According to the L.A. Times, the law allowing citizens concealed is bad because:

Opponents say the law ratchets up the potential for violence in parks, where for seven consecutive years rangers have been the most assaulted federal law enforcement officers, according to data compiled by the park service.

And

There were 1,844 weapons-related offenses reported in national parks last year.

Wait one minute. So Federal Agents have been regularly getting their butts kicked, assaulted and what-nots so it makes sense that the common citizen should be disarmed so we can get our butts kicked also? And not counting that guns were already in National Parks, just in the hands of those willing to break the law, you know? CRIMINALS.

Seriously people. If you wanna make a case, use logic before opening mouth.

For a more detail explanation of what the Law does or does not allow, check this great article by David Codrea.

Let it be the Ruger LCP, a snubbie, a Seacamp or any of the old and new subcompacts out there, let us dispense with the bullshit from the get go: They are carried out of laziness by 90% of their owners.

Since I’ve been carrying, I have done so with a medium size firearm (after a short initial stint with a full size) and I know the kind of dedication it requires. It is not light, it is not that concealable if you carry outside the waistband, you may be faced with having to do a whole uncomfortable strip show if you have to go inside a Government-Mandated Gun Free Zone. Doctors and dentists offices seem to prefer chairs with arms where a you can’t seem to fit with the gun in your waist, etc. I know it is a pain in the ribs, you know it too.

One day,  Lazy Gun Owner is perusing through the glass counters of his local gun shop and sees that small wonder Stamp-Size Gun and suddenly his mind flashes with an epiphany: “Well damn! Look it here! I can carry that pretty little thing in my pocket, nobody will notice and I don’t have to load up on my waist like rough carpenter!” So they get that gorgeous cute thingie, a couple of boxes of ammo (one defensive-type of course) and head for the range.  Here is when he discovers that cutie Stamp-Size Gun won’t shoot accurately past 5 yards, although actually the gun can but it is the Shooter that cannot do it since a small handgun usually has the trigger pull of a nutcracker trying to pry open a golf ball and a small sight radius that makes aiming more difficult. But Lazy Gun Owner does not know or promises himself he will take the time to learn sometime in the future and anyways most gunfights happen at bad breath distance, right? Who needs aiming? Next he gets home, ditches his big gun, holster, spare mags and slides the new miniature in the pocket….along with the tactical knife, 43 cents in change (including a Canadian penny), 3 Skittles and 3 ounces of lint.

If you are going to carry a sub-compact, be smart about it. First: Be Proficient with the Gun. I don’t care how well you shoot your $5,000 ultra customized 1911 from a race holster, it is not a guarantee that you will be James Bond with a small semi auto drawing the bottom of your front pants pocket. Shorter Barrel and short sight radius makes any sub compact a gun that requires a different approach and practice, plus the added time and effort to dig for it in your pocket which does hinder proper grip and initial manipulation. Second: Carry the gun smartly. Have nothing but the gun in the pocket designated for the gun and use a pocket holster designed for that effect. There are holsters available that not only will help you with a proper grip and presentation of the gun (remember, you are still drawing from a pocket and it won’t be fast) but will also protect it from sweat, dirt and other elements that might cause a malfunction when the you need the gun the most. Added advantage is that most pocket holsters will disguise the shape of the gun and help you avoid printing. Third: Get the best defensive ammo you can safely shoot. But also be aware that smaller pistol calibers will be more inefficient than bigger pistol calibers and that all pistol calibers are not good people stoppers. Fourth: Carry spare ammo. Yes Virginia, there are malfunctions and missed shots and multiple targets out there. Who told you that only 5 puny rounds were enough?

There is always one or more trade offs when you seek comfort or any other advantage.  What you carry is your decision as well as how you carry and how much practice you should have. We all have heard/ read the tales of people brought down by a single shot from a .22, but always think that it is not going to happen to you and that Murphy is going to mess with your sorry but right there and then.

TSA to swab airline passengers’ hands in search for explosives…. Oh hell, just when i though I did not need another reason not to fly. Now I have to make sure I don’t do any reloading if I have to fly to a match or anywhere.  I like the “random” check part as not to offend terrorists’ sensibilities while they adjust their ANFO jockstrap. ACLU is static that we will not unfairly target the terrorists who are trying to kill us. Of course that means TSA will swab and dismantle the leg braces of a handicapped 4 year old instead.

Now that we can check our firearms again in trains, AMTRAK seems like a nicer option. Screw it, I’ll drive.

I just saw today’s episode of Impossible Shots and I think it is the best they ever done. It featured 84 year old WWII Veteran Sniper Ted Gundy who fought at the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Bundy had contacted Impossible Shots and asked how was possible for modern snipers to connect a thousand yards. Impossible Shots went the distance and took Mr Gundy to Ft Benning as a VIP Guest for a week. He relives his experiences, talks to a new generation of fighters and you can’t help but choke a little at the emotions this gentleman shows for his past and our future.

Please read on the show narrative from Firearmstalk.com If you can’t wait for the show, at the bottom of this post you can find out what happened when and Old Sniper meets modern rifles and techniques.

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Big Ass Spoiler Alert:

Mr. Gundy, to the amazement and admiration of the top Army Snipers makes three head shots a one thousand yards on his first try. At 84 years of age and with a missing leg. It was truly the Greatest Generation.

Uniquely designed to destroy the delicate Everglades ecosystem, the Ford EF Everglades equally grinds over alligators, swamp deer, snakes, Palmetto fronds, wild pigs, vines and the occasional Earth Lover communing with the swamp mosquitoes. It spews 3 tons of choking diesel smoke per gallon and the noise shakes baby birds out of their nests.

H/T to SayUncle for the original meme idea.

I am an advocate of Action Shooting Sports for the enormous benefits a shooter can derive. Static Range will only give you a measurement of Marksmanship & Gun Handling in a quiet, pressure-less environment but it is a myth that goes down the drain the second you are under the slightest influence of adrenalin.  I have seen shooters that felt pretty good about their craft in a static range become a bowl of ticked off pudding when they are under a timer and must move or face moving targets. Action Shooting Sports will give a shooter an initial measurement of what he ir she will do when the cow chips hit the wind power turbines.

The other thing(s) you get when competing against other shooters is an instantly available pool of knowledge yours for the observing and asking. You will see a technique that you did not know almost in every match and will try it. It may work or it might not but you have something you did not have before and that is golden. And if you are having troubles adapting that technique, have no doubt that somebody will me very willing to teach you the finer points till you get it right.

There is also a sense of camaraderie among individuals that are usually fiercely independent. It is a meeting of liked-minded folks that breathe the sport and will discuss, test, argue and advertise different schools of tactics, themes or trainings received. Backstabbing is almost non-existent you can let your hair down and make mistakes knowing that any catcalling will be done without malice: just friends laughing with you instead of at you. Information about just anything guns will be shared in between sips of Gatorade, mineral water and an occasional cloud of tobacco smoke. After Match meals to relax and comment anything and everything happen quite often if you wish to attend. And even if you do not attend, nobody feels offended because you did not partake on the meal: they understand because they are like you.

I am the least gregarious person you’ll ever meet. If you happen to visit me at home, I have no qualms on telling that I like you (you have my address so a certain level of liking is present, otherwise you don’t even get my zip code) but that it is time for you to leave the premises because I need my alone time. Even so I enjoy thoroughly my IDPA Matches with the shooting, bantering, jokes, arguments, discussion and even the occasional bartering that happens, specially if the wife never finds out.

So, join a Action Shooting Club to learn and have fun. It is the cheapest therapy in town. Although truth be told, we are a bit crazy sometimes.

If we weren’t, why would be come out to shoot in a Saturday morning in Miami with 40 degree weather, winds at 15 m.p.h and a constant drizzle while standing in two inches deep of very cold mud? 🙂

Tell me if you heard this one from other CCWers: ““I’d never wear a vest. It screams ‘Shoot Me’ at the top of the building.” Or this one: “Fanny Packs? Only people carrying a gun use fanny packs in this day and age.” Or even this one (my favorite): “I can tell who is carrying by the way they (dress-move-walk).” Welcome to the wonderful debate on concealment garments.

To the uninitiated, carrying a concealed weapon requires a deep change in a person’s way of life. A sidearm is not an “accessory” but a life saving device that should be carried every day and not just whenever you feel like or “think” you might be in danger. You cannot predict when you will be a victim of a crime because if you could, Why would you go there? You avoid it altogether and that’s it. So, as stated initially you have to have the gun with you in order to have an effective means of self-defense and that will force you to change your life style and that includes what & how you carry plus how you cover it.

And I have news for the anti-vest crowd: Civilian Non-shooters do not know you are packing just because you have a 5.11 Vest. Some in the know may suspect you are carrying, but unless you display the weapon, they only suspect, not know for sure. How do I know this? Guess who is been carrying a gun covered by a vest for a decade in a very hot, very humid city? Yep, you’ll see me strolling the streets of Miami with the ubiquitous khaki vest with the temperatures in the high 90s and the humidity up there to cook broccoli. Have I been “found out”? Twice that I know of and both times were by fellow Concealed Carriers that were dressed “suspiciously” enough that I noticed. We made eye contact, looked at our waist areas and smiled at each other as if saying “Yep, me too! Nice seeing you Brother!

I was not going to mention it because I have not seen a civilian yet making that mistake, but make sure your cover garment is loose enough not to print by just breathing. Civilians tend to overdo in size and length but I have seen undercover cops not quite paying attention to what they wear. I remember one time an undercover police officer wearing a light blue sweater during a summer night in Ft. Lauderdale (blending, you are doing it wrong) and the sweater was so tight that not only you could tell he was packing a 1911 in an outside the belt holster, but you could almost read the serial number in the gun.

Am I ever asked about wearing a vest? Yes. 95% of the people who ask will inquire if I am going fishing or am I a professional fisherman. The rest will ask if I am a photographer but most people and I mean 99 out of  100 don’t even care what I am wearing. I have the advantage of wearing some sort of vest for the last 30 years as part of my regular wardrobe so it is second nature for me. And this is the key: Second Nature, be comfortable with what you wear and carry.

The first important item about carrying a gun is to have a good belt and a good holster. A belt that can handle the weight and a holster that is comfortable will do wonders for your carrying pleasure. Flabby belts that let the gun flap around and a cheap holster that loses shape and cannot retain the gun properly are a constant reminder that you are carrying. The more you are aware that you are packing, the more you will messing with the gun in public places and you will out yourself.  Using the same principle, the fanny pack you bought at Walgreens on sale for $5 that is so thin and feeble it looks like you are wearing a cheap candy wrapper will have you adjusting it every 5 minutes or less.

And yes, it is important point is to somewhat blend with your surroundings. An orange and yellow Hawaiian shirt covering you gun in a funeral or awards ceremony might attract unwanted attention and then somebody might notice you are carrying (or may make them blind and won’t see a thing). Please choose a hawaiian shirt with muted tones for such events. If you want to wear a vest but are afraid that it may scream GUN! you may want to use a bit of camouflage in the form of non-gun related patches or pins. It helps that you actually know about those non-gun related themes so, if you don’t fish but know cars don’t use anything fishing but use some racing stuff. People will focus on the patches and pins and will not even think about what is under your vest.

In the end, the most important thing is the way you carry yourself. If you act like you are not carrying a gun (again, get good comfortable equipment) your body language will show that and people will “know” that you are not carrying. And that’s the name of the game.