Concealed Carry Corner: Uncomfortable Truth About Carrying
Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about some great gifts for the concealed carrier in your life. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to take a look at some of the uncomfortable truths that we all fall into when it comes to carrying a concealed firearm. We fall into our thought processes and sometimes it’s important to take a step back to see if our process is the best course of action. Let’s take a closer look at the uncomfortable truth about carrying.
Buying Gear Won’t Make You A Better Shooter
One of the absolute best parts of working for TFB is looking at all the new gear and having the ability to test them. New guns and gear are some of the best aspects of carrying a gun. We always love to look at the latest and greatest when it comes to carry guns but the hard truth is they won’t make you a better shooter. Having a stock Glock 19 with 2,000 rounds to train with will always help you improve more than adding an accessory to your carry gun. The best way to grow confidence and improve your skills is to get out and train more than anything. Putting compensators, lighter triggers, and a TIN threaded barrel won’t make your groups tighter overnight.
So many people try to buy their way into becoming a better shooter instead of putting the work in although it may be tough to hear. For older shooters, aging eyes may be a real problem and they need a red dot to accurately shoot. This is a necessary upgrade that will allow you to quickly and safely shoot. This is drastically different than upgrading every aspect of your pistol in order to feel like you’re a better shooter. The vast majority of people would benefit from having a no-thrills Glock 19 and a few thousand rounds of ammo to train with. Reinforcing the fundamentals and wanting to better yourself will pay off more than just buying accessories for your gun that in the end won’t make a difference.
Possibilities vs Probabilities
Another common thing I see among concealed carriers is getting the idea of possibilities and probabilities confused. Ken Hackathorn has made this point that people like to come up with possibilities and play the what-if games rather than plan for what is probable. If we look at actual shootings, most occur between 3 and 10 yards with less than 6 rounds fired. The probability of having that sort of self-defense situation is incredibly high. Based on self-defense situations, the probability of you having to make a 30-yard shot is extremely low but it’s certainly a possibility. Just because something is a possibility, doesn’t mean you should train like it is a probability.
This can also apply to what gear you use as well. Personally, I would carry a weapon-mounted light on my guns almost everywhere I go but after really thinking about it, I didn’t need to carry the extra weight about 80% of the time. I cannot tell you how many people carry a smaller gun loaded up with compensators, lights, and accessories rather than looking at what they need exactly. It’s better to carry a larger framed firearm that’s easier to shoot quickly under stress than a smaller gun filled up with accessories so you’re “ready for anything.”
This idea goes back to not relying on gear to make you a better shooter and if I have to carry around extra weight, I’d rather use a heavier gun than something fully tricked out but harder to shoot. Food for thought and ultimately it’s up to you when deciding what to put on your gun but I think this is important when thinking about what you really need.
Rising to the Occasion
One of the biggest issues I have with people who concealed carry is the group of people who don’t train or put the work in but plan on “rising to the occasion” if they ever get into a life-or-death situation and need to protect themselves. The idea that you can just strap a gun onto your hip and go on with your day without training and then perform perfectly in a stressful situation is almost reckless and certainly not realistic. Training is key to succeeding and being proficient with your firearm.
Yes, carrying a concealed handgun is the first step but it isn’t the one-stop solution many people may think it is. If you plan on taking the responsibility of protecting yourself and others around you, it’s paramount to have a consistent level of practice to keep your skills up to par. So many people think they can carry a handgun almost as a lucky charm and they are automatically protected but this simply isn’t true. The only way to effectively be confident with your firearm is to get training time in and build on the basic fundamentals.
Overall Thoughts
It’s not always fun talking about what we can do better as shooters. There are certain things we do in order to carry comfortably, but there may be a better option that we need to challenge ourselves to find the best possible outcome. There’s no shortcut to putting in hard work at the range and growing your fundamental skills. People will oftentimes get caught up in the latest and greatest accessories along with new gear. What’s really important is having the skills and confidence to use your firearm in self-defense while under stress.
What do you guys think about keeping things simple and not overcomplicating your carry gun with too many accessories? Let me know what your thoughts are down in the comments below. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.