So you decided to conceal carry...now what?

First Concealed Carry Handgun

Brittany Eaton

Tue September 1st, 2009

So, you have decided that you want a concealed carry firearm. There are many things to consider when buying a defense firearm. Firstly, you need to know the laws in your state for concealed carry. You need to know how to safely own and operate your firearm. You also need to know where you plan on concealing it while it is on your person. What size gun you plan on carrying. What caliber you want your gun to be in and how much you are willing to spend.

Before you begin, I recommend that you go talk to a local firearms instructor and take a class on firearm safety. You also need to make sure you have a place that is safe to keep your firearm. You do not want your child to be able to access it, but you want to be able to get to it as soon as the need arises. A good idea is a handgun safe that unlocks by key and combination. I prefer to keep my gun loaded and near me at all times. Night or day, because in an emergency situation it can be quite difficult to get into a safe or to get to gun that has been put away.

Now, you need to take into consideration where you want to keep your firearm when it is on your person. Most choose to place their handgun on their hip. This offers easy access to the firearms in case of an emergency, but it is harder for a smaller framed person to conceal a weapon here unless it is winter or they just like wearing large clothing.The best holsters for concealed carry are going to be leather. Plastic is not for concealed carry it sticks out and nylon does not support the gun enough to keep it in place. You want a good leather holster that conforms to your gun and body, along with a good strong belt. Cloth belts will allow the gun to fall in different directions. Make sure you maintain good posture while you are concealing a gun. If you slouch your gun will stick out. You do not want a holster that has any sort of latch.

You want to avoid cross draws, that is, reaching across your person to access your firearm. This takes longer and could prove to be fatal in certain situations. It is also harder to conceal with a cross draw holster. Another reason is that it puts it closer to your enemy and gives him the option of grabbing it out of your holster. Also, when you draw your gun in that manner you have no choice other than to be aiming your gun at everyone along your left side up to your target. If you are fighting very close to a person it makes it harder for you to reach across and get to your gun.

Another option is a bag designed for concealed carry. These offer smaller framed persons the option to conceal a weapon without the trouble of hiding it underneath clothing. However, this is not the best idea due to the fact that some bags designed for concealed carry often make it even more difficult to get to your firearm. If you cannot draw the weapon as easily from the bag as you could a hip holster than you need to do something different.

There is also ankle holsters. These, I personally do not recommend, unless it is for a back up gun, as it is harder to get to during an emergency.

Another option is a pocket gun, which will fit right in your pocket. I recommend only using pocket guns as back up guns as well, as it is hard to get into a pocket sometimes. They make holsters specifically for your pocket which make it appear as if you just have a wallet in your pocket.

Another holster to have is an in the waist band holster and it is exactly what it says it is. A holster that goes inside the waistband of your jeans. Yet again it is best if it is a leather holster.

Many women choose to carry a gun in their purse. I do not recommend doing this. This does not allow easy access to the firearm in a state of emergency. If you have a hard time getting to you lipstick or keys, what makes you think you can get to a gun quickly enough?

Now that you have decided where to carry your firearm, you need to decide what size firearm. Smaller firearms tend to hold less bullets and quite commonly smaller bullets both of which can prove to be detrimental in almost any situation. A larger firearm may be harder to conceal. Your personal attire comes into play a lot when deciding what size firearm you would like. If you wear small clothing that you couldn't hide a cell phone in, you are not going to be able to hide a larger sized gun. If you wear a 3 piece suit everyday you will be able to get away with carrying a larger sized gun. The main thing is, you need to be able to hide your gun properly in the clothing that you would normally wear. You want to make sure that you have at least two different types of holsters to conceal your firearm in because, what may work for one day may not work for another.

No matter where you decide to conceal the gun,, you need to practice drawing it and re-holstering it until it is second nature to you. During these practices, unload the firearm, check again to see that it is unloaded, put it into it's holster with the safety on and then remove the firearm quickly and in a safe direction while flicking the safety switch. Do this as often as possible! Always check and recheck to make sure that the gun is not loaded. I cannot stress that enough. Check and recheck. If you are unsure check again. If you set it down while it is unloaded and then pick it up, check again. Anytime you pick up a gun you are to consider it loaded. You need to program yourself to automatically draw the weapon and flick the safety switch and put your finger on the trigger only when it is on your target. Practice this, so that when the time comes you will do it correctly.

Another thing you may want to take into consideration is whether the gun you choose is going to be single action only, double action only, or both single and double action.

With a single action firearm you must pull back the hammer everytime you fire. This makes the trigger very sensitive and will help to keep you from pulling in different directions and it will take less time to fire. This also means that you have to make sure that you pull back the hammer every time and with such a light trigger pull you risk setting off your firearm before you intend for it to go off.

A firearm that is double action only has a very long trigger pull and a very heavy trigger pull. You do not (nor can you) have to pull back the hammer to fire your gun. It will take slightly more time to fire and you do run a higher risk of snatching to one side or the other. You also run a lower risk of setting off your firearm when you do not intend to.

With a firearm that is single and double action you get the choice of cocking the hammer to make it single action, or leaving it double action. I prefer to carry a firearm that is single and double action. I carry it cocked (hammer pulled back) and the safety on. This makes my first shot very quick. All that I have to do is flick the safety off and fire and then I can follow up with double action shots. The only problem with this is that you may pull or snatch the gun when you immediately go from single to double action. This is why training is very important. No matter which gun you choose, you will have to get into a habit with it. You will have to train with it.

Another firearm is also available that has no hammer at all called a hammer less revolver. These are double action only, but do not cause you to worry about snagging the hammer on something when you draw your gun to fire.

Recoil is also something you may be concerned with. There are many things that play into recoil, such as, barrel length, caliber size, how much contact your hand makes with the gun, how soft or hard your grips are, bullet weight, and powder charge. They do make low recoil rounds for most calibers. The longer the barrel the less muzzle rise, however, if you do have a longer barrel you are going to have to conceal it. The amount of powder behind a bullet and the powder charge also affect this. The more powder and the higher the powder charge the more recoil it will have. Less powder or lower powder charge means slightly less power. If you have a very small handgun and one of your fingers hangs off of the end it will cause more recoil, however, that is less to conceal. If you have softer grips it will cushion your hand slightly and you have slightly less recoil.

Now that you have a larger understanding of recoil you are ready to pick a caliber. Remember that your goal is to stop your attacker from causing you any, or any further, harm. A few good choices are .380, 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, and .357 Magnum. These are just a few of the many options out there. .380 is the smallest caliber that I would choose for personal defense. Make sure you check the availability of the ammunition that you choose and the price. You don't want to buy a gun only to find out that you cannot get ammunition for it I do not recommend that you choose a .22 for self defense. Some will argue that if you hit a man in the right places you can stop him with this caliber, but, you do not want to risk missing that certain spot when someone is attacking you.

Next step, hit the range. Rent as many handguns as you can and see what you like best. Find a place with a large selection of handguns for rent. Make sure the gun fits properly in your hand. The curve in between your thumb and index finger needs to be in line with the back of the gun and you should still be able to reach the trigger properly with your index finger. Before beginning point your handgun downrange while it is unloaded and dry fire it a few times make sure that the trigger is smooth. (Do not dry fire a revolver. This could damage the gun) Also be sure that you are not pulling in anyone direction when you shoot. If you are try positioning your hand better or tightening or loosening your grip. If someone warns that you are pulling or snatching this means that you are making your bullet go in the incorrect direction for various reasons. Some people anticipate recoil and so they flinch others hold the gun to firmly and force the barrel down upon firing. Snatching is a bad habit and one that you need to break before it even begins. (attached is a chart from sharpshooter.com that may show you what you could be doing wrong). Shoot each gun a few times and see what you may have a preference for.

Now, you are ready to go to your local gun store. Pick out your gun and then compare prices online. If you decide to buy online I would suggest buying something new unless you know what kind of problems you are looking for in a used gun. Make sure you have already obtained a concealed carry license and that you have reviewed your states laws by this time. When you buy your gun you will have to wait until you have had a background check go through before you can take it home. This could take a while, so be patient. This is also the time to purchase your holsters and a cleaning kit. Make sure you get a cleaning kit with instructions and one that fits your caliber gun. I recommend Otis as a good cleaning kit with easy to read instructions. Remember to clean your firearm often to avoid rust and corrosion.

Being a responsible gun owner means being aware of your surroundings at all times. When the day comes that you do have to use your gun in self defense you need to be aware of who or what is behind your target. There have been many cases in which someone has fired their weapon in self defense and hit someone that was innocent in the process. Always be aware of your surroundings. That includes people objects and other people with firearms.

Remember that as a gun owner, you are responsible for your actions. When you shoot a bullet in self defense you can not take that bullet back. There is no reset in real life. Do not flaunt your new purchase overly much and always be concerned for the safety of others. Never hand anyone a loaded gun and remember to check and recheck that the gun is unloaded. Practice with your sidearm regularly and make sure to always use correct safety procedures.