One day as I was walking around a small town in Honduras, I saw a group of guys working on a truck. A few Hondurans had a long wooden post, and they were using it as a lever to lift the front of the truck into the air. One of the front tires was removed, and there was a guy underneath the truck working on it, while it was being suspended in the air by the weight of his comrades on the other end of the piece of wood. Being a young and dumb teenager, I thought, “Oh my, that’s dangerous! That guy under there could die!” Looking back on it now, they probably got the job done, and no one got hurt. A piece of wood is cheaper than a jack and jack stands, or a lift. Who’s the bigger idiot? Me with my expensive car repair equipment, or the guys accepting the risk and getting the job done with a log? Also many years ago, an old meme that was floating around the net has been emblazoned in my brain since I saw it. It was basically this; there was a guy with a Mosin Nagant who had affixed the bayonet, and it was captioned with something along the lines of –
“I have a ton of gear and I got killed by a naked guy with a Mosin that costs way less than my loadout”
If you find it, I would appreciate it if you sent it to me. Both of these stories involve unconventional methods or means of problem solving, that might make our western minds flinch a bit, but they get the job done. The Hamre Hook method of carry might be considered unconventional, even with its deep history of predecessors. Barami and DeSantis both have their own versions of the Hook that provide similar carry methods. Barami started some time in the 70’s or 80’s. But way before that, guys were field crafting their own versions of clips, hooks, grips, etc. to provide the ability to hang a small revolver from their beltline. Whether for good or for bad, these older methods of carry or guncraft have largely died out as common practice in society. So much so that it’s largely forgotten, dismissed, and sometimes outright rejected without a thought. When people see some of these carry methods, or other unconventional practices, they fight against it or ridicule it. This same response people have to these unconventional methods is akin to my response at the Hondurans fixing their truck. But here’s where the rubber meets the road. There could be a situation where, because one’s brain is wired for hyper-conventional levels of personal practice, they will be ill-prepared for the naked guy with the Mosin Nagant, or the dagger someone keeps in some surreptitious location in a duct tape sheath, or no sheath at all. The mindset that automatically dismisses a tool or method of use as “unacceptable”, but that gets the job done nonetheless, is being trained to dismiss the possibility of unconventional encounters. We’re proud of the fact that we believe we can offer a Hamre Hook for Left Handed use on the Ruger LCR. We were contacted by a well known individual, who’s right-handed, with an urgent request to test out what we’re currently working on for lefties. He’s thinking of incorporating a “New York Reload”, on his left hand side. To which I responded-
“Who expects a gun from the left hand side?”
I’m thankful for guys like this, and others, who are pushing the envelope in expanding these unconventional means. While I may not utilize any or all of the unconventional methods of self defense out there, they’re certainly good to know, and think about. They help train my mind to be appropriately expectant of the unconventional. Modify and apply what may work for me, or not incorporate it into my life, but know that it’s there if need be, or if I meet it. I won’t be selling my vehicle jacks or jack stands, but I surely will be ready to fix the truck in a pinch if I don’t have those things. Until next time, Ryan Hamre