Published by ConcealedCarryEducation.

com, UGAR, LLC

2215 Plank Road #111, Fredericksburg VA 22401
Printed in the U.S.A.
First Printing June 2014

Copyright © Caleb Lee, UGAR, LLC, 2012

All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any
means, without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this
book.

Important Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the
subject matter covered. If legal advice or any type of assistance is needed, please seek the
services of a competent professional.

Firearms are potentially dangerous and should be handled responsibly by all individuals. This
book, produced by UGAR, LLC, is for informational purposes only. All technical information,
instruction, and advice, reflect the beliefs of the UGAR, LLC and are intended as informational
only. This book is not intended to serve as a replacement for professional instruction. By reading
this book you understand firearms are potentially dangerous and you assume all risks if you
choose to handle a firearm. You agree to indemnify, and hold harmless the UGAR, LLC and
Caleb Lee from any and all such claims and damages as a result of reading this book, which is
for informational purposes only.

2
 Dedication.
This book is dedicated to my mother and father, who raised me to believe in the right to bear
arms and showed me the proper, safe use of firearms.

Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad.

And to my family: My wife, the love of my life and who I will always do my best to defend. You
are the reason I started carrying a gun and I take my training so seriously. My children who I also
defend and teach to grow up able to protect themselves as much as humanly possible.

3
 Table Of Contents
Dedication. ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Table Of Contents ........................................................................................................................... 4
Concealed Carry 101....................................................................................................................... 7
Should You Carry? ...................................................................................................................... 9
A Word About Gun Safety ........................................................................................................... 12
Rule #1 - Always Treat Every Gun as if it is Loaded ............................................................... 12
Rule #2 - Never Point a Gun at Anything You are not Willing to Destroy .............................. 13
Rule #3 - Keep Your Fingers off the Trigger, Until Your Sights are on the Target and You've
Made The Decision To Shoot.................................................................................................... 13
Rule #4 - Always Be Sure of Your Target (And what's around it). .......................................... 13
Make The Firearm Safety Rules a Part of Your Lifestyle ............................................................ 15
The Two GOLDEN Rules of Firearms Safety .......................................................................... 15
Make The Firearm Safety Rules a Part of Your Lifestyle......................................................... 16
How To Properly “Clear” A Handgun And Make It “Safe” Step-By-Step ................................. 18
Revisiting Firearms Safety Rule #1:“All Guns Are Always Loaded” ...................................... 18
If You Treat ALL Guns As Loaded, Then You Only Have TWO Options Every Time You
Pickup a Gun. ............................................................................................................................ 18
When Do You Have To “Clear” a Handgun To Make Sure It’s Unloaded? ............................ 20
How To Clear a Semi-Auto Handgun ....................................................................................... 20
How To Clear a Revolver.......................................................................................................... 21
Concealed Carry and the Law ....................................................................................................... 23
Let’s Talk Self-Defense ............................................................................................................ 23
The 4 Prerequisites To Deadly Force ........................................................................................ 24
Your Responsibility While Defending Yourself ....................................................................... 27
Warning Shots and Other Nonsense ........................................................................................ 27
Restrictions on Carrying............................................................................................................ 28
Getting Your Concealed Carry Permit .......................................................................................... 31
After the Shootout ......................................................................................................................... 34
Criminal Charges....................................................................................................................... 35
Civil Charges ............................................................................................................................. 36

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 Legal Insurance for Concealed Carry........................................................................................ 37
Selecting a Concealed Carry Gun ................................................................................................. 39
Gun Type or Style ..................................................................................................................... 39
Caliber ....................................................................................................................................... 40
Gun Size .................................................................................................................................... 41
Sights ......................................................................................................................................... 42
Comfort ..................................................................................................................................... 42
Brand ......................................................................................................................................... 42
Accessorizing Your Gun ........................................................................................................... 42
Triggers ..................................................................................................................................... 43
Sights ......................................................................................................................................... 43
Laser Sights ............................................................................................................................... 44
Slide Lock and Magazine Lock Extensions .............................................................................. 44
Magazine Well Extensions ........................................................................................................ 44
Tactical Light ............................................................................................................................ 45
The Top 3 Handguns For Self-Defense, Conceal Carry, and Home Defense .............................. 46
The Top 3 Handguns I Recommend: ........................................................................................ 46
The Best Handgun For Self-Defense ........................................................................................ 46
“It’s Over. Glock Won.” ........................................................................................................... 47
That Means Almost All Special Operations Now Use The Glock 19 … .................................. 48
The Other Top 2 Choices … ..................................................................................................... 49
Carry Positions .............................................................................................................................. 50
Waist Carry ............................................................................................................................... 51
The Classic Shoulder Holster .................................................................................................... 52
Carrying a “Pocket Pistol” ........................................................................................................ 52
Concealed Carry Underwear ..................................................................................................... 53
Special Concealment Holsters for Women ............................................................................... 53
Specialty Carriers ...................................................................................................................... 54
How I carry a Glock 19 and 33 rounds of ammo in shorts and a T-shirt (Summer Carry) .......... 56
Concealed Carry Training ............................................................................................................. 62
Basic Marksmanship ................................................................................................................. 63

5
 Pistol Drills................................................................................................................................ 65
Tactical Shooting....................................................................................................................... 66
How to grip a handgun to shoot fast & accurate ........................................................................... 69
Why Shot Placement Is KING and How To Improve Your Combat Accuracy ........................... 81
Dry Fire 101: How Navy SEALS, CIA Officers and World-Champion Shooters Get Better
Without Paying For Ammo Or Wasting Time At The Range ...................................................... 86
The Secrets Of The "Perfect" Concealed Carry Drawstroke ........................................................ 90
How To Reload Your Gun .......................................................................................................... 101
How To Clear Malfunctions ....................................................................................................... 108
The End ... Or The Beginning? ................................................................................................... 112

6
 Concealed Carry 101
The debate has been heating up over gun control and gun ownership for the last few years.

The political left has used every act of gun violence they can to decry the need to tighten up gun
restrictions and get guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.

Of course, those who are screaming the loudest about guns are people who are ignorant about
them and most likely have never shot a gun in their life.

One of the ways we could take this as Freud did:

“A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity.”

I am not qualified to speak to the accuracy or correctness of Freud’s statement; however, I can
say one thing for sure.

By and large, those who oppose legal gun ownership are afraid of guns.

You don’t find people who are shooters that are crying out for gun control, but rather people who
have never touched a gun in their lives.

These people see guns as evil, not just as a tool.

They blame the gun for the violence, not the person who pulled the trigger. Yet, fewer people are
killed by guns every year than are killed by medical malpractice.

As this debate has raged, one thing has been clear; those who are in favor of increased gun
control pay little attention to facts and statistics.

They are reacting emotionally to the gun violence, saying that “something has to be done.” In
this, their fear manifests, as they define the “something” as getting rid of guns.

This is ridiculous, as guns exist; you can’t make them go away.

Truly getting rid of them would require using H.G. Wells’ time machine to go back in history to
eliminate the every link in the chain of gun invention; with all the associated changes that this
would make on society as we know it. While none of us can truly predict what the world would
look like without guns; we can safely say that history would be greatly changed without them.

There are four basic facts that those in favor of taking guns out of the hands of honest citizens
ignore:

 Criminals who use guns already ignore gun laws.

 In most cases, criminals get their guns illegally.

7
  Guns in the hands of honest, law-abiding citizens reduce gun related crime.
 Crimes are stopped on a daily basis by people with concealed carry permits.

These third and fourth facts, which have been thoroughly proven by many statistics and studies,
are where you and I come in.

As gun owners who desire to carry concealed, we are making an active, informed decision to
help reduce crime in our communities.

By accepting the responsibility of carrying a firearm on our person, we choose to not be a victim,
but rather defend ourselves.

At the same time, we are accepting the responsibility of protecting society at large from these
criminals, as when you protect yourself from a criminal, you protect everyone else from them as
well.

The police aren’t able to be everywhere.

Criminals know this and take advantage of it. They look for situations where their victims are
alone, without police protection available. According to the national 9-1-1 hotline, response to a
police call typically takes 4 to 12 minutes, with some extreme cases taking over an hour.

The average criminal spends less than 90 seconds with their victim. It’s clear who wins in that
situation.

Please don’t take this wrong. I’m not trying to say that the police aren’t doing their job. All I’m
saying is that their job is reactive. The police are limited by the law to only reacting once the
criminals take action.

That means that they are usually working to apprehend the criminals after the fact, not working
to prevent the crime from happening. Again, that’s not the police’s fault, it’s a reality they are
forced to live with.

On the other hand, carrying concealed reduces the reaction time of the good guys to a matter of
seconds, rather than the many minutes it can take the police to arrive.

That’s how there are thousands upon thousands of crimes every year which are prevented by
concealed carry holders.

In one state alone, a study showed 5,000 crimes reported in the media, which were stopped by
concealed carry holders. The writers of the study add that not all crimes which are thwarted by
concealed carry holders end up in the newspaper, because many are not thought to be
newsworthy.

8
Should You Carry?

Many people struggle with the question of whether or not they should carry for a long time
before making a decision.

There could be many different reasons for this struggle, including pressures from family, society
and one’s past. Some might feel that carrying a gun would get them harassed by the police or
make them appear sinister to those around them.

In our politically correct society, carrying a gun is seen as being analogous to being a dangerous
criminal.

All of this can make it difficult to take that step and decide to protect yourself and your family.

However, if we were to go back in history, those questions wouldn’t exist. The very real dangers
of life were much more readily recognized in the past and people responded to that recognition
by being prepared to defend themselves.

To say that we no longer need guns is to say that the world has become a safer place.

While some of the past’s dangers have been largely eliminated, I wouldn’t say that the world
today is any safer than the world was 150 years ago; if anything, you could say it has become
more dangerous.

We have lost most of the danger that our ancestors faced in dealing with the wild. Dangerous
animal populations have been reduced to the point where we face little risk of being attacked by
a lion or bear.

The native American Indians have left the warpath as well, removing one of the greatest dangers
that our ancestors faced. I haven’t heard of a single case of Indians attacking a wagon train in my
lifetime.

Even so, the population of two-legged predators has greatly increased over the years, till the
point where today’s crime rates far outstrip the worst done by Indians on the warpath.

The fact of the matter is that our society is filled with dangerous two-legged predators who
are waiting for the opportunity to take advantage of you and I.

When these criminals look at us, they don’t see mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. They
see potential victims. As long as we are unarmed, there is nothing we can do to change the way
that they see us.

At an absolute minimum, people who carry concealed give the criminals in our society pause.

9
Before attacking, they look at the risks involved. This is made clear by the mass shootings that
have happened in the last few years. In each and every case, the mass shooting has happened in a
gun free zone, where the criminals knew that they weren’t going to face any opposition.

Had the teachers in those schools or the people in those situations been armed, statistics show
that the gunmen would have been much less successful in racking up their score.

On the average, mass shootings in gun free zones claim more than ten victims. In cases where
there is a concealed carry permit holder in the area, the average drops to two.

If you don’t want to be a victim, you need to carry.

But what about at home? Do you really need to carry concealed when you are at home? Let’s
analyze that for a moment.

Most people who have a gun at home either keep it in the nightstand or their closet. If someone
breaks down the door in the middle of the night, they’ve got to grab that gun and prepare to face
the criminal. That’s possible, but anyone who is a little slow getting up probably doesn’t have
much chance of succeeding.

Of course, that’s assuming that they have the gun in the nightstand beside their bed and that they
are in the bed. Let’s change the scenario a bit. What if you are sitting in the living room,
watching a movie and somebody kicks in your door? What good is that gun going to do then?
How long will it take for you to draw that gun and prepare to defend yourself and your family?

However long it would take you would be too long. There’s no way you can make it to the
bedroom and open the nightstand faster than the criminal who just kicked in the door can stick a
gun in your face. In other words, that gun in the nightstand isn’t doing you the least bit of good.

While only about 25% of crimes happen in the home, they can be some of the most violent.

Having a gun on you in your home ensures that you are prepared to deal with anyone who might
break in. Not only will you be able to protect yourself, but you’ll be able to protect those that
mean the most to you; your family.

There are certainly many steps you can take to greatly increase the security of your home so that
it is truly a safe-haven where you can relax, and we'll discuss those as well ...

But the important point I'm trying to make is that even at home, having a gun (or guns) readily
accessible either on your person or "staged" throughout your home will go a long way towards
ensuring you are prepared.

Many times just having a gun is enough! More than half the criminals who are faced by a gun
turn tail and flee, even if they are armed themselves.

10
So, why should you carry?

I’ll give you three reasons:

1. So that you don’t become a victim.

2. So that your family doesn’t become victimized.

3. So that you don’t have to stand there impotent, while others are victimized before you.

I have been in the position of standing there impotent while someone was victimized before my
eyes. That’s something I never want to see again.

Even worse would be to see my wife or daughters raped before my eyes, simply because I chose
not to carry a gun.

As far as I’m concerned, protecting them is my responsibility, not the responsibility of the police
department.

While I give the police thanks for what they do, I don’t abdicate my position as protector of my
family.

If you're a red-blooded American, I'm betting you feel the same way.

11
 The Critical Importance of Gun Safety
We can't really talk about concealed carry or guns in general, without taking a moment to talk
about gun safety.

Guns are dangerous tools. While they can't kill by themselves, they are designed for the purpose
of killing. When you take up a gun in your hands, you are taking on a serious responsibility.

Sadly, every year there are gun accidents. Each is a tragedy.

Many come about because people who don't understand guns get their hands on them. Others
happen because people who are trained in the use of guns become careless.

We can narrow down the causes then to only two:

1. Ignorance

2. Negligence

After you read this chapter, you can no longer claim ignorance ...

That's why it's so important to not be negligent, meaning you know what to do, you just failed to
do it.

Regardless of how the accident happens, they are regrettable and avoidable. Proper training and
obeying a few simple rules pretty much eliminates the possibility of these gun accidents.

Rule #1 - Always Treat Every Gun as if it is Loaded

Many, if not most, gun accidents happen with "unloaded" guns. I put that word in quotation
marks because the person who owned the gun thought it was unloaded. Because they were sure
that the gun was "safe" they did foolish things with it.

If we always assume a gun is loaded and always treat it as if it is, then we won't accidentally pull
the trigger, thinking that it's unloaded. We will keep the gun pointed away from people, keep our
fingers off the trigger and otherwise avoid doing anything that could cause that gun to go off.

Think about it a moment; there are literally millions of people here in the United States who
carry guns daily. I'm referring to people who have concealed carry permits, as well as police
officers and other officials. Those people don't have their guns go off accidentally. Why?
Because they know that their guns are loaded. By treating their guns that way at all times, they
eliminate the possibility of any accidents.

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Rule #2 - Never Point a Gun at Anything You are not Willing to Destroy

When you point a gun at something or someone, it's because you are getting ready to pull the
trigger. Never use a gun to threaten or point one at something as a joke. If you point your gun at
someone, it means that you intend to destroy them.

In a way, this rule is just another manifestation of rule number one.

If you assume that all guns are loaded, then there is no reason to point the gun at anyone, unless
you are planning on shooting them. Granted, they may take action which makes it unnecessary
for you to fire. But until they take those actions, they are still a target.

Rule #3 - Keep Your Fingers off the Trigger, Until Your Sights are on the
Target and You've Made The Decision To Shoot

Many new shooters grab their gun, with their finger in the trigger guard. This makes it possible
for them to pull the trigger prematurely, especially in a tense, fluid situation.

The proper way is to grab the gun with your trigger finger outside the trigger guard, straight and
indexed alongside the frame or slide of the firearm. Then, once the gun is pointed at the target,
the trigger finger is moved inside the guard to make contact with the trigger.

Premature firing, where the gun goes off before being pointed at the target is always caused by
not obeying this rule. If you're on the range, that's one thing, but if you are in a real-life situation,
that could mean that your bullet misses the target and hits something or someone that you don't
want it to.

If you stop shooting for any reason, such as searching for another target or moving to another
position, take your finger back out of the trigger guard. Traveling with your finger on the trigger
is extremely dangerous, as a sudden bump, stumble or trip could cause you to jerk the trigger,
firing the gun. Once again, since the gun won't be pointed at your intended target, there is a high
probability of hitting something that you don't want to hit.

Rule #4 - Always Be Sure of Your Target (And what's around it).

When you're on the shooting range, practicing, you pretty much always know what your target
is. But if you ever find yourself caught in a real-life tactical situation, you won't be so sure. Your
target could be hidden in the midst of a group of innocents or hiding behind a trash dumpster.
Your first problem is going to be identifying who the bad guys are and where they are hiding.

Shooting before you are sure of your target is a guaranteed recipe for shooting the wrong person.

It is very easy in a fluid tactical situation to mistake a person holding something in their hand for
a criminal with a gun. Those criminals don't always look like criminals and some of the people
who look like criminals are actually innocent. Always look for weapons, as they identify the
13
dangerous people in any scenario. If the people who have the weapons are acting threatening in
any way, then they become a target.

Some criminals can be extremely cleaver and disguise themselves to look like ordinary people.
Nobody would expect a woman pushing a stroller to be a danger, but terrorists and bank robbers
alike have done just that. When you focus on weapons, rather than individuals, you are less
likely to be fooled.

That said, you have surely read news story after news story of police officers getting it wrong
and killing innocent people. And there are even more stories of police (looking at you NYPD)
hitting innocent bystanders with their bullets that were intended to shoot the criminals. This all
comes down to rule #4.

14
 Make The Firearm Safety Rules a Part of Your
Lifestyle
I remember the first time someone asked me what the rules for firearm safety were.

The truth is that I had never been explicitly taught them. But I figured out at least two of them
right away.

I told the guy (at what had to be less than 11 yrs old mind you) “ummm, don’t point it at anybody
and don’t touch the trigger”.

I knew that just by the fun plinking and camping trips that I had been on with my family as a
young boy.

But it’s important to not only KNOW, but make an absolute COMMITMENT to making the
official firearm rules LIFESTYLE rules that you never violate.

Otherwise you could seriously injure yourself or someone else.

The Two GOLDEN Rules of Firearms Safety

To quote the great Tom Givens,

“Those four rules are basically it. They cover just about
everything we can do with a firearm.

If it’s a gun it’s loaded unless you personally have cleared it

and it is still in your control. Keep up with where the gun is
pointed at all times. If you no longer need it out, put it in the
holster. Keep your finger in register well away from the trigger
until you bring the gun to bear on a target. Know what you’re
shooting at, what’s around it, and what’s behind. Now, can we
make this even simpler? Actually we could. There are two safety
checks that all by themselves will prevent most problems. These
two are:

Muzzle Discipline

Trigger Finger Discipline.

Muzzle discipline: the firearm should always be pointed in the

safest direction. That is, even if the weapon fired there would
be no personal injury to anyone and only minimal property damage.

Trigger finger discipline: the modern handgun generally will not

fire unless the trigger is depressed. Keeping your finger in

15
 register at all times when you are not actually firing will
prevent almost all negligent discharges. If these two safety
checks are in place, no one will be inadvertently shot."

What Does "Trigger Finger Discipline" Actually Mean?

WHAT does “finger off the trigger” mean?

*** It’s not floating off the trigger, inside the trigger guard

*** It’s not straight and outside the trigger guard, floating in the air

It is, straight, off the trigger and in REGISTER alongside the part of the lower receiver above the
trigger and trigger guard.

In short, get your finger as high and far away from the trigger as possible as you can comfortably
put it, in the same place, every single time.

When thinking of trigger finger placement, whether you run a handgun or carbine or shotgun,
there are only two places your finger can ever be:

*** At “Home”: which is in register, at a repeated ‘tactile indicator’ index point away as
far away as is comfortably possible from the trigger and trigger guard.

*** At “Work”: On the trigger, prepping it and/or starting to press it because you’ve
made the decision to shoot and your sights are on target.

That’s it.

Notice, I said a repeated index point with a “tactile indicator”.

On a handgun, it helps to pick out somewhere on the frame or slide or even the ejection point
that you’re going to touch every time your sights come off the target and your finger comes off
the trigger.

That way you are building “muscle memory” that every time your sights come off target, your
finger is off the trigger and going “home” to the repeated index point.

On the lower receiver of the AR-15 it will depend on your finger length, but pick a spot (the
bump outside of the magazine release button, the lower part of the dust cover when it’s open,
etc) you can touch.

You need a spot that you repeatedly tell your finger to go to whenever your sights come off the
target that you can feel and you know it when you touch it with your finger (why we call it a
“tactile indicator”).

16
That way your brain has only a two-way “decision tree” — either on the trigger (when your
sights are on target and you’ve made the decision to shoot) or finger straight and touching the
index point on the lower receiver.

This should become and engrained habit after a bit of practice, which is the goal.

Make The Firearm Safety Rules a Part of Your Lifestyle

Every time you touch a gun. Every time you show someone a gun. Every time you talk about
guns with kids or friends. Keep these rules in mind.

Everyone should learn them. Everyone should know them. Everyone should follow them, all the
time.

17
 How To Properly “Clear” A Handgun And
Make It “Safe” Step-By-Step
Do you know how to PROPERLY clear a gun and make it “safe” step-by-step?

The truth is that there is no room for error in this procedure. A lot of people that have been
negligently shot have been shot negligently because they ” …thought the gun was unloaded!”

If you don’t know how to properly “clear” a handgun and make it “safe” then you could very
well take your own life, the life of your child, your spouse, your friend or some other innocent
person!

Also, perhaps even more important, you should know WHEN to clear a gun to make it safe. The
answer will probably surprise you!

Revisiting Firearms Safety Rule #1:“All Guns Are Always Loaded”

The firearms safety rules have been around 50+ years and they work for all types of firearms
because they cover practically everything that you can do with a firearm.

As long as they are obeyed, every single time, then it’s almost impossible to have a negligent
shooting or other “accident” that could cause harm.

In fact, if everyone simply obeyed this 1 rule — then a reasonable, smart person would be able to
figure out not to put their finger on the trigger or point it at someone or something they did not
want to shoot.

(But we have the other rules for a reason. Because we don’t want to rely on intelligence to keep
us safe. Simply follow the rules and nobody gets hurt. Simple.)

If You Treat ALL Guns As Loaded, Then You Only Have TWO Options Every
Time You Pickup a Gun.

The beauty of this one simple rule was made clear to me, by the one and only Tom Givens. Tom
sure does have a way of simplfying things. He writes (emphasis mine):
“This leads to a simple two-way branch. If you want to shoot it,
shoot it! If you wish to do anything else with it, then you must
clear it first. Before you can clean it, tinker with it, paint
the sights, tighten the grip screws, show it to your friend, or
do anything else with it other than fire it, you must first clear
it. When you clear a gun, you remove all ammunition, lock the
action open, double check to make certain all ammunition is out,

18
 and leave the action open while you do any administrative
handling of the firearm.”

That makes it pretty simple huh?

Just two options.

It’s so simple I used my incredible photoshop skills to make an easy-to-follow flow chart for
you:

So pop quiz time …

19
When Do You Have To “Clear” a Handgun To Make Sure It’s Unloaded?

Notice it says that if the gun EVER leaves your possession — out of your hands — you start all
over again with the two choices.

Simple.

If you clear a gun, it’s unloaded and safe as long as it’s in your hands …

Then you set it down on the table … is it still safe when you pick it up?

NO!

Pick it up, and go back to the two choices. Shoot it or clear it.

If you are at a gun shop and the guy clears the pistol in front of you and hands it to you, is it safe
and unloaded?

No. Now that it is in your possession, you have two choices. Shoot it or clear it.

If your buddy hands you a gun and says the infamous words, “Don’t worry, it’s unloaded!” Is it
safe or unloaded? NO! Clear the damn gun!

This is the true meaning of “treat all guns as if they are loaded”.

By treating all guns as if they are loaded, you present yourself with only two correct options. If
you need to shoot it, shoot it. If you need to do anything else with it, clear it.

How To Clear a Semi-Auto Handgun

Step 1: Remove Magazine

Without a magazine there is nothing to feed into the chamber of the semiautomatic pistol, so the
first thing we will do is remove the magazine to cut off the supply of ammunition.

Step 2: Eject cartridge from chamber

Using the same manner that we clear malfunctions, we run the slide to eject the round from the
chamber. Remember, we are assuming all guns are always loaded, so whether you think there is
one there or not — you run the slide to eject it.

Step 3: Lock Slide To Rear To Visually And Tactile Confirm There is No Magazine and an
Empty Chamber

Next, you are going to lock the slide to the rear to visually inspect the magazine well first
(remember, without a magazine there is no source of bullets). Then visually inspect the chamber
— you are looking for an EMPTY chamber — not brass. If you go looking for brass, you might

20
see one, mentally see that you are right, and then close the slide leaving you with an empty gun.
Think “is this chamber empty” not “is there a bullet in here”. It’s a small difference in intent, but
it’s important. By tactile inspection, this means stick your finger in the chamber to make sure it’s
empty. (By using your finger, you could essentially clear your gun in the dark and still be safe).

Step 4: Leave The Slide Open While Performing Any Administrative Action

Lastly, to make things easy on yourself, if you’re doing any administrative handling of the gun
— then leave the slide locked to the rear.

That way, if you have to put the gun down for some reason, you can simply pick it back up again
and go to step 3 — confirming there is no magazine and no ammo in the chamber because the
slide is already locked back.

About the only time you would not leave the slide locked to the rear is if you are putting the gun
back into your holster for dry fire practice (because dry fire is done with an unloaded gun).

How To Clear a Revolver

Step 1: Work The Cylinder Latch To Open The Cylinder

Like the semiauto pistol, we are first going to remove the ammunition source from the gun. So
work the cylinder latch to swing the cylinder open. In this condition, even if all the cylinders
were full of ammo — with the cylinder open — the gun can’t fire.

Step 2: Empty the cylinder

Use the little lever to empty the cylinder or otherwise dump out all the ammo from the cylinder.
Simply turning it upside down should work with most revolvers.

Step 3: Check each individual chamber to be sure it’s empty

Now, the most important part. Visually and if necessary tactile confirm (with your finger) that
each individual cylinder is empty. This is necessary because just dumping out all the ammo
doesn’t always work.

Fun story: my first NRA instructor class — the instructor felt really bad because he accidentally
left one round in one cylinder of a revolver that he thought he had unloaded. Luckily, he
followed the next step so it wasn’t a problem.

Step 4: Leave The Cylinder Open

Again, with the cylinder open, do whatever you need to do. With the gun like this it can’t fire.
Therefore it’s safest if you’re doing any administrative handling of the gun to leave the cylinder
open.

21
Remember my first NRA instructor? This is what saved him. He left the revolver sitting there
with the cylinder open, and one of the other students noticed it had one cartridge still in one
cylinder. Who knows how he overlooked it but that’s why it’s important to follow all the steps.

Now You Know The TRUE Meaning Behind Firearms Safety Rule #1, Please Share This
With Everyone You Know

If you know anyone who has guns, is thinking about using guns, or needs this info, PLEASE
share this with them.

These are firearms rules we can all live by — even those of us that think we “know it all”.

In fact, most of the people who have negligent shootings — do so because of complacency
because they think they “know it all”.

Follow the firearms safety rules all the time.

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 Concealed Carry and the Law
There’s a lot of confusion about what a concealed carry permit gives the individual the right to
do.

This is a difficult question to answer, simply because the laws vary from state to state. All I can
do here is to provide some generalized answers, nothing more.

(Keep in mind I am not a lawyer, nor is this legal advice.)

Let me start with a few of the things that a concealed carry permit does NOT allow the individual
to do:

 A concealed carry permit doesn’t give anyone the right to kill.

 A concealed carry permit doesn’t give anyone the right to pull a gun out, just because
they are in an argument with another person.
 A concealed carry permit doesn’t allow anyone to carry a gun openly. In many states, the
gun or the outline of the gun is not allowed to show at all.
 A concealed carry permit doesn’t allow anyone to become a vigilante, except in the sense
of stopping a crime that is happening before them.
 A concealed carry permit doesn’t allow anyone to fire a gun in public, unless it is done in
self-defense.

So, if a concealed carry permit holder can’t do any of those things, what can a concealed carry
permit holder do?

That’s simple.

The only thing that a concealed carry permit does is allow the individual to carry a loaded
firearm concealed on their person. That’s it. They are still subject to the same laws that everyone
else is, especially in the sense of using their firearms.

With that in mind, it would almost seem that getting a concealed carry permit is unnecessary,
except for one little detail; in most states, it’s illegal to carry a loaded gun on your person, unless
you have that permit.

It is the only way that you can legally carry a gun in most states, for the purpose of defending
yourself.

Let’s Talk Self-Defense

Generally speaking, United States law allows the taking of life in self-defense.

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While the exact definition of self-defense can vary a bit from state to state, it generally means
that you have to do something to protect yourself from an imminent danger.

That’s the key phrase “imminent danger.” A man standing in front of you with a weapon, making
threatening movements or using threatening words, is generally considered to be an imminent
danger. If he turns away, he is no longer considered an imminent danger, even though everything
else remains the same.

The type of weapon that your attacker has in their hand doesn’t really affect things much, as it is
a generally agreed fact that if an attacker is within 21 feet of you, you can’t draw your gun before
they reach you. However, the tests which were done to determine that assume an aware defender.
If you are unaware and unprepared, they actually can be much farther away and still get to you
before you can draw your gun.

This whole thing of imminent danger can be a little tricky, especially in a fluid circumstance
where a criminal has entered your home or place of business. You are expected to determine for
yourself in a fraction of a second whether or not that person is an imminent danger. Part of that
process is whether you feel threatened by the person. However, everyone’s feelings are a bit
different; so, you might feel in danger and another person see it totally different.

On top of this, you have to add the social attitude in each state. Some states are much more gun
friendly than others are. That can affect how the police and courts define imminent danger and
whether or not they accept your evaluation that you were threatened by the individual.

You see, while you have the right to defend yourself, there is a catch. That is, the police and/or
courts have to agree with you afterwards that it was truly self-defense. So, if you shoot someone
who entered your home unlawfully the courts are going to have to agree with you that your
actions were necessary. In other words, they won’t be judging whether or not you killed the
person, but judging you on whether or not you made the right decision to kill them.

You have a split second to determine if they are a threat, but the police and courts can take as
long as they need to determine whether you were justified in your actions or not. That isn’t quite
fair, but it is the law.

The 4 Prerequisites To Deadly Force

The simplest way to legally explain the use of deadly force was, again, taught to me by Tom
Givens.

In order for you to draw your weapon and use deadly force and for it to be legally justified, every
single one of these requirements must be met:

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 1. Ability. The threat must have the means to cause you death or serious injury. In short,
the person must have the physical ability to do this--and usually--have a weapon that can
cause you harm and be within range of that weapon.

2. Intent. The threat must clearly show that he intends to cause you death or serious
bodily injury. This intent can be verbally stated (threat), or implied through physical
actions (pointing a gun at you).

3. Imminent Danger. You must reasonably believe, in the current circumstances that
your life is in serious danger.

4. Preclusion. Under the circumstances, you must have no acceptable alternatives to

using deadly force to save your life.

Obviously, all these 4 prerequisites need to be met, and that's extremely critical.

For example, a toddler may be pointing a gun at you. Perhaps because he found the loaded gun
laying around. But he probably does not have the ability, nor the intent to harm you, and while
you might be in immediate danger if he accidentally pulls the trigger, you have MANY
acceptable alternatives to using deadly force to save your life (preclusion) because you, as an
adult, can easily overpower the small child, remove the gun from his hand, and save both your
lives.

Another example ...

If you are a 70yr old grandmother who was physically stopped by 3 fit, young, aggressive
teenage males--possibly gang members--in the grocery store parking lot late at night and they
grab your arm and make it known verbally that they will cause you bodily harm if you don't hand
over your purse. You are in imminent danger because three young, strong teenage males could
easily overpower and beat you to death, they have the ability to do it as we've just shown,
they've verbally and physically indicated they intend to do you harm (intent) and you have no
acceptable alternatives to save your life other than using deadly force (preclusion) because
you've tried verbally reasoning with them, and you can't outrun three, fit, teenage males, etc.

One important factor that I need to mention here is that your right to shoot, which came from
them being an imminent danger, only exists as long as they are an imminent danger. Once they
stop being an imminent danger, you no longer have a right to shoot.

So, what makes them no longer a danger? There are two common possibilities that you need to
be most aware of.

The first is that they turn away and flee. While they may still be a danger while fleeing,
especially if they still have a weapon, they are not an imminent danger. You need to watch them
as they flee, to make sure that they don't turn back; but you can't shoot at them.

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The second is if they fall and are no longer able to hurt you. Remember, your goal isn't
necessarily to kill them, but to stop them. Once they are stopped and are no longer an imminent
danger, you have to reason to shoot.

Any shooting is a matter to be investigated by the police. While there are some circumstances
where it is so obviously self-defense that they clear the shooter on the spot, not all circumstances
are that cut and dried. There are others where a full investigation needs to be completed, before
they can make present the information to the District Attorney’s office. Should the DA decide to
take the shooter to court, the individual wouldn’t be cleared of any charges until the court cleared
them.

So even in cases of self-defense, there is the risk of imprisonment.

Most states extend the right to defend yourself to include the right to defend you are responsible
for, but not your property. (This varies from state to state, so you need to check on what the
appropriate laws are in the state you live in.)

Simply put, do not "defend" your property.

You are NEVER justified in using deadly force to defend your property.

Technically, in certain states one could shoot a thief running from their home with a big-screen
TV in their hands, in order to protect their property.

But I have to ask, is that television worth more than the life of the criminal? Is it really worth
killing someone over?

Personally, I wouldn’t kill someone over personal property, and I don't think you should either.

If you don't want to risk going to jail or killing someone for the wrong reason, then never defend
property.

You are only, ever, justified in using deadly force to defend your life or the life of someone you
love. Period.

Whatever they take, the insurance can pay for. A life is worth more than any possession that I
have. On the other hand, I would definitely stand my ground and protect my home from being
taken from me.

This idea of defending your home from attackers is called the “Castle Doctrine” and goes all the
way back to the Old Testament. It basically says that you don’t have to retreat from your home,
but can make a stand to protect it. While some more liberal states are trying to do away with this
provision of the law, it still stands in most states.

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Your Responsibility While Defending Yourself

Drawing a gun to defend yourself is not something to be taken lightly. Every time you pull a gun
out, there is a potential for death. While your intent is to make it dangerous to your assailant,
there is also an inherent risk to everyone around.

Let’s face it, I don’t care how well trained you are, if you ever have to draw a gun to use it, you
will be nervous. That’s a fact that we all must accept. Adrenalin will start flowing in your system
so that you’re ready to fight or flee. Between the nervousness and the adrenalin, your shooting
will be drastically downgraded. You might shoot like Davy Crocket with an attitude most of the
time, but in that moment, you probably won’t do anywhere near as well.

Even trained police officers and soldiers miss under those sorts of circumstances. Why would
you and I think that we could do better? I know of a recent case where a police officer fired 49
rounds at a criminal who was fighting him. Of those 49 shots, only 15 hit the drug addict. The
rest went into the background.

What would happen in such a case if there were innocent bystanders in the background, behind
the criminal? Chances are that one or more of those stray rounds would hit the innocents,
wounding or even killing them. If that were you shooting, instead of the police officer, you
would be responsible for shooting or possibly killing innocent civilians.

Self-defense doesn’t extend to innocents. When you are defending yourself from attack, you are
only defending yourself from attack from your assailant. While there’s a pretty good chance that
you can get out of any charges for killing someone who wants to kill you, there’s pretty much no
chance of getting out of any charges for accidentally killing an innocent who happened to be in
your line of fire. You have a responsibility to protect those innocents and not cause them any
harm.

Keep in mind that there might also be innocents who are part of your background. While you
would not be responsible for your attacker hitting them, if they are family members, the price in
emotional turmoil might be even greater. Your awareness of the situation has to include
everyone who is within a close enough range that they could be at risk when the lead starts
flying.

With that in mind, the type of rounds you load your gun with are important as well. Most people
say to use hollow point “self-defense” rounds. These provide the most damage to your attacker
for the gun you are using and they tend to not over penetrate (we'll talk ammo later). If you have
a smaller caliber pistol, this could be the equalizer you need to win the battle.

Warning Shots and Other Nonsense ...

Most states consider warning shots illegal. There’s actually a very good reason for that; that is,
warning shots are dangerous. If you shoot a round up into the sky, the laws of physics say that it

27
has to come down to earth somewhere. It might be a half-mile or mile away, but it’s going to
come back down to earth. When it does, it could end up hitting someone, wounding or even
killing them.

Likewise, a warning shot fired into the ground is dangerous as well. Warning shots fired into the
ground can easily hit a rock and ricochet, hitting an innocent bystander. That’s a risk that you
can’t afford to take. Therefore, state laws generally make the concept of firing warning shots
illegal.

So NEVER fire a warning shot.

Also never shoot at a suspect running away from you ...

Don't shoot to "wound" ...

And don't fire at someone in a moving vehicle, or shoot from a moving vehicle yourself.

The Bottom Line on "Use of Deadly Force"

The easiest, most simple way to explain use-of-force is again, something I picked up from Tom
Givens (emphasis mine) ...

"There is nothing subtle about someone trying to kill you. If

your life is really in immediate danger, it will be obvious to
you and to everyone else. If you have any doubts, don't shoot!"

Restrictions on Carrying

Most states have some restrictions on where you are allowed to carry your handgun, even if you
have a concealed carry permit.

By and large, these restrictions have been created by politicians to keep guns out of places where
they are considered overly dangerous. For example, most people agree that guns and alcohol
don’t mix; so many states disallow concealed carry in bars and night clubs. This is done as a
precaution to reduce access to guns when one has had a few too many to drink.

This isn't always true, for example, my home state of Virginia allows you to carry in bars
concealed, but you can't drink alcohol if you're concealed carrying. Strangely enough, if you
were open carrying there in the bar (not concealed) you can drink. And if you're a police officer
you can get drunk and carry your gun. Laws are weird.

Likewise, there are federal laws which restrict the carry of handguns in certain places. Since
federal law supersedes state and local laws in most cases, we are constrained to obey these laws,
even if our state doesn’t agree with it. However, individual state sovereignty might allow states

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to pass laws that would negate those federal laws (this would probably have to go to the Supreme
Court for determination).

In a few cases, municipal laws place further restrictions on where handguns may be carried. This
is a rare occurrence, but you should be aware of its possibility. If your city has any such
restrictions, you’ll need to be aware of it for your own protection.

Some of the common places where laws ban carrying of firearms include:

 Schools (this is federal law)

 Anyplace where school activities are held
 Post offices (this is also federal law)
 Bars (as defined by 51% or more of their income coming from the sale of alcohol). Check
your state laws.
 Polling places
 Courtrooms and buildings containing courtrooms
 Government buildings
 Government meetings (such as city council meetings)
 Sports arenas
 Gambling places
 Theatres
 Hospitals

This list is by no means complete, it merely serves to provide a sample of the types of places
where one can expect to find these types of exemptions.

Before carrying a firearm in any state, whether your home state or one you are visiting, it is a
good idea to check what the current laws are in regards to any places where carrying is limited.

Another thing to check is where the limitation stops. A recent bill passed through congress
allows concealed carry of firearms on post office property, just not in the building itself. This
change was pushed through because of the unfairness towards carriers in not being able to even
park their cars in the parking lot if they had a gun inside. Likewise, you are (usually) allowed to
have a gun in your car on a school campus, even though you can’t carry it into the school with
you.

You can find information about these limitations online at: www.usacarry.com or
www.nraila.org. While there are other sites that provide this information, these two have a
reputation for being the most up-to-date and accurate.

As many others have pointed out, mass shootings are most likely to happen in these “gun free
zones” and other places where those of us who legally carry are not allowed to carry our guns.

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Imagine that ... criminals not obeying laws?

It's perfectly logical ...

Those who commit those heinous crimes are looking for the most possible impact, with the least
possible risk. While most end up taking their own lives as well, they don’t want to do so until
they have stacked up a good body count.

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 Getting Your Concealed Carry Permit
In recent years, liberal politicians, aided by the liberal press have been working hard to outlaw
guns and our rights to have them.

Nevertheless, other than in a few very liberal states, the attitude towards gun ownership has
become more and more positive at a state and local level. More Americans own guns today than
any time in our history and those that own guns often own several.

This shift in attitudes towards guns has affected the ability of the average citizen to get a
concealed carry permit as well. Twenty years ago, you had to have a pretty good reason in order
to convince authorities that you needed to carry a handgun concealed on your person. Few
people had permits, simply because most states only issued them when the individual could
prove that they had sufficient good reason to need to go armed. This essentially limited
concealed carry to business owners who made large bank deposits after dark.

At this point in time all 50 states have some type of "right to carry" law on the books!

More recently, the vast majority of states have shifted from a “may issue” stance (more like
“probably won’t issue) to a “shall issue” stance. This means that unless the officials in the state
have a valid reason to deny the individual a concealed carry permit, they will do so. A valid
reason to deny would have to be something along the lines of proven mental instability, a history
of criminal activity or a legitimate reason to suspect that the individual will engage in criminal
activity.

And some have taken the correct step and gone all the way to what's known as "Constitutional
Carry" -- that is NO permit is needed to conceal carry! As of this writing there are 11 states
considered constitutional carry.

As of this writing, 41 of the states (and one territory--Guam) are shall issue states. Of the
remaining 9, they are “may issue” states, where the individual must demonstrate need.

Typically, in actual practice, this is used by the governments in those states to repress the rights
of the people by not issuing them a concealed carry permit. So in actual practice, it's so hard to
get a permit in those states they're almost "no issue" (but they can't legally do that because it's
been proven, on constitutional grounds, that people have the right to carry).

There are also many interstate treaties which allow those who have a license in one state to carry
concealed in another. A few states, such as Virginia, have taken advantage of this and offer out
of state concealed carry permits to those who fulfill their requirements. This allows people who
live in more restrictive states, but whose state accepts a Virginia concealed carry permit, a means
of carrying concealed legally in their home state.

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Since concealed carry permits are regulated by state law, requirements for getting a concealed
carry permit will vary from state to state, although there are many requirements that are common
between states. The same websites mentioned in the last chapter can provide you with accurate
information about what the requirements are in your state. Here are the most common:

 Training – Many states require that the individual complete either a firearms safety
training program or a specific concealed carry training program. These programs are not
programs in which you learn to shoot, but rather programs that concentrate on the
legalities of concealed carry and the requirements for firearm safety. In those states that
do require training, a certificate that proves you have received the training will be
required with your application.

 Age – Most states have a minimum age of either 18 or 21 for receiving your concealed
carry permit. A few have a maximum age as well, based upon the assumption that older
people’s health can create problems with shooting accurately and safely.

 Fingerprinting – Some states require that the individual be fingerprinted in conjunction

with their application. In most cases, this fingerprint is merely fed into the state and
federal database, without any searches done based upon the fingerprint.

 Background check – Most states require some form of background check to verify that
the applicant doesn’t have a criminal background. This is most commonly accomplished
through the NICS (National Instant Criminal Check System), run by the FBI. This system
compares names, social security numbers and other personal data to the FBI’s vast
criminal database, providing instant computerized background checks for those who are
applying for a concealed carry permit.

 Proficiency testing – It is not common, but some states require that the applicant pass a
basic firearm proficiency test as part of their training. This consists of shooting a pre-
determined course of fire, usually shooting a few rounds of slow fire and a few of rapid
fire at several different distances. The shooter must complete with a minimum score to be
eligible for their permit.

 Photographs – Individual photographs are usually required with the application, in order
to make the permit itself. Some states have their databases linked, allowing applicants to
use their driver’s license photo.

It is important to note that the training which is required for applying for a concealed carry
permit isn’t proficiency training or training in the shoot/no shoot decision process, but is focused
on safety and law. It is assumed that anyone who is applying for a concealed carry permit is
already a proficient shooter.

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Unfortunately, this is a false presumption, as many people start the process to apply for their
concealed carry permit, without ever having fired a gun. They show up at the training with the
expectation that they will be taught everything that they need to know.

We will talk more about training later, but allow me to say that this is a foolish move.

As I’ve already stated, you are responsible for every bullet that comes out of your gun. If you are
going to carry concealed, you really need to have the necessary proficiency to ensure that you are
going to hit what you are shooting at.

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 After the Shootout
One would think that once the shots have been fired and the bad guy is on the ground
(hopefully), one could catch their breath and relax.

Sadly, it isn’t that simple.

There are several possible outcomes to any shootout, including people being dead or injured.

While one would hope that things work out in such a way that the bad guys are the dead or
injured ones and the good guys come out unscathed, it doesn’t always work out that way.

The police are charged with investigating any discharge of a firearm, except those done in
designated shooting places. So, if you have had to pull your gun and fire it, you can expect to be
talking to the police.

Once you’ve secured the area and made sure that there are no additional hostiles, your next
action should be to call the police, even if you know that others are doing so.

One of the reasons that you want to call the police yourself is to inform them that a concealed
handgun permit holder is on the scene. When police enter a hostile environment, they have to
assume that everyone there is a hostile, especially everyone who is there with a weapon in their
hand. That includes the good guys, because until the police investigate, they don’t know who the
good guys are.

If you are holding a criminal at gunpoint, make sure that you inform the police that you are doing
so over the phone. Otherwise, what the arriving officers will see is an individual holding a gun
on someone else. You can be sure that the bad guy will tell the police that you were trying to rob
them.

It would be better to have someone else bind the bad guy, while you are holding them at
gunpoint. Be sure to instruct them to not cross between you and the bad guy in the process, as
criminals see this as an opportunity to make a break for it. Once the criminal is bound, you no
longer need to hold them at gunpoint.

It would also be a good idea to eliminate the appearance of being aggressive by not having your
gun pointed at anyone when the police arrive. The easiest way to do this is to holster it. Then you
are going to keep your hands WAY away from that holstered gun for your entire interaction with
the police. Even though your adrenaline is going to be pumping and your hands and movements
are going to be "twitchy" because you're so hyped up--you're going to remember to NEVER
make a quick movement towards your holstered weapon when talking to police. Got it?

Unless the police declare that it was a righteous shooing at the scene, they will need to take your
gun from you for the purpose of the investigation. Once the investigation is over, you should

34
receive your gun back, although there might be some red tape involved in getting it returned to
you.

Just to make this abundantly clear ...

When you're telling the officer that the gun is in your holster, you are NOT going to reach for it.
You are going to keep your hands up, around shoulder level as you explain verbally where the
gun is and SLOWLY point to it if necessary. Then let the police officer tell you what to do with
your hands and whether he wants you to touch the gun.

The one and only time I've been in this situation (not a post-shooting incident, but interacting
with police while carrying concealed), I kept my hands up, stayed calm and informed the officer
where my gun was on my hip. He lifted my concealment garment and took the gun away while
my hands were still in the air. I also informed him of the spare magazine on the other side of my
body and he took that too. Then he removed the holsters after.

Do not make sudden jerky movements -- EVER -- when talking to police. That's an easy way to
get shot by the good guys.

Criminal Charges

While the law states that all are innocent until proven guilty, the reality of conducting an
investigation is that everyone is a suspect, until proven innocent. In the case of a shooting in self-
defense, being proven innocent means that either the police, the district attorney or the courts
determine that your actions were clearly in self-defense.

This means that you will be facing criminal charges for your actions. Basically, from the moment
you pull that trigger, you are facing those charges, although they might take a little while to
become formalized and catch up with you. Nevertheless, those criminal charges are quite real.

While the law allows you to take life in self-defense, there is a caveat. The law or those that
represent the law have to agree that your actions were necessary after the fact. In other words,
they will analyze the decisions that you are forced to make in a split second, from the safety and
greater visibility of hindsight. If your actions don’t pass muster, more serious actions can follow.

It is not uncommon for those who use a gun in self-defense to be arrested when the police arrive
at the scene of the battle. Remember, the police don’t know what happened, so they have no way
of knowing whether you are a good guy or a bad guy. If you are holding a gun when they arrive,
they have to assume that you are a bad guy until they find out otherwise.

How far your criminal case goes depends upon how clear it is that you acted in self-defense. The
more clear that is, the faster you will be acquitted. Don’t try to convince the police of your
innocence yourself, let them figure that out by speaking with other witnesses. While “everything
you say can and will be used against you in a court of law” as the famous phrase from the

35
Miranda rights reads, there is nothing that you can say which will acquit you or that will accrue
to your benefit.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution gives you the right to remain quiet and not answer
police questions. This does not make you look suspicious, like many people think. It merely
means that you are not speaking. In the confusion following a shooting you are better off getting
your emotions under control and making sure that you have clear in your mind what happened,
before talking to anyone.

As long as you were justified for shooting in self-defense, there’s really nothing to worry about.
Eventually the police or court system will prove that your actions were justified and you will be
acquitted of any crime. However, you will need to be patient as the legal process runs its course.

The less you say on the scene the better. Saying something as simple as "This guy tried to kill me
and I need to talk to my attorney" is enough.

Or "this guy tried to kill me and I was forced to shoot him, I had no other choice." is a little more
than needs to be said really, but is mostly harmless ...

And may be all that needs to be said if it looks cut and dry.

If you are questioned more, you can simply say "Officer, I am going to cooperate fully and
answer all your questions, but I really need to talk to my attorney first".

Simple.

Again, this is not implying you are guilty. From what I've heard, many times police officers even
tell their own officers to take a day or two away before making their sworn statements as to what
happened.

Civil Charges

You may not only be subject to criminal charges for shooting someone, but open to civil charges
as well. These aren’t brought about by the courts or law enforcement, but rather by the bad guy
you shot or his family. They can claim that you shot unfairly, used undue force, took the
individual’s civil rights away and a whole slew of other illogical arguments. The whole idea
behind this is for the “poor unfortunate” you’ve shot to get something from you.

This becomes even worse in cases where they can pull on the jury’s heart strings; such as if you
wound the criminal in such a way as to cause them a long-term or permanent problem, such as a
limp. Actually, all they have to be able to do is credibly allege that you have caused that
potential, as there is no way of knowing for sure whether they’ll be walking with a limp for the
rest of their lives or not. The family of the criminal has the same emotional advantage if you

36
manage to kill the criminal and they can credibly allege that he was the soul support of his aging
mother.

I won’t say that it makes any sense, because it doesn’t. If they shoot you, you don’t get to sue
them. Even if you did, they probably wouldn’t have anything that you could get from them
anyway. By and large, criminals are poor. They are criminals because they are too lazy to earn a
living.

Depending upon the state you live in and the corporate attitude towards guns in that state, being
acquitted of any criminal charges may win the civil suit for you. Basically, the argument is that if
you’ve been acquitted of any criminal charges, you have done no wrong. Therefore, whatever
pain and suffering the criminal and their family have been through is the criminal’s fault, not
yours.

On the other hand, if you are not acquitted from the charges, there’s a very good chance that the
criminal or the criminal’s family could win the civil charges against you. In that case, the court
would force you to pay some financial settlement to the criminal or their family. It doesn’t matter
if you have the money or not, the court can force you to sell all your assets to pay.

I realize that this doesn’t seem fair at all, but there is some perverse justice in it. It is possible that
a person with a concealed carry permit might shoot prematurely; perhaps because of fear or
racial prejudice. In about 70 percent of the cases, drawing the gun is enough to get the criminal
to run. So, if you shoot anyway, even though the assailant had turned to flee, you would not be
justified in taking the other person’s life in self-defense. In that case, you would be guilty of
manslaughter. There would be good reason for losing both the criminal and civil cases.

Carrying a gun is a great responsibility and those of us who do can’t afford to lose our cool and
act out of fear or anger. Our actions must be properly considered in a cool and clear manner,
even though we usually only have a split second to make a decision. While waiting can endanger
our own lives, that doesn’t give us a license to kill.

Legal Insurance for Concealed Carry

Even if you win both the criminal and civil charges, you are still going to suffer loss. As you can
imagine, legal fees for handling both cases will end up being extremely expensive. That’s
enough to turn winning into losing for most people.

There is a way around the high costs of being forced to defend yourself, besides allowing the bad
guys to win. That is to buy legal insurance for concealed carry holders.

There are a couple of different companies which offer this specialized legal service. For a low
monthly or annual fee, their insurance covers all of the legal fees you incur in regards to being
forced to use your gun to defend yourself. That way, defending yourself doesn’t require that you
go broke.

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The other advantage to using one of these services is that the lawyers they have on staff or on
retainer are accustomed to dealing with self-defense cases. They are aware of the latest laws and
court decisions, as well as any studies and expert testimonies which will aid in your defense. So,
not only do you get the costs of your legal representation covered, but you get better
representation to boot.

Unlike other health insurance, if you never need this legal service, at least you know that you’ve
helped cover the costs of some “brother” or “sister” who has had to. Like all insurance, the way
they keep costs down is to spread them over a large group of people. As one of that group, your
premiums are helping ensure that others can exercise their 2nd Amendment rights, without the
risk of it causing them bankruptcy.

When you buy concealed carry insurance, you need to make a decision whether you are just
buying it for within the state that you live in or for nationwide coverage. This is extremely
important if you do much traveling. While your license will probably allow you to carry a gun in
other states, having to defend yourself legally in them could be even more expensive than in your
home state.

If you decide to purchase legal insurance for concealed carry, then you should avoid talking to
the police until your lawyer is present and you have an opportunity to talk with them. They have
the experience to help you through the questioning without making any serious blunders and
confessing to something without realizing it.

While the police aren’t necessarily against you, police investigators look for motive and then try
and prove blame. That can lead them to pressuring a suspect into saying things that make them
look responsible for the crime. Seemingly innocent statements about the number of guns you
own or how often you go to the shooting range can make it look like you are a homicidal maniac,
who has been looking for an opportunity to kill someone.

If they develop that sort of opinion about you, then you will most likely end up having to go to
court. The district attorney will take that police investigator’s opinion and push it for all it’s
worth. Even though you acted in self-defense, you could be made to look like you took
unnecessary action.

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 Selecting a Concealed Carry Gun
Selecting a gun to carry is a very personalized decision. You can find as many different opinions
about what you should carry as you can find shooters. Everyone will try and tell you to do things
their way.

Well, what I'm going to do is go through the criteria to consider and tell you the various pros and
cons. That way, you can make an informed decision for yourself.

... Then, I'm going to make it easy for you by simply telling you what to get.

Gun Type or Style

There are three basic types of pistols you can buy for concealed carry. They are:

 Semi-automatic
 Revolver
 Derringer

Derringers are the smallest of the three, making them the most concealable. However, they only
provide you with two shots before needing reloading. They're really designed to be a belly gun,
something you use when you're belly to belly with your adversary. They aren't aimed so much as
shot instinctively. I cannot in good conscience recommend you carry a derringer.

For most people, the decision is between revolvers and semi-automatic pistols.

Revolvers are much simpler to operate. You just pull the trigger of a modern double-action
revolver (you don't have to cock the hammer like a Western movie).

However, revolvers only carry a maximum of six rounds and some revolvers that are designed
for concealed carry are designed for even less. Since reloading a revolver takes longer than
reloading a semi-automatic pistol, even with a speed loader, you pretty much need to count on

39
getting them with the rounds in the gun. Considering that most shootings involving concealed
carry permit holders are over in three shots, that's not usually a problem.

And while many people are under the impression that revolvers malfunction less than semi-autos
... that's not exactly true.

Semi-automatic pistols are flatter than revolvers, which can make them more concealable in
some carry positions. They also have larger magazines, allowing you more shots before
reloading. When you have to reload, it is extremely quick and easy, taking only a couple of
seconds. Semi-automatic pistols also are more customizable, allowing you to add accessories and
change out some parts.

Of the three styles, semi-automatic are the most popular, with the most models offered. Today,
most all police departments I know of have switch over from revolvers to semi-automatics, in
order to offer their officers more firepower. A police officer carrying a .38 special revolver is
outgunned by most criminals.

To, again, quote Tom Givens, "In police work, that is what we would call a 'clue'"

Caliber

There are a lot of opinions on favorite calibers. Generally speaking, you're better off shooting the
largest caliber round that you can shoot comfortably. A larger bullet will create a larger wound,
increasing the possibility of stopping or knocking down an attacker.

When it comes to concealed carry the choices are roughly the so-called "service calibers":

 9mm
 .45 ACP
 .40 S&W

And then there are the "pocket gun" or "backup" gun calibers, primarily:

 .380 ACP
 .38 Special

The .45 ACP round which was used for almost a century as the standard sidearm round by our
military forces has for a long time been considered one of the finest rounds every developed.

However, having said that, modern bullet technology--specifically modern hollow point
technology--has leveled the playing field in the caliber debate.

The 9mm is a popular mid-sized caliber. Originally introduced to the United States as a NATO
round, it became the round that replaced the .45 for military sidearms. It has the dual advantages

40
of being an easy-to-acquire round and being much easier to shoot than the larger .45 caliber. And
a 9mm handgun will typically hold more bullets than a similar size .45 handgun.

The .40 S&W is the "in between" round that's supposed to have more of the power of the .45 but
with the extra capacity of the 9mm.

For many elderly and women, the .380 caliber round is an excellent choice. Slightly smaller than
the 9mm, it uses a lower powder charge, reducing recoil. This means that the recoil spring on a
semi-automatic pistol is lighter, making it easier to rack the slide on these guns. This is a real
advantage for those who don't have strong hands and arms.

Nobody takes the smallest common caliber, the .22 to be a serious self-defense round. While it is
clearly possible to kill someone with a .22, the round has such a low velocity that it is more
likely to ricochet off of bones, rather than break them. At times, this can create some very nasty
wounds, but that's not something you can count on.

There are many other calibers of pistol rounds available on the market, not just those mentioned
here. I have only mentioned these as they are the most popular.

Gun Size

The overall physical size of the gun affects its ease of use. Generally speaking, the larger and
heavier the gun, the easier it is to control.

Compact guns, like those that are intended to be carried in a pocket, are much harder to control,
have much more recoil and will feel like they are trying to jump out of your hand. This is even
true in cases where you compare the same caliber gun, from the same manufacturer, in different
sizes.

Barrel length affects accuracy. The longer the barrel, the more accurate the gun is, especially at
longer ranges. Even so, 70% of self-defense shooting is done at a range of 7 yards (21 feet) or
less. At that range, the length of the barrel really isn't going to make much of a difference.

Another advantage that larger guns have, at least larger semi-automatic pistols have, is that the
larger guns hold a longer magazine, which will hold more rounds. A firearm manufacturer may
sell a full-size, compact and sub-compact version of the same basic pistol model. The only real
difference between these versions will be the length of the barrel and the size of the magazine.
The trigger mechanism and frame will be virtually identical.

Even with all these advantages for larger pistols, many people end up selecting a smaller one for
their everyday carry pistol. The main criteria in many cases isn't the ease of use, but rather the
ease of concealing the pistol. If you live in a hot climate, where wearing a suit everyday would
be suspicious, then you will end up having a harder time concealing your gun. Before settling on

41
a gun for your everyday carry gun, consider how you will end up carrying it. Perhaps the gun
that you've always wanted may not be a practical one for you to carry all the time.

Sights

One of the most important parts of any gun, from an accuracy point of view, is the sights.
Therefore, you want to make sure that whatever gun you buy has well defined front and rear
sights. Some smaller pistols have a slight depression in the top of the gun, which you are
supposed to use as a sight. I've had a gun like that, and it's not very effective. If it hadn't been for
the laser sight I had installed on that gun, I probably would never have been able to shoot it
accurately.

One important accessory you might want to consider is to change out the original sights for
tritium night sights. Tritium sights glow in the dark, allowing you to see the sights effectively in
low light situations. Considering the high number of criminal attacks that happen in the evening,
these sights are well worth the added expense. If you are even considering putting on tritium
sights, make sure that you buy a gun which will accept replacement sights.

Comfort

Everybody's hands are different. Since guns don't adapt to fit your hand, you need to find one
that will fit your hand comfortably. The ability to grip the gun properly is one of the important
basics of shooting.

People with smaller hands (like myself) sometimes have problems with double stack magazines.
This can be overcome by adjusting your grip.

Some guns have replaceable grips. This allows you to change the size of the gun's handle
slightly, as well as choosing a material that if comfortable to your hands. Rubberized grips, for
example, are more comfortable for many people, than hard grips. Not only that, but they increase
the friction between the gun and your hand, making it much less likely that you'll will lose your
grip on the gun.

Brand

There are a wide number of excellent pistol brands available. I will only say this; make sure that
you buy a quality firearm. You are entrusting your life to that gun, so you want to make sure that
you have one that is worthy of that trust. Paying a couple of hundred more for a gun that you can
depend on is money well spent.

Accessorizing Your Gun

Most people keep and use their guns just as they come out of the factory. The exception to this is
competitive shooters. These shooters will spend as much or more on customizing their gun, as

42
they do on the gun itself. That's a considerable amount of money, considering that competition
guns are much more expensive.

There's a reason why competitive shooters spend all that money accessorizing their guns; that is,
they make it easier for them to shoot their guns quickly and accurately, as well as being able to
do necessary secondary activities, like magazine changes much more quickly. If you think about
it, that makes sense; not just for the competitive shooter, but for those of us who carry concealed
as well.

Not all accessories are useful and not all of them are useful for all shooters. You will have to
experiment and determine what is best for you and your shooting style. There are a lot of
shooters out there with a collection of holsters, sights and gun parts that they've changed on their
guns, in order to try them out.

Triggers

Since trigger control is one of the two most important fundamentals for accurate shooting, it is
important to have a trigger that pulls smoothly, breaks cleanly and requires the minimum amount
of travel and weight to fire. Working over the trigger or changing it out to have one that will pull
easier, requiring less force is one of the most important modifications you can make to a gun.

One precaution here; some guns use a long trigger pull or high amount of trigger pressure as a
form of safety. If you change these, you are affecting the safety features of the gun. Be aware of
this and always make sure that you don't do anything that would make it easy for your gun to go
off accidentally.

Sights

A proper sight picture stands side-by-side with trigger control, making the two most important
fundamentals for shooting. With that in mind, many shooters change out their gun's sights,
looking for something that will work better for their needs.

I've already mentioned tritium night sights, which I highly recommend for a self-defense gun.
Some people also like to install adjustable sights; especially those who have trouble getting a
good sight picture with normal sights. Of the two, night sights are much more important than
adjustable sights.

There are a few companies who have come out with red dot sights that are designed for
mounting on a pistol, rather than on a rifle. This allows for single point aiming, where you only
have to align the dot with the target, rather than two-point aiming, where you have to align the
front and rear sights with each other and then superimpose them over the target. The big
advantage in this is that it is much faster to aim the gun. However, you need to turn the sight on,
before using it. If the battery goes dead, you have no sights. These two reasons make it difficult
for me to say that a red dot sight is a good idea for concealed carry.

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Laser Sights

Although sights, I'm dealing with laser sights as a separate category because you can have
regular sights (or tritium sights) and laser sights as well. Laser sights have the same advantage as
red dot, that of single-point aiming. They also have the same drawbacks as red dot sights do, as
well. However, the sights made by Crimson Trace and Viridium turn on automatically when you
draw the gun, eliminating that drawback.

Many firearm instructors are against laser sights because they don't want you to become
dependent upon them. They have a good point, as if you are dependent upon a piece of
equipment and it doesn't work, you're in trouble. On the other hand, if you have vision problems,
laser sights can help make up for it.

I have a friend who has worn glasses all my life. As he has aged, his eyes have become gradually
worse. He's now at the point where bifocals aren't enough. He also needs computer glasses so he
can see the computer screen clearly. Since the computer screen is roughly the same distance from
my eyes as the front sight of his pistol is, he uses his computer glasses as shooting glasses as
well. There's just one problem with that; what do if he doesn't have his computer glasses with
him and needs to use his gun?

Because of his vision problems, he has laser sights mounted on all his guns. That way, if he gets
into a shooting situation, he can aim accurately, even without the right glasses. However, he
trains with the tritium night sights on his gun, so he's not totally dependent upon the laser sights.
And he can still shoot without them, as long as he has the right glasses on.

I say all this to say that while laser sights may not be the best answer for most people, I
personally believe that they are an excellent addition for people with vision problems. They can
act as an equalizer for those people, giving them the ability to shoot accurately.

Slide Lock and Magazine Lock Extensions

Some brands of guns have easily replaceable parts, such as slide and magazine lock levers. The
standard ones might be a bit small and hard to access when you are in a hurry. Changing them
out for longer ones, which make it easier for your thumb to find them and manipulate them
rapidly is well worth the expense. While these parts aren't necessarily cheap, shaving a half
second off your reload time is invaluable.

Magazine Well Extensions

Competitive shooters also mount flared magazine well extensions on their guns. The whole idea
behind this is to make magazine changes more rapidly. The flared extension acts as a funnel,
guiding the magazine into the well; shaving off precious tenths of a second.

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This is one of the few modifications I don't personally use, although I can definitely see their
value. I have sat for hours in front of a television, watching a movie and changing magazines.
This has made this action automatic, even without looking. I'm not too sure that I'd do it any
faster with an extension. I'm also not real comfortable with having the magazine deeper in the
gun handle due to the extension, as I had a pistol which was like this and I was having constant
problems with not seating my magazine fully.

However, there is no question that putting a magazine well extension on a semi-automatic pistol
will make magazine changes faster for some people.

Tactical Light

Some modern semi-automatic pistols come equipped with rails under the barrel for the mounting
of tactical lights or lasers. We've all seen police in movies searching a building with tactical
lights mounted on their pistols, so we know what that looks like. Having a tactical light mounted
to your pistol could help you find your adversary at night.

However, I must give you a huge warning here. Any light can allow the bad guy to see you long
before it allows you to see them. You have to realize that your tactical light is going to make a
great aiming point for anyone who wants to get you.

Some tactical instructors teach that the only way to use a tactical light is to flash it on
momentarily and then move quickly. The moment of light shows you what's in front of you and
the quick movement will hopefully keep you from getting killed. This doesn't lend itself well to
tactical lights that are mounted to the gun, as they are designed to be turned on and left on, not
used momentarily. That is unless you're using a pressure switch on them, which is basically what
you need to do if you use this setup.

A handheld light can give you many of the same advantages, and you need one anyways for
many situations where you might need a light--but you don't want to point your gun at anyone or
anything.

I'm not sold on a handgun mounted light ... and it could be argued most civilians don't even need
a handheld flashlight ... and for that reason I do not have a tactical light on my handgun.

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 The Top 3 Handguns For Self-Defense, Conceal
Carry, and Home Defense
I recently got a question through the blog:

“Could you name the top 3 hand guns you would recommend?”

And I thought I had already answered this clearly.

I guess not, so let me do it today.

The Top 3 Handguns I Recommend:

This is my answer to this (common) question.

In order of preference, from best to worst option …

#1: Glock 19

#2: M&P 9

#3: Everything Else …

Number 3, aka everything else, is a somewhat longer list, but it includes these choices:

1. Sig P320 9mm

2. HK VP9

3. Springfield XD-9

4. Walther PPQ 9mm

5. Beretta PX4 compact 9mm

And that’s about it …

The Best Handgun For Self-Defense

The point is that there is a CLEAR trend in the modern combat pistol choices of today’s experts.

The short and long of it is that you can’t go wrong with a 9mm Glock or 9mm Smith and Wesson
M&P.

If you want a full-size “service pistol” then choose the Glock 17 9mm or the Smith & Wesson
M&P 9.

46
If you want a slightly smaller, usually easier to conceal option, then go with a “compact” model
of one of the above. The Glock 19 or the M&P Compact 9mm (For the record, I carry the Glock
19 Gen 4).

The reason I recommend the Glock 19 over the Glock 17 is simply because the 19 is the slightly
smaller version that can do most all the larger model 17 can — but it is easier to conceal. That
means you can use it for conceal carry, home defense, direct action raids, duty use, etc.

It’s the “do all” gun.

To quote weaponsman.com …

“It’s Over. Glock Won.”

Weaponsman.com is a blog about (you guessed it) weapons. The owner is a former Special
Forces weapons man (MOS 18B, before the 18 series, 11B with Skill Qualification Indicator of
S), and you can expect any guest columnists to be similarly qualified.

They wrote a short article the other day that further explains the reasoning behind choosing the
Glock 19 (emphasis mine).
“… We’re talking about the pistol of choice in American special
operations, where SOF has, to some extent, their own procurement
money (Major Force Program 11 budgetary funds) and channels. And
pretty much everybody’s running a Glock now.

They’re still maintaining their old service pistols, but they’re

carrying Glocks, and specifically, Glock 19s like the gun in the
file photo here. While older Glocks are on hand, now the
military’s buying G4s, and sometimes uses the ability to convert
the mag release for a left-handed shooter, which requires G4 gun
and G4 mags.

This has been in the news lately because the Marine Raiders
(MARSOC) have publicly announced ditching their unique M45 .45
ACP pistols for bog-standard Glock 19s in 9mm.

But the Marines were not just the last guys to cling to their
treasured 1911 platform, they were the last to pick up the Glock.
Army SF has been using Glocks for a while — sure, they still have
M9s, but the go-to-war gun is the G19. The SEALs, who stuck to
their SIG 226 for quite some time, and still have them in their
arms lockers, are running Glock — namely, the G19.

We don’t know if Tier One units are still running .40s, and we
are not 100% certain the Rangers are on the Glock bandwagon, but
if they are, it’s over, because that’s where the top leaders of

47
 the Army come from these days. SF is on its way back to being a
backwater of somewhat irregular irregular-war enthusiasts (thank
a merciful God), and the lamprey-lipped careerists are all trying
to get their tickets punched with the Ragnars and/or They Who
Shall Not Be Named. (Careerists should be careful what they ask
for. These assignments can make careers, but they can also break
them beyond repair).

Why the Glock 19? This is strictly our own opinion, but there are
a number of reasons that make it attractive.

1. It’s a very good size for both uniformed and undercover work.
Not too small to shoot well, not so big as to be hard for
average-build guys to conceal. (Some of your Belgian horse SEALs
could conceal a Barrett, but that’s another story).

2. It’s as reliable as a hammer. Like any gun, Joe can (and does)
break it, but the breaks and stoppages are fewer and further
between. It’s more reliable than its in-service competitors, the
1911 (M45), M9, and P226 (and the P228/M11 used in some
undercover roles).

3. It’s durable and tolerant of abuse, neglect, and environmental

stress throughout the SOF operating environment, from 0º to 90º
N/S and sea level to Himalayan terrain. It might get fugly but it
won’t lock up.

4. It’s easy to learn. Makes a difference when you need to be

able to shoot it, but are in a job where shooting pistol is only
one of hundreds of tasks you have to master.

5. It’s easy to shoot well. Most shooters do better on a Glock

than on a DA/SA pistol.

6. It’s cheap. Sure, Uncle doesn’t pay what you do for a Beretta
or a SIG, but Uncle doesn’t pay what you do for a Glock, either.

Some of the other Glock-offs, like the Smith & Wesson M&P, can
match some or all of these Glock advantages, but it’s hard to
beat the whole package, as the dismissal of S&W from the Modular
Handgun competition suggests.”

As a point of fact, after they wrote that article, it was confirmed the Rangers have also adopted
the Glock 19.

That Means Almost All Special Operations Now Use The Glock 19 …

The FBI, in 2016, chose the Glock 9mm as their new handgun ...

48
It's also a proven fact that over 60% of Law Enforcement use Glock handguns.

Big ARMY is the in the middle of their “Modular Handgun System” procurement program as of
2016 (where they’re supposed to be “finding” the best new handgun)… but the Army Chief of
Staff Mark Milley basically just wants to buy a bunch of Glock 19’s and call it a day.

Lastly, if you still think 9mm is not a good enough self-protection round, then you’re wrong. In
the appendix of this manual I discuss thoroughly why 9mm is a great choice for self-defense.

The Other Top 2 Choices …

The other top 2 choices are really just “stand ins” for if you can’t … or won’t … get a Glock 19
for some reason.

(The fact is, for whatever reason, some people just hate Glocks and won’t get one. This ranges
from just hate for the platform to thinking they’re a “special snowflake”. I get it, I used to hate
Glocks. That was until I tried the new 4th generation of the Glock 19. I’ve switched and never
looked back. No they’re not “perfection” but they’re good enough.)

Notice the M&P is very similar to the Glock 19. It’s the other really popular handgun used by
law enforcement.

Then there’s “everything else” and I listed some other handguns that were modeled after the
Glock but in some form or fashion are not as “good” as the Glock for most people.

So that’s my answer to "What gun should you buy?"

You could do a LOT worse than buying a Glock 19, getting really good and THEN deciding
what handgun you think is better.

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 Carry Positions
Hand-in-hand with deciding what type of gun you're going to carry, you need to decide how you
are going to carry it.

While the way you carry the gun will probably affect your choice of guns, don't let it totally
dictate your choice. Many people start out carrying their guns one way and then change to
carrying it another way later.

There are a few main criteria you should consider when making your decision on how to carry
your gun, they are:

 Concealment - If you are getting a concealed carry permit, then obviously you want to
be able to carry your gun in a way that conceals it. States differ on their legal definition
of this, with some saying that the gun and holster can't be visible no matter what, while
others allow printing of the gun's shape through your clothes and accidental visibility of
your gun when you move.

 Convenience - Statistics state that over 70% of self-defense shooting situations are three
rounds fired in three seconds or less. That means you will need to be able to get to your
gun quickly and get it into action. Some styles of concealment are extremely difficult to
draw a gun from.

 Comfort - If you are going to be carrying a gun on your body all the time, you want it to
be comfortable. If the gun digs into your ribs or back, you may find excuses to not carry
it. That negates everything you are doing.

Picking a place to carry your gun and the type of holster you are going to use ends up being a
series of compromises between those three criteria.

Concealment often requires that we give up convenience.

Trying to find a comfortable place to carry it might end up affecting convenience as well; or you
could give up comfort for convenience and have your gun easier at hand, but less comfortable to
wear.

Don’t be surprised if you try a number of different holsters and styles of carry, before settling on
what works the best for you.

For most people, it’s best to find one way to carry your gun and always carry it that way. That
doesn’t always work, as some types of clothing don’t allow you to conceal a gun. If you have to
carry in an alternate position, it could slow you down, making you have to look for your gun, as

50
opposed to drawing it instinctively. Consistency, while hard to maintain, is always the best
policy.

With that in mind, let’s look at the various means that pistols can be carried concealed on the
body. Not every method will work with every type of pistol, as some are larger than others. Not
every type of carry will work for every person, as the clothing you wear has to work well with
your means of carrying.

Waist Carry

The most common method of carrying a pistol is holstered on the belt or somewhere around the
belt. This provides about the best convenience, as the pistol is readily at hand, once some
clothing is moved out of the way to access it. That allows for a fairly quick draw, getting the gun
into play quickly. It is also somewhat accessible while seated, so the gun can remain in the
holster while driving, yet still remain accessible.

Even within the realm of belt carry, there are a lot of variations that you can go with.

The first decision to make is if you want to carry it inside or outside the belt. Inside the belt
(actually, inside the pants) offers better concealment but it might be a touch harder to draw the
gun. However, hiding a gun that is worn on the outside of the best pretty much requires that you
wear a jacket. If you live in a hot climate, that is more or less impossible.

The next question is where are you going to carry it on the belt?

Most people carry it on the hip, what is referred to as the three o’clock position (9 o’clock for
left-handed shooters). However, some people prefer carrying their gun behind their back in what
is known as the kidney position. This allows the gun to be totally concealed from the front,
without leaving a bulge at the hip. Any jacket will hang over the bun in the back, without
printing the shape of the gun, so the kidney carry actually provides for better concealment than
the hip carry.

One other consideration for either the hip or back carry is how high the holster rides on the belt.
This is very much a personal preference, based more on concealing the gun than anything else.
Some people’s figures hide the gun better if it rides high, while others hide it better when it is
low. Generally speaking, drawing the gun is about equal, although for people with limited
flexibility, a high carry can be more difficult to draw.

There is one other position to be considered that would be considered a waist position that is the
appendix position. Carrying a gun in the front, which is either known as belly position or
appendix position, has a lot of advantages but is not recommended for beginners.

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The Classic Shoulder Holster

This is the classic holster from TV cop shows.

In a word, don't.

Unless you make a living driving a car (taxi, truck driver, etc) there are very little advantages to
this position.

For one, just to draw the gun you have to break a firearms safety rule as you draw the muzzle of
the gun covers your armpit and upper arm -- and also any other people that are to the left and
right of you -- even if you are drawing to a threat that's right in front of you.

Bad idea.

Plus, it's actually somewhat hard to conceal unless you're wearing an over-garment like a jacket.
It looks cool, but leave it for the TV shows ...

Carrying a “Pocket Pistol”

There is a category of pistols which have been designed specifically for concealed carry users
which are known as “pocket pistols.” Depending upon the manufacturer, these are known as
subcompact pistols, although they are smaller than many subcompact ones. As the name clearly
states, they are designed so that they can fit in the front pocket of a man’s trousers.

The pocket pistol provides the ultimate in concealment, while retaining much of other semi-
automatic pistols’ power. Unlike derringers, these pistols are designed with removable
magazines, so you get more shots in. Typically, the magazines hold five or six rounds each.

The obvious place to carry a pocket pistol is in the front pocket of your trousers. There are
holsters which are designed for this, which act as a pocket insert to hold the pistol upright for
drawing. However, even with the holster, the pistol can be a little difficult to get out of some
pants pockets. If you happen to be seated, it is almost impossible to draw the pistol, without
moving considerably.

One way of eliminating the problems of carrying a pocket pistol in the front pants pocket is to
carry it in the cargo pocket of cargo pants. While these aren’t as formal, in casual situations they
are about as well accepted as blue jeans. Since few people wear them for the purpose of carrying
a pistol in the cargo pocket, no suspicion is raised by wearing cargo pants.

Another common place for carrying a pocket pistol is in an ankle holster. The ankle holster is an
elastic band, with a built-in holster. The pistol is worn to the inside of the support side leg. Some
higher quality ankle holsters have a leather holster attached to the elastic band, while others are
totally elastic.

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Ankle holsters can be used for slightly larger pistols as well, including snub-nosed revolvers.
Few people bother to check a person’s ankles when they meet, so even if the gun creates a bit of
a bulge, it probably won’t be noticed. It is necessary to avoid wearing pants that have tight legs,
but current styles allow for that. A second ankle holster can be purchased for the opposite ankle,
allowing you to carry spare magazines with you.

The hardest part of wearing an ankle holster is getting used to it. While actually quite secure,
they feel like they will fall off at any moment or that the gun will fall out of it at any moment.
People tend to move a little uncertainly when they first start wearing an ankle holster, until they
get used to it.

Concealed Carry Underwear

Some manufacturers produce concealed carry underwear which has a holster built right in. These
can be found for both men and women, with T-shirts, briefs and panties being available. The
underwear is skin tight, with an elastic band sewn in for carrying the gun.

For the T-shirts, the holster is placed in a position so that the gun would essentially be in the
same place as if it were being carried in a shoulder holster. The t-shirt itself is tight fitting, not
loose like most t-shirts. This is necessary to keep the gun in place so that it doesn’t bruise the
individual banging into their side. Both briefs and panties have the elastic holster in the
waistband, much like a belly band.

The biggest problem with concealed carry underwear is that to access the gun other clothing has
to be moved aside. If you have a moment to move the outer clothing, that’s not a problem, but
you can pretty much forget about a quick draw with concealed carry underwear. It’s also rather
expensive, especially when you consider that you’ll need one for every day.

Special Concealment Holsters for Women

Women -- generally -- have much more trouble carrying a pistol concealed than men do. Current
styles have men wearing loose fitting clothing, which leaves room for concealing a handgun
underneath. On the other hand, women’s styles are snug, eliminating the ability to hide a
holstered pistol in many of the places a man would carry one.

There are some special concealment holsters made for women, which take women’s clothing
styles into account. While none are perfect, they do provide a means of carrying a pistol
concealed. I can’t help but think that a woman who was drawing a gun from one of these
concealed positions would have a definite element of surprise, especially against a male
aggressor. He would be so busy watching her, that he wouldn’t see what she was doing until it
was too late.

One of these is the thigh holster. While hard to find these, they provides women with a place to
hide a pistol underneath their skirt. Essentially, the thigh holster is very similar to the ankle

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holster, with the exception that the elastic band is longer, as the thigh is usually wider than the
ankle. Like the ankle holster, the pistol is worn on the inside of the support side thigh. The
holster must be strapped tight, to prevent it from sliding down the leg.

Another specialty holster for women is the bra holster. These can only be used with a very small
number of different pistols and with a limited range of clothing styles. The pistol is hung upside-
down from the trigger guard, attached to the bra strap where the two cups come together. Of all
types of concealment holsters available, this one would probably be the most uncomfortable and
the hardest to draw from.

There is also the concealed carry handbag. There are a wide variety of different models
available, to provide women with some choice in style and color. These are designed to look like
normal shoulder bags, but have an added pocket on the side that goes up against the woman’s
body, allowing her pistol to be inserted and drawn through a flap in the front facing side of the
purse.

Of all the options for women, the concealed carry handbag offers the fastest and easiest draw,
without a woman having to expose her body to get at her gun. While exposing her body might
provide an excellent distraction, I can fully understand most women not wanting to do that.

The two BIG problems with a concealed carry handbags is that you have to keep it with you at
all times, in order to have your gun available. If you were to put your handbag down for a
moment, you would lose control of it, as well as the gun inside. This could create a safety
problem, especially if you have small children who are used to searching around inside your
handbag.

The other big problem with a concealed carry handbag is that it is essentially a purse. Besides the
fact my wife likes to switch purses to match her outfit--what is one of the primary targets that a
criminal will want to steal from a woman? That's right, her purse. Now he has your purse AND
your gun -- not a great scenario to be in.

Specialty Carriers

The concealed carry handbag is part of a category of carriers that really aren’t holsters, but are
concealed carriers. Laws regarding carrying firearms concealed don’t specify how the licensee
carries their gun, merely that it remains concealed. A woman who carries a handbag in her
normal day’s activities has a ready means of carrying, especially if she buys one of the handbags
designed for it.

Just like the concealed carry handbag provides a special pocket for carrying a handgun, there are
also concealed carry messenger bags. These look like a normal messenger bag, with a shoulder
strap, but have an extra pocket which is designed for concealing a pistol and offering easy access

54
to it. In cases where wearing a jacket might seem inappropriate for men, a concealed carry
messenger bag provides another option.

Likewise, there are fanny packs which are designed specifically for carrying a pistol concealed.
One of the great advantages of these fanny packs, like the handbags and messenger bags, is that
they allow carrying full-sized handguns concealed, not just compact ones. The fanny pack comes
with a double zipper, which can be pulled down to both sides, fully opening the bag and
revealing the gun, along with a spare magazine or two. Both gun and magazines are held in place
by Velcro for security. And typically, the fanny pack user will keep a fanny pack attached to
their body, instead of setting it down like a purse user.

Lastly, we have the belly band. The belly band is a great way for many women (and even men)
to carry a gun without having to have a "gun belt" or normal concealed carry clothes. There are
many advantages to a belly band because it keeps the gun tucked in tight to your body -- it's not
as fast as an actual holster (usually) but it offers a lot of concealment.

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How I carry a Glock 19 and 33 rounds of ammo in
shorts and a T-shirt (Summer Carry)
Many people think you have to wear a lot of clothing to conceal a handgun, but it's simply not
true.

In fact, you can conceal a lot of firepower with just a t-shirt and shorts.

Here’s how I carry in warmer weather …

It’s Important To Realize, This Is How I Almost Always Dress When It’s
Warm
I’m big on optimizing my work life because I work for myself and not producing is not an
option.

One of the things that helps with that is reducing the amount of non important decisions that I
have to make in the day. That’s because Decision fatigue is a real thing (it’s why Steve Jobs of
Apple fame always wore the same thing).

So in the summer months I am almost always wearing a black T-shirt with some type of khaki
shorts. Shoes or flip flops will complete the package depending on what I’m doing that day.

Just wanted to get that out of the way, in case someone thinks I “dressed up special” for these
couple of photos.

My Every Day Carry (EDC) Is a Glock 19, Plus a Glock 17 Reload

Right now, I’ve settled on a Glock 19 (15+1 in the chamber) and a Glock 17 magazine for a
reload (17 rounds) giving me a total of 33 rounds when I step out the house.

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I’m testing a few things out, but I might add one more magazine/reload to the EDC in the future,
but I’d be lying if I said I did that now every day.

Both the holster AND the magazine carrier are Inside-The-Waistband (IWB) and I’ll explain
why I think that’s important in a moment.

Then there’s the other junk in my pockets, including the pocket knife and wallet, etc

When I first got started carrying concealed, I thought that I needed a REALLY tiny gun. But it’s
just not true.

By the way I’m not the tallest guy, something like 5’5″ on a tall day and just a little heavier than
150lbs. So if I can conceal a Glock 19 size handgun, and I’m almost a midget, then you can too.

Anyways, here’s me looking really thrilled to take some pictures. When these pics were taken, I
was in the middle of beating a throat infection and in need of some sunlight, so I’m not looking
too great.

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This is a side view of me. This is the strong side where the Glock 19 is positioned. Obviously it’s
pretty hidden from this angle too …

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One thing I like about Inside-The-Waistband (IWB) Carry …
… is that it gives you more flexibility in not flashing your concealed carry setup. I’m moving my
arms around and I can reach up onto high shelves for instance and even if my hands are totally
above my head you would have to look really hard to get a glimpse of any gun.

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In fact, Todd Green and some guys started a different brand of shooting competition called
“Kinda Sorta Tactical Game (KSTG)” and in their rulebook this is their definition of concealed:

“Concealment: A competitor’s equipment is considered completely concealed from view

when the competitor can walk ten feet, arms stretched out to the side parallel with the
ground, without his pistol, ammunition, or spare ammunition carriers being directly
visible to the Range Officer. The concealment garment does not have to be closed or able
to close so long as it can conceal the gun per these rules.”

Which I think is a pretty cool/smart way to check how concealed your daily garments are. After
all, you WILL have to move your arms around and reach and bend down and do other stuff
throughout your daily life so you might as well make sure you’re actually concealed before you
leave the house.

And here’s the big reveal.

I’m not sure EXACTLY where my gear is located, but it’s slightly behind the hip at 3 and 9 o’
clock as you can see here:

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Anyways, that’s how I carry concealed in the summer.

If I were carrying a second, backup gun (which I have done before) it is pocket carried in the
right front pocket (I put my wallet and my pocket knife in my left pocket) because I’m right
handed.

This way, I can draw the backup gun with my primary strong hand. Or if I'm having to fight
someone who is grabbing my gun in my primary right hand, then I can draw the pocket knife
with my left hand if need be and "cut them off" me so I can shoot them.

It's up to you but the point of this is just to show you that if you experiment with your holster and
gun carry combination you can find a system that conceals everything you need and you won't
look weird doing it.

Lastly, I'll note that as a general advice -- dark colors and patterns do really well to hide any
"printing" (showing of the firearm or bulges) through fabric.

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 Concealed Carry Training
If you are required to take a training class in order to receive your concealed carry permit, I can
guarantee you that the class will be woefully inadequate.

About the only topics that will be covered will be gun safety and the law in your state about
concealed carry. While this will provide you with the necessary information about how to carry a
pistol safely and legally, it will not provide you with enough training to use it when you need to.

You might think that training isn’t all that important, as everyone knows that you point the pistol
at the person you want to shoot and pull the trigger. If that’s your level of understanding, then
when the time comes, you’ll do just that and miss your attacker. Hopefully, that’s all you’ll do
and you won’t hit an innocent bystander.

Trust me, you are not a "natural shot".

You need training.

And then you need to practice.

This is why according to a 2008 RAND Corporation study evaluating the New York Police
Department’s firearm training, between 1998 and 2006, the average hit rate during gunfights was
just 18 percent. When suspects did not return fire, police officers hit their targets only 30 percent
of the time.

In other words, the NYPD missed a full 70-82% of the shots they fired in life-or-death situations!

And they have more training in their basic academy than you received in your first concealed
carry class guaranteed. They certainly do NOT do enough training after the academy as you can
tell, which is why if they need training, you need training too.

(Also, keep those statistics in mind the next time someone tells you they think only the Police
should have guns because they are "highly trained professionals"!)

While the basic mechanics of firing a pistol are fairly simple to learn, the execution of those
mechanics in a way that will allow you to provide accurate and effective fire is something totally
different.

Learning to shoot a pistol well is a skill that requires much time and practice. You can be sure
that anyone you encounter who is a good shot has put in a lot of time at the shooting range to get
that way.

There are actually several different types of interrelated training that you need, such as:

 Basic marksmanship

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  Pistol drills for the mechanics of drawing and loading
 Tactical pistol training
 The shoot/no shoot decision process

Let’s take a few minutes to gain an understanding of what each of these types of training include.

Basic Marksmanship

For most people, this is the first part of their firearms training. If you can’t hit the target, then
you really can’t do much else with a pistol. While hitting a target may not seem like all that big a
deal, it’s a lot harder than it looks. There are several fundamentals which need to come together
for an accurate shot:

 Sight alignment and sight picture

 Trigger control
 Grip
 Stance
 Breathing
 Follow through

Of these six "classic marksmanship" factors, grip, sight picture and trigger control are the most
important.

While your breathing, stance and the others might affect your accuracy, they don’t affect it to the
degree that those three do.

When we talk about sight alignment, we are referring to the relationship between the front and
rear sight of the gun.

Relationship of the sights.

The two need to be in proper alignment for you to know where the shot is going to go.

Depending on how the front sight is centered between the rear sight will determine where the
bullet will impact -- you are looking for "equal height and equal light" -- as in the example
above. As you can see in the illustration below, any errors in this sight alignment will impact
where the bullet hits.

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Showing how the bullet impact will be different according to errors in the alignment of the front
sight.

In addition, they need to overlay the target, preferably the center mass of the target. That's what
we call, sight picture, where you place those sights on the target.

However, the relationship between the two sights is more important than their relationship to the
target. A slight deviation in the relationship of the sights can make a large deviation in your shot
accuracy.

Many people have problems with trigger control. In the movies, the good guy just pulls the
trigger as fast as he can and the bullet goes right where he wants it to. In real life, pulling the
trigger quickly can make that gun go off target. Developing good trigger control, so that you
squeeze your shots off smoothly requires lots of practice. Fortunately, you can practice it just as
effectively with an empty gun, “dry firing” as you can at the shooting range.

One important thing to remember about your marksmanship training is that no matter how well
you do shooting at a target, you won’t do anywhere near that good shooting at an armed

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adversary. The adrenaline in your system, coupled with the stress of the moment will greatly
reduce your abilities. In your training, you need to take that into account, becoming better than
you feel you need to be.

In reality, if you are ever involved in an actual shootout, you’ll probably shoot three to four times
as bad as you do on the range. In other words, if you can normally shoot a four inch group on the
range, you’ll shoot a 12 to 16 inch group when it becomes real.

Distance is an important factor to take into your training. A large percent of self-defense
situations occur within 21 feet. At that distance, you barely have time to pull the gun and aim it.
Many of those could be within five feet. That’s such a short distance, that you might be required
to shoot from a compressed "ready" or "retention" position. On the other end of the extreme, a
good number of the situations require trading shots with an adversary that is over 50 feet away.
So, you can’t totally ignore shooting long and just concentrate on shooting close.

It is important to become as proficient as you can for all of those distances. Obviously, the need
for being able to shoot close--from 3 to 7 yards--is more important, as that is the most likely
scenario you’ll encounter. However, for those few times that are at long range, it’s well worth
gaining that ability.

Pistol Drills

Few people take the time to bother with pistol drills, or "gun handling" drills, but they can
literally make the difference between life and death. You might be the best shot in the world, but
if you can’t get your gun into action fast enough, then the bad guys might take you out of action,
before you can get yourself into action.

Drills don't need to be practiced at the range; they can be practiced at home.

In fact, there is some definite benefit to be gained by doing practice drills while doing other
things. In other words, you can practice drawing your gun or changing magazines while
watching television. This provides the added benefit of having to switch gears from sitting
comfortably on the sofa to having to defend your home at a moment's notice.

One way to do this is to do a drill every time the program cuts to a commercial. When it does,
draw your gun from your holster, bring it up to eye level and take aim at some safe target point,
finishing the drill by dry firing the pistol. This can simulate someone breaking into your home
unexpectedly.

Ideally, you want to be able to draw your pistol and bring it into position, with the sights aligned,
without having to look at it. You can practice this by drawing the pistol with your eyes closed.
Once you have finished the draw, your gun should be at eye level, pointed downrange, with the
front and rear sights aligned. If you can get to this point, then you will be able to greatly increase
your first-shot speed.

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Another useful drill to do while watching television is changing magazines. Drop the magazine
from your pistol, pull another out of your mag pouch and insert it, all without looking. You want
to be able to do this quickly and smoothly, without having to take your eyes off of the enemy. In
an actual shootout, being able to change magazines without looking can give you an advantage
over your adversary.

Dry firing is extremely useful for improving your shooting technique, especially your trigger
control. Many people have trouble with trigger control, especially jerking the trigger or
anticipating the shot and pushing the muzzle down. Either one will cause your shots to go off
center. Jerking makes your shots low and to the left, while anticipating the shots makes them
low, but centered. It is hard to see that you are making these mistakes when shooting with
bullets, but much easier to see when dry firing.

(We'll talk more about "dry firing" in a later chapter)

A final type of drill you might want to try is moving around your home with the gun. Pretend
that you heard a noise in the middle of the night and you are checking or "clearing" your home.
How would you move from place to place in order to take advantage of cover? How can you see
all the way around the inside of a room, without letting any bad guys know you are there? What
danger areas are there in your home, where an adversary might have an advantage? What can
you change to eliminate that advantage?

Tactical Shooting

Another important type of practice is tactical shooting. I don't know about you, but I never
expect to be attacked by a black spot on a white background, set at a fixed distance. I expect that
my attackers will be human shaped, move around a lot and try to keep hidden from me. There
will probably be more than one of them and they will be scattered around so that they can shoot
at me from different directions. If possible, they will attack me at night, so that I can't see them
clearly.

Tactical shooting takes all of this into account and develops scenarios to simulate this type of
real-life shooting situation. Many shooting ranges offer these type of shooting events, in which
individual shooters run through the scenario, shooting against the clock. A combination of
accuracy and fast time is needed to win the event. There are national organizations that put on
these types of events and even competitions such as IDPA, USPSA, IPSC and 3-Gun.

These tactical shooting scenarios will use a number of life-sized silhouette targets to simulate
bad guys. There may also be targets which play the part of innocent bystanders or hostages.
Hitting an innocent bystander or hostage carries a large penalty. Scenarios are varied and may
contain:

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  Multiple targets - To simulate being faced with multiple attackers that you have to
engage. Not only do you have to hit all the targets, but think about what order to engage
them, in order to take out the most dangerous first.

 Multiple distances - Some targets will be closer to you, while others are farther away.
The closer ones generally need to be engaged first, as they are the greatest danger. You
will find that your shooting style will need to change slightly as they move away, with
you taking longer to aim at the farther targets.

 Low light - A large percentage of attacks are at night. Shooting in a low light situation is
much different than shooting in broad daylight. Not only do you need to consider having
tritium sights, but tactical lights as well. Practice under low light conditions is really the
only way to get used to having to deal with them.

 Shooting with your opposite hand - What will you do if you are in a shootout and the
bad guy manages to hit you in your shooting hand? Will you just give up? Better to take
up your gun in your other hand and continue shooting. Some scenarios will require this.

 Starting as a hostage - You may find yourself in a real-life situation where you start out
with your hands raised, such as during a robbery. By starting from this position, you get
used to reacting quickly and getting that first shot off quickly.

 Flashing lights - One of the most difficult shooting situations is when there is low light,
but what light exists is flashing. You have to use the light you have to identify targets and
align your sights quickly.

 Moving targets - Real bad guys don't just stand there, waiting for you to shoot them.
They move around, looking for cover. A moving target is much harder to hit than a
stationary one.

 Using cover - Not only do you want to hit all the bad guys, you want to make sure that
they don't hit you either. Moving from place to place, behind walls, is an important part
of tactical training.

 Shooting while moving - It is extremely hard to shoot accurately while moving.

However, many real-life tactical situations require that you move while shooting, in order
to prevent being shot yourself or to get in a good position to shoot the bad guys.

As you can see, any of these elements make shooting more difficult. Dealing with several in one
scenario can ruin your day's shooting. So let me warn you here. No matter how good a shot you

67
are, don't be surprised if you have trouble when you go to your first few tactical shoots. This is a
different type of shooting and it is much more difficult than just shooting at targets. However, it
is much more realistic training for that time when everything suddenly becomes real.

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 How to grip a handgun to shoot fast & accurate

If you would like to know how to grip a semi-automatic handgun so that you can shoot as fast
and accurately as possible, then here's the secret of how to do that.

Seems simple right?

Pick the gun up and start shooting it!

In reality, if you’ve ever attempted to shoot a handgun fast AND accurately, then you probably
have run into some issues …

If you’re a right handed shooter, you probably miss your target to the low left (if you’re left
handed then it’s low right)

You can’t seem to keep a good hold on the gun after multiple shots, and you have to keep re-
doing your grip, and your accuracy gets worse the more you shoot it. Or better. Either way,
you’re not consistent.

All these can be signs of a poor grip on your handgun.

Let me show you how to get the best handgun grip possible …

What Should Your Handgun Grip Do?

There are many things a proper handgun grip should help you do …

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One, it should be consistent, so that every time you pick the handgun up and draw it you are
building a natural index on target.

Two, you should be gripping the handgun in a way that allows you to have the absolute best
trigger control possible so that you are as accurate as possible.

Three, you should be gripping the handgun in a way so that your grip is solid on the gun (there is
no chance of dropping the gun, or it being taken away from you) and so that you have maximum
recoil control.

Now, let’s define something …

What is Recoil Control?

When we are talking about recoil control, you have to understand this one key factor: The gun is
going to recoil and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

So do not try to keep the gun from “jumping” or recoiling in your hand because it’s going to do
that. It’s a little mechanical device that’s literally containing a small explosion in your hands so
it’s going to recoil.

The key is recoil “control”. That means having a good enough grip on the handgun that you …

1.) Minimize the time the sights move off the target and

2.) Your grip allows the sights to return to the target at more or less the same spot they were
because of a consistent grip

What Are The Elements of a Proper Handgun Grip?

There are a few things that make for a good grip, and believe it or not, a lot of it is personal to
you …

In other words, you’ll have to figure out for yourself how to make it work.

One, you want the trigger to be pressed straight to the rear without disturbing the sights. With
your “primary” hand, this is the most important part. You need to grip the gun in such a way that
you can press the trigger straight to the rear without disturbing the sights.

The ONLY way to discover the primary/strong hand grip that allows you to do this is to practice
it in dry fire.

You need to do a version of the “Wall Drill” where you essentially take a (triple-checked)
unloaded gun and aim in — with the barrel only 1 inch away — from a blank wall and align your
sights. Then you press the trigger. If your sights do NOT move then you are doing it correctly. If

70
your sights move, try again. (NOTE: a full explanation of the "Wall Drill" is found in the Dry
Fire 101 chapter towards the end of this book).

This takes practice to find the ideal grip position of your primary hand on your particular
handgun because

1) everyone has different sized hands and

2) many handguns have different sized stocks (the correct name for the part of the pistol your
hand grips).

For example, a lot of people will tell you that a proper primary hand grip on the gun would have
the backstrap in line with the bones of the forearm as in the picture below:

Most people say your grip has to look like the left, and that the right is wrong. This is not
necessarily true. Picture Credit: LuckyGunner.com

While that would be “ideal” it is in no way necessary. In fact, for anyone with small hands I
doubt you can grip a modern semi-automatic handgun in that way and be able to press the trigger
straight to the rear.

For example, here is a picture of my own primary hand grip where I have to grip the handgun off
the line of center of my forearm to be able to press the trigger to the rear. I discovered this

71
through hundreds of dry fire repetitions. This is the picture I immediately took in my hotel room
after discovering the right hand positioning so I would not forget it:

The fact of the matter is that pressing the trigger straight to the rear without disturbing the sights
is the most important part of shooting your handgun accurately — while all the other
components of proper handgun grip can be negotiated — this is the primary component that
cannot be violated.

I’m emphasizing this point, because it was a big hurdle for me to overcome when I first
started learning about shooting a handgun seriously.

All the “experts” say that having the gun sit in a straight line with your forearm is the “right”
way but it’s simply not true.

Rob Leatham — possibly the most successful professional competition shooter of all time AKA
“The Great One” — says the same thing (emphasis mine):
“The angle the gun sits in relation to your arm is not that
important. Being able to place your finger properly on the
trigger is.

“Don’t try to align the barrel of the pistol with your arm. For
me to reach most triggers, because of my short fingers, the gun

72
 actually points a little to the right or outside of the line of
my forearm.”

After finding the right grip for your primary hand in relation to your forearm so that you can
press the trigger straight to the rear without disturbing the sights, here are the other important
points.

First, I want to remind you of the importance of the firearm safety rules. Keep your finger
straight and off the trigger, index high on the slide of the weapon as shown in the picture below:

Remember to keep your finger OFF the trigger, and at "home" on the slide of the pistol.

Thumbs Up And As High On The Gun As Possible

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If there is any space between the top backstrap of the handgun and your primary hand then you
are doing it wrong.

You want to jam the wedge of your thumb of your primary hand UP into the backstrap of the
gun. This area should be as tight as possible and you should definitely not be able to see any light
through this area.

This is of critical important because it directly relates to recoil control.

Secondly, your primary hand thumb should be high up in the air. Think “thumbs up”
because you’re doing it right.

This will actually help you get a tighter wedge between the backstrap and your hand because the
upward pressure of your thumb will drive your hand into the handgun.

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 Think "Thumbs up" because you're doing it right if the thumb of your primary firing hand is
flagged and high.

The other important reason you keep that primary hand thumb high is because you are making
space on the handgun to insert your support hand.

The key here is that if your primary hand thumb is not high, then it will keep your support hand
from having the maximum amount of contact with the stock of the handgun — reducing your
control …

… But when the thumb is high, your hands fit together like a puzzle piece.

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 Your support hand fits into the space between your primary firing hand like a puzzle piece.

Your Support Hand Should Be As High And Back On The Gun As Possible
Much like the firing hand, the support hand should be as high on the stock of the handgun as
possible … and … you should actually try to get some of your hand behind the grip if possible.

Then, either keeping the thumbs forward or high (depending on the size of your hands) you will
lock your wrists, while trying to keep the maximum amount of your support hand palm behind
the gun as possible.

As you can see in the picture below, my left hand (support hand) is fit tight against the primary
firing grip hand and the palm of my left hand is actually contacting the stock of the handgun
from the back:

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This part is key and was the source of a lot of my problems because I kept hearing how
you’re supposed to have your thumb and/or support hand angled forward for a “proper grip” but
much like the position of your primary hand wrapping around the stock of the handgun — it has
to do with your individual hand and finger size and how it interacts with the handgun you’re
shooting.

If you have big hands and long fingers you’ll be able to keep your entire support hand behind the
gun, while at the same time angling your thumbs forward.

If you have smaller hands and shorter fingers like me, you’ll find your thumbs pointing more
upright to keep more of your hand behind the gun.

Again, you’ll have to experiment.

The key is to get as much of your support hand on the weapon as possible for the maximum
amount of friction and as behind the weapon as possible to control recoil.

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 Just a picture to show how I'm trying to get as much of my hands on the gun as possible.

Finally, Squeeze As Hard As Possible, Especially When Dry Firing

This goes against what you might have heard for bullseye shooting or whatever, but to shoot fast
and accurately (like you need to use your pistol defensively) — you need to grip the handgun as
hard as possible.

Again, to quote “The Great One” Rob Leatham (emphasis mine)…

“Most shooters are told to relax and not grip the pistol tightly.
This is ok if all you will ever fire is a .22, but even that gun
is going to kick. You need to hold firmly.

A new shooter or beginner may have better things on which to

concentrate, but even they need have a strong enough grasp to
completely control their gun. If you’re an experienced shooter,
you can just go ahead and ignore the “relax” part all together.

... Gripping properly will not just happen. I have to address

this issue with many experienced, top-notch shooters. Most think
it will just come with practice, but it doesn’t unless you think
about it. One area that dry fire can really help is maintaining a
tight grip while pulling the trigger.

It’s easy to pick up bad habits from dry firing with no live fire
to support the techniques being learned. If you never have to
deal with effects of the gun firing, muzzle flip and recoil, you
will never learn how to control them.

In my three decades of training every level of shooter, I have

seen only a handful that held on too tightly. On the flip side,
I’ve seen hundreds that hold on too loosely.”

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Forget the 60-80% grip pressure this way, or that way B.S. that you often hear. The correct
amount of grip pressure is to grip the handgun as hard as you can, until you’re shaking, then
slightly back off that, and try to maintain that pressure — consistently — until you’re done
shooting.

That makes it simple.

In short, we’re trying to grip the gun as hard as we can, and keep the pressure steady, without
trembling from the exertion.

An important point, is that the stronger your hands and your physical grip is, the more pressure
you can exert on the gun and not shake.

For instance, if you have 300lbs of crushing power in your hands — and you only use 50% of
your hand strength — you can exert 150lbs of pressure to your recoil control without over-
exerting yourself and causing your hands to shake.

Thus, it pays to have strong hands.

You can build this strength from both

1) dry firing as much as possible while practicing gripping the gun as hard as possible
and

2) from specific hand strength training exercises such as the Captain-of-Crush grip
trainers.

Bob Vogel, another world class shooter, has a completely unique grip in the world of pistol
shooting (as far as I’ve seen) but I’ve heard from multiple sources how impressed they are with
how hard he grips his handgun.

Keep Your Elbows Bent As Well

Another key is that while it may seem like you have more control over the handgun by locking
your elbows, you should actually keep a slight bend in your elbows.

There are more than a few reasons why this is so …

1.) Your elbows will act like natural “shock absorbers” to help control recoil …

2.) Most importantly, I’ve found, it almost forces you to lock your wrists in order to keep
the sights aligned with your eyes …

3.) A slight bend in the elbows helps to avoid driving the first shot low when you’re in a
hurry to get the first shot out of the holster.

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One more thing you can experiment with in regards to your elbows is turning them slightly up, to
help create inward crushing pressure on your grip.

In Summary …
Your handgun grip is one of the most important factors in how fast and accurately you can shoot
a handgun — both critical in a defensive shooting situation.

Some things you’ll have to figure out by trial and error to make them work with your particular
sized hands and the gun you’re shooting.

Many of the principles though — getting your hands as high on the gun as possible, locking the
wrists, and gripping as hard as possible — are universal and will help you no matter how you
grip the handgun.

Grab your handgun, unload it and after triple-checking to make sure it’s empty and start
practicing building a better grip today.

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 Why Shot Placement Is KING and How To
Improve Your Combat Accuracy
Most of the world gets a vast majority of their information from what they see on TV.

Sadly, not many people read anymore.

That’s why most people have an extremely WRONG view of what happens when a person is
shot with a handgun.

The truth is, as we’ve talked about in the series on handgun self-defense ammo — ALL service
calibers (9mm, .40, and .45) are WEAK when it comes to stopping a threat.

In other words, unlike on TV where the bad guy gets shot once or twice with a handgun and they
either immediately drop dead or fly across the room, in the real world, where you shoot a person
matters a LOT.

This is commonly called “shot placement” and it’s important.

The 3 Reasons People Stop Fighting When Shot With Handguns

The ONLY time you shoot someone is if they are aggressively trying to cause you or someone
you are protecting death or serious bodily injury.

Therefore, it’s important that you shoot to STOP them as quickly as possible.

There are only three reasons that an attacker will stop attacking you if you shoot them with a
handgun.

These are:

1. Psychological Stop

2. Vital Organ/Nervous System Stop

3. Rapid Blood Loss Stop

Let’s talk about each of these.

The “Psychological Stop” And Why You Should NOT Count On It

The truth is, as I said, that people don’t go flying when they are shot like in the movies or TV.

Like the rest of the natural world, pistol bullets are governed by Newton’s Third Law of Physics
that states every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, if a pistol bullet was

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powerful enough to knock a man down, it would knock YOU down when you fired the hand
gun. Think about it.

In fact, many people don’t even realize they have been shot until after a fight/attack is over.
You’ll hear stories from cops or military that talk about combatants not realizing they were
bleeding until they checked themselves over because they couldn’t feel it during the heat of
battle.

So a truly determined attacker might not know or even care if he has been shot because he wants
to take your head off either way.

(This works both ways too, if you ever get shot in a fight, keep fighting because just
because you got shot doesn’t mean you’re done. Keep fighting and kill the other
guy. Do NOT give up!)

Now, many times as soon as a gun is drawn in self-defense the attacking criminal takes off
running. They run even faster if they get shot at.

But don’t bet your life on it. If you have to fire a gun in self-defense, keep shooting the person
until the deadly threat is neutralized (aka, he’s no longer on his feet, conscious, or clearly stops
attacking).

The Vital Organ or Nervous System Stop …

Recently, Dave Spaulding of Handgun Combatives wrote a great article on shot placement, and
he has this to say about the vital organ/nervous system stop (emphasis mine)…

“We all know that a shot to the Abdullah (aka The Almond) at the
top of the spinal cord is instantly fatal, but it is small and
very hard to hit. The brain is covered with a hard helmet called
the skull meaning rounds will need to hit the eye sockets, nose
cavity or ear canals to have a better chance of hitting brain
matter. That said have you ever seen a person shot in the head
that did not penetrate? I’ve seen it several times and the person
struck does the same thing someone does when hit with a baseball
and not wearing a helmet…they fall down. No guarantees, but
incapacitation is incapacitation regardless of whether death is
involved. If the person goes down for whatever reason, I am good
with it. Thus, face shots…especially at close range…can still be
effective even if penetration is not achieved.

“Shots to the heart and spinal column can also be quite

effective, though there are a number of documented cases of
people being shot in the heart and remaining mobile for 20, 30,
40 seconds before succumbing to their wound. It is called

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 “ambulation after death” and it is due to blood and oxygen
already in the brain. A lot of damage can be done in this short
time span. The spinal column is at the back of the body and is
more accessible to a shot to the back, which can be justified in
court due to how fast a body can turn, but a frontal or side shot
is more likely.”

So the central upper torso is where all the “vital” stuff is and is where you should aim. Also, face
shots, aiming for the ocular cavity.

What this amounts to is a roughly 3×5 card size area in the face of an attacker, and a
roughly 7″ wide by 9″ tall area in the center of the upper chest representing the heart area.

The Stop By Massive Blood Loss

Finally, we have the stop by massive blood loss.

This can happen if enough blood is lost, the blood pressure inside the attacker drops and so does
he. This can take a WHILE.

The main point here is that relying on blood loss to stop an attacker is a BAD plan because you
could shoot an attacker 10 times and he could still strangle you to death, then later die of blood
loss in the hospital emergency room.

That’s why it’s important to focus on shot placement and aim for the vital zones previously
discussed.

How To Practice Combat Marksmanship

With all this in mind, and the importance of hitting vital zones so eloquently stated, here is how
you practice this.

First, you need a basic level of foundational marksmanship. This can be achieved by buying
3×5 cards (a pack of 100 is super cheap) and starting at 5 yards and taking as long as possible to
get all shots inside the card. At this range, your bullet holes SHOULD be touching, but at least
get them all inside the card to move on.

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 3x5 Index Cards Make GREAT targets!

Once you have that, move back to 7yds and try to get all your hits inside the same 3×5 card.
Once you can do that consistently, you have a “good enough” level of combat marksmanship.

At this point, it’s a good idea to focus at least some of your shooting on realistic targets such as
the Rangemaster Q target or the FPF Training Target shown below (either search for those
target names using google or try http://www.letargets.com/).

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As you can see, both these targets present a humanoid shape, along with SMALL vital target
zone areas. Both have approximately 3×5 vital zones (give or take a few inches either way) in the
head and 9×7 vital zones in the upper torso.

Now that you know how handguns stop people, and how important combat accuracy is, practice,
practice, practice, until you’re getting combat effective hits without fail.

Then, and only then, should you focus on speeding up a little to challenge yourself.

A good goal to strive for is 3-5 effective hits in the vital zones in 3 seconds or less at 5 yards,
drawing from your every day concealment holster with your every day carry gun on a
target like this.

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Dry Fire 101: How Navy SEALS, CIA Officers and
World-Champion Shooters Get Better Without
Paying For Ammo Or Wasting Time At The
Range
“DON’T snap the GUNS.”

If you’ve ever stepped into one of those old gun shops, the kind run by an old guy with a gun on
his hip, you’ve heard the words above…

In fact, there’s a very good chance you have pre-programmed into your skull the notion that dry-
firing -- the act of firing an unloaded gun -- is BAD.

Maybe you’re just superstitious, in that way that those of us who learned to shoot in the seventies
and eighties tend to be. You firmly believe that dry firing will snap the firing pin in your gun
(unless it breaks something ELSE).

The fact is all modern center fire handguns can be "Dry fired" -- that is fired without any ammo -
- hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of times with no ill effects.

Why You NEED To Dry Fire

Dry-firing lets you practice drawing, presenting, and pulling the trigger on your carry gun. It lets
you feel what the trigger break is like.

This type of training, in short, will allow you to practice EVERYTHING about being a good
shooter except mitigating the recoil of the actual shot going down range. Period.

Quite frankly, ALL serious shooters and people that depend on their guns to save their life dry
fire. Period.

If you’re serious about self-defense with a handgun, you should spend enough time staring down
those sights that you memorize what they look like — every flaw, every scratch, every bump in
the finish and every dimple in the paint.

Dry firing familiarizes you with your weapon and how it feels, what it weighs, how it handles
when you manipulate it, and everything else about carrying and using it (EXCEPT for actually
launching a shot).

Most importantly, dry fire practice costs absolutely nothing.

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You should strive to make regular dry fire practice part of your training regimen. Work it into
your routine. Do it at the same time every week. You’ll see real benefits if you do.

But dry fire practice isn’t just playing around, snapping the trigger of your weapon. There are
specific drills you can do to hone your skills through using dry fire.

We will give you one of them here…

Safety First. Every. Single. Time.

First, check your weapon to make sure it is unloaded. Follow ALL the instructions in this
handbook on how to properly "clear" your handgun!

Remove the magazine, check that, and check the barrel with the slide locked open and your
finger in the chamber. Once you have prepared the empty weapon, repeat the process and work
the slide back and forth a few times.

When you’re all done checking the gun to make sure it is unloaded… CHECK IT AGAIN.

The idea is that you want to make your dry fire practice as safe as you can.

Keep all live ammunition out of the training area. If you practice magazine changes, make sure
you have individually checked all magazines to ensure they are empty… and don’t have any
loaded magazines anywhere near your training space.

When you choose a spot to train in, choose one that has a natural backstop. That is something
that can safely absorb bullets. Natural backstops include things like major appliances (your
refrigerator, for example) or, say, a potted indoor plant with a huge pot full of dirt. You can also
buy backstop pads that are designed to stop bullets.

When dry-firing, remember that your gun is not a toy. It is still a deadly weapon, and all the
rules that would normally apply still do apply. That means that wherever you point that weapon,
the barrel should not cover something you are not willing to destroy.

You NEVER engage in dry-fire practice with another person, for example, no matter HOW
many times you have checked the gun to make sure it is safe. It only takes one negligent
discharge, one “freak accident” that nobody saw coming, to ruin everything for everyone forever.

Dry Fire Drill 101

Now, let’s get to a basic, progressive dry-fire drill. Wear the holster you would normally wear
with your carry gun, and position it on your body as you normally would.

Most importantly, wear the clothes you would likely be wearing on a day-to-day basis. Don’t
change into something that makes it easier for you to draw the gun.

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If you’re going to practice with a real, unloaded weapon, you should make the conditions as
close as possible to what you will experience under stress.

My good friend and former CIA Officer Jason Hanson likes to make things extremely simple. He
does a minimum of 25 trigger presses per day.

Jason explains ...

"I do at least 25 trigger pulls a day and I recommend you do the

same. 25 trigger pulls will ingrain in your mind what a perfect
trigger pull should feel like. If you were to take the weekends
off and just do this Monday-Friday that would be 125 trigger
pulls a week. Five-hundred a month. Six-thousand trigger pulls a
year."

And, at this point I'd like to point out that many studies have shown that you need thousands of
repetitions of a complex motor skill like pressing the trigger to ingrain it as a habit.

Jason's routine of just 25 trigger presses per day will give you that, no sweat.

But make sure you're pressing the trigger correctly, or else the rep doesn't count:

"And to clarify something before I forget, you have to do 25

perfect trigger pulls. This means you have pressed the trigger
straight to the rear and the front sight hasn’t moved when you
“fire” the gun. If the front sight dips to the left (right-handed
shooters), or to the right (left-handed shooters), that pull
doesn’t count as one of your 25 pulls."

This is extremely important.

Only perfect practice makes perfect. You're re-wiring important neurological connections
between your brain and your finger when you do this that your body will automatically perform
under stress, so you need to do it as perfectly as possible.

The absolute BEST way to get a better trigger pull/press at the beginning is to use the Wall Drill.
Jason explains ...
"The first time you start doing your 25 trigger pulls a day, I
recommend the “Wall Drill.” Put simply, you stand with the muzzle
of your gun one-inch away from the wall and do your dry firing.
You are focusing on the front sight (and not worrying about a
target) so you can easily see if your front sight is moving when
you pull the trigger.

You should do this several days in a row until your trigger pull
gets smoother and the front sight hardly ever moves. This is also

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 a drill that you’ll want to go back to often to ingrain the
basics in your mind.

Once you’ve done the Wall Drill several times and you’re
developing a smooth trigger pull, you can put up a target during
your dry fire practice."

Now you can use a target.

Again, I recommend just using a cheap 3x5 Index Card to start. Even for your dry fire practice.

That way you get comfortable shooting at a small target.

Again, start at 3 to 5 yards for your 25 repetitions per day and aim in on the 3x5 card and press
the trigger. If your sights move when the trigger breaks that would have been a miss in live fire.
Be honest with yourself, don't rush and watch your front sight.

After a few weeks of practice of all this, you should start training your draw from the holster.

Jason continues ...

"Once you’re more comfortable with your 25 trigger pull routine,

you’ll want to start coming out of the holster. In other words,
you could do the Wall Drill again, but this time it would be 25
perfect pulls after coming out of the holster. You’ll also want
to introduce a timer at some point and give yourself 2 seconds or
less to come out of the holster and execute a perfect trigger
pull. The timer that I use is the Pocket Pro II timer."

Dry-fire practice helps you train many of the critical aspects of shooting. It doesn’t help you train
EVERYTHING, of course, but it does help you hone many important skills.

It costs nothing, it can be done safely and without damage to your weapon, and it allows you to
engage in a variety of scenarios that help you develop your shoot/no-shoot decision-making
skills.

This is why dry-fire practice like this progressive drill is so important.

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 The Secrets Of The "Perfect" Concealed Carry
Drawstroke
The only reason why you would carry a gun with you in your daily life is to protect against a
sudden and unexpected attack or threat against your life or the life of someone you're responsible
for.

That means that violence -- of the type you might need to defend yourself against by shooting
someone -- happens very quickly and without warning.

All this is of course to say, when you need your gun, you're going to need it RIGHT NOW.

In other words, you need to develop the ability to draw your handgun as quickly as humanly
possible and set yourself up so that you can get a first shot off as quickly as humanly possible.

To do this, you'll need to learn and practice your concealed carry draw stroke.

Introducing The 4-Count Concealed Carry Drawstroke

I've attended many handgun shooting schools and classes.

They all teach some variation of the following four-count draw stroke (the good ones anyways).

Step 1 - Clear Your Cover Garment And Get A Full Firing Grip On The Pistol

The first step, and arguably most important, is to clear your cover garment and get a full firing
grip on the pistol with your primary hand. When clearing your cover garment you must use a
method that you can use consistently to get the clothing out of the way to access your gun. First,
use either your support hand or both hands if necessary to firmly grasp your clothing. Second,
make sure you pull your clothing as high as possible (think hitting yourself in the chin) because
if you try to pull it "just enough" to get the gun out--you will end up fowling your draw
eventually.

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At this point you are going to get the best grip on the gun that you can. This should be your
fighting grip. Once the gun is out of the holster, there will be no time to adjust your grip so grip
it correctly. This means that all the parts of the primary hand firing grip that we talked about on
how to grip a handgun is achieved--namely your grip is high and tight up on the backstrap of the
pistol. Also notice the trigger finger is indexed so that it will NOT fall on the trigger when the
gun is drawn but instead will go to the "home" spot index near or on the slide.

Step 2 - Draw The Handgun High and Tight Into Your Armpit

To clear the gun from your holster, you simply jerk it up into your armpit as high as you can
drive your elbow up. For one, this will help clear your cover garment if you messed up step one
or if you're being assaulted while drawing. Two, it makes sure you get it out fast the more

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violently you do this. Three, you are drawing "into your armpit" which actually puts your
primary firing hand thumb -- which should be in a thumbs up position for a proper firing grip --
up against your pectoral muscle. This will naturally rotate the muzzle of your gun towards the
target. (From this position, you can actually shoot using your own body as an "index" to point
the muzzle at a close-distance attacker.)

Step 3 - Bring Both Hands Together In Front Of Your Chest

From this position, you bring your support hand over to meet your primary firing grip hand and
establish the best grip possible. From this position you can also shoot, using your body position
as an index for aiming even without your sights at close quarters combat distances if necessary.
This is sometimes called the "compressed ready" position.

Step 4 - Press The Gun Out As You See The Sights And Break The First Shot If Necessary

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From this "compressed ready" position you can press the gun out and up into your line of sight to
pick up the sights as quickly as possible -- ideally before you reach full extension -- so that you
can have the sights aligned and a proper sight picture the moment your arms reach full extension
allowing you to accurately break the first shot, if needed, as quickly as possible. (This is why
some people appear to shoot so quickly and accurately, because they are aiming and aligning
their sights BEFORE they press the gun out fully). As soon as your sights are on target and you
have made the decision to shoot you can start pressing/prepping the trigger to fire.

How To Re-Holster Your Gun

Very simply, you repeat the same steps but in reverse order.

After you are done firing ...

First, you will take your finger off the trigger and index it alongside the frame of the pistol.
That is the most important part.

Then you retract your arms to compressed ready, clear the cover garment with your support
hand, take a quick look with your EYES to visually ensure that there is nothing in the way of the
gun going back in the holster (like your clothing, or a drawstring part of your clothing, etc) and
then put the gun back in the holster - SLOWLY - with your firing hand.

Again, re-holster SLOWLY back into your holster.

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There is absolutely NO reason in the world why you would or should be in a hurry to put your
gun BACK into your holster. Think about it. You ARE in a hurry to get the gun out and save
your life ... but you are NEVER in a hurry to get the gun back into the holster. It makes no sense.

There are some very important points here.

And for very good reason.

That's because, in every instance I have ever heard of someone shooting themselves in a handgun
training class ... or practicing at the range ... it is almost always when the person is re-holstering
their weapon.

Think about that.

As James Yeager has said, "If you shoot yourself in a gunfight, it still counts".

That's why I am making a critical point about two things:

1.) LOOK at the holster. James Yeager also says not to look the gun back into the holster.
Some other instructors agree with him. I do not agree. Ask yourself this, "WHY would I put my
gun away unless I'm absolutely sure that all the threats are no longer threats?"

If the situation is so dangerous, that you can't spare 1 second to look at your holster to make sure
there is nothing in the way for you to put your gun into the holster, then the situation is too
dangerous for you to put your gun back in the holster. Come back to compressed ready and deal
with the situation.

2.) Go SLOW. I can't emphasize this enough. It's easy to do when practicing. But I've seen it
again and again on the range. People get all excited about the fast speed they just shot or how
accurate they did it, and they want to triumphantly JAM the gun back in the holster. You
absolutely MUST come to a "hard stop" before re-holstering, and put the gun back slowly. If
you feel ANY resistance to the gun going back in the holster, stop. Pull it back out, check for the
obstruction and then continue as needed.

How To Draw Your Pistol From Open Carry?

I will not cover the open carry draw stroke here in depth because of two reasons:

1.) It's the exact same drawstroke, except you don't have to first clear your cover garment. For
that reason, the only difference in step one is you put your support hand on your chest, to wait
for step three.

2.) This is a book about concealed carry and I think you should do that. Do not open carry.
Conceal your weapon.

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What About Appendix Carry?

Appendix carry is carrying your handgun in front of your hips ("near" your appendix ...)

You still follow the same steps however step 2 is largely eliminated or more accurately is
blended into step three because the initial draw out of the holster ends with the pistol oriented in
a "compressed ready" position.

The same for other carry positions, you still must clear the garment, get a proper firing grip, draw
it high up into your chest region, bring your support hand in for a secure grip and press it out to
the target.

This book is aimed at the beginning concealed carrier, so I do not recommend the appendix carry
position for those people until they've become more comfortable carrying a gun. That's because
during a large portion of the draw stroke and re-holstering process, you are pointing the gun in
the general area of your femoral artery.

For myself, after carrying for a number of years in the classic behind the hip, 4'oClock position, I
now carry in the Appendix position.

There ARE a lot of advantages to carrying in this position though ...

1.) It's generally easier to conceal a gun here (even big guns for smaller people)

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2.) The gun is always in front of your body, meaning you can "keep an eye on it" (it's as easy as
looking at your shoes to check if you're "printing" or the status of your gun)

3.) It's faster. It's simply the fastest draw stroke possible from concealment

4.) It's easier to protect the gun. If someone wants to take the gun away from you, or you are
involved in hand-to-hand combat before you draw your gun--it's easier to defend against gun
grabs.

5.) You don't have to worry about people coming behind you and touching the gun, in close
proximity in public, random touching of the gun during hugs/etc.

Again, all these benefits come with the trade off that Appendix can be much more dangerous for
the inexperienced or unsafe concealed carrier.

Your trigger finger discipline has got to be perfect to carry this way.

And you absolutely MUST come to a full, hard stop before re-holstering ...

If you make a mistake, you will die.

How To Re-Holster In Appendix Carry

If you are going to try carrying this way, it's largely intuitive ...

However, the most important thing to learn is how to re-holster safely.

Step 1: Come to a "hard stop" after shooting. Mentally stop and decide to re-holster.

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The last thing you want to do is jam the gun back into your appendix holster. If you have manual
safety, you will engage it now to "safe". If you have a DA/SA gun, you will "decock" it now and
also put your thumb on the hammer to add an extra layer of safety before re-holstering. You are
going to double and triple check your finger is off the tringer.

Step 2: You're going to start looking the gun back into the holster as you clear your cover
garment.

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Clear the cover garment with your support hand. Look at the holster, look for anything in the
way that might obstruct the re-holster.

Step 3: Lean your upper body back and push your hips forward

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By leaning back slightly and pushing your hips forward you are now angling your appendix
holster so that when you insert your gun into it, the muzzle is no longer pointing INTO your
body but in front of your body and if you have a negligent discharge -- hopefully -- you are
going to shoot into the ground and not your femoral artery or genitals.

Step 4: As soon as the muzzle clears the mouth of the holster, tilt the muzzle out more to
finish S-L-O-W-L-Y re-holstering.

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As soon as the muzzle of the gun gets inside the holster, you'll use that muzzle to push it away
from your body -- again making it so the muzzle is pointing away from you -- before finishing to
re-holster the gun slowly. Again, if you feel resistance, you will stop, pull the gun out, inspect
the holster for any obstructions, then try again. Slowly and carefully.

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 How To Reload Your Gun
Your gun is pretty useless without bullets, so you have to learn to reload it.

There are two types of reload.

One is commonly called the "speed reload" or "proactive" reload because you are re-loading the
gun when you WANT to re-load it (proactive) and because it's fast (speed).

The other is called the "emergency" reload or the "slide-lock reload".

Because this book is aimed at the beginning concealed carrier, we will cover only ONE
technique that works for both these situations that you might encounter.

Let's start with ...

The Emergency (aka Slide lock) Reload

Step 1: You See Your Gun Is Empty And Slide Is Locked To Rear

This is what an empty semi-auto pistol looks like. You may have been shooting, pulled the
trigger nothing happened, then you saw this. Finger is off the trigger, and at "home" on the slide
of the gun ...

Step 2: Press the magazine release button with your firing thumb

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First, your other hand -- support hand -- should go to your magazine pouch to grab your other
magazine. Then, your primary hand should be ready to press the magazine release. For me,
because I have small hands I have to slightly rotate the gun in my grip to achieve this. (You can
also use your support hand thumb to press the magazine button before it leaves the gun, but I
choose not to do this.)

Step 3: Re-acquire Your Primary Firing Grip

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If you are like me, and you had to shift your primary firing grip in order to reach the magazine
release button, then after pressing it, you immediately re-acquire your primary firing grip. This is
crucial and will keep you from messing up your first shot after you reload the gun because your
grip is all messed up.

Step 4. Insert the New Magazine

First, pay close attention to how I'm gripping the magazine. You always want to grip the
magazine with your index finger touching the first bullet in the magazine. This ensures that your
index finger will find its way to your other hand's grip as efficiently as possible (you can close
your eyes and touch your index finger to your palm easily because of your body's awareness). At
this moment, it's critical that you LOOK the magazine into the magazine well, to see the first part
of the magazine enter the handgun, before looking back up.

Step 5: Tap the Magazine Into The Gun

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Once the first part of the magazine is -- for sure -- in the magazine well you simply move your
fingers out of the way and ram it home with your palm. If you grab the magazine correctly, with
your index finger high enough to be touching the first bullet in the magazine, then the bottom of
the magazine will be indexed in the middle of your palm like this automatically -- making this
intuitive.

Step 6: Then reach over the top and rack the slide

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To chamber the first round of the new magazine and release the slide, we are going to simply
reach over top to rack the slide using an overhand grip.

Step 7: Re-acquire Your Fighting Grip

Then you simply bring your support hand back onto the grip and you're ready to continue
shooting again if necessary.

That's how to perform the emergency reload.

How To Perform The Speed Reload

Again, because this guide is focused on the beginner or novice concealed carrier, we are going to
use the exact same method to "speed reload" when we want to. This is also called a "proactive"
reload because we are -- you guessed it -- proactively reloading the gun before we run out of
ammo and reach slide lock.

The steps are exactly the same, so we will go through them quicker here ...

Step 1: You decide to reload, take your finger off the trigger

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Finger off the trigger

Step 2: Support hand grabs new magazine, then press the Magazine Release

If you notice in my instructions, I'm telling you to grab the new magazine with your support
hand FIRST, then to press the magazine release. Why? Because in this instance, what if you
decide you want to "Speed reload" and you release your half-full magazine to put a full magazine
in but then you go to grab a new magazine and realize there's nothing there but air because you
forgot you already shot through that magazine? Now you have an empty gun (actually one in the
chamber in this scenario, because it's not to slide lock) and a half full magazine somewhere on
the ground in front of you.

To avoid this, get your other hand on the new magazine FIRST, then as you bring it up to stick it
in, hit the magazine release on the gun.

Step 3: Insert New Magazine

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Remember, use your index finger as the guide ...

Step 4: Re-acquire your fighting grip

Re-grip the pistol and get back to work ...

That's how you re-load your pistol.

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 How To Clear Malfunctions
All guns malfunction.

That's because these are mechanical machines, and like all machines, they malfunction from time
to time.

Yes, even revolvers malfunction.

The good news with most revolvers is that if you pull the trigger and there is a click instead of
the bang, you just pull the trigger again, the wheel will rotate and you will fire the next round in
the cylinder. That is, if there is a round in the cylinder.

For that, many people think the revolvers are more reliable. Yes and no. That is easy and simple,
yes.

But there's two problems:

One, if there are no other rounds in the cylinder -- a high likelihood because you only have 6
cartridges -- you are dead because you're not going to pull off a revolver reload in the middle of a
fight and win.

Two, if it is anything other than a failure to fire and pulling the trigger again does not fix the
problem, then you are dead again because when a revolver malfunctions -- and they do -- it's not
a quick fix. The cylinder stops moving or is jammed up, or any of the other number of problems
that might occur, it's not a fix-it-quick situation.

Stick with semi-autos because they are actually more reliable.

In fact, the modern semi-automatic pistol is one of the most reliable machines you can hold in
your hand.

If you're using a proper, proven firearm like a Glock 19 then it is highly unlikely you will ever
experience a malfunction in the course of defending your life.

In fact, myself and many others have fired thousands of rounds from a Glock 19 without ever
experiencing a malfunction.

That said, malfunctions happen and you need to know what to do so that you don't just stand
there staring at your gun wondering how to fix it.

There are three main types of malfunctions. I will briefly describe each and then tell you how to
fix them easily.

Type 1: Failure to fire

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This is when you pull the trigger and you hear a "click" instead of a bang. This could be an
empty gun or a magazine that is not fully seated, making it act like an empty gun.

Type 2: Failure to eject (Stove Pipe)

This is called a "stove pipe" because the malfunction makes the cartridge that was supposed to
eject from your handgun look like a "stove pipe" chimney. It's a failure to eject.

Type 3: Failure to feed (Double Feed).

This is the most serious. Luckily, it's the most rare. A double feed occurs when two cartridges
are trying to get into the chamber at the exact same time.

How To Clear Almost All Malfunctions With Three Simple Words

That's a lot of different types of malfunctions, and you might think it's hard to clear all these but
the good news is that three words will fix almost all these.

Tap-Rack-Assess.

Step 1: Tap the base of the magazine with your palm

Step 2: Rack the slide

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Step 3: Re-establish fighting grip and assess

"Assess" means do you need to keep shooting or is the threat gone? Where are the other threats?

The Simple Way To Fix Your Gun

If you are shooting and your gun goes click instead of bang.

Or you notice the slide locked weird ...

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Or it's doing anything but firing like you want it to ...

The most simple solution is to ALWAYS tap-rack-assess first ...

"Tap-Rack-Assess" is also called "immediate action" because -- you guessed it -- it's the
immediate action you should always take whenever your gun stops firing for any reason.

If it was any of the first two malfunctions then you have just fixed them and you're back in the
fight.

Secondly, if it turns out your gun is simply out of bullets then the slide is now locked back after
you tapped and racked it, you now perform a slide lock reload.

You have now just fixed 99.9% of the most likely scenarios for why your gun stopped firing.

With modern, semi-auto handguns, it is very rarely you're experiencing a double-feed unless
your gun sucks or is broken or has some problem.

The bad news is a double-feed can take some time to clear. The good news ,is if it's a double-
feed, then reloading it will fix the malfunction as well. But first, you will often need to lock the
slide back so that it takes some of the pressure off the magazine, then eject the magazine and
reload as normal like you would a slide lock reload.

Doing it this way we only have one real response to the gun not "working" -- our immediate
action -- that leads us to two options:

Step 1. Immediate Action (Tap-Rack-Assess)

If this fixed it, great!

Keep fighting.

If not then move onto step 2:

Step 2. Reload the gun.

Now you can continue fighting.

This is the most simple way to teach fixing malfunctions.

Hat tip to James Yeager for crystallizing this idea of very simplistic weapons handling and
malfunction fixing for beginners.

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 The End ... Or The Beginning?
Although this is the end of this short book, it’s only the beginning for you, if you are new to
concealed carry.

Treat this as your introduction to concealed carry. Seek out new forms of training and
experiences. Practice as if your life depended on it.

Carrying a gun is your right and duty as an American. But you should always seek to improve
your skills with the weapon you’re trusting your life (and the life of your family) to.

Thank you for reading this book.

-- Caleb Lee
Certified NRA Instructor
Founder, ConcealedCarryEducation.com
PreparedGunOwners.com

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 APPENDIX
Recommended Reading:

Most of these are articles I've written on my website PreparedGunOwners.com

* 3-Part Series On Self Defense Ammo. Do NOT use a self-defense ammo to protect your life
unless it's on this list. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. This is for all the common service calibers (9mm,
.40 and .45)

* The best self-defense ammo for a .380 pocket pistol.

* How Even PETITE Women Can Conceal Carry Big Guns Without Belts, Tactical Clothes, Or
Looking Like Men!

* What You Absolutely MUST Know About Tactical First Aid (Civilian TCCC pt 1)

Please visit PreparedGunOwners.com as new articles are added all the time.

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