Sangamon County Rifle Association
Right Reason on Second Amendment Rights
Springfield, Illinois



Phil Davis & John Boch


Summer of Concealed Carry
 Phil Davis, SCRA
and
John Boch, Vice President, Guns Save Life

Guns Save Life meeting 8/9/05
 Urbana, Illinois
September 2005 GunNews









"Whatcha got in your fannypack?" might be considered rude -  anywhere except at a Guns Save Life meeting!  John Boch introduces Phil Davis (left) to discuss his experiences with fanny pack carry.  Davis works part-time at Birds - n - Brooks Surplus store in Springfield,  site of an attempted armed robbery with shots fired last year.  The suspect in that incident later went to the Illinois State Capitol building and killed a security guard, point blank.  "The owner of the store had taken off his gun and left it on his desk to go to the bathroom when the incident occurred," Davis said.

Tech time was the "Summer of Concealed Carry" continued.  The main speaker was Phil Davis of Springfield, who talked about fanny pack carry in Illinois, and licensed carry in Missouri and Oklahoma.

Davis began by reviewing with the audience what "fanny pack" carry involves.  In Illinois, you can't carry a loaded firearm, but according to state law (and a Illinois State Police brochure you can download at gunssavelife.com) and also at Transport your gun legally (in Illinois) on the Sangamon County Rifle Association home page, you can carry a unloaded gun that is completely enclosed in a case.  You can carry the ammo anywhere , even in the detachable magazine, as long as the ammunition/magazine is not in the gun. Fanny packs, specifically designed to carry a firearm are available.  In short, you can carry a semiautomatic pistol and a loaded magazine and should the time ever come when you need a gun, you can get it out, load it up, and be in action in about six seconds, with practice.  It's not a fast draw but it certainly beats having no safety rescue tool available at all.

Davis demonstrated his fanny pack.  He said you might not expect to carry a full size gun in one, but then he reached into his and produced a full-size .45 auto.  He said he has been carrying a Glock 17 and just recently switched to the .45.

This brought up the subject of practice and "muscle memory."  In an emergency situation, you are not going to be able to take time to think about "Where is my gun?  Which gun is it?  Is there a safety?  How do I load this thing? " and other questions.  If you do get in a bad situation, you need to be moving to cover, looking for bad guys and analyzing the situation, and you're not going to have time to think about your gun.  This is where repeated practice and muscle memory take over.  If you carry the same gun all the time, in the same manner at the same location on your body, with the ammo magazine in the same spot every time, you will be able to draw, load and point without having to concentrate on it.

When you do go to the range for live fire practice, Davis recommended a practice he uses -- carry the gun as you normally would -- unloaded and encased.  Draw, load, and fire one round.  Clear the gun, put it back, zip it up.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  You won't be burning up lots of ammo, and you will be building repetitions to enhance muscle memory and practicing safe gun handling skills as well!  

Davis said in the two years that he has been fanny pack carrying, he has only been asked once by a local police officer about what was in his pack.  He asked the officer, politely, to please read this state police brochure, with the relevant sections highlighted about how to transport a firearm.  The officer did, and acknowledged that the law indeed did say he could carry unloaded and in a case.  Davis then asked the officer if he would like Davis to demonstrate the gun was unloaded.  He showed the officer that the gun was indeed unloaded, and the officer sent him on his way with an 'attaboy.'

Davis also talked about legally carrying in more enlightened states, and in the gun store he works in parttime in Springfield.  In other states, he said, the attitude of both police and the citizens is vastly different than it is here in Illinois.

In Tulsa Oklahoma, he was carrying when he got off the interstate to get gas at the wrong exit, and a group of about six toughs approached him with what he suspected was nefarious intent.  Davis simply stretched, as anyone would after a long car trip, and the gun on his belt was briefly exposed.  The half a dozen young men who may have intended him harm suddenly got the inspiration to head another direction.  No fight, no words exchanged, no problem -- just safety.  A police officer inside the gas station observed the interaction.  When Davis entered the station, he asked Davis if he had a license for the gun.  Davis politely provided the license and a list of states where the license is honored, including Oklahoma.  The officer glanced at the documents, said something to the effect of "I see this license is honored here" and told him to have a nice day.

In Missouri, he went to a flea market, where many people were carrying, concealed and not-so-concealed, with big old revolver barrels hanging out under their jackets.  He asked the security guard at the gate if there had been any problems since Missouri approved carry, and the guard laughed at him!  The guard said they had never had such problem-free flea markets.  Everyone was polite, and there weren't even any shoplifters since they passed right-to-carry there.  When he found out Davis was carrying, he even waived the $2 entrance fee "for making my job easier".

John Boch also participated in the tech time.  Boch talked about safety, particularly when practicing at home.  "Don't have any ammunition in your dry fire practice area!  You can't be too safe."  Davis also recommended dry fire practice with "snap caps" (dummy rounds) and also urged folks to have no live ammunition in their dry fire practice area.

Boch added some tips on what to do in the unfortunate event of actually having to defensively use your carry gun.  He suggested that you not clam up  completely -- you need to give the responding police some information and emphasize that you are the victim.  For example, "Officer, that man tried to kill me -- if he survives, I want to press charges!"  Point out to the officers who the witnesses were, and where any evidence might be located - for example, the bad guy's shell casings or weapons(s).  After this initial flurry of information, when the officers press you for a further statement, politely say something to the effect of "Officer, I'm sure you understand this is a serious event.  I don't really want to say anything further until I've consulted with my attorney."  

Your attorney in a case like this, should be one you've pre-selected, that you know can handle a self-defense case and whose phone number you have with you.  Sitting in a holding cell is not the time to be leafing through the yellow pages, looking for the attorney with the prettiest ad.


More from Phil Davis
Return to SCRA Home Page