If You Carry A Gun Every Day, What Are Your Lessons Learned?

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms and was adopted on December 15, 1791, as part of the first ten amendments contained in the Bill of Rights.

With that said, some of ‘the people’ choose to carry a gun every day – and go through the licensing process within their state to do so (unless one lives in a constitutional-carry state in which your right to carry is simply recognized as such).

For those of you who do carry a gun every day, what are some of the things (lessons?) you’ve learned since you started doing so?

A few thoughts come to mind, including the following:

 
When you first start carrying (concealed), you tend to be somewhat self-conscious that everyone you see in public will see your gun. But after awhile you realize that people don’t notice and are not looking for that anyway… Instead they’re looking at their ‘smart phones’ ;)

An interesting exercise (a drill) for situational awareness is looking for others who may be carrying concealed. Looking for a tell tale sign – a waist bulge, ‘printing’, etc.. When you discover someone, then compare what you’ve seen to your own carry technique – and improve it such that others (who are looking) won’t notice like you just did…

It is very important to wear a purpose-made ‘carry’ belt that is stiff, wide enough, and will hold the holstered gun securely without moving around or sagging. A good gun belt will set you back a bit, but it’s worth every penny.

There are lots of holsters out there. A good one is a must for undetectable and reasonably comfortable concealed carry for all day, every day. Personal preferences will affect choices here, but I’ll bet that those of you who carry regularly have gone through a number of holsters until settling upon ‘the one’ that works for you…

One’s dress code will change to accommodate concealed carry – which itself will vary with the season. Summer months are the most challenging (e.g extra long shirts) while your options of carrying during cold weather present easy concealment.

 
Okay, those were a few of my thoughts. What about yours?