Habits? What does that have to do with concealed carry? A lot. If we’re going to carry then we need to do so safely. The way to do that is to form habits to do things correctly without having to think about them.
Table of Contents
Four rules of gun safety
We’ve all seen this before and now we’re going to go over it again.
- All guns are loaded.
- Never point the gun at anything you’re not willing to shoot.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire.
- Know your target and what’s behind it (what’s in front and to the side won’t hurt, either.)
But it’s not always that simple, is it? If you carry IWB you’re not precisely following #2, are you? If your muzzle isn’t pointing at you it’s certainly pointing close enough that any accidental discharge will hurt you, even if it’s just with muzzle blast.
If you happen to appendix carry and sit down I’m pretty sure you’re not saying that you’re willing to shoot your femoral artery. Nevertheless, that’s where the gun is pointing. You are really counting on #3 to keep you safe so you should make damn sure that the habit of not touching the trigger is ingrained. And maybe double checking your gun in its holster to ensure everything is correct should be one of your habits. Or making sure you don’t try to shift your holster before you sit. Or, perhaps, get a gun with a safety mechanism of some kind.
Some guns have pulling the trigger as part of the takedown procedure which I do not care for. It creates a habit that is the exact opposite of what we should be working toward.
My point is, we all know the four rules and yet there are times they’re broken. Fortunately, you really need to break two at once for something tragic to happen. So we need good, solid habits to make sure we don’t break two at once.
Before I leave the house
As an example: my normal daily carry gun is an M&P Shield. This one, to be precise (yes, I reused the image from the safety article.)
I carry this in an IWB holster. Every single day I do the following.
- Adjust the holster to the right place on my body.
- Take the Shield from its storage place.
- Check the little hole for a round in the chamber.
- Look between the slide and the frame to make sure I can see a loaded magazine.
- Check the manual safety is on.
- Put the gun into its holster, put my spare magazine holder on my left side, and put my shirt on.
- Do at least one practice draw.
- Drop the 7 round magazine onto my bed, draw the spare 8 round mag from my holder and load the gun. Then drop the 8 rounder and put the 7 round one back into the gun and the extended mag back into its holder.
- Double check the safety again.
I have similar procedures for every gun I carry. All include a draw from wherever they are that day and a reload for semi autos. That entire list takes less than a minute and helps me make sure I’m set for the day.
During this process I take particular care to be mindful of what I’m doing. I try very hard to not let this happen on autopilot. I want to make sure I’m doing it right.
Making those second nature
In the article I linked above I pointed out that we are imperfect. Our brains go on vacation at the most inopportune times. While I agree with the statement that the best safety is between our ears I realize that it’s not enough to count on being focused and aware at all times when handling a firearm. We need to have procedures and actions so ingrained that we just do them without, or with minimal, conscious thought.
As I said previously I’m not a big fan of guns that require a trigger pull the clean the gun. Hardly anyone has ever been injured doing this so I’m not claiming it’s some sort of major danger; I just don’t like that it creates a habit of an administrative trigger pull. I prefer to keep that particular action for shooting the gun.
The more you do something the same way the less likely you are to do something differently. When you first get a new gun or holster you must
practice, practice, practice. Repetition is the key to creating any new habit. Naturally you must make sure you’re creating a good habit. Doing something wrong over and over still creates the habit; it’s just not the one you want.
Any time I pick up the Shield and it’s not broken down I do a three point check.
- Round in chamber
- Rounds in magazine
- Safety on.
Every single time. Neither the XDm nor my Pico have manual safety switches but I do the first two checks. If I’m carrying one of them that day I do some form of the nine point list I broke down above.
Especially the draw stroke
The draw, especially, is critical. Your hand needs to know where the gun is. If you carry consistently then you probably have the same gun in the same place anyway. A daily refresher just reinforces the habit. If you have different carry guns or methods then that quick check in the morning helps get your muscle memory set.
When I’m trying something new: gun, carry position, etc. then I spend much more time practicing before I go into the world with it. First with an empty gun and later I add the rounds into it.
I learned when pocket carrying my Beretta Pico that all my pants have different pockets. That matters. It changes the angle and depth of where the grip is. I even have one pair of shorts where the gun has to go into the cargo pocket. The normal one is so shallow that the grip is only 1/2″ or so from the top of it. That’s not concealed. Because of the differences I normally do a few practice draws with the Pico.
Develop your own habits
The more consistent you are with your gun handling the more safe and effective you will be. Your gun will not go off accidentally and if you need it your hands will know what to do so that your brain can be focused on more important things.
Create your habits and make sure that you’re paying attention to what you’re doing, especially when first practicing. If you already have some bad habits then fix them as soon as you can. Constantly, relentlessly examine your own gun handling procedures to make sure you’re being as safe and efficient as you can.
