I’ve completed the class and now it’s time to apply for my CCW. I’m in The Midwest and it’s 150$ so I’ve been stalling but I plan to do it this week. It takes 4 months to get it which sucks. I’m going to get one for Florida too. Then I’ll be covered in all the states I travel through to visit family etc.
I hear that. Texas was 140$ until Texas Senate Bill 16 (S.B. 16) that went into affect September 2017. Now its 40$.
Texas is much faster now too! But I feel ya on the months and months of waiting...
My advice is to go ahead and do it to get started with the waiting. Florida is a good out-of-state license to get, Texas is as well. Double check both reciprocity maps to see which one would help you out more. Also, if you get both, be sure to notify law enforcement of both licenses if you get pulled over. Hand them all three, just like you would if it was just your DL and your state CCW.
It’s also another hundred for the holster I need so I can carry. Guns are not cheap to own and use.
You should be able to find a good one for less than that. There are hybrid holsters (kydex/leather) on amazon for ~40$ and very high quality IWB full kydex holsters for about 50 bucks. I would reccomend full kydex or plastic-injection molded. Here are some links.
Hybrid:
infusedkydex_usa (2259) on ebay 35$+/-Aliengear:
AlienGear IWB Hybrid 50$+/-Full kydex IWB:
We the People Holsters 50$+/-I plan to carry a S&W body guard. It’s a 380 caliber. Which may be all they come in but I’m in the learning phase so that’s what I know. I didn’t pick mine or I would have gone with a sig saur P938 9mm. Someone in my class had one and I liked it. They advised us to carry the highest caliber gun your comfortable with but I already owned the 380. My gun collection is what I had left after a divorce. My other gun is a 9mm ruger and it’s more comfortable to hold and shoot but it’s quite heavy and big. I do like the bigger magazine. They taught us our accuracy rate would be 2 out of 10 shots would hit the target, stressed situation assumed, not target practice. First thought was why bother but it’s better than having nothing.
Its 1,000,000 times more about placement of shots than caliber. I don't care what the caliber wars rants say, if you shoot someone center chest, the .25" difference in permanent wound cavity wont matter. In other words, practice and range time would help drastically more than a bigger round...
Sometimes I’d like to swap it all for the sig saur and have nothing but 9mm amo. But I find I like having two guns in my house. Loaded and ready to go. One in the living room and the other by my bed. They also recommend you have some kind of backup so I have knives near them, and in other places. Plus extra loaded magazines and all hollow point bullets. I have a small home and the neighbors are close, pius I rent out my basement. I don’t want the bullets to travel that far.
If there are kids in the house (or if there are any visitors, really), you need a fast access safe or trigger locks. Also, a short barreled shotgun makes for an (generally) easier home defense gun IMO. Pistol is fine, but if you aren't willing to put in the range time, a shotgun makes more sense a lot of the time.
I used to be more nervous but I’m getting more comfortable. I can load and unload the guns and I practice doing that plus dry shooting, if that’s what it’s called. Not long ago all I knew how to handle was a revolver.
Use snapcaps for dry firing practice. And if you are willing to spring for it, a Mantis X system as described above. If ranges are plentiful / affordable, real range time is hard to beat with dry fire.
I’m going to my brothers farm in the south and I plan to shoot tons of amo. I read somewhere that you should run several hundred rounds through the gun you plan to carry to make sure it’s reliable. That’s smart. I do know what I have has barely been used. When I get my money in better order I’d like to visit a range monthly for practice but for now I just handle them at home then set them aside with the safety on.
I would say as a start, 200 rounds standard, 300 rounds from concealment (however you plan to carry) and another 100 strong hand only / 100 weak hand only. That generally gets you to base-level proficiency with some coaching. If you can fit that in a weekend, more power to you, but most people benefit from real coaching by an experienced (and proven) shooter (IE not 'cousin eddie who has shot his whole life with bad technique).
Education is key for me and I feel better. I was in a sticky situation once and I tried to unload a gun, thinking if I pulled back on the top the bullet would pop out, well yeah that’s true except the magazine was full so all I did was put one in the chamber. Ugh. I put the safety on and got out of there. It was unnerving to say the least and I don’t want that to happen again. Now I know what to do.
As stated above (somewhere), everybody whether they are "into" guns or not needs to know how to unload, secure and handle a firearm safely. If you have friends who aren't "gun people", you can be a good source of information to help educate the general public (when you are comfortable doing so).
What I need to do more is act like I’m carrying and be aware of the places I visit, notice if they have signs visible or not, most of my favorite stores don’t allow it. I frequent the dog park and I know I can’t carry there. That’s all disappointing. Post offices are a big no no. I go on base a lot but they allow it in your car so that’s good.
Ya thats sad... LTC (CCW) Holder basically never commit crimes, and gun-free zones are often ignored by those intending to commit crimes. Its not a good solution, despite how widespread its implementation...
Sources for that statement:
Report on LTC carriers rarely commiting crimes, and basically not committing certain crimesRaw Texas LTC data on convictionsArticle about one of the reportsArticle about the (non)likelyhood of a CCW to commit crime compared to LEOThe original (I believe) article about the reportBS Article that someone will probably present as counter-evidence which defines "mass shooting" as three people and expands the data set to over a decade in order to try to prove a pointAnd... This article still states the following:
And the overwhelming majority of people who have a concealed carry permit are responsible law-abiding citizens. They will never be involved in a mass shooting in any capacity, either as a good guy or a bad guy with a gun.
Honestly I have an unstable ex that lives a mile away and his mistress or whatever seems nuts to me. If I’m going to be a victim I’d like to at least go down trying. I watch too much dateline.
Sounds like a great reason to obtain a CCW...
FYI, for some perspective I did some competition shooting at the youth level and my wife has the bodyguard .380 (w/o laser). Its a great gun overall.