An extra mag is not necessary. Therefore advising to carry one, esp for the reasons cited, is poor advice.
Wow. Talk about unsubstaintated personal opionion. A blunt "an extra mag is not neccessary" with nothing to back that up is funny when all the pro trainers I know recommend carrying an extra mag for EXACTLY the reasons I describe.
I also still don't see how advising someone to be better prepared is "poor advice." To me, poor advice is advice that would put the person in MORE danger, not have them do something which may not be absolutely necessary, but might actually be exactly what they need in the crisis, and in any event won't hurt them if they don't need that extra mag.
Remember the article was, "Carry like a pro," not "Do the minimum you think you can get away with." Carrying an extra mag is standard pro advice, which is why I gave it.
As to Rossi, I don't think they are quality handguns. They are better than nothing, but I don't recommend them if you can get something better and no "pro" that I know does either. Once again, it goes back to the theme of the article "Do what the pros do."
You can disagree with that central premise if you like, but I still don't see how advising someone to use a quality, pro-grade, handgun is "poor advice." The article wasn't "The best budget handguns."
As to Taurus, that was specficially on the Taurus Judge, not general Taurus hate. The Judge is an example of something silly that has because popular for some reason.
And there is a quality difference between an imported "knock off" of a Walther PPK and a real PPK. And, again, the idea is to promote a quality handgun instead of the cheapest handgun you can possibly find. (I also have reservations about recommending a Walther PPK specifically for the fact they weren't designed to feed modern JHP's. The new S&W made guns may be better on this. I have little experience with those so I can't say).
I'd say a pro knows how to run the gun they have, regardless of make and model.
Excellent point! If I would have thought of that, I would have said it. I wish I had. I may work that idea into some other article.
So if I have a malfunction am I supposed to tap rack bang or change my mag?
That's a real questions that deserves a real answer. It depends on the malfunction. The standard immediate response is "Tap Rack Bang." If that doesn't work, and you have a double-feed, part of the clearance technique is the rip the mag out of the gun (and then work the slide). Once you've done that, the "pro advice" is to insert a NEW mag, if you have one, as the problem may likely be mag related and putting the suspected "bad" mag in may cause another problem. Of course, if you only have one mag, put it back in as you have no other choice.
One last thought: Yes, the article is my opinion. You can't write an "advice to shooters" type article without expressing opinions as there is practically NOTHING every shooter (or every CCW carrier or every "pro") will agree on.
But, an article has to have a viewpoint or it becomes as general as "Do what you want. It's all good." I believe that some choices are better than others and this was my atempt to lay out what I believe are the better choices, especially for someone new to concealed carry who really needs some sort of guide to help get them started.
There are my opinions, but they are opinions based on my training and experience, and they coincide with what is pretty much "the professional consensus" among police and private citizen firearms trainers.
And, of course, any article this short has to be an oversimplification. I'm sure you can find some cop or other "pro" who disagrees with something I said. But, I believe this type of advice is pretty much the standard.
I do listen to feedback and appreciate what readers say. A dialouge is more interesting than a monolouge. There are things readers say that I take to heart that change what I write or how I present it. There are other times I just have to know that not everyone is going to agree and "you can't please everyone."
