new to carrying

[Wodtke19]

just got my ptc in today. Only took a week and a day. I want to start carrying right away but i feel a bit nervous. i know this will go away eventually. Ill probably start out by carrying it with out one in the chamber until i get completely use to having a firearm on my side.

[tazdevil]

just got my ptc in today. Only took a week and a day. I want to start carrying right away but i feel a bit nervous. i know this will go away eventually. Ill probably start out by carrying it with out one in the chamber until i get completely use to having a firearm on my side.

Prepare to be flamed (not by me, but others might be a bit vocal on this). First question, who was your instructor? I felt the same way as you did before my PTC class, after, was still a little uncomfortable until I had carried a few times (after I received my permit of course), but carrying without one in the pipe is not looked well upon. Remember IF you ever have to use it, the time it takes to rack the slide may be too long already. In addition, you may not be able to rack the slide with the ensuing adrenaline dump (chemical cocktail your body dumps into your system) from such a event. Get used to carrying with one in the chamber immediately.


I should've asked, what are you carrying that makes you nervous about the one in the chamber?

[Wodtke19]

I took the course and gander. It wasn't my first choice of places to take it but with my time schedule and how much i travel it worked the easiest on my part to get the ball rolling. And i did recieve my ptc in the mail friday but didnt actually get it until today because i was out of town for work. Ill be carrying a xdm9 4 inch barrel for now until i can get something a little more concealable on me. Its fine if i have a jacket on so it wont be so bad in the coming months. I guess i dont really know what i have to be nervous about.

Also i am not saying that the Gander mtn course was bad or anything. But i Feel like we got shorted out on range time. i think i was in there for 3 min at most. Idk if thats normal for these classes or if i just feel that way. On the other hand the instructor was very informative answering any ones questions concerning the subject. Just to make it clear i am familiar with my handgun and have put atleast 600 rounds through it.

[matthew.allen]

Make sure you are mentally prepared to carry. Carrying is a significant responsibility, and one that deserves some thought.

I strongly suggest either carrying a fully operable and loaded firearm, or not carrying at all. But ultimately it is your choice.

There are a number of great instructors that can help with preparedness, and I'd definitely suggest some kind of practical handgun or defensive handgun class.

As far as being nervous? Many people have that dealing when they start carrying, it goes away. When I started carrying, I could have sworn everybody knew I had a gun. Now I know that most people don't even notice openly carried firearms.

Either way, good luck, and don't hesitate to keep asking questions.

[Thunderjohn]

At first you'll feel like everyone knows you're carrying.
Don't worry. No one knows and if they know, they don't care.

[TTS]

just got my ptc in today. Only took a week and a day. I want to start carrying right away but i feel a bit nervous. i know this will go away eventually. Ill probably start out by carrying it with out one in the chamber until i get completely use to having a firearm on my side.

Being nervous is good, it means you take the responsibility of carrying a firearm for self defense seriously! As others have said, make sure you are mentally prepared to carry. The only thing worse than not having a gun, is having one without the will to use it.

If you are going to carry w/o a round in the chamber, I suggest doing so at home. Once you are comfortable with that and want to carry in public, always have a round chambered. You will likely not have time to rack a round in the chamber when being attacked. Additionally, under stress it is easy to make the gun malfunction while trying to rack the slide. Don't see this as a "Flame" just advice.

Like ThunderJohn said, you will feel like everyone knows, but they don't. Work to conceal the best you can, but don't kill yourself buying Hawaiian shirts and baggy T-Shirts.

This forum is a great source of information, if anyone jumps your case, just ignore them.

[Wodtke19]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I don't plan on carrying with out one in the chamber for long just for the first few days. I do also plan on taking a defensive handgun course when I can make the time.

Also Hawaiian and baggy are not my style of choice either.

[Dakotared]

I too got my PTC last week, tomorrow will be one week. I put one in the pipe on day one, and just carried around the house until Friday. On Friday we had a big town get together where they shut down main st, have a big car show and a lot of people were out and about including many police and sheriff deputies. I figured why not try it out and see how it goes. My wife did not even know I had it on me and all I had on was a T shirt that I though printed a bit. I have only been to one store with it and again no one seemed to notice, and this T shirt differently printed and it rode up a few times so the bottom was visible. So yea you will know but I guess it takes time to stop thinking that every one around you knows, as I have seen, but it is still kind of weird.

[Countryfried Frank]

I don't blame you for not having one in the chamber. There are plenty of good reasons for and against. I won't recommend one manner of carry over another for you but I will recommend that you train like you carry. Snap Caps are great for dry fire practice just double check to make sure your handgun is clear first.

[Pat Cannon]

To get comfortable with your carry gun and carry holster, the very best thing to do, in my humble opinion, is shoot it in IDPA competition.

[tman]

To get comfortable with your carry gun and carry holster, the very best thing to do, in my humble opinion, is shoot it in IDPA competition.

That would do it in a hurry.

[CarryCauseICan]

I was nervous too, the first times. Thought everyone was gonna know and see it. Then I realized, that I have never looked at someone else like they were carrying, and never look at their hip to see if they had a gun. Now it's kind of a game! I try to see if any one else is carrying! Haven't seen anyone yet.

[Ivan45]

I too was nervous at first, only carrying IWB and always checking to make sure my shirt or coat was covering, which probably "made" me more often than just leaving it alone. As time goes on, I care less about people noticing because I've found that most people could care less as well... of course your location may determine how much people care, and my move to the Brainerd area made me comfortable with my .357 OWB pretty much all the time, of which the bottom half of the holster sticks out from under a shirt and I haven't had anyone say anything about it. Doing the same thing in Uptown might get some smelly hippie yelling at you about peace and love (after they ask you for bus fare, of course). About having a round chambered, I thought about it for about 5 minutes before I came to the conclusion: If my weapon ain't ready to rock, I might as well be carrying a rock

[oneunder]

I carried for a while without one chambered. Then I ran across this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMbIC0RPBRs&feature=plcp

He makes some good points. Whether you like him or not is a different story. Congrats on the permit!

[sgruenhagen44]

You might as well carry an empty gun. After you rack that slide, you're probably dead anyway. Most gun fights only last around three seconds. You better find a nice metal framed gun that will be able to take a beating, or a night stick!