As I have reached middle age, with many irons in the fire and many obligations, time is the one commodity I have too little of. As this reality has taken a firmer grasp, I have become a hardliner for only training what is relevant. Yes, Bob Vogel and a few other very top shooters seem equally astounding from concealment as from an open race rig. I am not of that skill level (who is?) and I don’t spend that amount of time shooting (who does?). I carry a handgun concealed. I never carry a handgun openly for any reason, in any environment, whatsoever. Therefore, what relevance does training from an openly worn belt holster have to my life? None. Training with an openly worn holster is, literally, a waste of time for me. if you are a concealed carrier, but not a serious competitive shooter or law enforcement official, training from an open holster is most likely a waste of your time as well.
However, at any given public range, or in most shooting classes, the vast majority of shooters train from an open holster, even though they probably never carry a gun openly. Why? Because it is easier to draw a gun from an open holster than from a concealed one. A concealment garment introduces the most complex and failure prone part of a draw stroke, and most people don’t want to deal with it, even though it is the only relevant draw.
I do (used to, rarely now, hoping to do more again) shoot some competition, but I am not a devoted competition shooter. I shoot competition to reap the substantial benefit it offers to the defensive practitioner, and I have always shot matches from real concealment. IDPA, my preferred shooting sport for the little that I do, has finally stepped into the modern age and allowed AIWB carry. This development was truly the death nell of strong-side carry for myself, as I conceal carry AIWB, and it is truly the final of many nails in the coffin for the use of an openly worn holster in my life. IDPA and USPSA both now allow concealed AIWB holsters, at least in some divisions. So, my real carry mode can be used even in completion, so why would I put in training repetitions on anything else? I no longer do.
I realize that I have written about this before, and it pisses some folks off, but I will say it again; why do citizens go to the range, or a shooting class, wearing a battle belt with an openly carried handgun? If you are uniformed law enforcement, then training in your duty belt (not a battle belt) makes sense. If you are a competitive shooter, then training in an open competition rig (also not a battle belt) makes sense. If you are an armed citizen concealed carrier, what relevance does a battle belt have for you? If you are a spec ops guy who ACTUALLY WEARS a battle belt when kicking in doors, then training in a battle belt might make sense, but only when training to kick in doors! A spec ops guy who trains in a battle belt in a class devoted to defensive carry in a civilian capacity is also wasting his time. Stop with the battle belt shit, I don’t understand why this insanity persists.
To pursue this a step further, for those who are firearms instructors, you may have a very legitimate reason to be using open carry, depending on who you are teaching. If you spend any amount of time training law enforcement, you likely need an open holster, and probably a retention holster. Arguably, there might be certain things you want to demonstrate from an open holster even for classes that are not just for law enforcement or military, but I fail to see much need outside of competition specific training. It burns me when an instructor teaches a concealed carry class…..from an open holster. The argument that “it is easier for the student to work from an open holster” is problematic, because it circumvents teaching the single most important aspect of concealed carry, you know, drawing a gun FROM CONCEALMENT.
Training with a pistol from concealment is the most important, and, arguably, the only relevant, form of handgun training for the citizen concealed carrier. Unless you are a serious competition shooter who games from an open holster, you are wasting your time if your training involves drawing a gun from anything other than your real concealment mode. The only second carry mode that I spend any amount of time practicing from is pocket carry, which I do occasionally use as well. Open carry, however, is of no value to me, so I don’t practice with it at all. Our real needs should take priority in our training and practice efforts, and the student’s needs should take priority in training. If you are teaching concealed carry with an open holster, you are doing a disservice to your clients.
Live fire practice is essential. To buy the ammo that I use for training at the best possible price, go to:
https://www.ammoman.com/9mm-luger-federal-champion-115-grain-fmj-wm5199-1000-rounds
Reflex Handgun 
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