If vampires and werewolves were real and common, we’d all carry a crucifix, wooden stakes and silver bullets everywhere we went. But, of course, the vampires and werewolves that haunt our dreams are not real. Monsters, however—human monsters—are real. This is why deciding to carry a concealed handgun as protection against a violent assault is a very practical response to the realization you are your own first responder.
Statistics vary based on computation methods and data sources, but according to the U.S. Department of Justice, if you’re 35 today, the chance you’ll be a victim of a violent crime during the rest of your life is as high as 40%. This is why many of us carry concealed. The Crime Prevention Research Center estimates that about 21 million citizens have carry permits. But this does not include those who carry concealed without a permit in the 29 states where some type of constitutional carry is legal.
For those just embarking on the concealed-carry journey, a road map can help. To do it responsibly, safely and effectively, you must develop the right mindset. You must also select the appropriate gear for you and learn to use and maintain the firearm. You must also increase your proficiency and establish protocols that support the practice. Here are some essential directions to guide you on this voyage.
Step 1: Mindset & Law
As Jeff Cooper observed in his book, Principles of Personal Defense, “Violent crime is feasible only if its victims are cowards. A victim who fights back makes the whole business impractical.”
I would strongly recommend this book to those interested in concealed carry. It’s not a book of martial arts; instead, it’s a study on the guiding principles of survival in the face of unprovoked violence. It discusses and explains alertness and decisiveness and helps you establish a practical foundation for the survival mindset.
Walking around with a hidden gun while enjoying the comfort it provides is one thing. Being prepared and willing to use that gun to stop a lethal threat is another thing entirely. A justifiable self-defense shooting can result in injury or death to the attacker. If you cannot commit to and be comfortable with exercising that level of violence to protect your life, it’s doubtful you’ll be able to use that hidden gun when it’s time to fight.
However, the ruthlessness you must be prepared to exert cannot contain malice or revenge. Your carry gun is merely a tool to stop an attack. You must temper your survival mindset with use-of-force legality. It’s incumbent upon you to familiarize yourself with concealed-carry laws and the use of force. The immediacy of the threat, proportionality of your response, perceived intent of the attacker and your duty to retreat are all important considerations. Their legal value can vary by city and state jurisdictions.
Step 2: Gearing Up
There are big guns and little handguns, and revolvers and semi-automatics, all with varying power levels. To someone new to concealed carry, the options can seem endless and finding a starting point can be daunting. The two foundational principles regarding concealed carry are that the gun must be comfortable to carry, and it must also be comfortable to shoot.
If you cannot carry your hidden handgun comfortably, you won’t. Carry comfort depends on your body size and type, the size and type of the handgun, your holster and, though often overlooked, on the fashion you prefer. Though some suggest you should start by looking for a gun that’s comfortable to shoot, I think it’s best to first discover the size and type of handgun you can comfortably carry concealed.
Most will find that a compact or subcompact 20- to 30-ounce 9 mm pistol is compatible for carry and shooting. The Glock G43 or a similarly sized gun is a good place to start. By trying that pistol with various holsters and carry methods, you can make judgments on whether you need something smaller or lighter, or if you could work with something larger and heavier. Larger guns are not as easy to carry or conceal, but they’re generally easier to shoot.
The tendency is to skimp on the holster, but the holster is a colossal aspect of carry comfort, and good, comfortable holsters are not cheap. A decent concealed-carry holster will firmly hold your handgun in place without a retention strap even as it provides comfortable concealment.
Leather and Kydex holsters are both viable, but the way you dress is critical. Those who wear a suit with a jacket might get by with outside the waistband (OWB) carry, whereas others who dress more casually may need to carry inside the waistband (IWB). Some may not be willing to make fashion sacrifices and, in some cases, mandated dress guidelines limit carry options. Some people do recommend off-body carry in a purse, satchel, fanny or shoulder pack, but these are less than optimal; however, in some instances, this type of carry may be your only option.
Regardless of the carry method—you may employ several as situations dictate—you cannot determine carry comfort by holding a holster, purse or fanny pack in your hand. It’s something you must try. If your gun shop will not collaborate in helping you find something compatible, find another gun shop. And, if you do choose IWB or OWB carry, do not overlook the belt. It needs to be of good quality and moderately stiff to support the holster and the 20-some ounces it will hold.
Sights are another consideration. You’ll see a variety of sights from plain black to Tritium night nights. Select a sight that works for you, but don’t let sights determine handgun choice. Aftermarket sights are available for most handguns. Reflex (red-dot) sights have become very popular but there are pros and cons: Aiming with a single red dot can help you shoot with better precision and sometimes even faster, but red-dot sights are battery-powered electronic devices that can fail.
You’ll also need practice and carry ammo. Affordable options like CCI Blazer or something similar loaded with FMJ bullets are fine for range work. For everyday carry, however, ammunition that is purposely built for self-defense, like Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST and Barnes TAC-XPD, are advisable. You want a carry load that will maximize tissue destruction and penetrate to between 10 and 16 inches; however, don’t settle on a single carry load until you’ve proven your handgun will digest at least 100 rounds without a stoppage or malfunction.
A simple summarization would be to select the best, highest-capacity, largest-caliber, hardest-hitting handgun you can shoot fast and accurately, and that you can also comfortably carry concealed all day.
With that guidance, a word about price is necessary. You can purchase Ruger’s new RXM pistol that offers the option of a reflex sight for about $500. On the other hand, a Wilson Combat SFX9 is about the same size but costs six times as much. So, should you spend the extra money?
With daily carry and frequent training, both pistols should last a lifetime. The more expensive Wilson Combat pistol will probably be more reliable with a wider range of ammo, will deliver better precision, will have a better trigger and will have fewer sharp edges to wound your hands during manipulation. Advantages like these might seem hard to justify while standing at the gun-shop counter, but you’ll appreciate them on the range or if you find yourself in a fight. Ultimately, your investment in gear has some correlation to the value you place on your life.
Step 3: Learning
I’m against government-mandated training that’s required to exercise the fundamental right of self-defense; however, gun owners should seek basic firearms safety instruction, as well as some type of marksmanship training, and they should establish a working knowledge of the legalities associated with concealed carry and the use of force. Not only is a failure to do so negligent, but it could also result in injury or death to you or the innocent; it could even get you in legal trouble.
You can read books, study videos and have discussions with experienced shooters, but nothing matches hands-on training under the tutelage of a skilled instructor who understands the martial art of handgun combat. You can find NRA-certified instructors near you at nrainstructors.org.
Beyond basic marksmanship, you need to learn how to present your handgun from your holster/carry method to the target, how to keep your handgun operational and when, how and where to engage a threat. You also need to know how to safely and properly secure/holster your handgun. Many self-inflicted gunshot wounds occur when holstering.
There are numerous respectable firearms training schools capable of providing this type of instruction. Gunsite Academy is the oldest and most respected; in fact, the lessons that began at Gunsite in 1976 are the foundation on which all modern defensive handgun training is based. Gunsite Academy offers defensive handgun courses in Arizona, Tennessee and Florida.
Step 4: Training and Practice
A week-long training school will present a great deal of information, but shooting is a perishable skill. You should work to develop the skills you’ve learned, and this requires recurrent training and practice. At a minimum, you should train as often as law enforcement—police agencies typically train and qualify twice annually. Ideally you should be conducting some form of training monthly, but it does not have to be live-fire training. You can practice handgun presentation, sight alignment, trigger control and even stoppage-clearance drills with a dry (empty) gun. You can add dummy rounds for more realism. Supplemented with bi-monthly live fire at a range, this can help maintain and even improve your defensive handgun skills.
Though there are a lot of drills and courses of fire you can use to measure your competence, there’s no fixed performance benchmark. Your goal should be to continually improve your speed and accuracy, and various training drills provide mechanisms to help you balance both. A good standard to strive for is to draw from concealment and place five shots in a five inch circle at five yards in five seconds. That level of proficiency will provide a great foundation to build from.
Step 5: Day to Day
You should develop a daily routine for carry-gun interaction; for example, every morning before leaving home, check it for serviceability. Do the same at the end of the day before you secure it from children or other untrained hands. Also, plan for bad situations and have discussions with family and friends who need to know you’re armed and what to expect in a bad situation.
Many trainers have authored books about personal protection with handguns. I wrote one in 2013. Experts have also debated and pontificated on the subject since before Wyatt Earp tamed Dodge City. Two of the biggest mistakes often made are the assumption that you know everything, and that your skill level is sufficient. Be open to learning new tactics and techniques, frequently evaluate your gun, gear, carry method and handling and shooting abilities, and never take your safety for granted.
There are those who play with guns, recreationally, and those who live with guns, daily. If you’re going to carry concealed, you need to be in the last category. Carrying concealed is a life-altering practice that will impact the way you live, almost as much as, but differently than, getting married or having kids. Don’t let the newfound acceptance or increasing commonality of concealed carry diminish its gravity. It is a serious lifestyle choice that’s as important as a fire extinguisher in your home, but it is infinitely more complicated.
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