Tip #5: Don’t Act Like You Have A Gun
Very often, new carriers will act a little … nervous … while out in the public eye. If you aren’t playing with your firearm and it’s concealed properly, no one knows that you’re carrying it. Relax, take a deep breath, and go about your normal daily routine.
Tip #6: Actually Practice And Train With Your Setup
So incredibly important that I cannot stress this enough. It’s great that you want to carry, but even greater if you are as familiar with your firearm and cc setup as you are with the back of your hand. Take yourself to the range and practice drawing from concealment. Practice with different clothing on as well. Your draw will be different if you’re wearing a t-shirt than it is if you’re wearing a winter jacket. Be prepared for any situation.
Tip #7: Always Practice Safe Firearm Handling
Remember the 4 Rules of Firearm Safety? Recite them and practice them each and every time you’re around a firearm. If you pick up your firearm and safety check it, then set it back down, and then a minute later pick it up again, you should be safety checking it again. Any time that a firearm leaves your physical possession, you should be safety checking it the moment you pick it up again. Trust me when I say that it’s not overkill. If everyone were to do this without fail, negligent discharges would diminish close to zero.
Tip #8: Don’t Advertise
Telling your immediate family and very close friends is one thing, but advertising it beyond that is not usually the best of ideas. Don’t give away your carry location either. One wrong person that has this information would get an advantage over you. Retain your element of surprise by keeping this information as private as possible.
Tip #9: Be Confident With Carrying A Round In The Chamber
Laugh all you want, old timers. The fact remains, many people that are new to carrying are at first afraid of carrying with one in the pipe. If you never were, just move along. This section isn’t for everyone.
Any modern firearm will not go ‘bang’ unless the trigger is pulled. I have written .. a .. few .. articles .. on the topic of carrying with a round in the chamber, so please start there if you are on the fence about it.
Tip #10: Have Fun And Stay Safe
Absolutely, carrying a firearm is a serious matter. But, it doesn’t need to be stressful or intimidating. If you’ve got a setup that you’re happy with and fits comfortably, you’re ahead of the game. The fact that you’re carrying at all is a testament to how much you value life and safety. Maintain this attitude, gain as much knowledge as you can on the topic, and carry on.
