I wrote this not intending for it to be an article, but too much caffeine and Pandora allowed for a free flowing kind of writing process. Below is my advice, from my personal perspective about concealed carry, the mindset, the philosphy, the gear, the guns and what I've done in the past year I've carried concealed (with permit of course).
Mindset and Philosophy
Ill only speak from my own experience and mindset. I decided that I would take on what is an enormous personal responsibility and seek my LTC-A, unrestricted for a lot of reasons. I'd had guns since my 20s, different incarnations of assault rifles, polymer guns, race guns, stupid guns, fun guns, relics and things I thought were toooo cooool because I saw some badass on television being a badass. What can I say? I was in my early 20s and firearms were mainly a hobby. Sure, I kept a loaded handgun (yes, locked, Martha, I know) for that 'just in case' situation, but it was more an afterthought than anything: I hadn't intended to carry concealed and if I wanted to, I lived in a city where that wasn't going to happen anyway.
Growing a bit older, having more refined tastes and more refined responsibilities, my mindset changed. I survived a terrible divorce and after a few years of mindless self indulgence, I fell madly in love with someone and married her.
Wait, Angel, why the life story? Guns? Divorce? Love? Huh?
Be patient, it builds up to this point - I have a responsibility to this woman. I have a responsibility to protect her, my 4 legged children and in time, my own child. Again, its all mindset here - circumstances changed, my priorities changed and as a result, the modes and usage of my firearms thusly changed.
A lot of people talk about protecting loved ones as I just did...but to protect them, to care for them, one must take care of oneself as well. When I was a medic, it was all about making sure the scene was safe; ensuring one's own safety before helping a patient. The same goes for concealed carry - I carry to keep my scene safe - not because I want to be a hero or make my way into the annals of "Armed Citizen" or anything like that. I keep my scene safe for one reason and one reason alone - her. If I can't protect myself, I can't come home to her, to my family, to my life. Its all fine and well to talk about self defense in the contexts of home invasions or bank robberies or whatever situation may arise, but it boils down to what your own life, your own scene is worth - being able to remain a provider to my family is where my priority lies.
Practical Applications: Buy the Right Gear and CARRY
Beyond philosophy of carry, I should relate to you the actual practice of carry itself. I commented only recently about belts, so I'll start there. I don't care how good your self defense rig is....if you bought that 80 dollar Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe for your 700 dollar Sig. Its useless, uncomfortable and downright dumb if you tether your rig to a 30 dollar Walmart belt. Spend the money - if you like leather, there's the Beltman, Crossbreed and others who provide awesome belts that are more than up to the task - because they were designed with guns in mind.
For me, my choice was a 5.11 Tactical belt that wears better than anything I've owned and for 50 bucks, accomodates my constantly expanding and more recently contracting stomach.
Holsters are also a consideration one must take seriously when packing. When I started out, I threw a Glock 17 into a nylon IWB that wasn't properly fitted for the firearm. Combine that with the 10 dollar web belt and guess who was having a miserable time? Learn from me - get the right tools for the job or don't bother - no matter how super light your gun is, you won't feel right until you DO invest in the right rig....or worse, you will settle for less gun than you'd want to carry or not carry at all.
And that my friends, is just a waste of a permit in a place where so few are issued.
The gun is the last consideration. I know - the gun magazines, Marketing departments of various manufacturers and tacti-twits like James Yeager will disagree. Choose your weapon but only after you've shot this weapon enough to feel comfortable with it. I know, logical, huh? When this familiarity washes over you, carry it! If that means a full sized weapon, carry that full sized weapon. If that means polymer, scandium, titanium, quartz klingon...
Ok you get my drift. Carry with what you're proficient with and the concealment part will fall into place. Ive experiemented with several firearms and thanks to venues like this, I can trade, buy, sell (yes, Martha, within the limits of the FA10) and shoot a lot of different guns. For me, I shoot optimally with 2 firearms - a 1911, which for now resides in a Desantis OWB thumb break holster and my Smith and Wesson Model 60 stainless .38 spl, which has an OWB Desantis as well as a Remora for when I decide to carry in a pocket. In the film The Enforcer, Detective Callahan explained why he carried a Model 629 - "because I hit what I'm aiming at." Enough said.
Yes, there are other options out there that are lighter, more 'tactical' and carry more rounds. For me, I subscribe to the Clint Smith school of thought - "a gun should be comforting, not comfortable." The hefty steel on my hip is reassuring to me-I know its there, it lets me know its there -- kind of like when I ride around in my truck with my 100 lb Mastiff/Pit mix.
Attire: "That's not a gun, I'm just very happy to see you."
I remember posting on a concealed carry forum about being concerned with respect to printing, getting charged or possibly shot because another, unarmed civlian "outed" me for exercising my right to carry. I recieved an email from another member of the forum, encouraging me to relax - "Its gonna feel like you're walking around in public with your cock outside your pants!" I like this analogy a lot, its apt and for the ladies....I suppose at first, its like walking around with your top off - you think EVERYONE knows, you think EVERYONE notices.
As it turns out, learning how to dress was not nearly the challenge I thought it would be. Im mostly a T-shrt and jeans kind of guy and due to a lot of expansion of the waistline (working on this), I can conceal IWB or OWB with relative ease. I mentioned the Remora holster as a means of pocket carry because certain situations where I think I'll be bending and moving a lot more makes me reconsider the OWBs I have. Typically though, I can tote my 1911, worn at 4:00 wearing jeans and a slayer T-shirt without issue.
Outfitted properly, dressing around the weapon and retention system, you are not going to print, you are not going to cause a panic, even with the bulge you consider tell-tale. You really have to be looking for a gun to see a gun, so relax, tuck it in and zip it up. Pay no mind to the magazines pushing tactical urban clothing. Beyond the golf shirts, I don't see the need to look like a "Tactical Operator" or like some goon from Blackwater. I like my own personal, joke of a 'style' and would rather not look like a guy carrying a gun. In fact,I'd prefer not to scream guy with a gun like so many folks at gun shows do. Nerds, headbangers in Slayer Tshirts, hipsters in skinny jeans, the guy with the Yankees jersey - we all fly waaaaay under the proverbial radar and hence don't dress in a way that justifies paranoia - yours or theirs.
Conclusion: Finally He Shuts Up
I hope this helps - there exists an exhausting selection of forums, magazines, Youtube videos and books that offer advice to the concealed carry permit holder. I offer this as my own unique perspecitve of a guy that's not really unique at all. I'm not an expert, I'm not a former military member or LEO and firearms and pistolcraft is not my full time obsessions. I am your average working stiff, writer, poet, dog trainer (working on that) and husband. You don't have to be an expert tacti-twit to carry and carry well - you just need the right mindset, gear, and committment to carry - once you master the weapon between your ears, you can accomplish anything.
Mindset and Philosophy
Ill only speak from my own experience and mindset. I decided that I would take on what is an enormous personal responsibility and seek my LTC-A, unrestricted for a lot of reasons. I'd had guns since my 20s, different incarnations of assault rifles, polymer guns, race guns, stupid guns, fun guns, relics and things I thought were toooo cooool because I saw some badass on television being a badass. What can I say? I was in my early 20s and firearms were mainly a hobby. Sure, I kept a loaded handgun (yes, locked, Martha, I know) for that 'just in case' situation, but it was more an afterthought than anything: I hadn't intended to carry concealed and if I wanted to, I lived in a city where that wasn't going to happen anyway.
Growing a bit older, having more refined tastes and more refined responsibilities, my mindset changed. I survived a terrible divorce and after a few years of mindless self indulgence, I fell madly in love with someone and married her.
Wait, Angel, why the life story? Guns? Divorce? Love? Huh?
Be patient, it builds up to this point - I have a responsibility to this woman. I have a responsibility to protect her, my 4 legged children and in time, my own child. Again, its all mindset here - circumstances changed, my priorities changed and as a result, the modes and usage of my firearms thusly changed.
A lot of people talk about protecting loved ones as I just did...but to protect them, to care for them, one must take care of oneself as well. When I was a medic, it was all about making sure the scene was safe; ensuring one's own safety before helping a patient. The same goes for concealed carry - I carry to keep my scene safe - not because I want to be a hero or make my way into the annals of "Armed Citizen" or anything like that. I keep my scene safe for one reason and one reason alone - her. If I can't protect myself, I can't come home to her, to my family, to my life. Its all fine and well to talk about self defense in the contexts of home invasions or bank robberies or whatever situation may arise, but it boils down to what your own life, your own scene is worth - being able to remain a provider to my family is where my priority lies.
Practical Applications: Buy the Right Gear and CARRY
Beyond philosophy of carry, I should relate to you the actual practice of carry itself. I commented only recently about belts, so I'll start there. I don't care how good your self defense rig is....if you bought that 80 dollar Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe for your 700 dollar Sig. Its useless, uncomfortable and downright dumb if you tether your rig to a 30 dollar Walmart belt. Spend the money - if you like leather, there's the Beltman, Crossbreed and others who provide awesome belts that are more than up to the task - because they were designed with guns in mind.
For me, my choice was a 5.11 Tactical belt that wears better than anything I've owned and for 50 bucks, accomodates my constantly expanding and more recently contracting stomach.
Holsters are also a consideration one must take seriously when packing. When I started out, I threw a Glock 17 into a nylon IWB that wasn't properly fitted for the firearm. Combine that with the 10 dollar web belt and guess who was having a miserable time? Learn from me - get the right tools for the job or don't bother - no matter how super light your gun is, you won't feel right until you DO invest in the right rig....or worse, you will settle for less gun than you'd want to carry or not carry at all.
And that my friends, is just a waste of a permit in a place where so few are issued.
The gun is the last consideration. I know - the gun magazines, Marketing departments of various manufacturers and tacti-twits like James Yeager will disagree. Choose your weapon but only after you've shot this weapon enough to feel comfortable with it. I know, logical, huh? When this familiarity washes over you, carry it! If that means a full sized weapon, carry that full sized weapon. If that means polymer, scandium, titanium, quartz klingon...
Ok you get my drift. Carry with what you're proficient with and the concealment part will fall into place. Ive experiemented with several firearms and thanks to venues like this, I can trade, buy, sell (yes, Martha, within the limits of the FA10) and shoot a lot of different guns. For me, I shoot optimally with 2 firearms - a 1911, which for now resides in a Desantis OWB thumb break holster and my Smith and Wesson Model 60 stainless .38 spl, which has an OWB Desantis as well as a Remora for when I decide to carry in a pocket. In the film The Enforcer, Detective Callahan explained why he carried a Model 629 - "because I hit what I'm aiming at." Enough said.
Yes, there are other options out there that are lighter, more 'tactical' and carry more rounds. For me, I subscribe to the Clint Smith school of thought - "a gun should be comforting, not comfortable." The hefty steel on my hip is reassuring to me-I know its there, it lets me know its there -- kind of like when I ride around in my truck with my 100 lb Mastiff/Pit mix.
Attire: "That's not a gun, I'm just very happy to see you."
I remember posting on a concealed carry forum about being concerned with respect to printing, getting charged or possibly shot because another, unarmed civlian "outed" me for exercising my right to carry. I recieved an email from another member of the forum, encouraging me to relax - "Its gonna feel like you're walking around in public with your cock outside your pants!" I like this analogy a lot, its apt and for the ladies....I suppose at first, its like walking around with your top off - you think EVERYONE knows, you think EVERYONE notices.
As it turns out, learning how to dress was not nearly the challenge I thought it would be. Im mostly a T-shrt and jeans kind of guy and due to a lot of expansion of the waistline (working on this), I can conceal IWB or OWB with relative ease. I mentioned the Remora holster as a means of pocket carry because certain situations where I think I'll be bending and moving a lot more makes me reconsider the OWBs I have. Typically though, I can tote my 1911, worn at 4:00 wearing jeans and a slayer T-shirt without issue.
Outfitted properly, dressing around the weapon and retention system, you are not going to print, you are not going to cause a panic, even with the bulge you consider tell-tale. You really have to be looking for a gun to see a gun, so relax, tuck it in and zip it up. Pay no mind to the magazines pushing tactical urban clothing. Beyond the golf shirts, I don't see the need to look like a "Tactical Operator" or like some goon from Blackwater. I like my own personal, joke of a 'style' and would rather not look like a guy carrying a gun. In fact,I'd prefer not to scream guy with a gun like so many folks at gun shows do. Nerds, headbangers in Slayer Tshirts, hipsters in skinny jeans, the guy with the Yankees jersey - we all fly waaaaay under the proverbial radar and hence don't dress in a way that justifies paranoia - yours or theirs.
Conclusion: Finally He Shuts Up
I hope this helps - there exists an exhausting selection of forums, magazines, Youtube videos and books that offer advice to the concealed carry permit holder. I offer this as my own unique perspecitve of a guy that's not really unique at all. I'm not an expert, I'm not a former military member or LEO and firearms and pistolcraft is not my full time obsessions. I am your average working stiff, writer, poet, dog trainer (working on that) and husband. You don't have to be an expert tacti-twit to carry and carry well - you just need the right mindset, gear, and committment to carry - once you master the weapon between your ears, you can accomplish anything.
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