Ready To Carry?
So, you have your Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permit. But are you actually ready to carry?
Concealed carry weapons permit requirements vary from state to state, ranging from minimal classroom training to none at all. And fortunately, Pennsylvanians are on the none at all side, in terms of legalities. There is no law on Pennsylvania’s books that requires CCW wannabes to obtain any training, not even minimal training.
Of the more than 22.01 million CCW permit holders in the U.S., less than two percent have training beyond the baseline requirements. This percentage of those being trained keeps decreasing with every state that becomes a Constitutional Carry state (some call it “Permitless Carry”), because the whole point of being constitutionally able to carry is that there are no impediments to exercising your Constitutional rights.
But is that ideal? Yes, here in Pennsylvania, you can very easily obtain your concealed carry permit and begin carrying in public. But should you do so without being trained? The answer is a definitive “NO”. Not because I am instructor. But, because I believe it is the responsibility of every gun owner to be properly trained.
Imagine you are faced with a life or death situation and the only way to survive is to use your firearm in self-defense. A million things will go through your mind at that moment, such as, Is the safety off? Is there a round in the chamber? Am I aiming on target (critical mass)? Are their innocent bystanders around? Does the attacker have buddies nearby? Can I get my cover garment out of the way in time? You are going to attempt to answer these and many more questions in a nanosecond.
Now, in addition to the million things racing through your mind, add in the psychological, physiological and perceptual conditions your body will go through in that moment of extreme stress. The adrenaline dump, the tunnel vision, the uncontrollable shaking, the slowness of time, etc., are just some of the effects you may experience. Are you ready to handle that?
Can you draw from concealment quickly and effortlessly to get the drop on the bad guy before he gets the drop on you? So let’s say you do, and you shoot him first. Have you given any thought to the fact that at that very moment you squeeze the trigger, your life, as you know it has just ceased to exist?
Because, now comes the aftermath. Do you know what to do after you shoot your attacker? Do you know what to say to the police? What not to say? Do you know do with the gun you just used? Do you know if you will be sleeping on a pillow in a holding cell or in your own bed? Do you have a lawyer? If you do, is your have a lawyer an expert in gun or self-defense law in your state, or is your lawyer Cousin Vinny? Do you have the cash to pay attorney fees? If not, there is a high probability you won’t have money for bail either. Or will you put up your house up as collateral for bail?
This is why if you are going to carry, it is imperative that you get properly trained. Yes, first there is the obvious to learning how not to shoot your dumb ass, but more importantly, to obtain the necessary physical and mental muscle memory needed to save your ass from being shot and from being incarcerated.
So, if you want to get your CCW permit, have your CCW permit for a short while, or have it for a long time, click here to register for a Concealed Carry class offered by Dakota Firearms Training Academy.