In addition to these, more prosaic concerns come to the fore – what type and caliber of handgun is adequate, and best for the shooter? The best answer to this particular question is not easily come by in most instances and should be considered very carefully before one invests in a gun, or guns for concealed carry. Seek out a knowledgeable professional, not a friend who likes guns, or in many instances, the sales person at your local gun shop. Look up respected members of the shooting community with these kinds of experiences, people like Massad Ayoob whose writings and videos are readily available on the internet.
You will find that the best answer is usually the same one that you will hear from an experienced project manager: it depends. It depends on one's obvious physical characteristics, among other things. Someone who is not an experienced shooter and who stands five feet two inches and weighs a little over a hundred pounds has no business carrying something like a Model 1911 .45 semi-automatic. Not only will it be too heavy and difficult to conceal, but will likely be almost impossible for such a person to shoot with acceptable accuracy.
It depends on your level of experience. Are you a competent shooter at the range? If so, are you also competent with shooting a close ranges, quickly in extremely stressful situations? Few people are. How good are you at handling gun problems should they arise when the chips are down? Ammunition stoppages, jams, failure to feed or extract with a semi-automatic pistol can happen, and if they do, are you prepared to efficiently deal with them while you may be getting shot at? Few people are.
If you chose to carry a small, lightweight pistol as your main weapon because it's light weight, concealable and effective with modern ammunition, can you reliably hit your target with it in combat conditions? If not, then why not? What would you need to ensure that if you do have to shoot, you will not accidentally shoot an innocent person?
How will you carry your pistol? Where? What kind of holster is best for each of those choices?
Again, it all depends.
There are many other considerations to carrying and effectively using a concealed handgun. Those are merely a few. With these things in mind, I have set out to put together a simplified carry system that addresses the most important questions that someone new to concealed carry may have. Hopefully, it will also deal with those of us who have been searching for a solid carry system and have invested more than we wanted in guns, accessories and holsters. There are certainly other choices, but I've settled on the system I describe below for certain reasons.
The System
It is composed of four major components chosen for specific reasons and to work together solidly on a daily basis.
The Gun
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| Ruger LCR .38 Special +P with LaserMax CenterFire sight |
The Ruger LCR .38 Special +P is a solid, no frills choice for a primary and main carry gun. It's main attributes are:
- Lightweight - important for a gun that you will carry every day for hours, sometimes for more hours than you think, and in situations where comfortable concealment is an important attribute.
- Made for concealment - no hammer to hang up on clothing, smooth contours, small but ergonomic and comfortable grip.
- Solid build - USA made weapon of the highest standard and reasonable cost.
- Effective - fires the .38 Special round, which, with hollow point ammunition is very effective for self defense at the close ranges where those episodes tend to occur. The LCR can also safely fire +P ammunition for extra power at the possible sacrifice of accuracy and comfort. The LCR's smooth, double-action trigger pull is among the best available for this type of gun.
- Simplicity - being a revolver, there is very little that can go wrong in contrast to a semi-automatic pistol. There is no manual safety to disengage. The safety is built into the double-action mechanism and the internal arrangement of the striking parts. The gun can only fire if one pulls the trigger.
- Great ergonomics - which helps immensely in handling the recoil, and keeping the pistol on target.
On a personal note: I am no longer a youngster and even though I was superbly trained in the use, maintenance and accuracy of various weapons systems in the US Navy, I am not the shooter I once was. And neither are nearly all of the people I know who routinely carry a concealed handgun. We don't practice and train nearly enough, and we are not always prepared for a sudden, violent confrontation. Few people are. Given these facts, it makes sense to me to carry a solidly reliable handgun that I can shoot accurately enough at close ranges if the unlikely event should transpire. This pistol has the ergonomics, reliability and accuracy with the laser to fulfill those requirements. It won't go out of battery, jam, fail to feed or fire, eject or extract. The odds are enormously good that when I pull the trigger it will fire and I will hit what I am aiming at. Every time.
The Sight: LaserMax CenterFire
Why a laser sight? Isn't that just something else to worry about or to go wrong? Those are the most common arguments against using a laser sight on a self-defense gun, but I think they miss the point. The main purpose of a good laser sight on a concealed handgun is to help the shooter to hit what needs to be hit, and nothing else. Who needs it, you might ask? The odds are, you do.
My guess is that fewer than one percent of the people who will read this article are experienced enough to shoot accurately if they were suddenly launched into a shooting self defense situation. Reading reports of police-involved shootings, even those in which the officers were experienced shooters, reveals that about fifty percent of them don't hit their targets even when they are shooting at bad guys who are within seven to fifteen feet.
I know I can't shoot that well, nor can most civilians who are carrying concealed handguns, so it is very important to give yourself every advantage you can if the balloon goes up. You do not want to shoot an innocent person. Let me repeat that: you never, ever want to be responsible for injuring or killing an innocent person because you can't shoot your weapon accurately. A good laser sight will help you avoid that situation and for that reason alone, you should have one on your weapon and train with it regularly.
For those who think it is too hard to learn how to push a button to turn on a laser sight, well, I can't do much for them except to suggest if that confuses them, they might seriously reconsider carrying a loaded weapon.
I chose the LaserMax for good reasons. It is a quality sight that exactly fits the Ruger LCR. Good holsters are available for it. It doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It remains under my control at all times. If I want it to be on, I simply touch the button with my trigger finger either before I place that finger on the trigger, or while that finger is on its way to the trigger after drawing the weapon. If I don't want the laser on for any reason, it doesn't come on regardless of how I grip the weapon, unlike the grip actuated lasers.
The Holster
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| Talon IWB outward side. |
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| Talon IWB inward side. |
The Talon IWB holster for the Ruger LCR .38 Special.
A good holster is a requirement for a concealed handgun. Good holster. Not the most expensive or exotic or high-tech, but a good one that does the things a good holster must do, day after day. This one, the Talon IWB is more than merely a good holster. It is a surprising holster. Although it doesn't appear extraordinary, after my extensive use in a wide variety of activities, it has proved once again that you "can't tell a book by the cover". It possesses all of the attributes listed below and more:
- Comfort - this is not an overrated virtue. If one has committed to carrying a concealed handgun, one should carry whenever legally possible, and this means nearly all of the time. At home, in the car, the bus, the grocery store, walking the dog or through a crowded mall. In long movies or performance venues. Your gun must ride along comfortably with you, or you will leave it at home. Or in the car. Or squirm around all day trying to get comfortable with it.
- Security - the holster must keep the gun secure and in place. It should not move around, which impacts the comfort aspect and perhaps the security as well. You don't want to stand up in your favorite restaurant and have your gun fall out of your holster and hit the deck. Embarrassing at the least, hazardous at the worst.
- Safety - allied with security, it also means that it should protect the weapon from negligent discharge. If you are carrying a semi-auto, the magazine release should be safely protected as well. If one chooses an open carry holster, it should have some means whereby the gun is not vulnerable to quick grabs. A locking mechanism or safety strap is a good feature.
- Re-holstering - While not an essential attribute of a good holster, let's face it, if it is easy to re-holster your weapon with one hand, it's just a more friendly holster.
- Longevity - good holsters are not cheap, and usually, cheap holsters are not good. Buy a good holster or two, keep them for a long, long time and save money in the long run.
Now, if I can convince Charlie and the boys to design an OWB holster for my LCR/LaserMax rig, I'll be even happier.
The Speed Loader
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| 5 Star Bedside Blocks with loaded loaders... |
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| 5 Star Speed Loaders in Aluminum, Black and Zombie Camo |
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| 5 Star with .38 Special rounds |
I approached the folks at 5 Star Firearms about acquiring a speed loader to combine with my other system components for this article. I received a package a short time later with three speed loaders and two bedside blocks. I'll admit that I had not considered, or requested, loading blocks but the 5 Star folks are better at this than I am, obviously, so they made up for my oversight with the two bedside blocks you see above. They are more than handy. Drop five rounds into the deep block holes, slip the speed loader over them, twist the knob, and shazam!, a loaded loader. Quick. No muss, no fuss. And, keeping them handy by the bedside with loaded loaders nesting inside, makes the speed loaders quickly available for use.
Frankly, I was amazed at the precision and quality of the 5 Star Speed loaders. There is a fresh wind of the old dictum, "form follows function". There is nothing extraneous about them. They are carefully designed to incorporate only those functions that go toward rapid, efficient speed loading of a revolver. No extra metal. No extra weight or bulk to carry around. The speed loaders carry the .38 Special rounds securely with enough play so that precise alignment is not an issue, and they release quickly and easily with a twist of the flat-sided knob. These loaders speak quality from top to bottom.
So there you have it, my idea of a Simplified Carry System, the SCS. It's composed of a,
- high-quality, light weight revolver for reliable action and sufficient, manageable firepower;
- a tightly-integrated and controllable laser sight for safety and accuracy under pressure;
- a sensibly priced, very comfortable and effective concealment holster, and
- a reliable, finely-made speed loader
I know there will be many who will disagree with my choices for the components of my Simplified Carry System. That is as it should be. No gun, holster, ammunition and accessories are meant to be all things to all people. However, I do stand by it as a system that anyone can put together quickly, at a reasonable price and have a solid concealed carry system that is reliable, effective and concealable without ending up with some unused guns, a box of old holsters under the bed and the nagging feeling that you might not be able to shoot accurately enough when you have to.
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