Embracing The Concealed Carry Lifestyle - Your 10 Point Check List

If you are new to Concealed Carry, welcome!

And if you have been Concealed Carrier for a while rock on!

We decided to come up with 10 things you may want to consider as a Concealed Carrier.

Hopefully our Quick Concealed Carry Checklist will help you on your way to embracing the Concealed Carry Lifestyle..

1. Your Concealed Carry Permit - This will be the first thing you need to carry legally, unless you live in a permit-less Constitutional Carry State.

2. Your Carry Gun of choice 

Well it's time to hit the range, you have to practice with your firearm to be proficient and able to hit what you want to hit and not hit what you don't want to hit. If you haven't got your gun yet, check out our free ebook! 

3. Your Concealed Carry Wardrobe

You will want to shop to buy clothes that work with concealed carry if your current ones don't. You will want some cover garments, loose fitting ( I don't mean super baggy) Some patterns, some dark colors, things that won't show you're carrying a gun. You will learn over time what works and what doesn't and how to dress around your gun. 

4. Your Belt 

You will want to have a few different carry belts, for different outfits, different colors. Also it will be a pain changing your belt every time you wear different pants/shorts, I like to keep 1 belt on 1 pair of jeans and another belt I can use with other pants.

5. Your Holster

You may want a few different holsters, an inside the waistband holster or two, an outside the waistband holster for concealment which sits close to the body, and a range outside the waistband holster for the range. Make sure it is a safe holster that checks the 4 boxes of a safe holster! 

6. Your Defensive Ammo 

You want to try your defensive ammo out.

Your cheap 115 grain range FMJ target ammo is going to feel different than your higher grain Jacketed Hollow Point defensive ammo. It's good to shoot it and empty your carry mag every once in a while.

Switch mags and load some new defensive ammo every so often to rotate your carry magazines and ammunition. I usually switch mine out every 3-6 months or so. This is because most malfunctions occur due to a faulty magazine. The spring in your magazine is designed to be compressed and decompressed so keeping it compressed for a long time is not always a good thing. Also moisture, humidity ad temperature changes, can effect the spring and possibly your ammo, so especially if you live in a humid climate I would advise rotating regularly. 

Another thing to consider is that chambering and un-chambering the same cartridge over and over again is not what it is designed to do. It's designed to be chambered and fired, so if you chamber and un-chamber frequently the casing could get damaged with time. You don't want your first shot, when your life is on the line, to malfunction, when that could have possibly been prevented by testing your gear every once in a while. It's just good practice to test and know that your gear is in good condition. 

7. Your Spare Magazine 

Make sure you have a back up, practice reloads, if anything it will save you time on the range by not having to reload the same magazine over and over

8. Mag Carrier

If you choose to carry a spare magazine, we highly recommend a magazine carrier which we talked about in this article

9. Storage

You will want to exercise proper firearm storage safety, we don't want anyone touching your gun that's just laying around, without your permission, consent and supervision. It's good practice to keep it stored and make sure the only person who can get to it is you!

10. Cleaning Supplies

Even though modern firearms, such as a Glock 19 or a Sig P320, are designed to take a beating, get dirty and keep going and they aren't as finicky as some of the older firearms. You will still want to clean your gun every so often, I don't clean mine after every range visit but it's good practice to do it every once in a while and make sure everything is well lubricated and running smoothly. I use some Hoppe's Gun Oil and a Bore Snake. It's a great quick and easy way to clean your barrel and keep things relatively clean without needing to do a full deep cleaning. I know people who have shot their guns several thousand rounds without a deep cleaning and they are still running just fine!

So you got the check list.. Now what?

Well it's time to hit the range, you have to practice with your firearm to be proficient and able to hit what you want to hit and not hit what you don't want to hit. 

As you may not always be able to get to the range you will want to practice dry fire.

Dry fire can be done at home and will help build your muscle memory.

Practice things such as drawing from your holster, practicing your sight acquisition, proper sight alignment, your trigger control, reloads and clearing malfunctions.

All of these things can be done for free regularly, it doesn't cost you the cost of ammo, it just costs you some time!

In conclusion, to embrace the Concealed Carry lifestyle get out on the range, keep your gun concealed, carry every day and introduce new people to Concealed Carry. Improve elements of your EDC over time, see what works for you and what doesn't and try to  take some classes to educate yourself on more aspects of Concealed Carry.

Finally, get some good First Aid / Medical/ Stop the bleed training, it's a great way to be more prepared!

P.S. Here's a reminder, if you have been carrying for a while, make sure to check the date on your permit and know when it expires! Keep your permit active and up to date! 

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Thanks for reading!