Best Concealed Carry Options for Personal Defense in 2018

Investing in a concealed carry weapon for personal defense is a smart idea. If your state allows for you to carry a concealed self-defense weapon and you’ve gone through the training and licensing procedures, you can purchase a gun to carry with you for protection.

Buying your weapon is an exciting experience, but it can also be overwhelming. There are a lot of choices out there and if you’ve never shopped for a gun before it might make your head swirl. IWB holsters, shoulder holsters, ankle holsters, firearms with different barrel lengths and calibers, revolvers, shotguns, concealed carry handguns, pistols, and so much more. The good news is there are tips you can use that will make the process of choosing your weapon easier.

Here’s some help for choosing the best concealed carry option for personal defense.

Visiting a Gun Shop

Regardless of where you choose to purchase your weapon ultimately, it’s important to do some shopping in person. Finding a friendly, knowledgeable gun shop in your area is a great place to begin your search for the perfect weapon.

Your first trip to a gun shop can be intimidating, which is why it’s important to find a friendly shop. They can offer you advice and experience. The best shops will work with you and educate you even if you don’t shop with them because they are concealed carry advocates. If you feel uncomfortable asking questions and looking like a novice, just remember everybody was there at one point or another. After all, the last thing you want to do is buy pistols or a Glock that aren’t even right or your needs.

If you feel as if you are being pressured to buy one weapon or another, you’ll want to find another shop. The most ethical gun salespeople know that the best concealed carry option for anyone is a gun with which they feel proficient and comfortable using. Obviously, these things will take some time and practice, but most people are able to tell what feels “right” to them fairly early on in the process.

Part of visiting a shop is getting a feel for what weapons are available. One of the best ways to do this is to fire several different types of weapons. Makes sense, right? Who would want to buy a car without driving it first? The same is true for a gun. You need to give a few a try before buying.

Many gun shops allow you to rent guns and fire them at a range. Some shops are event-attached to ranges, so you can browse and try the various options at the same location. If you aren’t used to shooting, work with an experienced shooter—possibly someone from the shop—to practice shooting and trying out the different gun options. Ask questions, be honest about what you like and dislike, and allow the experts to guide you to the best options for you.

Understand Why a Concealed Carry Gun is Unique

While trying out different guns, you might find you really like something but it’s not appropriate for concealed carry. This is fine, you just need to adjust. You might love the feel of firing a shotgun, but that’s not going to be a concealed carry weapon. Think about what you find appealing and go from there. Is it that you don’t need pinpoint accuracy? Is it the powerful recoil? This can help you narrow your choices.

The same is true if you fire guns you don’t care for. Assess what you like and dislike and apply these qualities to guns that are appropriate to carry.

The best carry weapons are light and thin, so they’re comfortable to carry, but this doesn’t necessarily make them any less powerful. It’s important that a gun feel comfortable and natural in your hands. Does it suit your hand size? You need to be able to reach the trigger and be able to hold the gun properly to shoot with proficiency. This might take a bit of trial and error trying different guns but stick with it until you find the one that is perfectly suited for you.

Consider Function

Some of the things you’ll like and dislike about a particular weapon have to do with the function of the gun. In addition to feeling comfortable holding the gun, you need to feel good about shooting it. This is the only way you’ll build confidence and become a proficient shooter.

When shooting a gun and thinking about what you like and dislike, think about recoil, trigger, and accuracy.

You need recoil to be manageable. This is going to differ from person to person. Sometimes it’s just too much and you’ll need a less powerful gun. Don’t worry—it’ll still get the job done and help you with personal defense.

Next, you’ll want to determine if the trigger is too heavy or too light. You don’t want to feel like it’s too easy to pull the trigger, but if there’s too much resistance it’s going to affect your ability to shoot well. You need to consider practice with the gun. You might feel comfortable pulling the trigger once, which might be enough in an emergency, but to become proficient using it you’ll need practice. Make sure you can enjoy a session at the shooting range without your finger cramping.

Finally, make sure the gun you choose is accurate. This is especially important if you’re a new shooter, but it can apply to anyone. The gun needs to offer some forgiveness to account for any hand tremors that occur. In most personal defense cases, you won’t be shooting just a single time at a non-moving target. Your gun needs to work with your shortcomings.

Finally, as far as function is concerned, you want a gun that’ simple and safe to use. The right gun for you can be easily operated without any struggle. The less you need to think about how your gun works when you’re in a stressful situation the better of you’ll be.

Part of simple and safe means it’s easy to clean, too. You need something that’s easy to take care of or you’ll slack off on gun maintenance and your gun won’t be able to work for you when you need it.

Getting a Reliable Concealed Carry Option for Personal Defense

Perhaps the most important quality in a concealed carry weapon is reliability. You need to be able to count on your gun and your ability to use your gun when it’s needed. Otherwise, it’s worthless—or worse—it puts you in even more danger.

No matter what other qualities you’re considering and what direction you go with your carry weapon, make sure you get something reliable.

This doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune.

There are plenty of affordable carry weapons available that are great options. If you’re visiting a gun shop to get a feel for what you like and you’re being steered only toward the most expensive weapons, you might want to consider shopping elsewhere.

Also, keep in mind that the initial cost of a gun isn’t the only expense you’ll have. You need to keep the weapon loaded with ammunition and if that’s expensive, you’re less likely to practice as much as you should. The only way you’re going to feel comfortable and confident shooting a carry weapon is in practice and the cheaper ammunition is the more you’re likely to practice.

You Have Your Concealed Carry Weapon: Now What?

Now that you’ve chosen your weapon and become comfortable using it, you’ll want to make it as easy to carry as possible. These accessories help you carry safely and conveniently:

Leather Locking Concealment Purse – CCW Concealed Carry Gun Shoulder Bag

Retails for about $

LINIXU Belly Band with 2 Mag Pouches White

Retails for about $

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ConcealmentClothes Men’s Compression Undercover- Concealed Carry Holster Tank Top Shirt

Price ranges from $ to $

Rothco 3 Season Concealed Carry Jacket

Prices range from $ to $

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In addition to ensuring you have the right weapon and the best accessories to make using your weapon easy, there are a few extra tips you need to know to be a responsible concealed carrier.

Make sure you inspect your weapon on a weekly basis. This means cleaning it, if necessary and checking its function. You need to shoot your weapon on a weekly basis—first to stay efficient, but also to ensure the weapon will work as you expect it to when needed.

If you think weekly checks seem excessive, you should check out all of the stories about people who needed to fire their weapon in an emergency only to learn it didn’t work. There are even stories of people carrying weapons with them for weeks at a time, only to learn it didn’t fire as expected when they went to practice with it. A weekly check ensures it will never be more than a few days without firing your gun.

Next, get used to carrying your weapon. It might seem obvious that in order to make the most of your concealed carry license and weapon you need to actually carry your gun, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t bother carrying. They went through the effort of getting licensed, training to use their weapon, and buying the weapon and accessories, but they don’t have it with them when they actually need it. The best concealed carry option is the one you’re actually carrying with you and easy to use when needed.

Finally, make sure you’re carrying your gun loaded. Again, this might seem like it’s an unnecessary point, but there are plenty of instances of someone with a concealed carry license and an unloaded gun. This is especially true for those who have the gun in their home with them. Though they don’t need their carry license, they do need to make sure they’re ready if an emergency arises. It is part of a being a responsible gun owner.

The other important issue here about keeping your gun loaded is that you need to keep it loaded to maximum capacity. You can be the best shot in the world and need more than one bullet to deal with a problem. This is actually one of the biggest issues that arise with concealed carry licensees because of their gun size.

Most concealed carry gun holders use a smaller gun. They might carry larger weapons occasionally, but for convenience and ease of carrying, they use smaller guns. This makes it essential to “top off” the magazine and ensure that the weapon is fully loaded. If you take your weapon to the gun range to practice, make sure your weapon is completely reloaded before leaving the range. This is important for all concealed carry weapons, but the smaller the weapon the more important it is. You want to maximize your advantage in an emergency, even if it takes a little extra planning in advance.

There you have it: tips for choosing the best concealed carry weapon to have in 2018, as well as information about the accessories you need to carry and the things you should do to ensure you are carrying responsibly.