The original Matriarch was made at the request of some of my South African countrymen (it wasn't the folks from Defensive Training Concepts?) for a budget version of the Civilian.
About 5 years ago I embarked on a search for a Matriarch that proved to be about as scare as the Holy Grail. Sadly, my searches over a very long period of time ended fruitlessly. Then about 2 years ago (more or less) a Brown Sprint run Matriarch appeared at a decent price and I was elated when I picked one up. A year later the Matriarch 2 made the line-up which is now part of my EDC. And last month a collector buddy of mine contacted me after he found an original Matriarch. I traded a Blue Dodo PE (I have another!) for that Matriarch, so you must know that I really wanted it.
In the months to come I will surely pick up a Lil Matriarch and I have a Waved Matriarch 2 on the way through a local dealer, which I am sure will replace the regular Matriarch 2 in my EDC rotation.
If I can just share another story with you quickly. I am part of a community organisation called the Community Policing Forum (CPF) and on weekends we go on patrol in our neighbourhoods to try and bring crime levels under control as the police are stretched a bit thin here. Last Friday night an officer from a local security armed response company responded to an alarm at a local pharmacy. I rolled on that call which also came through to us. When I arrived on scene the first responder was sitting on the sidewalk covered in blood. He had not waited for back-up and strolled on in, probably expecting a routine false alarm. He was swiftly confronted by a very large man who went directly for his holstered 357 magnum revolver. He was in a fight for his gun and his life. He lost the fight and the gun, but at least he lived to tell the tale. I arrived at the same time as the first police car, and here is the punchline: the guy told me that IF he had been carrying his folding knife that day, he believes he would have had a good chance of retaining his firearm. Made me really glad once again that I am carrying that Matriarch 2 as a back-up.
Last night we had a CPF patroller meeting where I brought this story up again, and again stressed the importance of back-up weapons: blade, OC spray and baton. (in SA you can only have one handgun for SD, so no back-up gun).
About 5 years ago I embarked on a search for a Matriarch that proved to be about as scare as the Holy Grail. Sadly, my searches over a very long period of time ended fruitlessly. Then about 2 years ago (more or less) a Brown Sprint run Matriarch appeared at a decent price and I was elated when I picked one up. A year later the Matriarch 2 made the line-up which is now part of my EDC. And last month a collector buddy of mine contacted me after he found an original Matriarch. I traded a Blue Dodo PE (I have another!) for that Matriarch, so you must know that I really wanted it.
In the months to come I will surely pick up a Lil Matriarch and I have a Waved Matriarch 2 on the way through a local dealer, which I am sure will replace the regular Matriarch 2 in my EDC rotation.
If I can just share another story with you quickly. I am part of a community organisation called the Community Policing Forum (CPF) and on weekends we go on patrol in our neighbourhoods to try and bring crime levels under control as the police are stretched a bit thin here. Last Friday night an officer from a local security armed response company responded to an alarm at a local pharmacy. I rolled on that call which also came through to us. When I arrived on scene the first responder was sitting on the sidewalk covered in blood. He had not waited for back-up and strolled on in, probably expecting a routine false alarm. He was swiftly confronted by a very large man who went directly for his holstered 357 magnum revolver. He was in a fight for his gun and his life. He lost the fight and the gun, but at least he lived to tell the tale. I arrived at the same time as the first police car, and here is the punchline: the guy told me that IF he had been carrying his folding knife that day, he believes he would have had a good chance of retaining his firearm. Made me really glad once again that I am carrying that Matriarch 2 as a back-up.
Last night we had a CPF patroller meeting where I brought this story up again, and again stressed the importance of back-up weapons: blade, OC spray and baton. (in SA you can only have one handgun for SD, so no back-up gun).
