23 Dec 99
I just received this from a friend who is a Trooper with the State Police. All Troopers with this agency have been issued rifles (AR-15s), but they are supposed to be kept in the trunk of the beat car. Here is his solution:
“I must have spent over a half hour experimenting with methods for getting the rifle out of the trunk quickly. I finally had to ditch the soft carrying case the department issued. I consistently had problems with a padded lip catching my rifle’s front sights as I pulled the rifle out the end. In addition, the carrying handles are on the under edge of the bag, so either I have the ability to grab the bag and run, or pull the rifle from the bag then and there. The thought of standing there at the rear of my beat car as I pull the rifle from the bag makes me particularly nervous, and the alternative was to stop running and extract the rifle from the case.
So, I switched to my own rifle case. The handles are on the top edge, and, with a little practice, I was able to grab it with the left hand and go, and, after reholstering my pistol, remove the rifle with my right hand and jettison the case as I ran.
It works out nicely, because the rifle is pointing to the left as I move, and, when pulled out by the pistol grip (right hand), the rifle naturally comes out in a position ready to fight. I am able to go from storage to lethal in about three seconds.”
/John
