Concealed carry for beginners: laws, gun choice, gear, training, ammo

Key points: Concealed carry beginners laws

• Learning the carry laws is the carrier's own job: rules and required class hours differ by state and county, and a reciprocity app such as USCCA's helps before any trip.
• Rank your priorities, whether concealability, capacity or shootability, before choosing a carry pistol, because gaining one usually costs another; her Bodyguard 2.0 hides easily but is a .380.
• Try guns on an indoor range's rental wall before buying, then learn the one you carry thoroughly, from where the trigger breaks to fast reloads.
• Skip universal holsters: a safe holster has a rigid Kydex trigger guard, keeps the gun in when turned upside down and clicks audibly on insertion, and it belongs on a purpose-built EDC belt that stays snug through the draw.
• Training matters most after the law: find reputable instructors, run drills on a shot timer, practice malfunction clearance, and consider competition to train under pressure.
• Dry-fire at home with laser trainers such as the SIRT and Mantis, or with your own pistol only when the ammo is in another room and dummy rounds are never mixed with live ones.
• Learn the optic, light and defensive ammo you run before adding more; she runs a Romeo X on her Macro, is not yet carrying a SureFire XC3 while she learns it, and advises confirming which hollow points your pistol feeds reliably.

About this Tactics and Training video

Concealed carry for beginners from Classic Firearms: host Eliza, filming at Take Aim Training in Pageland, South Carolina, lays out a new CCW holder's next steps in five areas. Know your carry laws and reciprocity, choose a carry pistol by priority, buy a safe holster and EDC belt, train under pressure with live and dry fire, and learn your optic, light and defensive ammo before adding more. She carries a Sig P365 X-Macro and a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 in .380.

Transcript: Concealed carry beginners