What do I need to think about while getting ready to carry?

davsco said:

love my glock 43x and aiwb tulester holster. half the time i forget it's there. super easy on and off with the belt clip. 10+1 capacity is decent and i haven't tried yet but another company is making thinwall metal mags that hold like 15, still flush fitting.

Click to expand...

I just ordered 2 of those mags, Shield Arms. Reviews look great. They do recommend switching the mag release to a metal one, because the metal mag chews away at the plastic catch of the oem release. They sell an aluminum one also. I also ordered that. 2 mags and a mag release, 104 bucks. Worth a try.

I also think the 43X is the perfect IWB carry pistol. I have a Vedder I normally use, and I also have the Tulster for when I want to carry it with the TLR6 light.
I rarely carry it with a light though. If I am out at night, I have a different option.

Tebonski said:

It will be close and fast. You might be getting stomped or repeatedly punched. Simplicity. Forget sights. Point and shoot. Reliability is key. Fancy glow in the dark sights, neon sights, adjustable sights are meaningless. Point and shoot. Practice close. Two feet, five feet. Wrestling with attackers with an automatic you might get one shot off. Revolver, five shot, 38+P, guaranteed five shots. Probably.

Click to expand...

All of that should be written as "MIGHT BE".

Saying that it WILL happen this way, it will happen at this distance, you WILL NOT use your sights, is VERY absolutist.

Again, I must refer you and the other members here to the stats of the 66 of Tom Givens' students who were involved in shootings (63 won....the 3 who didn't were unarmed the day they needed their guns). Anyway, of those 66, only ONE involved physical contact (guy pumping gas got sapped from behind), and while the vast majority were within a car length of distance (about 15 feet), there were a few that were out as far as 22 yards! These were all legal self-defense situations by regular civilians, not cops or military people.

I think it is wise to practice for what is most likely, but it is also worth it to put at least some training time toward those situations that might be high stakes, low-probability events.

hogarth said:

All of that should be written as "MIGHT BE".

Saying that it WILL happen this way, it will happen at this distance, you WILL NOT use your sights, is VERY absolutist.

Again, I must refer you and the other members here to the stats of the 66 of Tom Givens' students who were involved in shootings (63 won....the 3 who didn't were unarmed the day they needed their guns). Anyway, of those 66, only ONE involved physical contact (guy pumping gas got sapped from behind), and while the vast majority were within a car length of distance (about 15 feet), there were a few that were out as far as 22 yards! These were all legal self-defense situations by regular civilians, not cops or military people.

I think it is wise to practice for what is most likely, but it is also worth it to put at least some training time toward those situations that might be high stakes, low-probability events.

Click to expand...

exactly... reference every sims training ever conducted also

Keep your gun lubed and clean. because a glock lubes with6-7 drops of oil it will go dry in time quicker than a gun designed to operate wet. Glocks, sigs, shields are so easy to take down there is no excuse not to keep them clean and lubed. If u carry IWB those skin flakes and body hairs add up. Train, train, train. Classes.

hogarth said:

All of that should be written as "MIGHT BE".

Saying that it WILL happen this way, it will happen at this distance, you WILL NOT use your sights, is VERY absolutist.

Again, I must refer you and the other members here to the stats of the 66 of Tom Givens' students who were involved in shootings (63 won....the 3 who didn't were unarmed the day they needed their guns). Anyway, of those 66, only ONE involved physical contact (guy pumping gas got sapped from behind), and while the vast majority were within a car length of distance (about 15 feet), there were a few that were out as far as 22 yards! These were all legal self-defense situations by regular civilians, not cops or military people.

I think it is wise to practice for what is most likely, but it is also worth it to put at least some training time toward those situations that might be high stakes, low-probability events.

Click to expand...

That being said about 22 yards, even though good shoots, doesn't mean that they needed to happen. "Can" take a shot and "need" to take a shot are 2 different things. Critical thinking under stress is of the utmost, which the average citizen cannot and doesn't train scenarios enough. This is where I think SYG laws help give those citizens an edge, in lieu of that lack of skill.

Blaster229 said:

That being said about 22 yards, even though good shoots, doesn't mean that they needed to happen. "Can" take a shot and "need" to take a shot are 2 different things. Critical thinking under stress is of the utmost, which the average citizen cannot and doesn't train scenarios enough. This is where I think SYG laws help give those citizens an edge, in lieu of that lack of skill.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I know one of the longer shots one of his students had to make (it may have been this one, or may have been the one that was at 15 yards) was a "defense of others" situation. Husband got followed home from work, crooks believed he had a lot of cash, assaulted him on front lawn, wife opened upstairs bedroom window and tagged both bad guys. I'd say that was a "need" shot.

Edit to add: One of his students of one of the longer ones (may have been the 22 yard one) said afterwards that "it never occurred to me that I was outside the statistical mean distance, only that I had to solve the problem", or words to that effect.

Blaster229 said:

...

I concealed carried for almost 20 years, every work day, all over the world. I know an nth amount about actual concealed carrying as a my primary job. Not just throwing it my pants on the days I didn't have to wear a uniform.

Carrying is just more than "get a longer shirt". It's placement, it's planning what your activities might be on how you might carry that day. And a lot more that's impossible to get into typing on a forum

...

Click to expand...

How did you dress for your job? Untucked polo? Any sort of dress code?

also, while it's not force-on-force, or really tactical, find and do some idpa and uspsa matches. they're a lot of fun and a great way to see how you and your gun and gear work together under a little stress. whole different animal than drawing and firing on a static range.

jaredm1 said:

How did you dress for your job? Untucked polo? Any sort of dress code?

Click to expand...

I won't get into the early days of a dress code.

Situation/area dependent. Untucked polos, t shirts, hoodies, you name it.
How long my "day" would be. Destination also plays a factor for how you needed to blend in.
Tucked in dress shirt I would use a Survival Sheath brand kydex shoulder holster tucked high up.
Modified belly bands up around the chest.
one of my favorites is the 5.11 holster shirt. And there was other work equipment involved to dress around as well.

A P229 isn't the best concealed carry gun. A lot of discomfort is involved with carrying. You learn to use the natural curves of you body location to better situate a pistol. A lot of moleskin on areas of holsters/modifications that would cause hot spots of rubbing.

The most comfortable carry I found was with a Galco concealable leather holster, OWB. Placed properly over the around 1-2 O'clock belt loop allows me to slide the holster almost forward to an appendix carry for when sitting down to allow a better draw. Or you can give it a discreet push back for when you stand up if your natural curve+type of shirt allow for a better conceal.
Slide forward at that 1 O'clock is my preferred position because between the natural curve of that part of my body creates a nice space between the drape of a shirt and the butt of the handgrip get swallowed up inside.

When you carry in discreet areas, you have to step up the carry game. You really learn a lot. Learning to put up with discomfort becomes natural.

Thanks. 1o'clock is what works for me as well, but I can't call it comfortable.

Read up, as others have stated there is a ton of good info available about all aspects of what you are seeking. Take a class or classes. Train. As others have said experiment with holsters, positions, etc. Get insurance. I have G19, Springfield XDM Compact .45, S&W 360 .38 on my CCW. I carry the snubbie w/2 strip reloads 90% of the time; the others occasionally. It works for me; YMMV.

jaredm1 said:

Thanks. 1o'clock is what works for me as well, but I can't call it comfortable.

Click to expand...

"more" comfy lol Comfortabler. Haha

One bit of... advice which has served me well. If you wouldn't go somewhere or do something without a gun, don't do it with a gun. Again, 20 years of doing this and I've never drawn it off duty. I religiously adhere to the "three stupids" rule. Between that and a fanatical devotion to "gray man" living, it changes how I view that weapon and it's served me well.

Blaster229 said:

A P229 isn't the best concealed carry gun.

Click to expand...

You've mentioned this a couple of times. Could you elaborate? What do you dislike about it... weight? size? thickness?

Thanks.

Bullfrog said:

You've mentioned this a couple of times. Could you elaborate? What do you dislike about it... weight? size? thickness?



Thanks.

Click to expand...

Weight, and thickness. Heck, you can make the length of a 1911 disappear, but width has only so much room available.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great gun, one of my favorites ever. I only just say this because of all the pain it's given me for umpteen years.
Occasional OWB is fine. Hell, I occasionally throw on my VP9 when I'm feeling frisky.
Guns are steel. They don't give. Our bodies are what has to give into the pistol.
So what do people do? They get crossbreeds and alien Gear stuff that has padding. The more stuff you stuff down into your pants, the less room for gun.
I bash the powers that be who thought this was a marvel of an idea for our work pistol, when there were better options available.

I did most of my carrying with this Desantis suede IWB, when I would IWB. You can't keep searching for ultimate comfort when you can't find it.

Be sure you always have your cell phone and it is always charged. Occasionally check to see how much signal you have. Know your location and be prepared to give that location as precisely as possible to the dispatcher. Help takes a lot longer to arrive if it doesn't know where you are.

Carry as consistently as possible. Same gun, same holster, same location. Don't be the person patting yourself down because you have four different locations you carry. Same goes for your spare magazine. You were going to carry a spare magazine or speed loader right?

When outside your home, don't remove your gun from it's holster. Think restrooms. Practice at home. Don't be the person who leaves your gun in the stall.

Before drawing your firearm outside of a range or in an otherwise administrative fashion, consider how you can remove yourself and your loved ones from the area. Better to retreat to safety than remain in danger.

Plan on how you will react once LE arrives; plain clothes or uniform. You shoot them, you have a major problem. They shoot you, the government may pay your family a settlement. Better to go passive and obey all commands to the best of your ability. It will be scary and there are no guarantees.

Odds are you will never need it, and I hope you are part of that large statistical segment. Carry a card with your lawyer/ carry insurance telephone number. Be respectful, don't answer any questions and make that your first call when offered the opportunity. Avoid the desire to be helpful by telling your side of the story. There will be plenty of time for that once you have spoken to your advocate.

Be safe.

cstone said:

Be sure you always have your cell phone and it is always charged. Occasionally check to see how much signal you have. Know your location and be prepared to give that location as precisely as possible to the dispatcher. Help takes a lot longer to arrive if it doesn't know where you are.

Carry as consistently as possible. Same gun, same holster, same location. Don't be the person patting yourself down because you have four different locations you carry. Same goes for your spare magazine. You were going to carry a spare magazine or speed loader right?

When outside your home, don't remove your gun from it's holster. Think restrooms. Practice at home. Don't be the person who leaves your gun in the stall.

Before drawing your firearm outside of a range or in an otherwise administrative fashion, consider how you can remove yourself and your loved ones from the area. Better to retreat to safety than remain in danger.

Plan on how you will react once LE arrives; plain clothes or uniform. You shoot them, you have a major problem. They shoot you, the government may pay your family a settlement. Better to go passive and obey all commands to the best of your ability. It will be scary and there are no guarantees.

Odds are you will never need it, and I hope you are part of that large statistical segment. Carry a card with your lawyer/ carry insurance telephone number. Be respectful, don't answer any questions and make that your first call when offered the opportunity. Avoid the desire to be helpful by telling your side of the story. There will be plenty of time for that once you have spoken to your advocate.

Be safe.

Click to expand...

Some great info there and some things I never considered. Thanks.

I will not open carry. My choice.
Insurance is a good plan. Regardless of charges or settlement, defense costs are a given.
Thick suede or kydex IWB single clip around 3:30 to 4 suits me. Less is more with holsters.
I want .380, 9mm or .38. No external safety. I don't obsess over capacity.
Single stack tends to be most comfortable for me.
Read reviews, fondle a lot before renting.
Figure out what points naturally.
Good luck and thank you for being responsible and exercising your rights.

Kman said:

I will not open carry. My choice.
Insurance is a good plan. Regardless of charges or settlement, defense costs are a given.
Thick suede or kydex IWB single clip around 3:30 to 4 suits me. Less is more with holsters.
I want .380, 9mm or .38. No external safety. I don't obsess over capacity.
Single stack tends to be most comfortable for me.
Read reviews, fondle a lot before renting.
Figure out what points naturally.
Good luck and thank you for being responsible and exercising your rights.

Click to expand...

Less is more works for me as well. Tried a bunch of different stuff over the years and 95% of it sits in the closet. My personal preference is a $25 DeSantis Slim Tuk

I escaped from Maryland in 2015 to Texas, and have been carrying everyday since since I got my permit. They passed open carry here in January of 2016, but tis extremely rare to see anyone open carrying. Just not done a lot in Georgetown Texas. But people do carry conceal.

I went through a learning curve and found out as far as concealed carry in warm/hot climate, smaller is better. Pocket carry in a decent pocket holster is the most practical. I had a Glock 26, and carried ti twice in two years, so it got sold off. Just too bulky like a brick. Had a Ruger LCP for a while, but it just want all that reliable with some ammo and it went down the road.

I've really settled on S&W J frames like the 638, 642, an most of all the Ruger LCR. That and my two North American Arms mini .22 recovers are my main carry guns. When its really hot, like 100 degrees or more, you really don't want much of gun dragging on you. Yeah, theres guys who will brag that they carry a 1911 all the time no matter what. Bull hockey. I've been here for four years now and I se what people are carrying at the range. Yeah, they have the range toys, but then they take a little Kel-Tec .32 out of a pocket to proactive with before they leave. I've seen people practice a little with the NAA Black Widow's and Pug. I've seen lots of Ruger LCP and LCPII's. Good number of S&W J frames and Ruger LCR's. A few Glock 42's and 43's. The guy I know that works the gun counter at the local Academy sports says the can't hardly keep the Ruger LCP's in stock.

When it gets hot here, uniform of the day is T-shirts, shorts, flip-flops. Thats frm about April to mid October. People are not carrying 98% of what the gun shop gurus are recommending. If it won't carry easy and comfy in a pocket, its too big for CCW in a hot climate. And I've been to Georga in the summer, and it was hot!

It take less to defend yourself than you think. most important is that you know your gun well, and practice a lot. Close range point shooting at 5 yards will do. Almost all problems are to very close range, and the one time I actually had to shoot many years ago in an alley off P street in D.C., range was like 3 feet. A little .22 did well with two shots, and the guy wasn't trying to Bach my brains in with a crow bar anymore. That was in my younger street punk days that I left behind when I joined the army to get out of the bad neighborhood. I saw a lot of shootings with RG.22's, cheap Tangfolio .25 autos, and other guns most gun people fed a diet of gun magazine BS would turn their nose up at. But they all dropped someone.

For those of you who make fun of .25acp, go stand in front of one. Out friend Al did and. he's been dead ever since. My fiend Eli was shot out front of gaffney's Irish bar on the corner of 14th and Colorado way back when we were young and stupid. He got in a fight with a guy he'd had a prior problem with and he was dusting the guy off good when the guy pulled a little RG .22 revolver and shot him. One round in the gut and Eli went down for the count. Almost died. I asked hi in the hospital if he could have run or down anything, but he said "No man, it was like a white hot iron twisting around in my guts."

Real world carry in Georga in late spring and summer, carry small in pocket. Anything else is going to be left at home sooner or later. Get an NAA mini .22 and practice with it until you can keep all 5 rounds in the middle of silhouette and then carry it every single day every day. Practice with it until it feels like part of your hand. Pants on in the morning and its there. That 9mm will be at home more often than not. I've been using the NAA minis since the mid 1980's where they could still sell them in Maryland. In the 30 plus years they've saved my life three times.

Go small. It'll be there for you when you need it. Do not listen other gun shop gurus or the gun magazine self made experts. In the late 1960's and early 1970's I was a teen gang member in D.C. and I saw shootings close up and personal. Took part in a few. I now from personal experaicne that it doesn't take that much to drop an attacker at close range. And muggings, car jackings, and assaults are close range like arms length.