About six months ago I finally booked an appointment and took a course so that I could obtain my Maine concealed carry permit or CCW. I have been carrying every day since I have been able and thought I would share a few things with those who may be thinking about getting their permits, or maybe already have them and are fairly new to it like I am, so that they can evaluate what works best for them and their every-day lives.
First, I would like to point out that I was completely shocked, although not necessarily disappointed at how easy it was to obtain this permit in my state. Maine is a "shall issue" state, meaning if you don't have a criminal background or any other issues excluding you from being able to own or carry a firearm, they will give you a permit. They do require that you attend and "graduate" from a NRA certified home firearm safety course and complete the application through your local police chief before you may be able to carry a concealed firearm. In Maine the minimum to achieve this is a $65.00/ 8 hr. course with no shooting required. Easy enough right? After graduating the course, which is basically just showing you understand what the instructor is saying and showing you can hold a gun without putting everyone in danger, you must then get an application from your chief of police and pay another $35.00 filing fee. (Why does filing a paper cost $35.00?)
Once you have done this its just a waiting game. It took my permit about six weeks to come in. The town office/police station where I live called me personally when it arrived so I could go sign it in front of them. It was just an ordinary piece of paper stating my name and address and the name and signature of the chief of police. I laminated it myself so I wouldn't have to pay another $5.00 fee to get another one in three months when mine ripped or made a trip through the washing machine.
Now, every state has completely different requirements for this process so before anyone starts leaving me all kinds of nasty comments saying I am full of crap about how easy it is to get this permit, please realize this. (Yes, it has already happened) The info I am providing is for Maine only and it is to acquire a Maine only permit. I was told that thirteen states honor Maines permit but if you want a permit that's good for the entire country you will need to attend a more extensive course for more money.
Ok, now that all the details are out of the way we will get on to my actual experiences carrying. This is something that should be thought out before hand because you will begin to realize very quickly that the way you thought you might want to carry and the gear you dream about carrying every day begins to be a nightmare once you do. Once you make the choice to carry a firearm you should carry it every day, everywhere (within your legal rights of course) This means finding a handgun and holster that will feel comfortable, not just for a few days, but for everyday carry.
The gun/holster combo should be something that works no matter what your doing or how you are sitting. Some methods of carry feel great while you are standing and are horrible when you sit down. When I started out I carried on the small of my back. I found out very quickly that this was completely useless when I was sitting down and could possibly injure me severely if I was pushed onto my back. I have since moved to carrying on my strong side hip in the "4 oclock" position. (If your body was a clock with your belt buckle at 12 oclock. This position allows me to sit and stand without adjusting and even lay down on my back comfortably. The less time you have to adjust or remove your sidearm the better. If you spend a lot of the time on the road driving this may mean a shoulder holster so your weapon is not pinned to you by your seatbelt. The clothing you wear every day will have a lot to do with how you want to carry and you may want to buy certain items of clothing specifically for this. I bought a couple of lightweight open front jackets for this purpose. If your job requires you to wear blazers or sport coats then the shoulder holster may be ideal. Also please check with your local laws because while it is perfectly legal to carry open in Maine, some states do not allow it and if your concealed handgun becomes not so concealed you can get in trouble for it.
If you choose to buy an "inside the waistband" holster be aware that these take time to break in. It may not be very comfortable at all at first but it will eventually conform to your body's angles and contours and soon , if your gun isn't a brick, you should barely know its there. I also recommend carrying a spare mag, flashlight, or whatever other every day items you may carry in the same spot on the other side as to offset the weight on your hips a little. (You would be surprised how much this helps). Depending on how fitted your clothes are to begin with you may want to buy pants a size bigger so you are still comfortable after the thickness of the gun has been taken up.
Try not to carry in spots you may perspire a lot (small of back for men). Wiping down your gun all the time is a pain and unnecessary if you place it right. This is also why many people opt to carry stainless steel guns that don't rust or corrode as easily.
Whatever way you chose to carry, carry that way all the time. Get used to it. Practice unholstering and drawing on target (with an unloaded weapon) so that if and when you ever need to it will be second nature. You may think it would be easy to know where you are carrying but if you carry in different places all the time when the fight or flight response kicks in and you have seconds to react you don't want to draw a blank and reach for your gun to find out its not there today.
Well that's it for now, I will share more things as I learn them and hopefully I can help someone who is just figuring it out for themselves. Please train with your firearm and be safe, there are already way too many people giving us gun owners bad names, lets not help them out.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete