Anybody who plans to carry a firearm, need to adopt a suitable habitual way of living. This starts with awareness and alertness and will include where you go, what you do, how you dress and how you view and react to other people and situations.
Whether you’re new to concealed carry or an old hand, the following tips will help you to stay safe, out of trouble and not ever, in any situation, have to say that you wish you had a gun on you.
Here are six things to consider:
The best gunfight is the one you avoided.
If you carry a firearm, avoidance is your best defence and staying away from potentially dangerous people and situations remains your best bet.
Carrying a gun may necessitate changes in your wardrobe and behaviour
Carrying a concealed firearm means it has to stay hidden, so some changes in your wardrobe or method of carrying may be necessary. Also adopt a posture that keeps it from showing through your clothing and learn to avoid touching the pistol.
When you carry, avoid drastic movements but act naturally, like kneeling on one knee to pick up objects or if you want to access something above your head, reach with your weak-side hand while your strong hand holds your shirt in position.
If you carry in a belt holster, use a sturdy and tight belt to keep it from sagging and letting the pistol flop
about. Frequently having to hike up your pants is a sure giveaway that you’re carrying.
Layering light shirts won’t increase body temperature too much and will help hide your gun.
Choose the Right Holster
Don’t go for cheap
gear. You may regret it later and have to spend more to get what you should’ve in the first place. A good holster can hide even relatively large
firearms. Consider a low-bulk, inside the waistband (IWB) holster or a belly band that keeps the gun close to you. A holster must be comfortable since constantly adjusting an uncomfortable one, advertises you’re armed.
Moving the gun to a slightly different position from the traditional one, like two or four o’clock on the hip for right-handed shooters, can help hide the firearm.
Carry extra ammunition or even an extra gun
While any fight you are likely to get into will probably be handled with the ammunition in the gun, there may be exceptions, like a magazine falling out when you draw your pistol or more bad guys show up. Another gun provides the fastest reload is, and if you carry a small pistol, reloading or clearing malfunctions will be difficult under the stress of a fight.
Train regularly.
Shooting up old ammunition to replace it with fresh ammo can be turned into a
training exercise. When switching ammunition, you should fire at least a box to ensure it functions in your handgun and to ensure you know where it hits in relation to your sights.
Carry all the time
Once you’ve decided to carry your pistol, do it full time. Don’t assume that nothing will happen. The purpose of defensive pistols is to meet unexpected life-threatening events.