A couple weeks back, we looked at what would happen if, during a close-quarters fight, an attacker got his hands on your pistol.
It does not take very much to stop an auto-loading pistol from actually reloading. A hand on the slide can not only push the gun off target, it can also cause a malfunction.
Several people responded saying such a possibility is a good reason to use a revolver. Not quite. The truth of the matter is that if a bad guy gets a hand on your revolver, it too will be temporarily out of commission. Grasping the cylinder makes a double-action revolver inoperative in the double-action mode. If you have cocked the hammer manually BEFORE the bad guy grabs the gun, you will get one shot off. You might also have the benefit of hot gasses escaping from the cylinder gap prompting the attacker to release his grip. Might. This is not certain and I am not going to test it by placing my hand over the cylinder gap and firing the revolver.
The best course of action is to do everything you can to keep the attacker from getting a hand on your gun. If you fail in that, know that a fight for your gun is a fight for your life. Use any means to cause enough dysfunction to stop the attacker from getting your gun. We will talk more about weapons retention in future editions, but know that you should use any method at your disposal to retain your firearm.
Two Hands Are Better Than One
In a fight for your gun, if you can get your support hand on top of the gun’s barrel (ensuring no part of your hand is in front of the muzzle), you greatly increase your leverage and control over that gun. This, of course, ties up both of your hands, so you will be forced to strike your attacker with your elbows, knees or feet as you thrash about with all your strength to ENSURE you keep control of your firearm. Do not lose your gun.
