Concealed Carry – Carry One in the Chamber?
Ron Gunner 04.14.17
We all take our concealed carry class with the intentions of being able to protect yourself and loved ones. At the time of the class it might be a one or two day class, sometimes even a three day class. So you get out of it, you are pumped you go to your sheriffs department and apply for your permit. Depending on what state you live in, you may have it as little as 2 days or in some cases 2 months.
So now you get to conceal carry for the very first time! Mistakes made as newbie’s are always tugging on your cover garment or checking to make sure the pistol is still in the holster completely. But the single biggest mistake is not having one in the chamber ready to go if and when needed. There is an unwritten “21” foot rule that has been used in many cases against people protecting themselves or family.
Let me ask you how long do you think it would take someone from a dead stop to get to you at 21 feet? Most people think 4 sec’s at least. The answer is LESS THEN TWO! Yes that is right, less than two seconds. So in that time you have to assess the threat, move your cover garment, draw from the holster and hope nothing gets caught on the way out, and then pray you can now rack the slide to load a round and be able to aim.
Let that sink in for a few minutes. Less than two seconds to do all of this. Scary? You bet it is. Now I am not telling you from day one of you getting your permit to carry one in the chamber either, I am telling you to shoot the carry gun as much as possible and get comfortable with it. This means a LOT of rounds downrange. You have to be familiar with that gun to the point that it becomes an extension of your arm.
You have to know it inside out. When the crap goes down, we fall back to training. Ask any veteran or police officer, and you need to train to get to the point where you are comfortable with one in the chamber. Just by doing that, it could save your life and you have to ask yourself, is your life worth the cost of ammo and range fees to get to this point?
I would guess it is or you would not be reading this article now!
Shoot your concealed carry gun at a range every chance you get, spend the money on the ammo, and seek out further training if possible. You want to make sure you hit what you are shooting at and not miss and hit somebody that has nothing to do with the situation you may find yourself in. When training, remember you are training for a real life event, so let empty mags hit the floor. They will not break and even if they did they are not that much to replace.
By the way always carry more than one mag, at a minimum 2, but 3 is better. If you have a little gun that only holds 5 to 7 shots, you will need more. Without ammo all you have is something to throw at your attacker. I will get into the pros and cons of different size guns in a later article. Right now I want you to just go shoot your pistol and shoot it a lot and learn it. Then and only when you feel comfortable should you carry with one in the chamber ready to go. It could save your life!
Stay safe and stay alive.
