10 Commandments of Concealed Carry

[Logical]

10 Commandments of Concealed Carry
Written by Massad Ayoob.
Carrying a gun is a serious commitment. Ten real-world factors to make a part of your life!

Editors Note: The following article appeared unfinished in the 2009 Concealed Carry Handguns annual. As a courtesy to our loyal readers, we have chosen to make the full article available online.

Carrying a lethal weapon in public confers a grave power that carries with it great responsibilities. Those who lawfully engage in the practice realize that. Those who are considering “carrying” need to know what those experienced people know.

1. If You Carry, Always Carry
The criminal is the actor, and the armed citizen is the reactor. The typical violent criminal arms himself only when he intends to do something with it. He picks the time and place of the assault, and initiates the attack. Therefore, he doesn’t need to worry about self-defense.

The armed citizen, the intended victim, does not know when or where that attack will come. Therefore, he or she must be constantly prepared and constantly vigilant. The “pistol-packer” learns to pick a comfortable holster and an appropriately sized handgun, and “dress around the firearm.” After a few days, or a few weeks, it becomes second nature to wear it.

When the defender does not know when the attack will come, the only reasonable expectation of safety lies in being always armed.

http://meanstreetstactical.blogspot.com/2010/03/ten-commandments-of-concealed-carry.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[aikoaiko]

5. Please keep posting. Your extreme position makes even the NRA sound reasonable.

:hi:

[NewMoonTherian]

7. I disagree. n/t

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AtheistCrusader]

16. Worrying about concealed carry?

When by it's nature, when performed in a lawful manner, you would be completely unaware the carrier is carrying?

Bigger things in life to worry about. Like falling in the bathtub.

[WheelWalker]

11. What is your point...?

There isn't a person on this planet who doesn't have "deep personal problems". That's life. Blessings.

[whoneedstickets]

12. Fear of victimization also suggest trouble understanding statistics

Unless you happen to live in certain areas, the likelihood of being a crime victim is very low.

[GreenStormCloud]

13. Perhaps you should take another look at it.

The annual probability of being a victim of violent crime is indeed low. How ever the LIFETIME probability is fairly high. And the downside of being such a victim can be very severe or even deadly. So it is reasonable to take precautions and be prepared. For me that means having a gun on me. The cost, amortized over many years, is extremely low and the payoff is it is actually needed can be my life.

[YllwFvr]

21. true enough

ive been on the receiving end of some crime, and it was in a upscale neighborhood. Driveways were packed with Porsche and Mercedes.
Other time was in Daytona on the beach, and in downtown Richmond Va, attempted carjacking. Also been assaulted in my home town, but that was a gritty area.

[petronius]

47. It doesn't suggest that at all. A person can have a clear understanding of the statistics, and

decide quite reasonably that the cost of a particular event (even an unlikely one) could be severe enough to warrant taking precautions, when the cost of those precautions is low enough. It's not limited to firearms, really - I'm sure we're all prepared in some way for serious events that we know are unlikely but we've decided are worth being ready for anyway.

But if your claim was true, it would work even more strongly against those who oppose CCW, since the risk of negative outcomes to CCW is lower than the risk of the events CCW proponents are said to fear...

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[aikoaiko]

2. No defensive gun use writer is perfect, include Ayoob, but I mostly like what he writes.

He thinks things through and gives practical advice.

[Logical]

3. Curious what you disagree with him about. n-t

[aikoaiko]

6. Oh not much really.

Just a quibble here and there about some of his examples.

Ayoob often gives advice on what to do to avoid wrongful prosecution should one be involved in a justified shooting. One piece of advice was to consider not modifying your trigger because a prosecutor may try to use that against you. He cited an example of a prosecutor laying into a defendant who shot someone with a SA/DA revolver in SA. Trigger modifications is really very different from using a revolver in SA mode.

Not much of a big disagreement really.

[Logical]

23. See your point. N-t

[one-eyed fat man]

29. The SA/DA question was enough

of an issue for certain big city police departments, e.g. Los Angeles remove the single-action notch on it's revolvers 40 years ago. More than one plaintiff's lawyer argued that when the cop had time to "cock" the revolver he meant to take special care to inflict maximum damage, etc etc etc.

The same thing has happened when cops have taken head shots on criminals, even when the head was the only viable target, such as the crook was running them down with a car and crouched behind the dash. Many of those departments, again LA among them, in training and qualification a hit in the head on a B7 target is counted as a miss.

That training to avoid head shots was one of the reasons all those hundreds of LAPD officers involved in the North Hollywood bank robbery and shoot out never undertook a head shot on the armor plated crooks.

[spin]

30. I always wondered why the North Hollywood robbers were not taken out ...

by head shots.

[one-eyed fat man]

38. That brings up an interesting link...

The "head shot" business came about because so many people assume head shots are always fatal. When a lawyer is trying to convince a jury that even if a crook needed shooting, shooting him in the head meant they were shooting to kill, not stop.

Even bringing it up is like poking a stick into a hornet's nest, as you will see from the comments on the article linked below.

Below is the story of a man who was shot in the face with an M-4 Rifle
(caliber .223) by the F.B.I. The story is about a mistaken identity and
a wrongful shooting that a lawsuit has been filed over.

Those things are not why I am sending this out.

The reason I am sending this out is because of who is filing the lawsuit...
....it is not his mom.
....it is not his sister.
....it is not his father.
....it is the guy who was shot in the face...
....with a RIFLE.

http://www.rrmemphis.com/op031.html

[spin]

39. That was a very interesting and revealing link. Thanks. (n/t)

[GreenStormCloud]

35. Actually, the lawyers claimed that cocking the revolver caused an AD.

The theory was that the lighter trigger pull on a cocked revolver when combined with an excited, nervous officer resulted in an AD that was trying to be covered up by claiming it was deliberate. Changing the revolvers to DA only, with the heavier trigger pull took care of that.

Massad opposes lightening a cocked trigger pull. I once fired a revolver that an FBI agent was using as his duty weapon that had such a trigger. When cocked if the trigger was barely touched it went off. Scared the hell out of me when I fired it because I didn't expect it to fire that easily. Fortunately it happen while on a range, gun pointed down range at target, range cleared for firing.

[one-eyed fat man]

40. You are correct.

That is the explanation for the so-called "New York trigger" on Glocks. The argument being that if you "accidentally" shot the guy then he didn't really need shooting. If he didn't really need shooting then you are guilty of negligent homicide at best and a hot prosecutor might go for manslaughter or even murder.

GLOCK TRIGGER SPRING
The optional GLOCK „New York“ trigger springs produce revolver-like trigger action, facilitating the acclimation from traditional revolvers to semi-automatics.

STANDARD All GLOCK pistols are delivered with a standard trigger spring from the factory. It guarantees constant trigger pull resistance over the entire trigger travel.

N.Y.1 The GLOCK „New York“ trigger has its name from the New York Police Department. It facilitates officers changing from revolvers to pistols. Increases trigger pull weight from 2,5 kg / 5.5 lb. to 4,9 kg / 11 lb.

N.Y.2 The N.Y.2 trigger spring is even harder than the N.Y.1 trigger spring. The user will obtain a continuous very hard revolver-like increase of the trigger pull weight from 3,2 kg / 7 lb. to 5 kg / 11 lb.

[RSillsbee]

17. I don't agree w/ him on informing a police officer you are armed

during a traffic stop. If I am not legally required to do so I don't even mention my gun if I get pulled over.

I've had a chance to interact w/ him a couple of times and he seems like a pretty decent guy.

[GreenStormCloud]

19. I strongly agree with letting the officer know.

After you are stopped the officer runs your plate and knows that you have a CCW. By telling the officer that you are armed you send a signal that you understand and respect the officer's situation and are cooperative.

[Logical]

24. I agree with you, shows the officer you are open and honest. n-t

[PavePusher]

26. Depends on the state.

Not all those databases are linked.

[RSillsbee]

27. If the Officer runs my plate in Colorado it tells him nothing

Telling the officer I am armed is a signal I want to be harassed or sit on the road longer while he runs the serial number on my gun to make sure it isn't stolen

[cleanhippie]

32. I think it is situational.

If I am carrying on my person while driving and get stopped, then yes, I will inform the officer, but if it is in the console, I don't inform unless I need to open the console.

[RSillsbee]

44. I will agree it's situational

If my gun is out in plain sight I'll hand over the permit. Other than that DADT. The quickest way I know of to find an anti cop is to inform needlessly and once you cross that line you can't go back

[DWC]

33. Only stopped twice

since having a Texas CHL. Both times I handed the officer my insurance/registration, driver's license, and concealed handgun license. No problems, searches, or hassles at all. IMO, the officers considered it as a demonstration of open disclosure and cooperation.

Semper Fi,

[Hangingon]

46. It is the law in Texas

[YllwFvr]

22. i agree with you

I used to inform, dont anymore. While I would appreciate being told if I conduct a stop, I wont be upset if they dont.

[Euromutt]

28. Almost everything that's not related to personal defense

Particularly on matters of history and international relations, he's pretty clueless. On more than one occasion, he's quoted DEBKAfile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debka.com) as a credible source of information, for example.

But then, lots of people who are very knowledgeable in their own fields of expertise are complete idiots on others.

[WheelWalker]

10. Ooops

Wrong line

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. Name removed was busy today.

:rofl:

[slackmaster]

20. I can't recall ever seeing such a high portion of Deleted Message posts in a thread before

Name Removed has been very busy, and I see that Ignored has already chimed in.

[DWC]

25. Excellent post. we need more like it. n/t

[spin]

31. Great post. Thanks. (n/t)

[jpak]

34. blah blah blah

yup

[GreenStormCloud]

36. Since you didn't like it, then the rest of us take that as an endorsement. N/T

[rrneck]

37. yup yup yup

blah

[Logical]

42. LOL....+1

[DWC]

43. Your most intelligent, thought provoking post yet. Thanks! n/t

[Starboard Tack]

41. And now let us pray

[ileus]

45. Excellent link....bookmarked. Thanks