Get Started Now with Concealed Carry

If you’re thinking about or just getting started with carrying a concealed firearm, learn step-by-step how to begin and what to avoid from John Lovell. 

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’ve bought a pistol or are at least a few steps closer to buying a pistol. Congratulations. You’ve made a nominal gesture toward being safer and protecting those you love. But if that pistol is not on you most of the time and you’re not trained in how to handle yourself with it, it’s only providing you with a false sense of security, and that’s what I want you to avoid. I want you to get your gun out of your drawer and onto your body. But first things first. You’ve got to learn how. Because while a gun in your drawer is next to useless in an assault, a gun on your waistline can become a danger if you’re not equipped to use it.

Preparing Yourself for Concealed Carry

Before you start walking around town like a cowboy with your fully gassed-up Glock or War Poet Pistol, I want you to take some steps to prepare. I’m assuming, of course, that you’ve already been provided with your state’s Concealed Carry permit so you can avoid any unwanted felonies on your record. 

Acquaint yourself with firearms safety Maybe you didn't even know about the Universal Firearm Safety Rules, but now, since you’re reading this article, you do. The UFSR is a really, really big deal. You should know what the four Universal Firearm Safety Rules are. If not, watch the video ASAP. 

Make sure you’ve purchased the right equipment. It might seem like common sense to spend some time and research and money in purchasing your weapon of choice. But the accessories you choose should be purchased with just as much intention. 

You don’t want your holster, for instance, to be purchased as an afterthought from a bargain bin at the pawn shop. Your holster determines the comfort, safety, and quick reaction time. The more comfortable it makes you, the more likely you are to carry and the more confident and competent you’ll become as a defender. Knowing what combination of tools to buy may require some trial and error at the range. Many ranges can give you the opportunity to try out a few styles of pistol so you'd better know what gun is right for you. What I don’t want to happen is for you to get frustrated by your purchase and stick the thing in a drawer or glove box or purse to never see it again until you're prompted by bad headlines or the next casual trip to the range with friends. 

Start with Online Concealed Carry Training. You’ve probably done some research and some online tutorials, but now it’s time to step it up a few notches. We have a series of online training videos that will walk you through the fundamentals of safe and effective operation of your firearm. 

Start Getting Comfortable with the Feel of Concealed Carry. Even though this preparation might not have fully prepared you to defend yourself and your loved ones, they’ve at least equipped you to start safely carrying your pistol with you. I'd like you to start wearing it on your body, and if you still feel a bit funny about it, pull out the magazine, empty and check the chamber, and wear your pistol totally unloaded—just until you get comfortable with it. Maybe within the first few days, you'll feel like a ninja. Or maybe you’ll feel strange, but you can rest assured you’re doing this in a safe way as you grow accustomed to the practice. The next step, of course, would be to carry a magazine in but without a chambered round. Then you could graduate up as your level of comfort (and hopefully skill through training) begin to increase.

Grow Your Concealed Carry Skill Set Through In-Person Training

Now it's time to really start doing some more training. You can up the ante with your learning and your online training but getting some high-quality training on a range. Just as Warrior Poet has Pistol 1, 2 and 3 classes online, we also hold those concealed carry classes in person.

There's no substitute for actual in-person physical training, so now you might be at the point where you want to begin mastering a tactical skill set. The reason we emphasize training hard and training smart is because you don’t want to have to unlearn bad habits. 

Each time you shoot your gun, you’re paving neurological pathways in your conscious and subconscious that are extremely hard habits to break. I learned this the hard way, and don’t want you to make the same mistake. So whether you train with us or with someone else, make sure you’ve got a qualified, high-quality instructor who will show you the right way from day one. So while I encourage you to get out on the range (I encourage both indoor and outdoor) and start shooting with some of the stuff that you've learned from our online training, I highly encourage you to supplement with some in-person classes, too. 

Don’t go it alone too long before doing that. In the long run this will save you a lot of time, expense, and frustration. Plus, we design our training to prepare you for defending life. If something bad goes down in your community, we want you trained up and ready. And we’re very good at it. This is your constitutional right, and we want to help you do it the right way. 

Train Hard. Train Smart. Live Free.