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Member |
I am about start seriously doing some CC...over the last say 13 months, i have gotten a few guns, learned a whole lot about hoslters, ammo, calibers, sigforum the 2nd amendment and obviouslt shooting... (more shooting to come) but i recently got a CCL as well so am just starting at that.
My question is...over time with practice, do you become better at concealed carry. Im not really asking if you get better at an actual self defense situation more like... Do you get better at not printing.....less conscious of the gun....learn how to sit comfortably etc... What are the things you felt improved most.... Shooting is always something improve on, not really asking about that.. Thank, Alex |
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Member |
I've only been carrying a couple of months. I'd say the learning curve is quite shallow. It only took a few times carrying to get over the "OMG, everyone has to know I'm carrying" freak outs. You quickly learn to bend with teh knees to avoid printing when reaching for low objects, etc. I 'm still learning myself and getting used to carrying, but it's really nothing that won't come from routine carrying. Good luck. And if you haven't carried before, do what is frequently recommended for your first time out: walk around walmart for 30 min or so. You'll quickly realize that no one knows your carrying, or if they do, they don't care enough to do anything about it.
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Moderator |
CC like many other exercises goes through the phases of unconscious incompetence (don't know how to do it, don't know what it is); conscious incompetence (know what it is, don't know how to do it); conscious competence (know how to do it, know what it is); to something close to unconscious competence (know what it is, can do it without thinking).
I compare it, in a behavioral sense, to driving. Many people make it to work each weekday morning. When they get to work, ask them if they remember how many red lights they stopped at? As you CC more, certain aspects will become automatic. The entire exercise will become less mentally fatiguing and you will worry less about printing/flashing. However, that does not mean you are better. That simply means you didn't get caught. Similarly, just because you have no accidents, and are comfortable behind the wheel, does not mean you are a good driver. As you go, you will learn certain tricks about your gun, your equipment, and yourself. These include: Where certain guns conceal best in what positions, how to pick an object up off the ground without printing, how to conceal under different conditions with different attire, how to be in close quarters with people and "protect" your carry from being inadvertently bumped up against. If you are paying attention, learning, and practicing what you learn, then yes, you will get better. |
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Junior Member |
At first I was self-conscious but now I don’t even realize I have them on. I like thin so my CC is a Kahr CW40 and a Ruger LCP as my bug.
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Member |
Good stuff. Congrats on the new CCL. We call ours CCW here in Mo. LCP man myself, for EDC, and although the weight of the piece gets easier to pack, the weight of the responsibility never lightens up. |
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"He's not a tame lion" |
Printing is literally almost a non-issue. Self consciousness is a bigger problem. lol.
I was once sitting in a restaurant with some friends. He had a cellphone with a camera (I'm told mine has one too...) and he took a pic of me sitting with my arm around my wife. In the pic, due to how I carry my pistols (essentially a high cross-draw similar to a shoulder holster) the butt of my HK Mark 23 made a huge bulge in my shirt (the shirt was stretched tightly as that arm was around my wife. He took the pic, showed it to his wife and my wife and I. I saw the bulge, but I was sort of expecting to. Nobody else made a comment. Later, when he emailed me the pic, I called him and asked him about the bulge. "Oh yeah...I'll be darned" was essentially his comment. When you are moving about and your clothing is shifting on your body a moment of printing goes by so fast nobody would see it. Three people saw a still photo of monumental printing and never saw it! Even my wife didn't notice it until I pointed it out. People go through their lives and they see (actually see) probably 10% of what is in front of them. Everybody looks but nobody sees. I have never been "outed" carrying concealed. When I taught the AZ CCW class a few years ago, my parter and I did this thing where we did about an hour of class before discussing hiding guns. At that point, I would divest myself of eleven handguns! I'm talking about big guns: two 1911s, two G30 glocks, a Glock 21, Two Colt Pythons (one four inch and one six inch) plus four others. The smallest was probably a 2 1/2 inch Colt Diamnodback. Nobody in the class, a class specifically on the SUBJECT of concealed carry, EVER realized until I started producing pistols and revolvers. I stood in front of, talked to, walked between chairs and around the students for an hour before we did the "unveiling". Nobody in any of our classes ever had any idea I was carrying "a" gun much less eleven of them! If you uses reasonable measures, it will not be a problem. People are blind as bats. ____________________________ And the sword spoke unto the warrior and it said, "In the blackness of battle, I am the rising sun. I bring Light or I am defiled. Dishonor me and you will die on my steel." |
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Member |
It can be a blow to the ego to some to hear this, but it is true and it works very much to the advantage of the CCW holder. The majority of people neither know nor care who you are or what you are doing. ________________________________________________ "The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli." - George Costanza "Experience is never at the mercy of a man with only an argument." - DL |
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Member |
it eventually becomes second nature to you...
and if you carry everyday, the time period it takes to get used to it shortens. no matter what gun, holster you end up settleing on, you are going to print at one time or another. but likely no one will notice. congratulations on your jump into the water. you'll swim confidently in no time. cold on ice it's a Deadman's touch |
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It always scares me that these same people drive motor vehicles   |
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Member |
it does become second nature you also lose that feeling of a spot light being on you and everyone knowing whats going on and you have it on
Murray "No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he is vigilant in its preservation" General Douglas MacArthur |
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Member |
In short, yes. It becomes very similar to getting dressed, putting your keys in your pocket, cell phone, wallet, gun, spare magazine. Have a cup of coffee, go to work, eat lunch... It takes awhile to get used to it, but it starts to become second nature. I've had my permit for about 18 months and been seriously carrying for about a year. I'm armed whenever legally allowed to be. Never been made, talked with LEOs w/o informing (legal in VA), been in situations were I was REALLY glad I had it but have never had to put my hand on my gun once for a SD reason. Comfort level goes up, but you can never forget that you have a huge responsibility when you strap on a firearm. Knowing what you can do, what you can't do, and being safe. Good luck. Take it as slow as you need to. You'll do fine. |
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Member |
+1 Welcome. _____________________V____________________ Just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it. |
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"He's not a tame lion" |
Two examples of people "not seeing". Once, in college I saw these two women collide on their bicycles..head on, front wheel to front wheel! I saw them heading toward each other, and neither even made a move, a gesture, a change in body language to indicate that either one even knew the other was there.
Second. I have posted this one before, but it is amazing. I was in a store trying on shirts to see if they were good for CCW. I was wearing a white tee shirt and my usual CCW harnass consisting of a black back support belt holding two holsters and a mag pouch. I was carrying two large pistols and an extra mag. Nothing should have showed more blatantly than two guns in a black rig over a white tee shirt. I had just taken off my shirt (I thought the dressing room door was locked, but the lock was broken), when it opens and a man partly steps in. He sees me, and apologizes. I say something to the effect that the lock must be broken and he leaves. Jokingly, I shout after him to make sure his door works. He laughs and says he will. I continue to try on a couple shirts while waiting for the police. lol. I finish and when I am leaving, he is too and not once did he "look funny" at me. While he was looking right at me, there was no sign at all that he recognized the fact that my "back support" was really a double holster holding a pair of pistol! People are truly blind! ____________________________ And the sword spoke unto the warrior and it said, "In the blackness of battle, I am the rising sun. I bring Light or I am defiled. Dishonor me and you will die on my steel." |
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Junior Member |
I have been carrying concealed religiously for five years. What got me started? I had a co-worker who was terminated for violence in the work place. I was a key witness to his behavior and I was going to testify about his actions for my employer. While getting counsel from the Shop Seward, he made a direct threat to my wife and children. I immediately applied for my CCL and purchased a Ruger SP101. Large and heavy compared to what I am used to now, But it was to be my only gun, and I thought I wanted the “put it away and don’t think about it” revolver reliability. The ex-work jerk beat up his wife and went to jail, and after not being threatened by him for a couple of years I moved on. But during that time I developed a new interest: guns and the uneducated public’s knee jerk reaction to them. I had been carrying for so long that it felt strange not having it on me. My goal is now to educate myself and others on the law, and make owning and carrying a firearm a normal, accepted, no big deal everyday thing. I am grateful to live in Virginia where the gun laws are easier to live with than some of the other eastern states (I originally accidentally missed the g and typed “fun laws”. I thought that was cool because guns are fun!). I am just now starting to open carry and I have found the transition to be wonderfully uneventful. I went to a local gun show today and while I was there I renewed my VCDL (Virginia Citizens Defense League) membership. I purchased a small “Guns Saves Lives” orange button from them and on the way out picked up a small “I’m the NRA and I vote” button from the NRA. I chose not to OC but I did CC all day. What did surprise me is how many people noticed my buttons. Some commented positively, but most didn’t say a word. I noticed folks looking at the buttons from quite a distance. I would have thought that should be the reaction I would get when in OC mode. But instead the buttons are much more noticed. So my experience with OC is more in line with others that have posted in the forums. My crude analysis is that under most circumstances most people notice what is going on from the chest up. Ties for guys and (fill in the blank here: _____ ) for girls. There must be a reason we try to accessorize and prop up those things. Because that is what people look at! If I did OC around my neck then I might find I would get the attention I didn’t want. So find a holster you can live with and like, and CC your heart out, no one will notice. My biggest concern now is forgetting I need to take it off when I go to the post office or airport. Maybe I have become too comfortable. Whatever you do, learn the laws of your state, and set a good example on behalf of all who cherish and uphold the 2nd Amendment. It’s hard enough when things are going good. Imagine what it would be like if one dodo for brains gave the Brady’s a poster boy they could prop up for their cause. Aargh!
BTW, this is my second post (Thanks to Sigcrazy7 for turning me onto this board). I don’t know the ropes yet but it looks like posters get a quick corrective education if they need it. Hopefully mine will be minimal. I will need time to learn the “culture” of this board, but I am glad to be here. |
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Moderator |
Paragraphs or, line breaks at least, will help. Some will give up and stop reading when they see a big block of text  Welcome aboard, or as we used to say "pull up a stump and have a seat." |
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Member |
Yes, CCW gets much more comfortable over time. I remember the first time I carried out in public, just a short trip to ShopKo. In the dead of winter with a heavy coat on, and I felt more conspicuous than a naked jay-walker. Now I stroll around in a T-shirt, not giving it a second thought.
It could be that people notice more often than we think, but have the good sense to not say anything. For all they know you are off-duty LEO. I know in a situation like AZ SIG shooter's story, I wouldn't have said anything if I walked into the changing room. Perhaps 9 of 10 people just don't care, even if they do notice. I do agree, however, that people as a whole aren't overly attentive. BarnOwl, welcome aboard. Glad to see you got that "real" email account working.  Life sucks, get a helmet. -K9346 |
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Member |
welcome.As most have said here you learn as you go.
Like anything the more you do it the easier it seems. I havn't had any issues cc here in VT. I consider myself lucky to live in this state. Very gun friendly.No permit needed to carry concealed.Anyway my two closest getting busted incidents have been when my edc has bumped up against something hard.Once while sitting in a restaurant with big pine booths the butt of my 239 hit the booth.It sounded like i was carrying a hammer on my belt a big "CLUNK".I didn't react. No one else reacted either(sheeple). The second time was in line at the checkout. I turned to get some mints off the stand and my gun hit the checkout counter."CLUNK" again. And again no one seemed to care. Mind you these clunks are not like a cell phone.Really more like a hammer. I just laugh about it now ..but I am more aware of it now. keep up the good work.be safe. |
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Member |
I've been carrying for less than a year. At first I was very conscious about it, overly careful to avoid printing, frequently checking my cover garment, and eyeing myself in any reflective surafce.
Now that I am accustomed to it, it seems natural to me. I'm no longer overly concerned about printing. In that sense, I am better at carrying. |
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Member |
+1 to that. |
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