Concealed Carry Corner: Top 3 Items To Buy With Your First Carry Gun

Welcome to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we took a look at the minimum safe caliber for carrying concealed. There were some good debates going on in the comment section, so if you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to catch up. This week, I wanted to take a look at some useful items that people don't often think about when purchasing their first handgun or consider when helping their significant others or family members with purchasing a gun. I cannot tell you how many times I see people only buy half the things they need to succeed, which results in them leaving their gun at home until they figure out what all they need to carry on a daily basis. Let's take a look at the top 3 Items to buy with your first carry gun.

Range And Self-Defense Ammo

So you are picking up your first carry gun or a carry gun for someone who is fairly new to firearms. People will oftentimes purchase a box of ammo and call it good for now, with the intention of coming back for other ammo. While having a box of range ammo may seem like enough, it's important to give yourself the ability to not only carry your gun with self-defense rounds but also have enough ammo for at least one range session to practice and ensure your carry gun works the way it should. While machining processes and tolerances have made malfunctions from the factory very low, it's certainly not impossible to get a problematic firearm from the factory.

The other major problem with only buying one ammo is the fact that new people will load FMJ range ammo into their guns to hold them over until they purchase self-defense ammo. In the rare case you’ll have to use your carry gun in self-defense, those FMJ rounds will, in most cases, zip right through their intended target and continue going towards potential innocent bystanders. Self-defense rounds are so critical because they are designed to transfer every bit of energy into a target rather than making it through a target. Buying at least 100 rounds of range ammo along with one box of self-defense ammo allows people to have ammo to test their guns and have some time to adjust to their firearm, while also having rounds they can protect themselves with. Don't be one of those people walking around with ball rounds loaded up in their gun because you forgot to get proper self-defense rounds.

A Quality Kydex Holster

Another huge issue I see is new shooters picking up a generic cloth holster to carry their gun in until they can get a better holster. There are a number of quality Kydex holster manufacturers available today. My personal favorite is ANR Design and they have the ability to pick out exactly what color, style and configuration you want. Most manufacturers have a quick ship option available as well, so you won't be waiting the 3-5 weeks typically associated with a custom Kydex holster. Having a holster that is fit to your exact gun will not only keep it secure in place all day long, but there's absolutely no wiggle room for something to engage the trigger, ultimately causing a negligent discharge. When I start planning a gun purchase, I will oftentimes try to order the holster first, so when I actually get to purchase the firearm, the holster is either in process or already arrived. It may seem like a simple process, but carrying a universal type holster is just a bad idea since there's no decent way of keeping retention on the gun. The first rule is having a reliable firearm, the second is having correct ammo and the third is having a reliable safe way of carrying it on a daily basis.

Lockable Case

For my friends out there who have children or family members who may not know the rules of gun safety, it's incredibly important to have a way to secure your firearm in the rare moments you aren't carrying it and have to leave it at home for whatever reason that may be. Having a lockable case or at least some sort of method to secure the firearm is vital if you're around young children or people who may not know how to safely handle a firearm. Sadly, there are people who don't respect firearms like they should or just don't know any better.

Overall Thoughts

Purchasing your first handgun or going with someone to purchase their first handgun can be an extremely exciting process and even though it's your first time, following these steps, along with getting training from a reputable person, can make all the difference. What else would you guys put on this list? I was going to include cleaning supplies and other objects, but we may bust it down into two sections if there's enough interest. Leave your thoughts down in the comments below. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.

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