have your weapon on you?
Are you lawfully carrying your weapon? Yes.
Is that the reason I stopped you? No.
What are the ramifications of the officer knowing that you have your weapon on you (lawfully)? Well, I have heard many stories about cops doing things such as taking possession of the weapon during the course of the traffic stop. I have heard of officers who may instruct the weapon to be placed in a visible spot in the vehicle until the stop is concluded. I have heard all sorts of stories about the cops that don't even know how to unload a different weapon than the one that they carry. I do not do any of these things, and I would not recommend these practices to other officers. Truth be told, I very rarely come into contact with concealed pistol licensees in general. Why? CCW people just don't break the law that much. Upon occasion, I have stopped those with weapons permits in my jurisdiction.
My concerns when approaching the vehicle are primarily the occupants of the car. Traffic is always a secondary concern as is the rest of the environment of the stop, but that is my problem, not necessarily yours. What I look for may be the positioning of the hands. What I like to see is both hands visible. A good place for the driver is on the wheel, 10 and 2 if you will. It is easy for me to see this as I approach from either side of the vehicle. Passengers in a vehicle who may be armed can place their hands in their laps if possible. This may seem somewhat remedial, but you would not believe how many people start digging in their vehicle like they were mining for gold.
Picture yourself in my situation; just clearing an intensive domestic assault call or stand off with a suicidal subject and my first traffic stop afterwards is searching frantically around the car for god knows what.
1. Don't dig around looking for your paperwork, that French fry you dropped when the lights came on or your kid's pacifier. I do not enjoy putting you at gunpoint. It is stressful for both of us. We can avoid this problem by staying put and keep our hands comfortably visible. I say 'stay put'; I mean stay in the vehicle. I realize that some jurisdictions may ask you to step from the vehicle. Do so when asked. Again, this may seem remedial, but someone who exits a car, without being asked, on a traffic stop gives an impression that he is either going to do us harm or run from us. 2. Make eye contact with the officer. Nothing says "I'm crazy" or "I have something to hide" like the 1000 yard stare down the roadway. This behavior has led to several searches, arrests, and some altercations upon further investigation. 3. Like Mr. Rourke of Fantasy Island was fond of saying "Smiles everybody, smiles!" Make eye contact and smile. It will let the officer know that he can communicate with you. 4. If you have the gun lying on the seat next to you or in plain sight, plan on having that muzzle related talk mentioned earlier. We know that an action beats a reaction almost every time. A visible weapon is an accessible weapon to a suspect. Concealed Carry means CONCEALED. Unless regulated by statute, I do not want to see your weapon. It would seem obvious, but even if you know this officer, this is no time to play a prank or joke. I don't come to your work area and play practical jokes on you, do not do it to me. Your motives may be playful but the results could be devastating to you and the officer. I have had people do this before. For the life of me I do not know why and the resulting opinion is that the officer is a jerk for not getting the joke.
Photo courtesy of www.uky.edu
5. No sudden movements to see if he is paying attention. No furtive movements to joke around.This may not be a potential lethal force encounter to you. It is to us, all of the time. 6. The time to inform the officer is upon his greeting. Do not say "I have a gun". Never utter this phrase. Never utter any variation of this phrase. There is no good that can come from that phrase when said to an officer. All we hear is "have a gun" and the rest is implied. The highway can be a noisy place and we may not hear everything you said. 7. Greet him and tell him you have a concealed weapons permit and the weapon is on your person/in the car. 8. Hand him your permit with your operator's license and any required paperwork like your registration and proof of insurance. The officer will likely ask where the weapon is. Tell him. There is no reason not to as long as you are abiding by local and state laws. Do not reach for the weapon unless asked to do so. Most officers, me included will not tell you to do this. 9. The officer will most likely tell you very specifically to stay put or give further instructions based on training, experience, and departmental guidelines or operating procedures. Bear in mind that some agencies may have procedures and some may not. If you feel that action was taken that was unnecessary or infringed on your rights, check into the existence of a guideline or policy in the department involved. If you are polite and proper, you may just even get out of a citation. You may not agree with the citation. This is not the time for that discussion. There are hearings for that. Even if you get a citation, thank the officer and be on your way. Take him to court to air your grievances.
Remember that you are a representative of all the concealed weapons permit holders out there, just as we are all the same cops. You have a responsibility to your fellow armed citizens to act in a manner that reflects well on your peers. A bad incident involving a permit holder will resound with all the power that the media can muster. Your good behavior will not make headlines on a regular basis what so ever, but you may save the day once in your life.
In that respect, we are a lot alike.
J. Peters is a Law Enforcement Officer with over 10 years experience as certified officer, and was in the USMC Reserves from 1989-1998.
Did you find this Traffic Stop article helpful? Send it to a friend!
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Gun and Gear Review
Here we go! My favorite part of every "Tip of the Week". This is where we get to look at some neat and interesting guns and gear.
When I first received the Pentagon X1, I was a little disappointed because I was expecting the L2. The difference being, the X1 is an Incandescent, whereas the L2 would have been an LED.
Now don't get me wrong, the X1 is a very nice flashlight- for an incandescent. The 40 lumens of output simply are not in the same league as its LED counterparts. This is emphasized by the fact that this flashlight is WAY less bright than the Surefire L1, and has 30 fewer minutes runtime, all while using twice as many batteries.
So, it's not fair to compare the two lights- as far as brightness goes. I only have two other complaints about this light:
1) It's heavy: This light is almost twice as heavy as the L1. To be fair, it does require two batteries instead of one, but this light might be just a LITTLE too big for pocket carry… it doesn't have a belt clip either, although it does come with a tether. 2) Thumb-switch: I hope I don't sound like a broken "thumb-switch" record, and maybe I'm too hard to please, but I know a perfect thumb-switch is out there! On this light, at first I thought it was pretty good. It doesn't take much pressure to engage it, and it's very firm, meaning that it won't turn on in your pocket! BUT, there's something strange about the thumb-switch on this light. Perhaps it's just the one I got, but sometimes, if you push the switch too hard, the light actually dims a little, then turns off. On other occasions, if you push in at even a slight angle, it does the same thing. Then you have to release pressure, and try again. This doesn't always happen, but it happened enough in the couple weeks that I've been using it to mention it to you!
Now for the good:
1) Solid as a rock: This flashlight certainly is TOUGH AS NAILS. I know the guys down at PentagonLight really know how to build a heck of a flashlight, and I would love to see how this light with an LED would stack up with the other LED lights in this series. This light definitely has the feel of being tougher than the SureFire L1, and I think this frame would be perfect for weapon-mounted systems. 2) GREAT for an incandescent: Compared to huge 2 D-Cell Maglights, this light seems brighter, and is obviously MUCH smaller and lighter. It's probably the best incandescent light I've ever used.
Finally, Do I recommend it? You all are my friends, and I want to be honest with you- I do not recommend the X1 as a tactical carry light. The reason being, is that it's just not as bright as even the Inova T1, which costs less. It's bulky, and I feel that in order for a tactical flashlight to be good, much like a pistol, is has to be comfortable to carry- otherwise, you'll find yourself leaving it at home.. And if it's not going to be comfortable to carry, it had at least better have a heck of a tactical advantage over something that is!
Now, before I end this week's gear review, I want to mention the little light that PentagonLight sent me in addition to the X1…
It's called a MOLLE Light, and it's tiny! It's only a few inches tall, and it runs on one AA battery. This LED puts out 40 lumens of light, and can run for 3 hours on one battery. It's got a neat little belt clip, and it's a perfect utility light. Just thought I'd throw this in!!
For information on these, or any other PentagonLights, click here to go to their site.
Do you know someone shopping around for a tactical LED?
Help them out! Send them this review!
USCCA Forum Highlights
Every Deluxe Member has complete access to the USCCA forum, which is constantly being accessed by members sharing information, knowledge, insight, and fun. With nearing twenty-thousand posts and growing by the hour, this is one heck of a valuable resource!
Broken gun
I shot my new carry gun yesterday, a taurus p111 9mm. 5 mags into the shoot, the slide rail broke...I'm having a new rail sent to me, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it after it's fixed or if I just want to sell it. Has anyone had any problems with a Taurus?
Sig Mosquito?
I am thinking of buying a Sig Mosquito .22LR to play with, but can't find anyone who owns one to ask about the function/accuracy of it. My thinking has been, that if it's a Sig it probably works pretty good. Whatcha think??
Georgia firearm laws
I am just about to turn 18 and looking forward to my first gun purchase. Everything I have found on Georgia gun laws and am still a bit confused. Any help you can give on the topic is appreciated. I'm considering a Charles Daly Hi-Power for my first pistol. Any advice on the matter of what to get is also appreciated.
When it comes to advice, some times there's nothing better than just asking a friend. That's where the USCCA forum shines! Meet people just like you from your state, and from all over the U.S. of A., united in their belief of the human right to self-defense.
Quote of the Week
Sometimes a good quote will inspire or motivate you. Sometimes, they'll just put a smile on your face! Here is the quote for this week...
"We must all hang together, or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
~Benjamin Franklin
Closing Thoughts Member Feedback: Some of the best ideas, tips and thoughts come from other USCCA members just like you! So if you have something you'd like to share with the rest of us, please don't hesitate to send me a message. Click here to go to our contact form.
I'm going to start my "Closing Thoughts" off this week with a video from the recent "CNN YouTube Democratic Presidential Debates"...
I'd like thank USCCA member jgray for pointing this out on the forum!
As you can imagine, this video got me pretty upset, and it got me thinking...
As gun owners, every day we face an enemy more devastating than the ones that we carry guns to protect ourselves from: Gun-grabbing politicians. They are more devastating, because throughout history politicians seeking to disarm citizens have proven extremely deadly, and also because we cannot avoid them by staying alert, and we cannot blind gun control with a tactical LED and make it run away.
If we want to keep our right- our human right to self defense, we have to maintain a constant level of condition orange when it comes to the politicians in Washington. We have to fight for our right to fight for our lives!
Thank you all for your continued interest in the USCCA, and in case you haven't joined our wonderful community yet, I strongly encourage you to check out what we have to offer!
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