Wanderling
Member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2011
- Messages
- 923
It took me a good few years between getting my license and actually carrying daily. The problem ? I was constantly torn between being uncomfortable or printing too much (or believing that I was). I believe that’s the problem a lot of people are facing... more than care to admit.
Here’s what I learned the hard way - and would like to share *my* experience and hard learned lesson.
Forget about caliber. Forget about round count.
Get the smallest gun that you absolutely are comfortable carrying, in all circumstances and clothing. For me it was an LCP in .380, for someone else it may be a Shield or a .32 or even a .22. Doesn’t matter. It’s still a whole lot better than nothing.
The idea is to carry it daily and carry it everywhere it’s legally possible, until it becomes your second nature and you no longer feel like the entire world is staring at you.
Once the novelty is gone and you are confident and used to carrying daily, then you will be able to try larger guns in larger calibers and different carry options. You will no longer be as frustrated (because you know that, no matter what, you have a guaranteed backup plan), you will no longer feel overwhelmed or intimidated, and you will have enough experience to know whether you have a real or imaginary printing issue. It took me a couple years to admit to myself that, no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t stand carrying a double stack 9mm IWB. Now, I am getting back to carrying it more and more - OWB, in the Glock’s own cheap-yet-excellent plastic holster, first in winter, then finding some combinations of lighter clothing that work, and if it doesn’t seem to work that day, hello LCP. I don’t think that I would have progressed that far with G26 have I not went the LCP route.
Just my two cents...
Here’s what I learned the hard way - and would like to share *my* experience and hard learned lesson.
Forget about caliber. Forget about round count.
Get the smallest gun that you absolutely are comfortable carrying, in all circumstances and clothing. For me it was an LCP in .380, for someone else it may be a Shield or a .32 or even a .22. Doesn’t matter. It’s still a whole lot better than nothing.
The idea is to carry it daily and carry it everywhere it’s legally possible, until it becomes your second nature and you no longer feel like the entire world is staring at you.
Once the novelty is gone and you are confident and used to carrying daily, then you will be able to try larger guns in larger calibers and different carry options. You will no longer be as frustrated (because you know that, no matter what, you have a guaranteed backup plan), you will no longer feel overwhelmed or intimidated, and you will have enough experience to know whether you have a real or imaginary printing issue. It took me a couple years to admit to myself that, no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t stand carrying a double stack 9mm IWB. Now, I am getting back to carrying it more and more - OWB, in the Glock’s own cheap-yet-excellent plastic holster, first in winter, then finding some combinations of lighter clothing that work, and if it doesn’t seem to work that day, hello LCP. I don’t think that I would have progressed that far with G26 have I not went the LCP route.
Just my two cents...