A friend has decided he needs a carry gun.

[WillametteWill]

I'll start by saying I support dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery so I believe your friend should do as he sees fit with his personal protection. I sooooo appreciate when folks have the epiphany that they need to know more about concealed carry (conscious incompetence, in no disrespectful way). I've had many who quietly told me they took a useless class and obtained their CHL but do not feel they know enough to be carrying. I congratulate them on their wisdom and desire to know more.

We can study this topic and practice to the best of our ability and finances and still not be adequately prepared if heaven forbid that day comes. Sadly, many who carry never train (they go "shooting" and call this "training"), never learn about laws or prepare themselves in any way. We as a community need to do our best to help folks but some are "assistance resistant." It's hard for me to accept this but I need to just do an Elsa...let it go.

Sadly, for your friend:
Only carrying in dangerous locations (failed the avoidance and situational awareness test)
Empty chamber carry (you did your best to show him why not)
Mag pouch on holster (wrong side)
Made his own holster (the good news is that since there will not be a round in the chamber, if something goes wrong with his design he will not shoot himself or someone else...so he's got that going for him)

 

[when_DM_smiles]

He bought an LCP and made a nice holster with an attached mag pouch. He told me he was only going to carry it in places he deemed dangerous, like Portland. He also said he wasn't going to have a round in the chamber as I do. I told him that he was wrong on both counts and offered to show him a video of a man being murdered while trying to rack his slide. Oh well, I tried!

Be a good friend and keep trying!

Hopefully, his CHL course addressed this so you may just need him to be more comfortable with manipulating the handgun.

Might suggest doing some range time together. If I'm not mistaken, LCPs are essentially DAO and have manual safeties. So it would be worthwhile to get him used to what it actually takes to intentionally discharge his particular firearm, especially from Condition 1 versus unchambered.

 

[RX-79G]

Loading and unloading is no riskier at home than anywhere else - providing proper handling and safety is applied. The four basic rules of gun safety apply everywhere.

Apartments often have no real backstop, and no place in the city limits is discharging a firearm legal. It is not a good place for a slam fire.

But the point isn't that it is riskier, but that it is a poorer place to do something that is higher risk than many other gun handling activities.

Dropping a gun into a coat pocket (or carrying in a pocket) is not safe anytime - loaded or unloaded. Lots of guns get dropped this way.

Lots of guns get dropped out of holsters, off the edge of toilet tanks, etc. No guns with unloaded chambers drop fire.

Hummmmm..........like carrying a revolver with the first chamber (the one to GO) EMPTY. Ask your friend if that makes sense to him?

Heard people do that with home guns - the bad guy tries to fire and assumes it is empty, but you just need to pull the trigger twice.

 

[Certaindeaf]

So he doesn't carry a gun. He karens a gun.





Lool!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Carry as you wish...

Something to consider here is that what works for you....may not work for someone else.
If he wants to carry with a empty chamber...or only in "dangerous places"...so what ?
Every situation is different and a hard and fast rule may or may not work in every situation.

Please note that I am all for situational awareness...and when I carry , I carry with a loaded chamber.
But that is me....what someone else does is on them.
Andy

 

[nwslopoke]

Or never have a gun, which under that criteria would be me since I don't go to Portland or other places I'm likely to need a gun.

OP, your friend is clueless, hopefully it won't take club to the face or an azzrapin' to figure it out.

Not clueless, just under educated. Needs more practice and understanding why he is moving in the right direction.

The friend is not a day one expert. Good hopefully he is willing to learn.

 

[joken]

Be a good friend and keep trying!

Hopefully, his CHL course addressed this so you may just need him to be more comfortable with manipulating the handgun.

Might suggest doing some range time together. If I'm not mistaken, LCPs are essentially DAO and have manual safeties. So it would be worthwhile to get him used to what it actually takes to intentionally discharge his particular firearm, especially from Condition 1 versus unchambered.

No safety, just a stout trigger

 

[slimmer13]

No safety, just a stout trigger

With a loooong pull

 

[OldBroad44]

Unless you're poor or work in a dangerous area, the chances of you ever needing a gun due to a stranger attacking you remain astronomically low...

I've been attacked by strangers four times. I attacked a stranger once. Said stranger had attacked and was trying to rape a young woman; I intervened. I was admittedly poor for all incidents but one. All but one incident took place within a block of a college campus, an area that most people including me thought was safe but which wasnt. This was three different colleges in three different states. Three of the incidents were attempted home invasions.

My mother came under attack by two would-be rapists in an area she thought safe. Fortunately she was armed.

My long-time best friend in my 20s was attacked near her home in an area she thought safe. She was not armed. She was hit, knocked unconscious, and came to over the bad guy's shoulder being dragged into the woods. She used a scissors she had on her belt and stabbed bad guy in the back and was able to get away.

You can tell you're poor. But you can't always tell whether you are in a dangerous area. And its not just working in a dangerous area. Its being there for any reason such as living there or walking by.

 

[kmk1012]

I've been attacked by strangers four times. I attacked a stranger once. Said stranger had attacked and was trying to rape a young woman; I intervened. I was admittedly poor for all incidents but one. All but one incident took place within a block of a college campus, an area that most people including me thought was safe but which wasnt. This was three different colleges in three different states. Three of the incidents were attempted home invasions.

My mother came under attack by two would-be rapists in an area she thought safe. Fortunately she was armed.

My long-time best friend in my 20s was attacked near her home in an area she thought safe. She was not armed. She was hit, knocked unconscious, and came to over the bad guy's shoulder being dragged into the woods. She used a scissors she had on her belt and stabbed bad guy in the back and was able to get away.

You can tell you're poor. But you can't always tell whether you are in a dangerous area. And its not just working in a dangerous area. Its being there for any reason such as living there or walking by.

Wow, don't like hearing stories like that. Some strong words of wisdom in what you say. "You can tell you're poor, but can't always tell whether you're in a dangerous area", how true is that, especially in these times in a shell of what America stands for. Glad you are still here to tell the stories! Shows a strong person!

 

[strangedays]

These days it's just too unpredictable out there for Israeli carry.

I am Jewish and find the Israeli carry so freaking frustrating. I hate shooting with some of the guys trained in the IDF who always draw then rack a round.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

He bought an LCP and made a nice holster with an attached mag pouch. He told me he was only going to carry it in places he deemed dangerous, like Portland. He also said he wasn't going to have a round in the chamber as I do. I told him that he was wrong on both counts and offered to show him a video of a man being murdered while trying to rack his slide. Oh well, I tried!

Point out to him that racking a round while in public will get you arrested on a charge of second-degree disorderly conduct.

Suspect arrested after flashing loaded gun in Old Town

A man was seen pulling out a handgun near Northwest 3rd Avenue and Couch Street before police arrested him early Saturday morning.

www.koin.com

This guy had the charges dropped because he had an Oregon CHL

Charges dismissed for Beaverton man with guns in Portland

UPDATE: Multnomah County prosecutor drops charges against Jesse Townsend, who has a valid concealed handgun license

pamplinmedia.com

 

[cigars]

I am Jewish and find the Israeli carry so freaking frustrating. I hate shooting with some of the guys trained in the IDF who always draw then rack a round.

There was a good reason for it though. Several decades back they were receiving a mix of surplus pistols for their defense forces. There were so many different pistols that there couldn't be one standard for safe carry. So if you trained hard with one pistol, you might have had a different pistol next week. They decided that the safest standard was to carry with a full mag and empty chamber, which was the only practical way to deal with the variety of weapons they had to use.

 

[nwwoodsman]

Sounds like your pal needs some training. I'm gonna recommend that before he starts carrying. Maybe his instructors can share some words of wisdom and experience with him.

As far as only carrying where he thinks it might be dangerous, that is outright foolish. Things can get ugly anywhere at any time.

I may have shared this before but I'll do so again. I live in modern day Mayberry, town of 2,000 people in the middle of the woods. About 6 months ago there was a home invasion 3 doors down from us. A young girl peered outside her living room window because she heard shouting. The tweeker with the loud mouth noticed her and proceeded to come crashing through that window attempting to attack her and succeeding in injuring her grandfather. I feel relatively safe typing this from the comfort of my couch while my front door is locked, but even now I have a pistol in my waistband just in case

 

[strangedays]

There was a good reason for it though. Several decades back theyvwer receiving a mix of surplus pistols for their defense forces. There were so many different pistols that there couldn't be one standard for safe carry. So if you trained hard with one pistol, you might have had a different pistol next week. They decided that the safest standard was to carry with a full mag and empty chamber, which was the only practical way to deal with the variety of weapons they had to use.

I get it then but to still keep it is just outdated.

 

[kmk1012]

All these styles of carry, are we talking about CCW's or status of circumcision?

 

[solv3nt]

I carry with a loaded chamber.

Is your nipple primed with the hammer down?

 

[Z-PDX]

Is your nipple primed with the hammer down?

There are simply too many witty responses possible here to pick just one.

 

[FourTeeFive]

I've carried an LCP and I personally don't think it is a bad pistol. But I can't imagine drawing and trying to rack the slide on a gun that small under a stressful situation. Pretty sure there would be a good chance of an A.D., and hopefully not into the racking hand.

 

[dangerranger60]

Dropping a gun into a coat pocket (or carrying in a pocket) is not safe anytime - loaded or unloaded. Lots of guns get dropped this way.

What makes dropping a gun in your pocket dangerous? What makes them more likely to be dropped?
I have to say I have pocket carried for near 40 years, without any problems. DR