44 AMP I don't mean to be hostile about the "long established fact" that most credible trainers recommend one weapon system carried in the same way everyday.
Ok, hold it. That's not the long established fact I was referring to. (and don't worry, my "skin" is pretty thick)
The fact long known that I was referring to is that, in a stress situation, people will do what they have trained themselves to do (by both training and practice), and that those without training will in most cases, do nothing.
What I do object to (civilly I hope) is the characterization that anyone who carries handguns with different controls or a pistol with a thumb safety is at greater risk of dying as a result.
I hope I didn't give that impression. I am most certainly NOT in the camp of the people who say things like "shoot SA and DIE!!" (and yes, I have heard that from people who were acting like they were serious..
)
..a person can have some differences in their carry rotation without being imprudent.
I can agree with this, easily. Although I do wonder is "rotation" the right word for what you guys do? To me, rotation means changing at some set interval, which I do not do. I have a selection, from which I choose what best suits anticipated conditions, I don't carry one gun for X weeks, then switch to another the next month...
The point I would like to make is that there are risks (small, but quantifiable) when you change from one operating system to a different one, if you need to use the gun in "instinctive" mode before the new system's differences become an ingrained response.
If you're practiced with something with a safety that is down for off (like a 1911A1), changing to a gun without a safety won't be an issue if you sweep the "safety" off as you draw. Switching to a safety that uses up for off, could be a real problem, IF you need it instinctively, before your instincts have "reset" for the new model. In other words, it makes a difference what gun you change TO. Likewise, switching from a gun with no safety lever/button to one that has one is also a learning curve, and could be a problem, if things go wrong, before you're fully up to speed on the new system.
What is the right thing to do with gun A could be the wrong thing with gun B. Both are equally good, but if your "instinct" is set in pattern A, carrying B could be a problem. here's an illustration of what I mean..
a friend drops by, want's to borrow a rifle, says he saw a deer up the canyon, and all he has with him is his browning sweet 16 and birdshot. I lend him a rifle, and he talks me into going looking with him, and carrying his shotgun, incase we put up some birds...
No deer, but we did put up a pheasant, right in front of me, slightly startling me, so after the decision to shoot, it was all automatic (instinct). I mounted the gun, punched off the safety and pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
I actually repeated that process twice more as the bird sailed away. I did everything right, but the gun in my hands wasn't the Model 12 I had decades of experience with, it was a Browning, with the safety behind the trigger, not in front of it, where my instinct sent my finger.
I've heard people talk about how they won't have a gun with a safety, because they are worried they will forget to take it off at a critical moment. Personally I never understood that. I can't see how you would forget a safety any more than you would forget to step on the brake to stop your car.
HOWEVER, I have learned that a safety different from what one is used to can be a disadvantage, for a time, and therefore, when you are talking about self defense, its best to avoid any disadvantages that you can avoid.