Left handed LEO's with carbines

[KCBRUIN]

Any left handed LEO's have a problem with shooting a carbine in uniform while wearing a metal badge? In tac gear/training uni/plain clothes, I have zero problems shooting a rifle. In my road uniform with the metal badge on my chest the badge or parts of it are exactly where I want the butt of the weapon to rest. It seems like I'm constantly trying to get a good base when I'm forced to be in uniform, and having the butt of the rifle sit on a convex surface seriously messes with my mojo. I train in uniform often so I'm somewhat used to it, but it still slows me down and takes my mind off of what's down range trying to make sure my fundamentals are gtg. I guess it would apply to right handed LEO's shooting support hand as well.

Anyone else notice this problem or is it just me? Im 6'2" 250 btw with broad shoulders. Not sure if my wingspan plus broad shoulders make a difference.

[Slvr Surfr]

I'm not a lefty, but I am a trainer for my dept. Something you might consider is to bring the rifle more inboard towards center than usual. Using the portion of your chest just inside of your vest to "shoulder" the buttstock.

Normally this would put the buttstock on top of your collar bone. As long as you are wearing your armor (as you should be) this should not cause you any discomfort. This works as long as you are using a squared up stance towards the target as opposed to a bladed rifle stance.

[ST911]

Seen often with the lefties, and its also experienced with right handed shooters going to the support side.

The problem is the interference of the badge in getting the stock mounted. There is little friction between the metal badge and the plastic stock and the gun slides around. The badge can also rock back and forth on the pin exacerbating the issue. You can chew up a badge pretty well, too, which displeases CLEOs.

Going inboard or outboard from the badge is a solution, but is divergent from the muscle memory and alignments built upon when not shooting in traditional duty uniform. Getting off the badge in some way is the simplest solution though.

Rubberized buttplates, either slip- or screw-on can help.

I had a leftie troop tell me that he will simply remove his badge quick when he needs the gun. Good luck with that.

Good on you for shooting in your duty config. Too few do so. Most would've discovered the problem when they needed the gun for real.

[KCBRUIN]

Nice to know its not just me. It definitely sucks and I'm guessing most righties haven't trained with their support hand in full uniform to see how much it messes with your hold.

I think the troop thinking he's going to remove his badge in a high stress scenario needs some high stress full uniform training.

On a side not to training in uniform, I need to find a new bail out bag, or switch to a rig. My current bag when worn in full uniform is a pain in the ass to work with and having it and my rifle slung at the same time was damn near impossible. The sling on the bag makes the badge scenario even worse.

[cop1211]

I'm not a lefty, but I am a trainer for my dept. Something you might consider is to bring the rifle more inboard towards center than usual. Using the portion of your chest just inside of your vest to "shoulder" the buttstock.

Normally this would put the buttstock on top of your collar bone. As long as you are wearing your armor (as you should be) this should not cause you any discomfort. This works as long as you are using a squared up stance towards the target as opposed to a bladed rifle stance.

Hammer meet nail. I'm a lefty this how I run the rifle, no issues.