Article Source | TheFirearmBlog.com
Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about how handgun size can affect your overall carrying experience. If you happened to miss that article, don’t worry, since I’ve left a link to that article here. This week, I want to address some common perceptions I see in the gun community that may not always be true. Whether it’s worrying about printing or not carrying enough stuff, there are plenty of things that people have various perceptions of that may not be true. Let’s take a closer look at what some carry topics that are perception vs reality.
Concealed Carry Corner @ TFB:
- Concealed Carry Corner: What’s Really Important About Size?
- Concealed Carry Corner: Must-Have Items For Summer Carry
- Concealed Carry Corner: When Things Completely Break
- Concealed Carry Corner: The Major Problems With Lightweight Pistols
Carrying Around Anti Gun Individuals
The past couple of weeks have been busy for me in my career. I’ve been running around going to nice dinners with certain individuals and as fun as it can be, sometimes it can make you worry about carrying a gun. I’ve had this internal battle where I want to carry a handgun for personal safety but don’t want any of the clients to know so it doesn’t affect my work. This may seem odd, but it’s fairly common in the professional world.
PERCEPTION
When you carry around people you don’t want to know that you have a concealed firearm, you can become hypersensitive and worry that your gun may be visible the whole time. This can be at family functions, business dinners or spending time with new people you may not know. Not everyone is excited or even understanding about firearms but the sad truth is they’re oftentimes not always understanding.
Most know this and will feel slightly more concerned than if they were just typically walking around in public. Every time you move, it’s easy to feel like your cover garment could have moved and your gun is now exposed. This type of thinking is very common amongst new conceal carriers but it can happen to the best of us. As a result, you can’t ever relax and just enjoy yourself because you don’t want your gun to be visible at the wrong part.
REALITY
The reality of this situation is the fact most people are completely clueless about what to look for when it comes to seeing a concealed carry gun. When people don’t carry, they have no past experiences or background knowledge to understand what to look for when looking for a gun. Your attitude and demeanor will be the biggest determining factor. When you’re relaxed and you don’t have any elevated stress levels, the people around you won’t know any better and won’t suspect anything.
Confidence is key and keeping a relaxed demeanor will get you further than a few layers of cover garments. If you really feel uncomfortable and want to pull your dress shirt down or cover garment to make sure it’s fully covering your firearm, it’s always good to pull it down on both sides to not draw attention to just one side. The vast majority of the time people are completely oblivious and will never see anything.
Carrying Everything You May Need
Another big thing I see when looking at what people carry on a regular basis is the idea of people carrying everything they may need. This could be extra magazines, a backup firearm, flashlights, and multiple pocket knives. Sometimes this can take the form of carrying everything from a multitool to a full medical kit on your ankle. There’s a common trend to carry every single thing you may ever need. This isn’t necessarily a mistake new concealed carriers make but can also occur by people who’ve concealed carried for years.
PERCEPTION
When it comes to carrying items on your person, certain people want to fully be prepared for any scenario no matter what occurs. I’ve met some people who believe in carrying a utility knife along with a knife for self-protection. Others will carry a full-size pistol, ankle carry a backup gun and a full medical loadout, and their everyday items as well. People don’t want to be caught off-guard or outgunned in a certain situation. As a result, people will carry multiple magazines and everything else they could possibly need to protect themselves. This is the overall thinking behind carrying so many items but oftentimes more isn’t always exactly more capable.
REALITY
The reality of the situation is you won’t need 95% of the “what if” items that you want to carry. In most cases, you will have an extremely fast and violent confrontation that oftentimes takes less than 6 rounds in most self-defense situations. It’s not a bad idea to have some sort of light either on your gun or a handheld but as far as extra magazines, multiple pocket knives, and stuff like that, it’s simply not necessary. Once you get over the fact that less really does mean more when carrying a concealed firearm, life will get easier for you. These days I will typically carry something like a Glock 48 with a handheld light and that’s about it. It doesn’t take much to add a significant amount of protection to your daily life.
Overall Thoughts
When it comes to carrying a concealed firearm, your perception of what’s important can be skewed by social media, movies, and what other people in your circle think is important. Worrying about printing and having other people see your firearm is a pretty normal phase to go through and in certain situations, you can sometimes get fixated on it. The truth is most people won’t ever notice and it’s not an issue. Carrying too much is the other big issue but often times that will sort itself off given enough time.
Let me know what you guys think are some other perception vs reality issues in the community. Do you agree with me that most people will never notice if you slightly print? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below. If you have any questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.
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