Front Sight’s Pocket Pistol Policy

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Handguns smaller than a Glock 26 are considered pocket pistols and are not allowed at Front Sight. Although "any gun will do if you will do," pocket pistols are inappropriate for Front Sight courses. Due to their small size, pocket pistols are difficult to manipulate, painful to shoot, and often less safe because the user is more likely to cover their support hand or other body parts with the muzzle. Learn our techniques using a mid-size handgun (such as a Glock 19) or full-size handgun (such as a Glock 17). After you have mastered the techniques, if you chose to carry a compact or subcompact "Pocket Pistol" you will have the skills and knowledge to do so safely.

We arbitrarily define a "pocket pistol" as any handgun smaller in size than a Glock 26 (roughly 6.4" slide length and 4.2" frame height). In other words, any handgun used at Front Sight must be at least 6.4" long (from muzzle to rear tang) AND 4.2" tall (from bottom of the inserted magazine to the top of the rear sight. Below is a photo of the Glock 26 showing those measurements:

Our definition of "pocket pistol" includes a number of very popular handguns such as:

• Glock 43
• Sig P365
• Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Shield Model 2.0
• Ruger LC9
• And hundreds of others

Determine if your handgun is appropriate for Front Sight training by doing one of the following:

• Call our Concierge Department at 702-837-7433. Tell us the make and model of the handgun you are considering and we will do the research to determine if it is suitable for your course.
• Measure your weapon as defined above in the orientation shown in the photograph.
• Go to handgunhero.com and compare your weapon to a Glock 26. The best view is "facing up" such as in the photograph below. Remember, your weapon needs to satisfy BOTH the length and height requirements.

Front Sight’s "pocket pistol" policy has been in effect since we opened our doors back in April of 1996. However, over the past five years, we had a staff member who made so many "case-by-case exceptions" that the policy was effectively voided. That was a mistake. The policy exists for good reason and we are strictly adhering to it from this point forward. Even if you have previously trained with a pocket pistol at Front Sight, you must now adhere to the standard defined above.

Please verify your weapon passes the above test before you leave home. We inspect all weapons at Front Sight to verify they are safe and appropriate for use in your course. If you bring a weapon that fails the "pocket pistol test," you will need to use a secondary weapon or rent one from us.

Remember, we do not allow any handgun calibers smaller than 9mm. In other words, we do not allow .380, .32, or .25. Under rare exceptions, we do allow handguns chambered in .22 long rifle if the shooter has a specific need for reduced recoil such as an injury, arthritis, missing fingers, etc. Even under those circumstances, the weapons cannot be a "pocket pistol" and must still adhere to the above size standards.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ignatius Piazza
Front Sight Founder and Director
Four-Weapons Combat Master
Your host of Front Sight Challenge Reality TV Series