Concealed carry in practice

I talk to gun owners everyday and the most common subject is carrying a gun concealed for self defense purposes. Normally, it doesn't matter if they have been shooting all of their life, or if they are thinking about their first handgun, they all have the same question. "What gun is the best for concealed carry?". I tell them the gun that feels the best to them and gives them the most comforting feeling that they are sufficiently armed is the way to go. If they buy a gun they can't manage to carry then its going to be at home when they are out and about and in need of their defensive weapon. Most of the customers determine that choosing the right gun will solve all of their problems. I explain to them that having the right gun is only half the solution.

I've found that while customers are willing to pay anywhere from $300 to $1200 for a good handgun, they don't want to spend more than $30 on a holster. Many don't intend to carry a gun in a holster at all. The ones that do are usually convinced that an Inside the Waist Band (IWB) holster is going to be to uncomfortable for daily carry. I haven't found one customer who has actually tried this method of carry before ruling it out.

I carry Browning Hi Powers and 1911's inside my waist band all day every day. I learned a long time ago that there are belts and holsters engineered for this specific purpose and they work very well. Most of my gear is made by Milt Sparks www.miltsparks.com. The belts they make are extra thick, not extra wide, to support the weight of full size firearm. I use their Versa Max II line of holsters shown above. They are very comfortable and once the leather forms to your particular body, they feel even more comfortable. The most popular holster series from the Milt Sparks line is the Summer Special. This is an old design and it's been copied by most other holster manufacturers. This holster is designed with the rough side of the leather on the outside of the holster to help it stay put when the weapon is drawn.

The Summer Special has been around for over 30 years and I don't see it losing popularity among those of us who carry handguns everyday. Like most of the Milt Sparks line, both the Versa Max II and the Summer Special need to be ordered with the proper sized belt loops. I use the smaller 1 1/4" loops because my dress pants won't take a 1 1/2" belt. However, if you wear denim jeans, cargo pants, or shorts most of the time, I recommend using the larger belt size and corresponding loops on your holster. Their is a noticeable difference in support from the wider belt.

Speaking of pants, carrying a gun concealed inside your waistband requires some forward thinking in this department as well. When I wear dress pants, I usually carry a small J-Frame revolver which is pretty light. When I wear jeans or heavier shorts, I'll carry a 1911 or Hi Power. For the larger guns, I buy my pants and belts 2 inches bigger in the waist. I've seen too many men with uncomfortable expressions on their faces from forcing a gun and holster in the back of their pants that were already on the tight side without the gun.

There are plenty of good holster manufacturers out there. I stick with Milt Sparks because I've never had a bad experience with their products or their customer service. However, Bianchi, Don Hume, Bulman Gun Leather, Alessi Gun Holsters, Galco, and DeSantis all make good products for concealed carry. Check out their products, give them a call, ask questions. I bought a few holsters, tried them for a month or so and then sold them on eBay before I found the ones I liked the best. It's a process. People spend hours, days, weeks and even months agonizing over which gun in what caliber will fit their CCW needs the best. Get a good, thick belt and start dedicating more time to your holster search and you too will come up with an IWB solution that is both comfortable, comforting, and concealable.

More Thoughts on Handguns

I spend a lot of time helping people pick out handguns for various applications. With only one or two exceptions, I find that the rule of picking the handgun that feels best in your hand will be the gun you enjoy shooting the most to hold true. The exceptions to that rule would be guns that are chambered in an inappropriate caliber, guns that are too large, too heavy, too small or too light for the intended application. Fortunately, there is a wider selection of very accurate and reliable handguns on the market, from many manufacturers, than ever before. I'll often hand a customer 8-10 different handguns before they find the one that makes their eyes grow wide as it seems to become an extension of their arm. Sometimes, however, new guy buyers simply won't listen to experience and determine the big gun in the big caliber is what they just have to have. I often see these guns coming back in on trade a week or two later.

Before you can determine with which guns to begin the search, you must determine the buyers intended application for the handgun. Personal defense, concealed carry and home protection are the three most popular responses I hear. Unfortunately, I very often see customers who have already made up their mind based on what they read on the Internet or in a gun magazine. The Ruger LCP is a great example of this. For the past 1-2 years, LCP's have been in very high demand. I never thought I would see so many people putting their safety behind a gun chambered in 380 ACP. After all, the Beretta 84 & 85, Sig Sauer 232 and Walther PPK/S have been around for decades and all of them are tremendous pistols chambered in 380 ACP. Not to mention the Kel-Tec pistols that Ruger virtually copied with the LCP design. It was a marriage of the right sized gun with the right manufacturer at the right time. Now, 380 ACP is difficult to get. When we do find it, it is more expensive than 9mm or 40 S&W. I see people buy LCP's every day only to have them come back and complain about the pain in their hands from the snappy recoil the next day. Everyone seems to agree if you plan to carry a gun for protection, you need to practice with that gun. Firing more than one or two magazines through the Kel-Tec, LCP or new Taurus TCP is usually enough for most people. Many people profess that they may never shoot the little guns again unless they have to in order to protect their lives. These little guns are the guns that you can take anywhere. They make great backup guns. However, I don't believe you should be carrying a concealed firearm if you aren't proficient with it. That means practice time on the range. I usually try to steer customers to 9mm's or 38 special revolvers.

I carry a Browning Hi Power most of the time. 15 rounds of 9mm should get me out of most jams. If I'm wearing dress pants or lightweight shorts, I'll often go with my S&W 360 PD loaded with 38 Special +P rounds. I prefer Federal Hydra-Shok ammunition for defensive carry. I practice with these guns on a regular basis. The key is the holster. Once someone marries a compact or medium sized auto pistol or small revolver with a high quality concealment holster, they realize they too can carry a larger caliber weapon concealed. Another favorite saying of Clint Smith's is "handguns are comforting, not comfortable.". This is usually true. I carry concealed every day and most of the time I forget the gun is back there. However, it will sooner or later give me a little jab in the love handles to remind me I can't bend over to the right very easily with it on. I've been known to carry a Colt Lightweight Commander at times as well. It holds 8 rounds of 45 ACP, and I haven't found anyone to argue that isn't sufficient protection. It fits the same holster as the Hi Power and has about the same weight. They are both single action only trigger designs so I don't worry about having brain fade while trying to put one of them into action under stress. Except for my revolvers and .22's, all of my guns are single action only for that very reason. I've found that switching from safe action, DA/SA, DAO and SA to be a recipe for disaster under stress. I try to keep is simple. I had to sell some good guns, like my HK P7M8's, but my muscle memory is all the better for the sacrifice.

Some people are just too small to carry medium to large autos. They may want the extra power, but they often can't rack the slides, clear jams, or control the pistol during recoil. I like to put these people into revolvers when ever possible. A revolver chambered in 357 Magnum/38 Special is extremely flexible with all of the heavy and very light loads available for those guns. They can practice with very light Cowboy Action style 38 special loads and carry 38 Special +P loads for defense. Believe me, if they are truly threatened, they won't notice the extra recoil of the +P loads in a life and death situation.

I don't want to make any enemies, but I have never found much use for the 40 S&W round. Yes, it packs more punch and knock down power than the 9mm. However, I believe the increased cost of the ammo and the increased recoil that tends to turn people away from more practice shooting, offsets the extra power factor. I can more easily instruct a shooter to shoot their 9mm or 38 Special with increased accuracy due to the lower recoil. Also, they tend to buy more practice ammo because of the cheaper price of 9mm ammo. It's just my opinion, but I've seen these scenarios play out with hundreds of customers and students. I'll sell you a gun chambered in 40 S&W if that is what you want. However, if you ask my opinion, I'm going to steer you towards the 9mm.

The other obvious caveat to the rule are pistols intended for competition use. These guns tend to be much larger with longer sight radii. They are also often chambered in 22 long rifle. I'll discuss competition shooting and equipment in future posts.

Shooting is supposed to be fun, and never forget it that it is also a sport.

Live To Shoot.

Handguns

Handguns are handy. Handguns are personal. Handguns can be comforting. I see a lot of people struggle over which handgun or handguns they should buy. With the rise in CCW permits, so rises the sales of handguns. I'm a rifle man. I can do more with rifles and I feel safer having one handy. Clint Smith once told me "handguns are for fighting your way back to the rifle you shouldn't have put down in the first place". Clint is wise. He also told me that he knows some of the best hand to hand fighting experts in the country. They all have one thing in common, they all carry handguns. Sam Colt referred to the handgun as the great equalizer of men. I think life in the 19th century was a bit easier where choosing a handgun was concerned. There weren't nearly as many variations of handguns to choose from as there are today.

I see it every day. First, shooters struggle to decide what caliber they want in their new handgun. 22, 380 ACP, 9mm, 38 special, 357 magnum, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP are the most common choices in American gun stores today. I see most people waffling between 380 and 9mm. Auto loaders seem more popular than revolvers, and pistols that can be carried in pockets or waistbands rather than holsters seem to draw the most buyers.

Looking back in history we can see these same trends around the turn of the 19th century. In 1903 John Browning introduced 380 pocket pistol. In 1912, Browning introduced the 25 ACP along with several pocket pistols. The famous Baby Browning among them. Oddly enough, he found the time to develop the 45 ACP and the 1911 pistol during these same times. As the military was looking to upgrade in power from the 38 Colt to the 45 ACP, the general public seemed driven to consume as many small caliber pocket pistols as Browning, Colt and Smith & Wesson could turn out. Coincidentally, while the US gun buyers are driving more and more companies to develop very small, very light 380 auto pistols, the US military is looking to replace the 9mm M9 service pistol with an auto loader chambered in 45 ACP. History repeats itself. I wish we would see another innovator like John Browning driving the industry development. How great would that be?

The next hurdle for today's gun buyers is to find that balance between a gun so small that it is easily concealed and one that is powerful enough to stop an assailant. That brings a third variable into play. If you plan to protect yourself with a gun, you need to plan to practice with it. Small, light guns will recoil a lot more than a standard sized gun and make practice unpleasant. Savvy shooters search for the perfect gun that is small enough to carry, but large enough to be shot at the range. The common theory on this is to provide magazines with grip extensions for range work. The grip extension makes the gun large enough to be better controlled during practice. When the gun is carried concealed, a shorter magazine is usually used that makes the heal of the gun easier to hide. The gun that does this the best, in my opinion is the Springfield Armory XD Subcompact.

Their is another solution to this problem. Buy two guns. Most companies build guns of the same design in two or three sizes. I've been known to carry an Officers Model 1911 or a Light Weight Commander 1911. Both guns have identical controls and trigger systems. I can practice with the larger Commander sized pistol very comfortably for 100-200 rounds in a single range session. I'll then finish off the range session by firing two or three magazines through the Officers Model for practice and to ensure it is still in top notch functioning condition. Companies like Smith & Wesson, Colt, Kimber, Taurus, Beretta, Walther and Ruger all make small, medium and large frame versions of their popular auto pistols. The same can be said for most revolvers as well. I know it's more expensive than buying just one gun, but if you are serious about carrying a handgun for protection, the extra investment and increased practice just might save your life one day. It's something to think about.

I'll write more on this subject in the future. It's a very broad topic with plenty of perspectives and opinions. I'd be curious to hear from my readers via the comments section of this blog regarding this subject or any other.

Making a Statement/Taking a Stand

I'm a shooter and I try to keep my opinions to just that, shooting. I usually steer clear of political debates or endorsing certain types of doctrine over others. However, there is something I feel strongly about, and I want to bring it to as many peoples' attention as possible. The topic is concealed carry. If you live in a state that allows concealed carry, and you are eligible, I highly suggest you take the time to get your concealed carry weapons permit. I've been shooting for over 35 years and I've never needed to use a firearm to defend myself. I owe that to the great country we live in and those in Law Enforcement and the military who have gone in harms way on my behalf. However, I've witnessed several attempts by politicians to restrict or revoke our Second Amendment Rights. Politicians love polls and statistics. It is impossible for a politician to ignore the steep rise in CCW permits applied for and issued each year in this country. Every person who jumps through the hoops needed to acquire their CCW permit puts a flag on the map designating another area of the country that highly values their Second Amendment Rights. Policy makers have and will continue to think twice before putting their name on a gun control bill while a majority of their constituents are registered CCW permit holders.

I know several instructors who provide the guns for their students to take the CCW class. Therefore, even if you don't own a handgun, you can get your CCW permit. You don't have to be an experienced shooter either. You just have to put in the time one Saturday, take the test and pay the fee. Anyone of age can get their permit. Every permit that is issued is positive statistic for gun rights advocates to use to keep the un-Constitutional gun control legislation from every making it to the House of Representatives in the first place. It also forms a positive base for promoting bills that will reverse some of the previous gun control acts.

A few years ago, only a handful of states allowed concealed carry. Fewer states allowed the ownership of Class III firearms. Today, around 75% of the country allows CCW and more than half allows its citizens to own short barreled rifles and sound suppressors. Regardless of who is currently sitting in the Oval Office, the House, the Senate, or the Speaker of the House's chair, control legislation in this country is moving in a positive direction regarding our rights to keep and bear arms. Your mother, father, wife, children, and friends all need their CCW permits regardless of their need or intention to carry a concealed weapon. There was a time not too long ago that the only statistic politicians paid attention to was the membership in the NRA. Now, gun rights supporters have choices on how they send their messages to their state and federal government officials. I choose to send as many messages as possible. I'm a member of the NRA, NSSF and several other organizations. However, I feel that my CCW leaves little doubt how I tend to vote on election day.

Now, back to shooting.