Concealed Carry and Self-Defense
for Beginners
An Introduction to Concealed Carry:
Concealed Carry is an incredible liberty that we Americans have access to. That it exists is an enormous sign of trust from our neighbors. Consider this: Even though only 40% of Americans own a firearm, and even though less than half of those firearm owners own handguns… and even though only 4% of handgun owners have acquired permits to carry them concealed, we STILL enjoy the privilege of strapping on a deadly weapon, concealing it, and going to massively populated areas. America is one of the few places on earth where this idea isn’t laughed out of the room. Even places that allowed concealed carry one generation ago cannot imagine their citizens having the ability to go armed- and the reason is, just like with parenting, the more responsibilities you give a crowd, the more responsible they will be. (That’s why people in their late 20s today act like the average 16 year old of the 1950s!).The Privilege of Concealed Carry:
Now, when I say that it’s a “privilege” to carry concealed handguns, I don’t mean to suggest that it’s not a right. It certainly is a right, and it should never come under any sort of vote. Self-defense is a God-given right that every human being is entitled to no matter where they live, and so it only makes sense that if criminals have access to firearms (which they always will and always do), and if those criminals can carry them anywhere they want (which they do and will), then innocent people have that right as well.But that doesn’t change the fact that, even though we live in a republic, most of our laws are indeed created based not on what is right or moral, but what the majority prefers. And it therefore never seizes to amaze me that our majority – the same majority that voted to nationalize healthcare regardless of our inability to afford it – has allowed concealed carry to become vastly more available and widespread since the mid 1990s.
I often ask people to look at concealed carry as a privilege, because it properly frames the responsibility that we are taking on when we put on our weapons and go out in public. When we do so, we are taking a whole lot of control into our hands.
What Responsibilities Come With Carrying a Concealed Handgun For Self Defense?
When we carry concealed, we are of course are taking control for our own safety into our hands. And, since we can now respond with deadly force to a murderous attacker, we are also taking control and responsibility for their lives. But in addition, we are also taking responsibility for – and a little bit of control away from – the lives of everybody we encounter in the public. Their NOT carrying can’t effect us a bit- but our carrying most definitely can effect them in a very big – potentially life-threatening- way. We all share in this great responsibility, just as the one in 150 people you will encounter who are also carrying concealed – even though you are never aware of their armed presence. Do you trust yourself with a handgun? Do you trust the 8 million other Americans with concealed carry permits? Do you dress and behave in a way that, if you have to draw your handgun, the guy standing 6 feet away who also has a permit will know you are a good guy?The Mindset Required to Carry Concealed for Self-Defense:
In order to carry concealed, you must adopt a mindset common to the battlefield. But not a warrior’s mindset, instead – a survivor’s mindset. Your handgun is an awful offensive tool. You would never hear of a soldier attacking a fortified position with a handgun. Handguns are for ultra-close combat, proven by the statistics that say that 70% of all handgun fights occur at 3 feet or less from the attacker. (Anything under 200 meters is considered “close” with a rifle). That’s why, when you are carrying concealed, your goal is not to go out in defeat bad guys, or to rush into a shootout ready to be a hero, but rather to survive violent attacks against your life or the lives of those that you are responsible for. Make no mistake – the role of the survivor does indeed require the capacity for determined aggression, and the survivor must be able to call up that aggression in a split-second. To help adopt this mindset, I strongly recommend that you read “on killing” by Lieut. Col. David Grossman.Self-Defense and Life-Threatening Situations
As complicated as it can seem, virtually all of your massive amounts of responsibility can be condensed into one single question: Is my life in danger? Am I about to be killed unless I act? Even more fortunately, you will have some very powerful human instincts on your side helping you to make that decision. When you are threatened, your brain will revert to its animalistic hippocampus, and you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt whether or not your life is in danger. (Getting your brain to FIGHT instead of FLIGHT or FREEZE is a whole ‘nother matter however, and you will need lots of training for that!).Still, long before you are in that situation, you should devote some conscious thought to the following questions: my life was about to be taken by a ruthless thug, do I have it in me to use deadly force to stop that threat – even if it means ending his life in the process?
If the lives of one of my dear loved ones, or the lives of children, or the lives of an innocent defenseless person in my care were being threatened with deadly force, Would I have the ability to do the same?
For most people who consider carrying concealed, the answer to these questions has been implanted in their minds from birth. They don’t even have to think about it. But concealed carry and lethal force aren’t for everybody. There are plenty of people – perhaps even the majority of people – who would rather take their chances and hope to avoid a deadly situation through probability… But even if it came to fighting back, they would rather let themselves and their loved ones fall victim before taking on the responsibility of ending the threat. If you can answer those questions in the affirmative, then you are ready to proceed with your preparations to carry concealed (or your education on concealed carry, if you have already begun carrying).
How do I find out the laws for concealed carry in my state, county, or area where I live?
Concealed carry laws, at this point in May 2014, vary widely across the United States. From state to state – and even city to city in many cases – laws have slight nuances depending on where you go. The only sure fire way to learn and understand those laws, is to seek out a current record of concealed carry laws and self-defense laws for that specific entity.There is however, one overarching principle behind the concealed carry laws in every locale, and that is this: when you carry concealed, you stand a very, very small chance of ever having to use your weapon. But if you ever DO have to use your weapon, you can be certain that (provided you have correctly analyzed the reality of your life being threatened) you probably wouldn’t be around to deal with any consequences if you didn’t use your weapon in the first place.Now, the old adage that “it’s better to be judged by 12 than carried by six” isn’t always true. Any good person understands that dying with honor and integrity could certainly be better than living as a social pariah with a dirty, uncertain (but legally cleared) murder charge on their conscience. That’s why it’s critical to keep a well calibrated conscience, and a heightened sense of situational awareness at all times. You need to be able to live and carry knowing for certain that, no matter what the laws are, you could live with yourself if you ever had to make that terrible decision.When you look at it this way, you see that it could be VERY BAD to use your weapon even when legal to do so (you kill a teenager who wasn’t really a threat), or VERY GOOD to use your weapon even when it’s highly illegal to do so (you save your child’s life by stopping a lethal threat inside a gun-free zone).
If you obey the basic outlines printed on the back of your permit, you will be within your right to carry concealed in over 95% of the places you go. But even if you have the legal right, being certain of the moral right to carry concealed is far more important for the long-term health of your mind, body, and soul.
Gear you will need to carry concealed:
A Concealable Handgun.
Obviously, you will need a firearm to carry concealed. Which gun? There is no “be all – end all” for concealed carry. The market is far too lucrative for there to be no competition between all of the various manufacturers out there. Every manufacture will always have a model that they think is the best for concealed carry (and a thousand raving fans supporting them) – however even within those models, there are often dozens of variations for specific body types and applications.Your biggest concern with a concealed carry handgun is reliability.
Don’t to go with a cheap gun. If you draw your gun, place two rounds on an attacker before your gun locks up, you won’t be able to put your hands up and say “I’m sorry!” What did the police use? They use GLOCKs, Smith & Wessons, Springfields, and Sig-Sauers. There are others, but these are the most common. If the gun that you plan on carrying for self-defense cost less than $500 new, you may want to reconsider its use. With handguns, it is still true that “you get what you pay for”.Physical Comfort While Carrying Concealed:
Comfort will also be a priority with concealed carry handguns, concealment holsters, and concealment positions. A small gun is better than no gun, but as you get smaller in handgun size, you decrease reliability, accuracy, and magazine size. You have to find the balance for you, which will be somewhere on the scale of “the biggest gun I can possibly carry while still being willing to carry it everywhere I go”.Regarding Handgun Calibers, Shot Placement, and Volume of Fire:
Aside from reliability, “volume of fire” is your biggest concern in a concealed handgun. It’s common sense that the bigger and faster a bullet is, the more effective it will be in stopping a violent threat. However, one must be very careful to avoid placing too much emphasis on a big caliber. Comparing the size of a 9mm bullet with that of a .45 bullet is asinine. It would be like comparing the size of Earth to the size of Mars. Both planets are “really big”, and both calibers are “extremely small and puny”. The terminal ballistics on ANY handgun bullet are terrible when compared to virtually any center-fire rifle.The military uses rifles for a reason. Since we cannot rely on, or hide behind our caliber sizes, we must therefore be able to place as many bullets on target as possible in as short of a time as possible. This is why, whether you are carrying a .380, a 9mm, a .40, or a .45, you must ensure that you have as big of a magazine as possible, so that you can combine effective shot placement with shot volume, to effectively stop your threat. Since you can’t carry a shotgun or rifle, you must make up for your handgun’s shortcomings with volume of fire. This is often referred to as “shooting until the threat disappears”. Most police officers end violent encounters believing they’ve fired 3 or 4 rounds, when in fact they’ve emptied their entire magazines. You naturally shoot until the threat disappears, and this is good. You must nurture that instinct.
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