Massad Ayoob - Gun Digests Concealed Carry Tips eShort

Whether Im finishing a book or finishing a class, theres a voice in the back of my mind yelling, Dammit, there wasnt time to cover it all! I suppose Ill be thinking the same thing on my deathbed. Hell, I suppose well all be thinking that on our deathbeds.

This is a life study. Ive written several books and literally thousands of articles on this, and still havent covered it all. For instance, this book touched little on defensive shooting techniques and skills. For that Id recommend The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery, 6th Edition, from Krause. In the book youre holding, there wasnt space to go into the different gun platforms in detail, but The Gun Digest Book of series covers that nicely. My old friend, colleague, and fellow shooting competitor Patrick Sweeney did a great job covering the 1911, the Glock, and the Smith & Wesson line to name three, and I did the Beretta and SIG books. If you own the given brand or are thinking of acquiring it, youll find the appropriate book from that series useful.

Almost half a century of carrying a loaded, concealed handgun has taught me a few things. Let me say adieu with a final sharing of discoveries.

Never take safety for granted. You and yours will constantly be in the presence of a loaded, lethal weapon. Kinda like driving a car. Familiarity absolutely does breed contempt. Never lower your guard or your level of care, and think like an engineer: put multiple safety procedures in place, and follow them religiously.

Live in a state of relaxed alertness. The late, great Col. Jeff Cooper called this Condition Yellow. At any given moment, you know whats going on around you, whos near you, and where you are. He said that a well-adjusted man or woman should be able to spend their entire waking life in Yellow with no adverse psychological effects. Ive found its even better than that. It makes you a people-watcher. You see the good, life-affirming things around you that you were missing before.

Stay current with the topic. Read the periodicals, particularly American Handgunner and Combat Handguns. Take classes. There are more good firearms/self-defense training programs available today than ever. Were talking about skills that degrade easily if not refreshed. Dont limit those classes to guns and combat. Adult ed courses in body language, deviant human behavior, and criminology can be rich mines of useful self-defense knowledge.

Commit to always carrying. If we knew when we were going to need a gun, wed change our plans and go somewhere safer. Danger comes from out of nowhere and doesnt limit itself to bad areas. Mass murders take place at good schools, upscale malls, and family restaurants in nice neighborhoods. The only way to make sure the gun will always be there when you need it is to always carry it. Go online to www.handgunlaw.us and commit to getting all the permits you can. The more places you can legally carry, the safer youll be.

Be prepared, in your heart and mind, to use deadly force if necessary. Its a long search of the soul, but a critically important one. If you dont know for certain that you can kill a violent attacker if you have to, youre likely to hesitate at the worst possible time, and hell kill you and yours instead. Ironically, because predators have a finely tuned sense of what is and is not prey, that commitment seems to transmit. Thus, an irony: the person prepared to kill is less likely to have to do so. The great majority of situations in which armed citizens drew down on criminal suspects have ended with no bloodshed, because the predators sensed they were about to die and either surrendered or fled. They wont surrender or flee if they sense hesitation on the part of their opponent. In LFI classes, I explain the worst of the aftermath and how to deal with it, so the student can get that out of the way and be prepared to act instantly if the moment ever comes. If you havent sorted it out beforehand, the fight will happen too fast for you to come to terms with the cosmic act of ending another human life.

Fight to keep your rights and privileges. There are those in this society who work in a tireless, well-funded, concerted effort to deprive you and your children of the right to self-protection. You have a genuine duty to you and yours to fight that. Whether or not you appreciate the National Rifle Association, join and support the NRA: they literally coined the term armed citizen, and they are the strongest voice for those citizens rights in Washington. Personally, I have served for many years on the board of trustees of the Second Amendment Foundation, and do what I can to support the highly effective grassroots gun-owners groups at the state level. This is about civil rights. Its about human rights. The great authority on the common law, Lord Blackstone, said Self-defense is the highest of all human rights. Work hard to keep it, because powerful forces dont want you and your descendants to have it.

Maintain a logical perspective. I dont know if you in particular are going to need whats in these pages. I do know that some of you are. My paternal grandfather came to these shores in the year 1896, and in every generation since, at least one member of my linear family has been saved from death or great bodily harm by the ability to produce a loaded handgun when attacked on the street. And even if that never happens to you, your commitment to concealed carry will have bought you a lifetime of peace of mind, and theres no dollar price to put on something that precious.

Im out of time. Youre not. Continue your learning in this life study. Share it with others. Fight to keep your rights and privileges.

Good luck. Stay safe, and keep your loved ones safe.

-- Massad Ayoob, December 2007

It is wise for the individual who lawfully carries a concealed handgun in public to keep a few things foremost in mind.

Know the laws governing concealed carry where you are at any given time, and follow them religiously. Gun crimes committed by those licensed to carry are extremely rare, but of those that occur, a huge percentage involve people who simply forgot they were armed when they entered an area where the practice was legally forbidden.

Concealed means concealed. Yes, I know its a trite and hackneyed phrase, but it carries a lot of truth. Our society is such, like it or not, that the presence of an obviously lethal weapon in the hands of someone not readily identifiable as an official protector frighten people. Someday, if you havent already, youll buy a newspaper or a candy bar from a convenience store clerk who was terrorized by an armed robber who menacingly drew his coat back to reveal a weapon. If you accidentally do the same, can you blame her for her predictable reaction? The results wont be good for either of you.