Editors of Guns - Guns & Ammo Guide to Concealed Carry: A Comprehensive Guide to Carrying a Personal Defense Firearm

Copyright 2017 by Outdoor Sports Group

All photos reprinted with permission from Outdoor Sportsman Group.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit: Rock Island Armory

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-1307-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1313-0

Printed in China

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

This book is about a moment of time in your life. Time starts the moment you become a statistic. Time ends when law enforcement arrives on the scene. And chances are, youre going to face at least one critical situation before your life is over. The way you choose to live your life and what you do with the time leading up to that moment will definitely influence its outcome.

What you believe determines how you behave.

Take an honest look at yourself. If you never watch the news because you dont want to hear about negative stories or you dont think the news affects you, youre probably someone who walks blissfully unaware of those patiently waiting to pop your safe little bubble. No matter how civilized we become, animal instinct is part of our human nature. If that savagery never came out in our society, wed have little need for a criminal justice system.

Our uniformed protectors have to mentally and physically condition themselves to stay sharp. So you think that they wear body armor and carry a gun because they seek out the danger in our lives? Much of the intensity in their job is done in response to a crime thats already taken place. Yes, our honored defenders do encounter bad people more than we do, and they go to work having accepted the fact that their training will likely be tested at some point in their career. Every traffic stop, every door kicked in could yield an unexpected threat.

I dont understand what makes people comfortable in believing something terrible cant happen to them. Based on my own experience, I can confirm that the ambush is the tactic of choice used by those who would do us harm. Whether motivated by desperation or evil, our threat has the advantage of choosing the time and place of attack. No matter how stupid you may think criminals are, one capable of violence is often good at profiling. They prey on the easiest target, the one who appears most likely to put up the least resistance and yield the greatest success. Unlike the fact that our society asks our law enforcement not to profile, criminals stand as much chance of abiding by the same civil code as there is in forcing the same offenders to obey the law.

How you behave determines what you believe.

You dont have to live in paranoia, and all is not doom and gloom. Increased awareness does not equal paranoia. Your time to prepare for that critical moment started when you picked up this book. Further, if you havent already read the short book Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff Cooper, get a copy. This will put you in the right mindset and help make you conscious of simple habits to sharpen your daily walk. Then make an honest assessment of your vulnerabilities in and outside of your home. Do you lock your doors? Do you have a gun accessible in your home? Do you know how to use it?

Educate yourself, but beware of someone passing you information if he calls himself an expert or smells of arrogance. Just because you go out and buy a less lethal device, a knife, a light or a gun doesnt mean you dont need to learn what it does and how to use it with a predictable level of skill. For example, before my family and I started carrying Kimbers PepperBlaster pepper spray to augment our security measures, I purchased five training units and an extra live unit to learn the effective range at a human silhouette. Its awakening to see what it actually feels like to pull it from a pocket and activate it. If you intend to carry a knife for something besides opening boxes, educate yourself on carrying and drawing a pocket knife. Carry a light? How long does it run on new batteries? Do you know the last time you replaced them?

If youre new to firearms, the best way to start shooting is to seek out a certified NRA firearm instructor for a Basic Pistol, Basic Rifle, or Basic Shotgun course. In most cases, clubs will either staff or be able to direct you to an NRA Certified Instructor. The NRA training division features a qualification program that makes skill development fun and rewarding. These cheap and simple suggestions are great foundations to build a positive experience. Find a course near you by visiting nrainstructors.org/search.aspx.

I genuinely hope that you find this book insightful.

Eric R. Poole

PART I

CONCEALED CARRY BASICS

Have you considered whether you could draw your concealed carry gun with your off hand? An injury could require a test of an unusual set of skills.

T heres a lot of thought that goes into carrying a concealed firearm on a daily basisor at least there should be. Sure, you could slip a compact revolver or drop a .380 into your pocket and go about your day. But theres more to concealed carry than just having a gun with you.

From choosing the right gun, carry location, holster, supplemental equipment and clothing to knowing when to draw your gun, the simple notion of carrying a concealed firearm can become quite complex. At a minimum, these are the questions you should be asking yourself with regard to concealed carry.

WHICH GUN WILL YOU CARRY?

Once you decide to carry a concealed firearm, your first step should be to select a gun thats right for you. In a perfect world, your carry gun would fit your hand like a glove. It would be compact and lightweight for comfort and concealment, yet powerful enough to stop even the most determined attacker. This perfect gun would be so accurate that it almost shoots itself. And, of course, this gun would be offered at a price you could manage without consideration.

There are some handguns on the market that come pretty close to filling this bill, but in the real world, theres no perfect gun. Some cringe at the thought of carrying anything less than a cocked-and-locked full-size Model 1911 in .45 ACP, while others opt for a much smaller-caliber pocket pistol. If you live in a relatively cold climate and typically wear a jacket, concealing your 1911 may be no big deal, but that 1911 might stick out like a sore thumb if you live in a beach community where a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops are the norm.

Everyone always thinks about caliber first. A .45 caliber is better than a .40 caliber or a 9mm, right? Well, the .45 will make a slightly bigger hole, but it may be in a frame thats too big for your hand, too bulky for you to conceal or too difficult for you to shoot accurately. When it comes to concealed carry guns, bigger isnt always better.