The Seven Stages of Concealed Carry

[David E]

You can train and train and train, and mentally go thru thousands of senerios; but when it comes down to it, no one really does know what they will do the first time. Yeah, I'm about 98.6% sure of what I would do...

I said this prior to the line you copied:

EVERYONE thinking about buying a gun for personal defense, much less carrying one should have that deeply reflective "talk" with yourself.

What I've noticed over the years is that far too many people try to do one of two things:

1) seek to absolve themselves of any responsibility of having that serious reflective thought of being able to shoot/kill another human being.

2) KNOW they could shoot someone with the expectation of killing them, but don't want to admit that fact, lest someone think they're a cold blooded killer waiting for an excuse.

Responses to both of these categories typically use the 'weasel words' mentioned.

I understand that people may not reach a 100% certainty about what they'll do, but they better have a damn good idea about what they'll do!

.

[murph50]

I'd say my stages go more along the lines of what David E said in the 3rd post except for stage 5. No burnout for me I always carry.
I took my Basic pistol course with Instuctor Dennis and he did go over some of these stages in the course--and I remember that stuff too.
There is no mention however of the gun stage:
Before I got my CC permit I had a 38 snubby and an old Taurus PT 908.
A few months after I got the permit--I added a couple more and got a small safe (about 2 Cu FT) to store them in. Now it's been almost 3 years and a couple months ago I had to get a big honkin' 23 Cu FT Liberty safe to store them in.
So I guess you can call that stage 8--these darn things are addicting and tend to multiply
Thanks Dennis:icon_razz:

[David E]

There is one guy, a moderator on another forum, that speaks from his pedestal on high down to us mere mortals about all things gun related, how to carry, what to do in any and every situation, how a 2-shot .22 magnum derringer is enough gun, etc, etc, etc.

Come to find out, this cluck doesn't carry a gun AT ALL anymore, citing reasons pertaining to his further "enlightenment" about the whole deal.

He won't call it what it is: burnout, plain and simple.

That's why I said that some never make it to Stage 5, and others, it seems, can't wait !

.

[Emerson]

I was over 40 years old and had enough experience before CCW was legal in my state (Missouri) that I skipped down to the "Just another tool" syndrome when CCW finally did become legal.

I was normally in Condition Yellow even before becoming intimate with Jeff Cooper.

However, I have definitely known several guys who have gone through several if not all of the stages that Dennis mentions.

One of the problems I have seen is when people who I would classify as non-shooters get a CCW they really aren't proficient and will probably be victims if the SHTF.

[kwo51]

I do not disagree that 22 mag is not enough. Just don't leave it home.The keltec 32 goes like my wallet or keys.Yes it's a mouse but it's not at the house.Shorts and tee shirt have been my main dress untle the harley arrived now all has changed. Mouse has become backup to glock 27.

[kaiwarrior]

Very well put Instructor Dennis. I'm Sean, aka kaiwarrior, Your steps of concealed carry are right on. I somewhat quickly outgrew my Wyatt Earp, Intimidator stage and quickly realized it was better, as you said, to be a sheep dog moving quietly amost the sheep. Especially since most sheep can't distinguish the sheep dogs from the wolves (or don't care to know the difference). I decided right away; however, that the piece that I wanted to bet my life on (for concealed carry) was .45 ACP. I had long read and heard, either first hand or second hand, of true life stories of 9 mm, 38, 10 mm, and similiar calibers not effectively stopping their targets. Mostly from PD officers or military or from published articles, etc.
I'm pretty much in the just another tool syndrome; however, I do want to take more concealed carry courses (I've taken a few), and real life training courses. Do you know of any good, respected ones in the Northeastern Pennsylvania area?

- Kaiwarrior

[Canis-Lupus]

Dear Dennis,
I read thru your 'Seven Stages of Concealed Carry' & IMHO if all but the (rare) seasoned weapons and CQC experts with decades of legal-trouble free CCW life behind them (they already know what most novices & even range fire pros who only excel in a controlled environment) took what you posted and ran with it as good entry-level exposure/training to the art of evolving into citizens who end up legally & safely carrying a concealed deadly weapon, really thought about what they were getting themselves into, made a conscious decision to follow thru with what you presented @ a speed that suits them, took plenty of time at a range but also many hours in situational training courses, there would be a lot less of the wanna-B good guys wondering WTF they did wrong if they just waltzed into a gun store, slapped the Ben F's on the table and walked out with a hand cannon and HP's, now 'invincible' to any BG or bad situation that normally goes south in seconds the moment the jittery armed citizen pulls, points and shoots. If U don't know how to drive a MAC-truck, your 1st lesson should not be on I-10 @ 75mph hauling gasoline is another analogy I heard and use on new CCW owners if they even want to take the time to listen. Most don't! **** they now have a gun, a permit to hide and use it, how can that possibly go wrong? IMHO taking a lethal weapon concealed upon your person out of your home/car and into normal situations [like a trip to a store] is an exercise in vigilance and self control that nearly always comes down to reinforcing the comfort/confidence level they finally get after years of responsible carry. On the other end of that spectrum is the untrained and unready 21 y/o who reacts to what appears to be a call for the cavalry to come charging to someone's rescue, and they do at WARP-8, does not figure out much and shoots at the first person who moves in a way he or she deems threatening. :But his cell-phone looked like a snub-nosed S & W!" They almost always end up wrong, dead/wounded & still wrong or sitting in a cell while their life ticks by with multiple felony raps that will change their freedoms & life 4 ever. As a retired Army Medic I have seen WAY too many CPT Kirk's and been to a few of their funerals, visited then in jail, consoled the loved ones of the 'mistakes' they made or cleaned up the human carnage they caused which was the most common 911 response call we got when we heard: 'Shots fired at..' or 'Man/Officer down..' or 'Domestic in progress with reported gunfire @..' came into dispatch and sent us out at Code-3. I applaud you for posting what you did and if it's any consolation it was medics and M.P.'s or civilian LEO's who thought and acted like you train others to do who were the folks I felt the safest around for 17 years. Please try to pass that way of dealing with the CCW growing stages and basic human nature onto those who think a permit to carry is a license to kill all BG's, or some innocent they mistook as a BG, or true innocents who did what fright/flight tells most to do when guns start shooting, bolt for the nearest exit and don't stop to give an explanation to the armed do-gooder, now a VERY confused citizen maybe on their 3rd clip who determines this is 'obviously' a BG trying to flee & he/she better stop them! After the dust settles they inevitably ask a cop, or their attorney why they can't walk away a free man/woman, if they ain't on the ground bleeding out with a GSW from another CCW citizen or a LEO.
Very smart way to conduct CCW business.
Regards and Kudos,

Canis-Lupus

[340mopar]

I get your point, though for me it is/was different. I know not all will be the same, but if you look at this with common sense and an open mind you will get the point..

I want to be Wyatt Earp.... or Clint Eastwood ... The good, the bad, the BANG!...lmao

[HK4U]

I was a deputy for a few years so I got used to carrying. Later I still carried before the right to carry was passed here in Texas. I operated under the thought that "I would rather be tried by twelve that carried by six". During that time I often felt like eveyone knew I had a gun on. I have now carried for many years and have not had a burn out. I carry everywhere I go. I would no more think of leaviing my gun at home than I would leave the house without putting my pants on. I am not dressed without it.

[boyzoi]

I can understand the 7 steps listed and appreciate them, Im just not sure how they truely play out.
I was raised around guns, my father was a "mild collector", I went hunting with him, I had a gun in the car after I turned 16; having and being around weapons almost seemed a non-issue. I never understood the empahsis people would put on it when they got a carry permit. could I ever use it.........I remember clearly something my father told me at a VERY young age. if you find yourself in the position where you feel it necesary to pull your weapon, make sure you are 100% prepared to use it, never point that at another humanbeing if you are not prepared to pull the trigger and live with the results. Ive always felt I was well taught and well prepared.......its all part of the responsiblity.