Gun Digest Guide To Concealed Carry Handguns

INTRODUCTION

LIFE AS A CONCEALED CARRY CITIZEN

There are two kinds of people in today’s society: those who believe our government and public servants can do the job of keeping us safe, and those who believe they should have the right and ability to protect themselves if faced with predators or aggressors and no law enforcement is present. Both sides of this argument are completely convinced their opinion is correct, and since the late 60s there’s been an ongoing war between these two factions.

Those who believe citizens should be passive and allow society to take responsibility for their safety are convinced we’re more likely to injure ourselves or worsen the situation if we take responsibility for our safety as individuals. They believe firearms in the hands of individuals create more crime and catastrophe than would be the case if firearms were only in the hands of law enforcement and government entities.

Of course, there are multiple problems with this mindset. To begin with, there are estimated to be well over 300 million firearms in the United States. There’s no way to collect all these guns and even if there were, the right of citizens of the United States to own firearms is guaranteed by the Constitution. Even if such laws were passed, criminals who live their lives outside the law wouldn’t comply. Furthermore, there’s never been an instance where reducing the number of firearms in a country has reduced crime, though there are numerous cases of confiscation of firearms preceding the organization of a totalitarian system of government.

Since all but the most rabid of the anti-firearms faction realize that removal of all citizen-owned firearms is impossible, other approaches at reducing citizens from firearms access have been attempted. Certain classes of guns have been banned for import and manufacture, there have been limits imposed on magazine capacity, guns have been banned from certain areas, and the results of these attempts have had no effect in reducing crime. In fact, it is an almost universal truth that the parts of the country that have the most stringent firearms laws also have the worst rates of crime, indicating that crime isn’t related to availability of firearms.

Certainly most of the mass murders that achieve monumental levels of media coverage almost exclusively occur in areas where guns are banned. Situations where firearms are allowed probably don’t represent a high-value target for mass murderers, since they seem to have a desire for high body counts in order to make their crimes more notable and memorable. Most of these events are planned and contemplated ahead of time, and planning a mass murder with a high body count where one of the intended victims might have the ability to end the event would be foolish. In fact, there have been multiple events where a well-prepared would-be mass murderer encountered an armed citizen who ended the event early. Those situations don’t draw non-stop media coverage and rarely even make national news. When something doesn’t happen, there’s no story.

Depending on whose numbers you believe, between 180,000 and 2,500,000 people successfully defend themselves with a gun every year. Given the highest number of deaths and comparing them to the lowest number of successful uses of a firearm for defense, for every person that dies from a criminal’s gun, there are more than 13 people who successfully defend themselves using a gun for every one that dies from a criminal’s gun.

Carrying a gun isn’t an unreasonable decision. The odds of needing to use a gun for defense during your lifetime are similar to your house burning down. I assume most homeowners who read this have fire insurance. I have several fire alarms in my house, in spite of having homeowner’s insurance and a fire department that’s only 4.6 miles and eight minutes away. In fact, recent statistics from our own government have shown that in spite of the fact that firearms sales more than doubled over the last ten years, crime has declined at a remarkable rate for the same period. Indeed, recent times have seen a lot of positive legislation for firearms owners, rolling back much of the draconian Gun Control Act of 1968 which was fueled by a strong liberal shift in national politics and the assassinations of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.

In part, the new public acceptance of firearms ownership has come as a result of the passage of concealed carry legislation in so many states. In almost every state where concealed carry laws have been enacted, crime rates have declined and none have increased. Ordinary citizens who’ve never had an interest in guns are suddenly realizing the value of having the ability of reasonable self-defense. In teaching the North Carolina Concealed Carry Certification Course, I find that the students in my classes often have no prior connection to firearms ownership. They have decided there’s value to the ability to defend themselves and the ones they love. Many want to learn to use firearms without the intention of daily carry and I do everything in my power to convince them to becoming committed, daily carry concealed carry citizens.

I haven’t always been a committed concealed carry citizen who carries a gun every day. When I began teaching my certification class, I kept a gun in my kit bag and that bag went everywhere I did between the seats of my truck. During a class, one of my students reminded me that carrying a gun every day isn’t something you do simply to save your own life. It’s something you do to make sure your life continues so you can continue to be a part of the lives of those you love.

If I lose my life, I’m not the only person affected. The premature end of my life affects everyone who cares about me as well. It affects my wife, my daughters, my grandchildren, all my friends, and the lives of all those people who could be positively affected by my actions. Since I live my life with the intention of others, a lot of individuals would be adversely affected if my life ended today. My responsibility isn’t just to me, it’s to all those I love, and all who love and care about me.

At that point, I committed myself to daily carry and I carry in every place I possibly can without violating the law. Furthermore, I often avoid locations where I can’t carry because I know, based on past mass murder locations, that a no weapons sign is a welcome sign for violent crime. In the last calendar year, I carried 354 days. Four of those days I was in Italy and the rest, I was in New York. If I’m pulling out of my driveway and realize I’ve left my gun, I return and fetch it. As I wrote this book, sitting in my office, my gun was on my person, because it’s an integral part of the way I live. My life or the life of someone I love may be ended prematurely, but I’m determined it won’t happen because I was too lazy to have my means of defense handy.

While the decision to be a committed concealed carry citizen is an honorable decision to make, it doesn’t come without responsibilities. You must know the laws concerning every aspect of concealed carry and the laws concerning the use of deadly force. While citizens who defend themselves are almost never charged with a crime, they are almost always sued by the aggressor if he lives, or by a family member if he doesn’t. You need to know that the law relates more to this civil litigation than to the prospects of criminal charges. Try to remember someone who used deadly force in self-defense who was actually convicted. Try to think of a case where a defender was charged. Likely the only situation you’ll be able to recall is George Zimmerman, and the police chief of Sanford refused to charge him and lost his job as a result. Later, as everyone knows, Zimmerman was found innocent.

What will almost certainly happen should you use deadly force, whether it’s with a handgun or a golf club, is a lawsuit. Part of your responsibility to yourself and those you love is having knowledge of the law that will allow you to be properly prepared for that lawsuit. Know the law and know that your interview after a self-defense event will be public information and what you say in that interview can cause serious issues in a civil trial.

In addition, you have a responsibility of safety to both yourself and everyone around you, from members of your own family to the general public. Safe gun handling is of paramount importance for those who carry every day, and the simplest slip in gun handling discipline can turn into a catastrophic event in seconds.

Not long ago, in Colorado, a two-year-old child unzipped his mother’s concealed carry purse and managed to fire her gun, shooting the mother in the head and killing her instantly. The story has created a firestorm on the Internet, with pro-gun people saying she was careless to allow the child to access the gun, and anti-gun forces saying it’s just another reason why guns are bad and no one should have one. The morning the story hit, I received an email from my niece. She was considering getting a concealed carry permit and was asking how this could happen and if it could have reasonably been avoided.

As much as I hate to say this, and although I feel sympathy for the family, the only way this could have happened is if the mother made a serious mistake in gun handling. Most of the mistakes we make in life have low levels of consequence; we can make the same mistake a thousand times with no consequences at all, but there’s always a chance a simple mistake will be a life-changing one. The mother knew guns; her friends and family said she was safe and careful with guns and knew how to handle them. She normally carried her gun on her, but she received a concealed carry purse for Christmas and the gun was in the purse when the incident happened. She left the child in the shopping cart with the purse and for some reason the child accessed the gun and shot it. She was hit in the head and died instantly.

Her mistake was she left the gun in a position where the child could access it. Perhaps she was distracted. She might have forgotten the gun was in her purse, since she normally carried on her person. She may have thought the zipper on the purse was locked when it wasn’t, since many concealed carry purses have locking zippers. Whatever the reason may have been, she made a mistake, because a two-year-old child got his hands on a loaded gun.

She was criticized for the fact she was carrying a gun, but that was not her mistake. Carrying a gun isn’t an unreasonable decision. Gun ownership and carrying a gun for personal protection is a right in this country, and a reasonable decision, but constant vigilance regarding safety is paramount. Sadly for one family, a moment of inattention cost a heavy price.

Another reason for having constant control of your firearm is the possibility it might end up in the wrong hands. Most states have laws concerning minors’ access to firearms. While you have no legal liability should your firearm be stolen, can you imagine going through the rest of your life knowing your carelessness allowed a gun to be stolen, and that gun later took the life of an innocent person? While those who oppose individuals having guns for self-protection have told the public for years that having a gun is a bad idea because a criminal might take it away from you and use it against you, instances of this actually happening are extremely rare. If you carry a gun, however, you must be constantly vigilant that you maintain control of it.

Yet another responsibility of the concealed carry citizen is the responsibility to be able to effectively use your gun, should the unfortunate occasion arise where it’s needed. Buying a gun and taking a certification class is only the beginning. Anyone who carries a gun in public must have the ability to hit the target, because a miss can potentially take the life of an innocent person. In North Carolina, our certification course for obtaining the CCH permit is 30 shots in a target at three, five, and seven yards. I’ve never had a student who didn’t qualify for their permit, though a few have needed to come back for some extra work. This level of competence is far below the level that’s responsible for an individual who carries a gun in public. Having said this, consider that in spite of this low level of training and practice, a concealed carry citizen is far less likely to wrongly shoot than a police officer. Remember that we’ve already discussed the fact we never or almost never hear of a concealed carry citizen wrongly shooting anyone.

Remember that in every state I know of, to use deadly force, you must be in real danger of losing your life, or have fear of great bodily harm or sexual assault. You must literally be frightened for your life. Under these conditions, your performance will suffer. People under stress don’t rise to the occasion as happens in the movies; they fall back on the level of training they have. If the threat is a simple one, your level of training will probably suffice, and in fact, it almost always does. While most defensive situations of armed citizens are rarely examples of exemplary marksmanship, they almost always end with a good result, even when the aggressor is armed. In the vast majority of personal defense cases, the mere presence of the gun is enough to end the confrontation. Still, regular practice and learning the right way to operate your defensive gun increases the odds of your success, and perhaps more importantly, they generate confidence, which is a valuable asset when you’re under stress.

While this book is about the gun choices you have available to you, the most important choice you make is the choice to take the responsibility of daily concealed carry seriously. When I made the decision to carry a gun on a daily basis, I knew it was a serious undertaking. I wrote down, and now keep in my office, a list of my own responsibilities and convictions.

• It’s my belief that I’m responsible for the protection of my own life. I am aware I spend most of my life in places where there are no police there to defend me, and that even if I could call the police before the dangerous event occurred, the event would most likely be over by the time they arrived.

• I believe that by being armed and well trained, I am able and willing to change the outcome should a bad person decide to harm me, someone I love, or an innocent person I don’t even know.

• I’m willing to go through the process of having my actions judged by others as to whether I’ve made the right decision should I have to use deadly force, because I have educated myself on the laws concerning self-defense.

• Every hour of every day, I take the precautions required to keep my firearm out of the hands of someone who would accidentally or intentionally harm someone else.

• I’m fully aware that the consequences of a mistake concerning my decision are life-changing. I’m also aware that a civilian is much less likely – by a substantial margin - to wrongfully shoot or accidently shoot an innocent person than a sworn law enforcement officer.

• I know that even though the anti-gun side warns that the good guy’s gun is often taken away and used against him, it almost never happens, but I must maintain control of my gun at all times.

• I’ve talked to people who faced situations where their lives were threatened. Some of those people were armed and some were not. I prefer the outcomes the armed ones experienced, and this is my motivation to be prepared through daily carry.

• I have seen reports of situations where I honestly feel I could have stopped the killing of innocent people by the mindless murderers who, from time to time, decide they wish to end their lives (whether by going to prison or being killed by police) in a hail of publicity and fame on news shows. In every single case we hear about on the news, a single, well-prepared citizen or police officer could have stopped the carnage, and in every situation where that armed person is there, there is no story to dominate the news for weeks. We simply don’t hear about the positive outcomes of firearms ownership, because when the bad guy is stopped, or simply decides to walk away and save his skin, it isn’t a national news story. I am resolved to do everything in my power to be sufficiently prepared to prevail should I ever have to face such a situation.

As you make the decision to be a concealed carry citizen, please think about your responsibilities. It isn’t something to be taken lightly.

CHAPTER 1

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CONCEALED CARRY GUN

Life is about options. From the time we’re capable of making decisions as a child, our quality of life depends on the choices we make. Some of us choose wisely, others choose poorly, and unless we are blessed with random positive circumstances, those who choose wisely generally experience a better quality of life. Unfortunately, in any society there are those who make the choice to prey on others who might have made better choices and have better life circumstances.

Every gun shown here, and hundreds more, are viable choices for daily concealed carry. The object is to choose the gun that fits your lifestyle, carry method, and skill level.

It’s because of this unfortunate fact of life that we even have to discuss the idea of concealed carry for personal defense. Some in our society choose to allow sworn law enforcement to be wholly in charge of their safety. If you’re reading this book, you’ve probably made the decision to augment the protection the police can provide, and become an active first responder when it comes to your own personal safety.

As I will point out elsewhere in this book, the most important choice you can make - besides the decision to take some responsibility for your well being - is to be aware of your surroundings. Simple situational awareness will likely be your best defense in staying safe, but even if you do everything right, there’s always the chance that at some point you’ll find a need for self-defense. Of course, you could learn martial arts or become a master in the art of the blade, but for most people a firearm is the best possible equalizer. In fact, a firearm - and the ability to use it properly - isn’t an equalizer; it’s a serious advantage in most situations, the mere presence of which normally resolves the issue.

The object of this chapter is to help you make a wise choice in the gun you decide to carry, but no matter which gun you choose, your commitment to learn to use that gun properly and safely is much more important than caliber, magazine capacity, size, or operational design. Well-placed shots from small calibers are infinitely more effective than close misses from major calibers. The importance of the ability to properly operate the gun is only exceeded by the importance of actually having the gun available to you should that unfortunate situation occur.

In firearms choice for the concealed carry citizen, the right answer for each person ranges over a broad spectrum of firearms, and covers caliber, action type, sight options, weight, and size; both in slimness as well as overall profile. All these factors are important parts of the right answer for your needs, but the truth is, what you carry as a concealed defense handgun depends most on where you go and how much of the time you intend to spend with the firearm connected to you.

My recommendation is that concealed carry citizens carry their guns every day and everywhere they’re legally allowed to carry. As I said earlier, last year I carried 354 days. I spent four days in Italy and seven in New York. I cannot carry in either of those places, and I felt uncomfortable the whole time. My commitment to concealed carry is that the need to use a firearm for self-defense is about the same as the chance of a house fire in my home. Since I keep insurance on my house all the time, I see it as common sense to carry a gun all the time.

Of course, when you decide to carry a gun every day and everywhere you go, you need to purchase a gun that’s easy to hide, comfortable to carry, yet still effective. That balance of weight to power and magazine capacity becomes a serious issue. Powerful guns are undoubtedly better in a fight, but you must be accurate with the powerful gun, and it must be easy enough to carry that you have it with you all the time. A .22 rimfire in your hand is always better than a .45 on you dresser, unless you’re in your bedroom next to the dresser.

Another issue, of course, is reliability. Defensive guns must work when you need them because a gun that doesn’t function is the same as not having a gun. One might argue that a gun that’s 99 percent reliable is enough, but I’d prefer one that’s 99.9 percent reliable, or 100 percent reliable, if possible.

Part of that level of reliability relates to your ability to reliably operate the gun. If you have