Concealed Carry Corner: Biggest Carry Mistakes

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about the perfect do-all pistol. If you happened to miss that article be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to talk about a few topics I often times see people do when they first start carrying a concealed firearm. There are a number of things that could find their way on this list but these are the three most common mistakes I often will see from beginners. Let’s take a closer look at the biggest carry mistakes.

Concealed Carry Corner @ TFB:

• Concealed Carry Corner: The Mythical Do-All Carry Pistol
• Concealed Carry Corner: The Importance Of Magazines
• Concealed Carry Corner: What And What Not To Carry
• Concealed Carry Corner: Carry Gun Size Guide

When it comes to the biggest potential injuries going along with your regular day, the small of the back holster ranks up there for a couple of different reasons. The first biggest issue is the fact that if you fall back or get pushed down, you will land on your gun not only making it impossible to pull it but also potentially causing injuries to your lower back. Getting attacked while you’re on the ground can be a tricky situation and although it doesn’t sound likely it’s certainly possible. Compressing your lower back with an object as large as a firearm can cause serious lower back issues and at the minimum is really uncomfortable when sitting down in something like a vehicle.

Out of all the carry positions, small of the back carry is one of the slowest draws. Ankle carry is certainly slower, but small of the back is by far the slowest in terms of carrying on the waistline. With a fast draw, it can be anything from 1.4-1.9 seconds slower than carrying appendix style or strong side like many of you guys carry a firearm. Initially, it may seem like a good idea to carry something in the small of your back but the amount of time it takes to draw your pistol and the overall risks make me not want to try it at all.

“There are women all around the country who are perfectly capable of shooting a full-size competition gun. Personally, I use a P320 Max as my competition gun absolutely no problem so when it comes to females using small guns because they can’t handle larger firearms simply isn’t true as a rule. I tell ladies to try to go as big as they can comfortably. There is such thing as too big if they can’t perform the mechanics of the gun, but typically 90% of the time I see women purchasing guns that are too small. Usually, because they feel smaller is less intimidating.t When they are at the range, their mindsets quickly shift and usually their next gun purchases are bigger in size. Easier to manipulate, easier to shoot and control, as well as more accurate.”

She made a good point with the proper fundamental training and practice, there’s no reason females cannot take any firearm they find comfortable to shoot and carry it concealed. I agree with Marcee on this issue because I cannot tell you how many times at USPSA shooting matches I have seen women using anything from full-size Glock 34, Staccato, Nighthawk, and SIG Sauer P320 pistols with no problem and most times outshot the men in the group. Instead of taking your female to the gun shop to pick out a gun she never fired, it’s even better to get her professional female trainers like Marcee who can assist her without pressure in a relaxed setting. Marcee herself oftentimes will carry a P320 AXG Scorpion which certainly is something a bit larger than your typical girl gun so it’s a good point to consider.

When it comes to people beginning to carry a concealed firearm, I oftentimes see people trying to carry the largest gun they have in an effort to feel even more safe. I fell victim to this carrying a Glock 34 and fully upgraded Glock 17 with a weapon light in an effort to be sufficently armed. After many years I have stopped completely and feel perfectly fine with something like a Glock 43X or Glock 48 because they have a sufficient amount of capacity and they are just more comfortable to carry.

There are plenty of topics to chat about when it comes to mistakes new carriers make which is all a part of the journey. These were the three most common mistakes I typically see and even if it helps one person avoid the mistakes, this article is worth it to me. What other mistakes do you see conceal carriers make when first starting out? Leave your comments down below. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, be sure to send me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.