On The Firing Line: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

We've all seen it at one point in our life.  Though we may not know it because we don’t know if that person is packing a gun or not, but there are concealed carriers that carry themselves with the warrior mentality.  (This does not mean the carrier has an ego)  By that, I mean the carrier has a realistic expectation of what could happen if a situation went bad.  By realism, I mean the said civilian carrying a firearm in personal defense, understands his/her limitations, is not constrained mentally by heroic fantasies  and has a poignant understanding of the consequences that should follow taking a life in defense of his/her own or their family’s.  This bringing me to the point that all concealed carriers must be willing to use diplomacy when appropriate, but not at the expense or potential of a lawful citizen’s life.  There is a difference between a perpetrator who is unarmed exhibiting threatening or suspicious behavior and a person that runs into your local supermarket during rush hour and opens fire with a gun.  But how a person thinks they would react to this situation and how they actually act are two different things, but the type of concealed carrier you are is determined by the ladder of the two concepts.

            On the other hand, it is 100 times easier to spot a bad concealed carrier.  He strolls carelessly down the aisle of his local wal-mart, his iPod headphones in, volume cranked checking his email on his smart phone and posting his latest selfie to face book.  In short terms, this type of concealed carrier we will call “The Bad” because he is more of a liability armed than he is unarmed.  His distracted personality is hardly that of a trained shooter, and it would be a long shot to say that he didn’t have some sort of fantasy of being the latest CCW hero on the block.   What he doesn’t understand, is the psychological, legal and physical consequences that could follow him after a potential shooting.  Distraction as his constant companion, he will be inundated with confusion instead of confidence if the situation arises that he needs to draw his weapon and when seconds count in a gun battle, he may just be on the losing side.

            The “good” is the polar opposite of his bad counterpart.  He is alert, but not nosy, spends hours upon hours of dry practice and range time mastering his carry gun.  As any concealed weapons holder he is free of distractions doesn’t let emotion rule his decision making and understands through tireless training and practice his limitations and the legal, mental and physical consequences of engaging an aggressor.

            As a trained and experienced concealed carrier, by no means am I perfect because human beings are flawed, but there is always room for any carrier to improve.  The “Good” recognizes this.  The overall objective of becoming a prime citizen packing heat, is to be an asset and not a societal liability.  The attitudes of both said categories are opposite.  You cannot fantasize being a hero and be an asset to society; that is actually the wrong attitude.  The attitude any good carrier wants to have is that of knowing what he or she is capable of and what an attacker is capable of.   Lets give an example.
            If a “bad” carrier is in a convenience store at 3am and five gunman walk in demanding money from the register, he will do one of two things, engage the gunman to save 100 dollars (This will almost certainly get him killed as he is outnumbered five to one) in the register and put the cashier’s life, his own and the rest of the lives in the store at risk, or because of lack of training freeze up and do nothing.

            Now, assuming the same scenario previously mentioned, the “Good” would only engage his targets if knowing that the cashier would be shot by the aggressors, but assuming the thugs are only after the money, the “Good” Understands it is not worth risking innocent lives to liberate that 100 dollars.  Instead, he checks with everybody in the store following the incident to make sure his peers are all in one piece.  Afterward, he calls police.  Rule of Thumb; if it isn’t worth dying over, don’t jump into the situation.  Judgment plays a huge role in the happy ending of this scenario and good Concealed Carriers need to carry that judgment with them whenever they strap on their sidearm.

            I guess the point I am trying to nail on the head here is that being a daily concealed carrier is not a fantasy world, nor a casual thing.  Granted you can look casual while carrying, but your mindset should be anything but casual.  Too often, I hear it around the water cooler at work.  The couch commando’s with their concealed permits talking about what they would do in a real-world situation regarding an active shooter.  While having no training (NO, CALL OF DUTY DOES NOT COUNT) some concealed carrying citizens do not take seriously their role.  Ultimately, if an untrained individual carrier tries to react and his mind has not been conditioned to think fast and he has not practiced to the point that he has a reliable muscle memory routine to match the scenario; chances are he will be more of a liability than an asset.

            Let me explain.  Shooter A is a civilian, no military experience, yet he has taken numerous classes explaining to him the ethical considerations dealing with deadly force, he has been on a firing line and simulated defense course with an instructor yelling at him to get his adrenaline pumping.  He is subtle; instead of demanding to stick out by open carrying to “be ready” he conceals his firearm well, while still accessible and does not seek to draw attention to himself.  Why?  Because he has a more realistic view of what an active shooting is.  He may not have experience in combat, but his mind is conditioned to blend in rather than stick out.  To a potential attacker, he is not a threat, but the element of surprise is on the Carrier’s side once the attacker realizes he underestimated his victim.  That is because; his victim isn’t really a victim, but a survivor.

            On the other hand, carrier B open carries and does so because he has an unrealistic view of a hostile situation.  He open carries because he wants people to know he is a badass.  As viable training gives you the combat mindset to drive away your need to be a badass and replaces it with confidence, Shooter B with no training has no mental conditioning and is ignorant of how to react in a firefight situation.  Inadvertently, his attitude, whether he intends it or not, has made him the best candidate for first target if an active shooter enters the building he is in.  On the other hand, Shooter B argues that just the mere visual presence of his gun will deter a shooting from going down.  Wrong!  If this were the case, the North Hollywood shooters would have surrendered to police.  Plus, it is foolish to bet your life against another person’s insanity, desperation or potentially superior firepower.  This mentality is another sure fire sign of a couch commando/casual carrier.  Call of Duty is more important to him than training.  Appearance is more important to him than functionality.

            All this being said, no concealed carrier is perfect.  Human beings are naturally flawed, but there are good carriers and bad carriers.  Then there is the Ugly, who is obviously evil, but we call him ugly because the slaughter of innocents for a personal vendetta or hatred is a very ugly thing.  I think we have learned lessons (at least the sensible ones among us) from Adam Lanza, James Holmes, Jared Laughner, and Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter that their inherent disregard for life does not end with others.  A person who hates life enough, to slaughter a horde of unarmed civilians, cares nothing for himself either, at least in my argument.  Half of the above mentioned shooters committed suicide, like a Coward.  So….tell me, will simply open carrying a gun deter a crazy like the ones I have just mentioned?  It isn’t realistic to assume that the simple showing of your potential for deadly force is enough to deter a crime.  It most certainly doesn’t work for police.  Arguably, it does make an offender think twice, but precedence has concluded that it will not stop an active shooter 100 percent of the time.  The lessons of history have shown us once clear thing that our hipster friends still haven’t learned when dealing with hostile people or nations.  The thing a bully, criminal or dictator respects is force.  Pleading with the playground bully to stop picking on you will only encourage him laughing at you and exploiting your fear more than he already is.  Break the bully’s nose and he’ll likely not harass you again.

            I am not advocating violence.  Diplomacy, as any good carrier knows should take priority over violence where appropriate.  Obviously a man who enters a crowded shopping mall and opens fire with no questions needs a bullet rather than words.  But the neighbor of yours that is kicking the crap out of your best friend  doesn’t deserve a bullet, but a warning of equal force, mostly because you probably don’t understand the context of the whole situation.  Your neighbor was likely defending himself, and you may only be seeing one side of it.  A good carrier, recognizes the appropriate reaction for every situation, but does not hesitate to use too much diplomacy that could risk his life and does not use bullets that could risk his freedom in appropriate situations.  Priority one as a concealed carrier has to be the safety of your family, yourself and others that includes you not ending up in a jail cell for manslaughter or murder.  TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

By the way, when I say practice, I mean practice that utilizes the skills you learned in training.  Shooting cans and bottles does not count, although it is fun and okay to let loose from time to time. J  I particularly like exacting revenge on household appliances that failed me at one point or another on the firing range.

If you can’t afford classes, get all the education you can; get training videos, books and if you can, an experienced shooter in your family to show you the ropes.  You can still be a good concealed carrier, with the right attitude if you cannot afford any training, but a lot of the factors of being a good carrier in this situation has to do with your ability to know your limitations.  Your lack of training is not a promise that you won’t survive an encounter and on the other end your training is not a promise of your safety.  Training however, does up your effectiveness by leaps and bounds.  Since active shooters practically never have any training whatsoever (with very few exceptions) a trained shooter almost certainly will prevail against the Ugly.  Before I close this post though, let me break down good habits of concealed carry. 

The Good J

·         Always carry concealed:  There are some exceptions to this rule.  Camping hiking, while in the outdoors or anywhere you are concerned about quadriplegic threats rather than bipedal ones.  Carrying concealed also takes away the potential of you becoming a prime target in a bad situation.

·         Get training! And practice!: Training certainly isn’t as good as experience, but most carriers hopefully don’t get a lot of combat experience.  No matter how the media paints us, we (the good) enjoy peace and safety just as much as the next man or woman.

·         Know your area:  If you are like most Americans, most of your daily routine is spent in the same places every day. Know your layouts, the exits, cover, windows etc.  Also know and assess the most likely place a hostile shooter is likely to enter.

·         Be subtle: Sometimes, it arouses unwanted eyes, when you are constantly pulling your waste band up because your full sized Beretta M9’s weight is causing your birches to fall.  Walking funny too can also draw unwanted attention.  This is where holster selection is important.  If a holster doesn’t secure your gun tightly to your body and you are fighting it all day, it is not dependable enough to save your life.  Plus the wrong holster can land you an embarrassing situation.  Try explaining to police why a Beretta suddenly appeared on the floor next to your shoe.

·         Be consistent:  Don’t overload yourself with a dozen carry guns.  Up to three (in my experienced opinion) is adequate, but not all three at the same time.  If you introduce a lot of gun styles with different safety’s trigger pulls size etc, you will be nullifying much of the muscle memory you gained training, especially when you carry a different one every day.  As an experienced carrier I have three different guns I carry consistently.  A Springfield XD-40, for cooler months (Usually October through February or march).  I still carry it in the summer time, if what I am wearing will cover it. My Bersa .380 thunder for hot months.  Its compact size makes it easier to carry in shorts and a t-shirt without a jacket and it is comfortable in 90+ degree weather all day. The last is a Taurus full sized .357 magnum for camping, and wilderness activities.  This is the gun I open carry when I am more worried about mountain lions than an active shooter.  I have mastered all the intricacies with these guns and know them like the back of my hand.  However, when you carry a different gun for every day of the week, you are doing yourself a disservice because of the lack of consistency.

·         Attitude:  Trying to come off as a badass or thinking you are a badass or hero is not the right mindset.  Realizing that you may get killed defending your life or another’s life is grim, but realistic.  Realizing that you can be convicted of manslaughter or sued because of your lack in judgment or skill is realistic.  Shooting a horde of zombies eating all the meat departments pork is not.  Alertness and understanding your surroundings is key and paired with training and your skills will ensure your survival.  Simply talking about scenarios and what you would do with the rest of your couch commando buddies to look like a tough guy is not good enough and honestly detrimental to your attitude.

·         Make your carrying a habit!:  Honestly, as an experienced carrier, it can be an inconvenience sometimes.  It takes a couple of minutes to strap on my gun daily, and when you are a father and husband, that two minutes seems like an eternity.  The routine of checking my chamber, racking, a round in the pipe, holstering it and concealing it can be a pain in the rear with a screaming kid in the next room.  At times, I want to leave the gun at home, but that screaming infant reminds me of my fatherly responsibilities of protecting my family so I have to take that time.  It is a pain too, when you get home to un-chamber the gun, check it, put it in a safe spot, and removing your holster.  The daily routine can be annoying, but it is an important daily routine.  If you make it a habit, you are less likely to slack off.

·         Your gun keeps you safe, so take care of her: I will say one thing, excessive lint, dirt and sweat don’t agree with most guns.  Inspect it monthly and clean it monthly.  Remember, that gun is your lifeline.  It isn’t going to do much good if it can’t function to its fullest.

·         Safety considerations are YOUR responsibilities:  If you are a parent or member of your family who carries, the younger ones of your family or anyone unknowledgeable of firearms will eventually notice.  Curiosity may get the better of them.  Along with the standard safety rule, PLEASE ONLY KEEP YOUR GUN/GUNS ACCESSABLE TO AUTHORIZED PERSONELL IN YOUR HOME.  Right now in our house my guns are accessible to my wife and I.  On the occasion that we have visitors, especially ones that I deem irresponsible, my carry gun and home defense shotgun go someplace locked.  Sometimes too, my carry gun will be on my person, so I know it is safe, other times, it goes in my office in the desk drawer where nobody can get to it.  Secure your guns!  A firearms related accident can make the rest of your life miserable in jail, with a loved one’s death on your conscience, or at the very least, strip you of your permit privileges.

Folks, thanks for reading; until next time, keep your powder dry!