Consistency is Key for Concealed Carry
I often get approached by former students, most of the time they just stop and say hi, and that they enjoyed the class. Occasionally I get more in depth questions from former students and recently I ran into one while out and about. He mentioned he and his father took one of my classes a few years back. His dad never went through with obtaining a permit, but he did and he carries about 60% of the time. His questions on this particular day centered around advice on carry guns and holsters that would allow him to carry more often.
Comfort & Concealability
The two factors that cause most permit holders to leave their gun at home are lack of comfort and fear someone will notice they are carrying. To overcome these hurdles gun owners just need to bite the bullet and carry consistently for about 2 weeks. It is not going to be comfortable at first, no matter what sized gun or or type of holster you have. When I switched from strong side carry and adopted AIWB it took almost exactly 2 weeks. Pick one gun, one holster and carry in the same position all day, every day for 2 weeks. If you can’t carry during the day while at work, carry when you get off work and while at home.
We are truly living in the golden age of carry guns. Twenty years ago, when the CC market took off, deep concealment guns like the original Ruger LCP and S&W Bodyguard were moderate at best in capacity and reliability. The slim single stack 9mms like the Glock 43 were a big jump forward in reliability, but today we have options like the Sig 365, S&W Shield Plus and a plethora of small high capacity 9mm pistols. The Ruger LCP Max and Bodyguard 2.0 are the epitome of high capacity options for ultimate concealment.
Finally, when someone complains that they have tried multiple times, but just can’t find a comfortable carry option, I asked them what type of belt they are using. Usually the answer is just a regular belt, and that is the problem. One of the keys to comfort and concealment is to get an actual gun belt that has the stiffness to support the weight of the gun. There are a ton of good leather gun belt options, but I prefer something with a much smaller adjustment levels like the Next Belt gun belts. If you are looking for a carry mode that does not require a belt/belt loops, look into the Crossbreed Modular Belly Band. It is one of the safest and secure options in the belly band market.
Additional Information
Unfortunately, the only class many gun owners ever take is a basic permit to carry class, which usually doesn’t allot enough time to cover all the questions someone serious about concealed carry may have. At this point in their journey, them may not even know what questions to to ask. That is one of the reasons we started our newsletter which includes our Training Tips and On the Hunt blog posts. I encourage you to click on the links below and browse the headings, you might just find answers to questions you had, and even some you didn’t have, yet!
