Concealed Carry Corner: Top 3 Items To Stop Carrying Concealed
Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about a beginner's guide to concealment jackets. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I wanted to talk about some of the biggest mistakes I see people make when starting to conceal a handgun, and rely on items that could be dangerous not only for you but innocent bystanders. Let's take a closer look at the top 3 items to stop carrying concealed.
1. Cheap Handguns For Self Defense
When it comes to your personal protection, I’ve never understood the idea of going with a cheap option in the concealed handgun market. Of course, certain individuals have a strict budget and can't afford firearms over $500 and look for something in the $200-400 range. There are a number of companies that make pistols for the budget-friendly shooter. The chances of using your firearm in a self-defense situation are extremely low, but if that situation is ever forced on me, I want to have the most reliable option available for my budget.
Personally, I would not go with a brand new option for a low price. Some of you may throw your hands up and say, “Well, what are we supposed to do, Matt?” The used market is absolutely in your favor for a new carry gun. Companies like Aim Surplus have LEO trade-ins and there are dozens of websites online that offer police trade-in pistols for half or even a quarter of the price they were when new. Just hopping in for a few minutes, I found a lightly used Glock 43 for $349.99 and typically, there will be sales as well, so you can get it for even cheaper if you spot it at the right time. I would look at a reliable model firearm used over an entry-level handgun for self-defense. I understand you may never have to use your firearm and if you do everything correctly, you never should. If that day comes, though, I will want the most reliable handgun I can possibly have over an entry-level firearm.
2. Universal Cloth Holsters
One of the most dangerous items that new carriers use is the universal style cloth holsters that will fit most modern carry pistols as an inside the waistband option. Although some see this as a quick fix when purchasing a carry gun, others just keep using these cloth holsters over time because they worked well in the short term, so they don't see a reason to swap them out. These holsters don't have a perfect fit to your carry gun, though, because they are designed to be universal and fit a variety of different platforms. These cloth holsters tend to wear out faster than kydex or leather holsters, which is the point where these holsters become extremely dangerous for the carrier.
There are a number of news articles online where a concealed carrier was sitting down and their carry gun discharged unintentionally. There are numerous accounts where an individual's handgun went off and ended up injuring himself and adding a hole to the side of his hip and in one case, his buttocks. These examples are exactly why it's important to get a holster that's made exactly for your firearm with no room for error or accidents. Some pick up a cloth universal holster to “hold them over,” and it's not safe at any point, even when they are new. I cannot urge people enough to plan ahead and order a premade holster offline, or have a bit of patience and once you decide on a model, order the holster and wait to carry it until the correct holster arrives. Trust me, you’ll be saving yourself the risk.
3. Carrying With Ball Ammo
One of the scariest mistakes I see people make is when they decide to carry FMJ ball ammo instead of self-defense ammo that's designed to stop inside your target. Self-defense rounds are engineered to transfer every bit of energy into their target and stop within the body to minimize the risk of overpenetration.
FMJ rounds are not designed to transfer energy, so when you fire them at a threat, you're essentially putting 9mm holes through people before the round exits the other side of the body and continues down range to potentially hurt innocent bystanders. There's no reason to carry ball ammo in a self-defense gun, and if I'm being honest, you make yourself more of a liability than an effective concealed carrier. You can usually pick up a box of self-defense ammo for $25, which is well worth the cost for peace of mind.
Overall Thoughts
This shouldn't be much of a surprise to some of you, but you would be shocked at how many people will break at least one of these rules. It's important to have the right equipment and rounds if you want to effectively protect yourself. Although there's a very small percentage you'll ever need your handgun in a self-defense situation, there's certainly a chance it could happen. What do you guys think are other items to stop carrying or investing in when it comes to self-defense? Let me know 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.
TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK
I'm an avid shooter and love educating whether it's at my job or in the shooting community. I'm an average joe that really loves talking with other people about firearms and other passions.I'm active on Instagram on @fridgeoperator.
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I have a couple of issues with the article.
Section 2)
While I agree with you on "universal" holsters, the illustration included appears to be a DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster.
NOT a universal holster (although it will fit pistols that are similarly sized/shaped).
My first was included in the purchase of an Armalaser for my P3AT, it is fitted to work with the laser attached.
My second is for a Sig P938, because the first one works so well.
I have carried both of these for literally years with no sign of wear.
They hold the pistol in a secure upright position for drawing, remain in the pocket thanks to the outer layer construction, prevent the printing of the pistol through clothing and are comfortable to use.
An Uncle Mikes IWB would have been a much better choice for the illustration.
Section 3)
While you state that a box of defensive ammo is only about $25, You're neglecting to mention that most boxes of defensive ammo come in packages of 20 or 25 versus 50, and perhaps the most important thing that you neglect to mention is that you need to fire several hundred rounds of a defensive ammo through the proposed carry gun in order to ascertain that your gun will cycle it reliably.
So your casual comment on the affordable price of ONE box of defensive ammo is really on the order of several hundred dollars.
Not all hollow points will cycle reliably through all semi-automatic pistols.
Decades ago (1980's), I remember when a major ammunition company came out with a new hollow point that had a gaping hollow point.
All the reviews talked about how effective this hollow point would be and how much it opened up yada yada yada.
I drank the Kool-Aid went and bought some.
It would not, repeat would not function in my browning high power.
Constant FTF, I gave it away (with warnings about its lack of feeding) to a friend.
I'm thankful I didn't buy enough boxes to be able to verify function.
Instead I went back to using my Federal 9BP 115gr Hi-Shok because it mimics the shape of ball ammo.
I'd rather have an older hollow point design that doesn't open as much, but does feed reliably in my pistol and is accurate, BOTH OF WHICH ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN EXPANSION.
By the way you can still find it, about $20 (or less) for a box of 50.
For a few years it got scarce, I was picking up the blue and silver boxes marked "Classic" at the gun shows on the miscellaneous ammo tables.
I agree with what Cas138746671 said above.
I will carry .45ACP 230gr FMJ in a Kahr CW45, because it functions flawlessly and accurately and I'm not too concerned about over penetration with those big, fat, slow chunks of lead, but they will poke big holes in things.
When I'm carrying a 1911, I also carry at least two extra magazines. It will no doubt shock you to learn that I carry one loaded with +P 255gr hard cast flat nose ... specifically TO SHOOT THROUGH SOMETHING ... car door, windshield, wall, large animal etc.
It sounds like you aren't old enough to remember when the focus of hollow point advertisement was the amount of tissue destruction (remember Black Talons?), now it's shifted to the much more benevolent and socially responsible focus of preventing shoot through and the impact on bystanders.
Besides, you'd better be paying attention to the background ... misses are much more likely to impact unintended targets than shoot through.
Have a Good Day👋
👽
Anner:
Here's Massad Ayoob's description of EAL penetrations of a FMJ bullet as published in the American HandGunner: https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/the-very-real-danger-of-over-penetrating-bullets/
Ayoob relates a tragic, unintended homicide: "September 2024, Detroit: The initial aggressor draws a gun, and an armed citizen outdraws him and shoots him in the head. The bullet passes completely through his head and strikes the head of an innocent bystander. Both men die of the headshots..."
Dig around on the internet and you’ll find real examples of over penetration. Here's another one from Georgia. FMJ is a good round to ricochette.