Author’s note: In any of my forays into fitness, martial arts and survival, please bear in mind that I consider myself a student, not an expert. If your knowledge, experience and training lead you to conclusions that differ from mine, by all means, say your piece. (Hell, that goes for the history, too…) Dialogue is one of the better features of this internet thing…
I’ve conducted an internal debate for a long time: Whether to seek a concealed carry permit. My main purpose would be to stay legal if I come out of the woods with a pistol under my coat.
I am primarily a rifleman, next a shotgunner. A sportsman. I’m actually more interested in knives and tomahawks than I am in handguns. Like Matthew Quigley, I never had much use for a handgun — but I’m not saying I don’t know how to use one.
My shooting is 99.9 percent recreational. Not that I don’t take it seriously; I send more rounds downrange than anybody I know and I work constantly to improve my skills. But no matter how rigorous my training, it’s not training for a lethal confrontation. (There’s an important difference between training in an art or skill and training for a deadly eventuality).
I absolutely support the right to bear arms through concealed carry — I’m just not sure it’s the best approach for most folks to personal security and self-defense.
A few months ago, I had a conversation that stuck in my head. I train in Nick Cerio’s Kenpo at a gym — which means there are occasional gawkers. One day, an older gentleman expressed some amusement at our training. My instructor, a good-humored chap if there ever was one, called out in his Yankee bray, “Come on and join us!”
The gentleman chuckled and shook his head. “No way,” he said. “That’s why I have a Concealed Carry Permit.
Now, this was just banter, all in good spirit. But it keeps bugging me. Say my instructor and I were predatory bad guys: We could have been all over that man before he even moved for a concealed handgun. I’m afraid that his flippant comment reveals complacency about personal security that is all too common in concealed carry permit holders. You have a gun; that puts you on an equal footing with just about any bad guy, right? Wrong.
Sgt. Rory Miller, author of “Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence,” has thought deeply and written well on such things. He’s got the depth of experience to speak with the authority and the chops to articulate it well. In any field, that’s a beautiful thing. This, from his Chiron Training Blog, cuts through fantasies about using a concealed handgun for defense:
“Range training, tactical ops, surviving a gunfight are all important pieces, but they are skipping the one piece that civilians most need for self-defense: How to turn it into a gunfight.
“Who practices and has techniques for drawing when you are being battered, slammed into walls or lifted and tossed into a van? Who has practiced shooting someone who is lying on top of you, punching or choking or stabbing without the bad guy recognizing the action? And without shooting yourself? Remember penetration, bone fragments, concussion wave and burns from your own muzzle blast…”
Seriously. How many concealed carry permit holders train with anything approaching realism? Another important point from Sgt. Miller:
“If you can’t put a bullet on target on a moving target while you, yourself are moving, for all tactical purposes you can’t shoot.”
And that’s to say nothing of functioning with stress hormones raging like a drunken berserker through your system…
There are also important legal issues at play with the use of deadly force. It’s easy to say, “I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by six.” Well, duh. But if you want to have a life after you’ve saved your life, you’d better be able to clearly articulate what happened and why and you’d better be right.
So… lot’s to think about. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly. I’m pretty sure I’m going to go ahead with the permit this winter, but that’s only the beginning…
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
If you don’t have the training, don’t carry a gun. Hell if you don’t have the training you should not be legally allowed to carry a gun. I have the training, but concealed carry is out of the question here in Australia. Would I carry if I could? Not all the time no, but there are certain times that I would.
Regards.
A Woodsrunner’s Diary.
In our state part of the training is in the legal department. Bottom line is; you had better be sure you have no other option. Some of us reach an age or physical condition when we know our self-defense ability is gone. Then Mr. Colt’s solution is a comfort, even if that alternative is a poor one. I look at it as an edge that could come in mighty handy in a bad situation. Besides, every permit holder helps to keep our freedom, by showing that we take the 2nd amendment seriously enough to go to the trouble to keep a permit up to date. P.S. Enjoy your sight.
Ernie:
Thanks for stopping by. Agree with your last point about exercising 2nd Amendment rights.
Jim
I’ll be getting my concealed carry permit in the next few weeks. Every few years you need to reassess your condition and capabilities. I used to think I was pretty tough, but that was a long time ago. Now I’m ’64 and there’s no way I’m going hand-to-hand against some thug. My knees are shot so I can’t even run away. You should avoid trouble at all costs – try not to put yourself into a position where self-defense might be necessary. But you can’t always avoid everything bad that might happen. Above all, when you get your permit, also find a really good lawyer and keep his phone number along with your permit. If you have to use your gun, call him and say nothing to the police. Let your lawyer do your talking for you. He may be expensive, but he’s worth it. Believe me, that first night in prison you’ll give everything you own to be out.
Even a high-prices lawyer is cheap compared to the consequences of a poor defense.
Jim,
Due to my professional background and training in both the military and law enforcement I’ve possessed a concealed carry permit for many, many years. However, once retired from law enforcement and although I could still carry concealed due to said honorable retirement, I’ve for several years now chosen not to.
I am in full agreement with you that the decision to obtain a permit is one of the most important ones we make given the responsibility of handgun carry and the life altering impact using a handgun for self defense will have on us.
Proper initial training, self-study, and sustained training in a professional setting is critical, in my experience, to “best advantage” before, during, and post shooting (i.e. police investigation, grand jury hearing, possible criminal and civil court). John Farnam, one of our premier handgun trainers and one I was blessed to learn from, offered the most important thing you can have with you other than your permit is your attorney’s business card once a shooting had occurred.
Great thoughts on this subject – thanks for sharing it with us.
don’t mistake confidence for complacency.
you might be making the same error you thought he was.
Jim,
Great points! A person with a concealed carry permit tends to feel pretty safe, but not so fast. The lack of (enough) training combined with the adrenaline rush that comes with a scenario where you have to draw your gun and shoot can quickly get you killed. The best thing a CCW permit holder has on their side is surprise unless you’re trained and stay in practice. I’ve been shooting IDPA for the last two years because 1) it’s fun and 2) it keeps me in practice. I shoot from inside cars, while walking, clearing simulated houses, identifying friendlies in the line of fire, reloading on the run, etc. It keeps the rust off the gun and the cobwebs out of my head. I’d advise anyone who’s serious about concealed carry to take a class on IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) and start going to a match now and then. You’ll be glad you did.