Category: Concealed Carry

Gun Owners – Please Support this Change

On By Tom LindsayIn CCW, Concealed Carry, GeorgiaCarry, Gun Free Zones, RKBA

For some time, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) refused to allow the carry of weapons for self defense, even if the person involved held a license or permit. Even in recent times, as more and more states issued licenses, the USACE refused to honor them, despite the fact that they were recognized in State Parks, and in National Parks that are not run by the USACE.

For those wondering (and I did) the USACE runs State Parks and National Parks that involve dammed waterways, and they maintain the dams. This sets these parks apart somewhat, in that they are managed by a branch of the military, rather than by the civilian parks departments. Because of this, a lot of the park rules reflect those in effect on Army bases, and one of those rules has been a prohibition on carry of weapons, even by service personnel.

As the other park systems began to relax their prohibitions in the wake of less restrictive carry laws, the Corps remained mired in the past. But state groups, notably GeorgiaCarry.org, continued to press the Corps to allow lawful carry by license holders.

In 2019, following a series of lawsuits by GCO, the Corps agreed to issue permission letters, if a citizen were to write and ask for such a letter. Then, should one be asked, this letter could be presented as proof of the right. But to be honest, even this restriction is too much, and GCO continued its legal pursuit.

And finally, this year the Corps agreed to change the rule! The proposed rule change is open to comments, and I highly recommend you go here and read the docket, and submit your supporting note. The deadline to submit is June 12, 2020.

Look for updates here as the rule gets closer to change.

Take What I Can Get

On By Tom LindsayIn Concealed Carry, Leukemia1 Comment

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One of the side effects of my leukemia treatment is that I have lost about 30 pounds, and about 4 inches on my waist. As a result, I can actually carry a pistol in a shoulder holster without having to do some kind of sick judo move on myself just to get to it.

Now, if I decide to, I can carry my father-in-law’s old Beretta. Nice.

Who knows what’s next.

EDC as a Lifestyle

On By Tom LindsayIn Be Prepared, Concealed Carry, Flashlights, Knife, Planning, Safety

I was reviewing my blog, and as it turns out, in the years I’ve been writing this, I’ve never done a post on my everyday carry. This seems strange to me, since most of it hasn’t changed in a long time.

To start with, I’ve carried a pocket knife for as long as I can remember. Starting in about the 7th grade, I carried a Boy Scout version Swiss Army knife, up until about the time I graduated from high school. Yes, in those days we could carry a knife with no comment from anyone at school. I even had a teacher borrow mine once or twice.

I changed knives in college, and then went back to the Swiss Army knife you see above, in 1992.

I added the Leatherman tool a few years ago after I received it as a gift. I particularly like it because it’s got tools I can use, like pliers and a file. But the thing I like best is that it doesn’t have a blade, so the TSA lets me take it on an airplane, and so when I travel without checking bags, I’ve got something, at least.

In the same vein, I’ve carried a flashlight for my whole career. As a chemical engineer, there are many times every day when I needed to be able to see something in a shadow or in the dark, and I started carrying an explosion proof flashlight. I still do, only this one is 200 lumens, and uses AA batteries. I keep about 6 rechargeable batteries in rotation, and when the last charged set of 2 go in, the other 4 go in the charger overnight. When I travel, I always carry a spare set of batteries, and I keep a set of 4 in the Get Home Bag.

Next is my wallet. All I carry in there is my various ID – driver’s license, Weapons Carry License, insurance cards, and the like – and my credit cards, and a few business cards. I haven’t carried cash in my wallet since I was in college, and when I do I carry it in a different pocket than the wallet. This has to do with avoiding pickpockets.

In fact, I always carry these things in certain pockets, for a reason. Here’s where:

Right front: cell phone, knives, car keys, cash, and a pen.

Left front: wallet, flashlight.

Left rear: a handkerchief.

Note I don’t carry my wallet in a back pocket, so I can avoid pickpockets. I also carry my wallet on the left side, so if I’m asked by a policeman for my ID, I’m not reaching on the same as my pistol.

I also carry my flashlight in my left pocket, so I can draw it and go to a Harries or other flashlight hold.

On a similar note, in my car I keep my insurance card and registration in a folder on the back of the driver’s side sun visor, since I can’t promise that I haven’t just been to the post office, which would mean my pistol is in the glove box. Again, no sense drawing attention to anything I don’t have to.

Now we get to the most recent addition – a pistol. In the summer I carry Liberty, my G19, IWB at 3 o’clock.

In the winter I mostly carry Bruce, my G17, on my belt OWB at 3 o’clock, with an open shirt or jacket or fleece vest over it.

Year round I carry a G17 magazine with a plus-2 extender on my left side at 3 o’clock.

So there you have it. Nothing that isn’t part of my life, for quite a while.

Having said that . . .

I will likely add a medical pack in the near future, now that Linoge has shown how to put it all in a cell phone case. Stay tuned.

Concealed Carry Evolution – Making it My Life

On By Tom LindsayIn Concealed Carry, Self Defense2 Comments

I have been carrying a concealed pistol over 20 years now, and I was recently thinking about how different my technique and attitude is today, versus when I first started carrying. It occurred to me that those changes did not happen all at once, but have evolved over time.

I first got a carry permit in Alabama in 1993. In those days, to me, not only was concealed carry a novelty to me, so were guns in general. In those days, I admit I carried when I thought I needed to – to “bad areas,” late at night, or when I felt threatened. I was always aware that I was carrying, and I’m sure it showed. I was always apprehensive.

I also had not done much practice drawing from concealment, and a lot of times I carried in the small of my back. Now I know, for sure, that this is about the worst place I could carry, as I’m not able to draw smoothly there. In retrospect, it’s possible I carried there so I wouldn’t be always fondling the grip or holding my arm out.

Slowly, though, I started to change. I bought some new holsters, and I started practicing. By the time I moved to Arkansas, I was carrying more often, now at 4 o’clock usually. But I know I was still apprehensive when I carried, and I certainly didn’t carry all the time.

At this time, what I wore was dictated by whether I was carrying or not. Generally I would wear some kind of jacket and my shirts may or may not be tucked in, depending on my mood.

But now, I can tell things have changed. Because I’ve made it my life.

Now, just about all my wardrobe has shirts that don’t get tucked in. I also have a lot of vests that I wear when the weather allows, whether I am carrying or not.

The biggest difference is that I almost always carry, unless there will be enforced prohibition against it. That means I don’t carry into an area that prohibits it, where they are checking me for it, like sports events, government buildings, and the like. Other than that, I’m carrying, even at home, or at friends houses. I’m carrying now.

But what about other locations that prohibit carry? Well, since Georgia law means that if I do carry there, all they can do is ask me to leave, let’s just say, I may or may not be carrying – you guess.

And why do you have to guess? Because, over these 20 plus years, I have gotten to where I can carry without you being able to tell.

I now carry almost always at 3 o’clock, and I use a belt holster with cover, unless that’s too obvious, and then I use an IWB holster.

Sometimes I carry openly, but, as my readers know, I reserve that for certain times, such as gun rights group meetings, or when I’m working in the yard.

And I’ve also gotten a lot more comfortable with carrying, to the point that I don’t touch it, or play with it, at all. A lot of this is because of my holster, and because my belt fits.

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So, how did I get to where I am? The best way I can describe it is that I learned to live with carry. I stopped thinking it was Something Special, that it was Something Different.

My advice – learn to live with concealed carry. Get a gun that fits you, and a holster that fits you, and carry. Make it your life, because it could save your life.