When I started concealed carrying I thought most people carry in their home as well as in public. After working in the industry and talking to a ton of everyday people who carry, I’m honestly shocked at how many people decide not to carry in the home. The most common thing I hear from people when asked why they don’t carry in their house is the simple fact they feel they don’t need to. I respect this because it feels like a safe haven for certain people.

People New to Concealed Carry

People who are new to concealed carry can benefit from carrying in their home as a test area. Home is a great place to try out new holsters and gear. It makes you get used to different carry methods without people potentially seeing your gun. If you’re uncomfortable carrying a loaded firearm at first, it’s never a bad idea to take baby steps and start at the home.  I personally still try out my new holsters and carry guns in the house before heading out in public. It’s always a good idea to try out a practice run before running your gear in the real world.

Carrying in the home can be a great time to practice your draws from concealment and gets you the chance to practice reloads as well. I feel like this should be obvious, but there’s always that one guy in the comments, so make sure your gun is unloaded before you start dry firing. Nothing beats practicing and drawing while doing live fire at the range. In reality, though, it’s not always possible to go due to schedule or time constraints so dry firing is a good substitute when the range isn’t an option. Dry firing can be a fantastic training tool to work on trigger control and working fundamentals like reloading and manually working the slide.

Protecting What’s Most Important

At the end of the day, the most important reason to conceal carry inside your home is to protect what matters most to you. Your family and loved ones are irreplaceable and carrying a firearm inside the home is one more step to ensuring their safety no matter what. Our homes are what we have worked so hard in life for and it’s important to protect that. It’s never a bad idea to make home security a priority with an alarm system and something like a Ring doorbell, but having options is never going to put you at a disadvantage.

I think of my home as a place where typically the owner will almost always have the upper hand in a confrontation. People in general, are creatures of habits so you usually spend the most time in your home, at work, or a select few places you enjoy going when not working. That means you will typically know the layout of your home better than anyone who may enter that is unwelcome. One of the most important things to consider is having the ability to stack the deck in your favor if a situation arises.

In the home, this is really easy since you already are familiar with the layout and exits. When you’re in public running errands it’s not as simple. Carrying inside your house may seem excessive to some people, but in the long run, it’ll help you train your mind to carry consistently. If you keep carrying, it’ll become second nature and comfortable to have the gun on your body for long periods of time.

Overall Thoughts

Overall I think carrying in your home is extremely important both in developing skills and protecting what’s most important in life. Practicing at home can be a trial run of new gear and equipment you may be using, and can help get you comfortable in using them. Being able to consistently carry a gun can help instill confidence and make the user want to carry more. Let me know what you guys think about conceal carrying in the home. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me on my Instagram page @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there.

Editor note: If you are interested in learning more about carrying at home, you may also want to read another TFB article dedicated to this subject, written by Doug E.

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