Summer Concealed Carry for Women

In Arizona, our temperatures have already hit 100!  The hot weather of summer can make concealed carry quite a challenge. For many of you, you also have humidity to deal with! Unfortunately, for many women this results in leaving their gun at home. Our need to protect ourselves does not go down in the summer, we must find ways to carry in every season.

I wish I had the one true simple fix for you, but I don't. Here however are some things that can help you better and more comfortably conceal as the temperatures increase and your clothing decreases!!

Remember though, there are times, as an armed woman, you will have to make some adjustments and sacrifices to accomplish carrying effectively and safely all of the time. There is no perfect solution and the bottom line may be you must make some changes. The only other option is to not carry, likely not what you want.  

Go Looser and Longer

Thankfully, light, loose and whispy doesn't ever go out of style. Looser, lighter clothing is not only more comfortable, it is cooler too as it allows the air to circulate and keep things cool! Wear a long cotton shirt with your summer shorts/skirts to easily conceal your in the waist or on the belt holstered gun. Wear patterned shirts and dresses. The pattern helps to help to minimize the appearance any "bulge".  The Betty is a great in the pants holster in any season. Its minimal design means less stuff in your pants. The Magnetic is a very popular holster for the simple reason it requires no belt or heavy waist band to secure itself to the waistband. If wearing summer dresses, the bra holsters (mentioned above) are a good bet along with  the Pistol Wear Under arm and the Ultra Under arm, both made with great breathable fabrics and are another great choice.

   

Betty holster shown above

Go Deeper

Summer weight pants, shorts and skirts means lighter and weaker waistbands which can make on the waist or in the pants carry very difficult. Try a holster that isn't dependent on the waistband such as the Pistol Pouch which "buries" the firearm down on the pelvic area. This is a cotton holster with a thin band that is worn around your hips.  Your belly band worn low and on your hips can also be a solution, but tend to be a bit warmer because of the elastic. Both bra holsters, the Flashbang and the Marilyn are also good choices. The Pistol Wear Under Arm  and Ultra Under Arm holsters also are great "deep" choices. Keep in mind however that going deeper brings with it some challenges, mainly accessing your gun quickly and safely. Practice these draws regularly with your unloaded gun. Carrying your firearm off body should be your last choice. Carrying in a concealed carry purse introduces much greater levels of risk and provides access to your gun that no one should have. The utmost care MUST be taken when doing so. 

  

Pistol Wear Under Arm Holster shown above

Go Smaller

Although not the ideal solution, as we don't want to give up firepower if we don't have to, carrying a smaller gun in the summer months is an option and is better than not carrying any gun at all. if you can afford a second gun, the very small and compact semi-automatics and lightweight revolvers are very easy to hide. Some are now so slim that they don't create a bulge, and who needs more of those?? You may want to research the available holsters for these models prior to purchasing to make sure the type of holster you want/need to wear is available for it. One important thing to be aware of is that the smaller, lighter guns will have quite a bit more recoil to contend with. They simply don't have the weight and size necessary to absorb it, so that means your hand an arm do!!!

Perhaps you have some things that have worked for you that are not covered here. Please feel free to post them.

Stay cool ladies and stay safe!

A Call To Women Gun Owners - Speak Up!

I  wanted to speak to you, the American woman gun owner, face to face.

The looming changes and restrictions to our rights to to be able to match the weaponry of the violent criminal who wants to do us harm are coming. As women - we already have the disadvantage, the application of the proposed legislation would leave us ill equipped and on an even more un-level battlefield. I believe the path we as a nation are about to head down leaves us extremely vulnerable to more restrictions that will jeopardize our Second Amendment rights. Now is the time for us, collectively, the millions of women like you and me who exercise our right to defend ourselves, our loved ones and our homes, to enter this debate with passion and might.
Thank you for listening and uniting to effect policy.
With great respect,
Carrie

Here is a link to contact your representatives - http://nraila.org/

Join the NRA here and save 

Do you get a ‘kick’ out of shooting?

By Guest Contributor Dawn Brown

Recoil, also known as kick or kickback, is the backward momentum of a gun when it is fired.  Many beginners are very concerned about how much recoil a gun is going to produce when it fires.  That is completely understandable because if you’ve never shot a gun before, you don’t know what to expect.  What is surprising to me is number of husbands who send their wives to the range with a large caliber gun for their first shooting experience.  I’m not saying that women can’t handle the larger caliber guns, but giving a brand new shooter a .38 Special snub nose revolver or a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol to learn with might be setting them up for failure, or at least an extreme dislike of shooting.

If you are a first-time shooter, why not set yourself up for success by starting out with a smaller caliber, such as a .22 pistol?  As you can see from the pictures below, the muzzle barely lifts up when the shot is fired.  The minimal recoil will help you get past any anxiety or nervousness during those first shots.  It will also allow you to focus on the fundamentals of shooting, rather than stressing out about the recoil of the gun with every shot.

      

The next set of pictures show the recoil of a .380 caliber pistol.  The .380s are popular with many people who carry concealed because they are so small.  The .380 cartridge is smaller than a 9mm cartridge and therefore slightly less powerful, but due to the short barrel length of the pistol you will experience some recoil.  All that energy has to go somewhere, so it goes towards “open space” (where your hands are not gripping the gun), which is up and back if you have a solid two-handed grip.

     

The 9mm cartridge is powerful enough for self-defense use, but it is smaller than a .40 or .45 cartridge.  This means that the recoil of a 9mm pistol will be lighter than those calibers, but you are going to feel more recoil than the .22 and .380 pistols.  The pistol being fired below has a compact 3.8” barrel.  As mentioned before, the shorter the barrel, the more recoil.  A 9mm pistol with a longer barrel might not recoil as much as the one in this picture.

     

Now, let’s take a look at the recoil of a .40 caliber pistol.  If you’ve never shot before, you’re nervous and a little scared, and you don’t know how to properly grip a pistol, do you think a .40 caliber pistol would be a good one to start with?  I sure don’t!

     

The .45 caliber pistols have quite a bit of recoil, too, but they are generally larger and heavier so the recoil doesn’t feel as harsh as you might expect.  There is still quite a bit of kick, as you can tell by this picture.

     

These snapshots were taken from this short video of one of our female employees shooting a variety of semi-automatic pistols ranging from .22 to .45 caliber.  You can check out the video here: http://youtu.be/_nVdAlg0htw.

At BluCore, we want new shooters to get a “kick” out of their first shooting experience and have it be a positive one.  We wrote this blog and made this video to showcase the recoil of the most popular calibers of semi-automatic pistols.  Sometimes more experienced shooters forget what it’s like to shoot a gun for the first time and they try to get others to start with gun that is “too much” for a beginner.  Why not give new shooters the best chance for success by starting them out with a lower caliber pistol so they can get comfortable shooting and work on their fundamentals?  Once they have the confidence and skills, they will be more than ready to take on the big guns.

Follow her personal blog at dawnxd.wordpress.com and BluCore’s blog at www.blucoreshootingcenter.com/blog/.

Going Through The Change

Photo: Change of seasons by Silveryn

I suppose I could be writing about the change of seasons as we all are invigorated by the crisp weather and the changing leaves. Or, I could even be writing about THE CHANGE. You know the change that involves hormones and hot flashes! 

No, I won’t go there, not today.  The change I am talking about is the very profound change that a woman goes through after making the decision to own a firearm, goes through the very important process of deciding which firearm is right for her and training to properly, safely and proficiently learn how to shoot it to defend herself. 

It changes us profoundly. We feel different and we move through our daily lives differently. We in fact are different. How so? We have confidence. With this new sense of confidence we start to look people in the eyes more when we are out and about. We scan the environment with new keen sense of awareness of possible risks and people out of place. We walk through parking lots, restaurants and other public places more prepared and with the confidence that given the worst possible case scenario, we know we are fully prepared to give it all we’ve got to defend ourselves. This not only changes us in the realm of self protection, it also effects every aspect of our lives and relationships.

I believe society breeds high levels of insecurity in women, socially, emotionally and physically. We seem to always be the “weaker one” or the one “not good enough”. The ability to level the playing field, or more appropriately the battle field, is extremely significant for a woman. We feel less like a victim and more like an empowered, fierce force. 

The role of self protector doesn’t come naturally for most women. We are raised to believe we are protected by others. Today, this just isn’t an option for it is not possible in this crazy world, with our crazy schedules to be protected by our men, our police or others all of the time. Women are taking on this role with courage, intelligence and passion.

So we are changed on the outside because we now carry a firearm and are equipped to defend ourselves, but we are also changed on the inside because we carry a new sense of confidence that impacts every area of our lives. 

Has it changed you? 

Are You Ready?

Election season is deeply upon us. Sadly with that comes quite a bit of dirty politics, annoying ads and an endless onslaught of phone calls! It is quite easy to “tune out” and just go MIA from heated conversations and the stress of hearing all of the doom and gloom or worse, to be lulled into thinking that your vote doesn’t mean anything. 

Responsibility comes naturally to us as gun owners, we are fully aware of our responsibility to “Bear our arms” legally and safely. We each have a deep rooted and almost religious understanding of what freedom means. Do we really understand how easily we can loose these freedoms? Are we also willing to take responsibility to protect them?

I spoke with and listened to Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association last night give a passionate talk about the very real and very present threats to this and other foundational freedoms we each are so blessed to have. He said something that struck me as very profound. He shared that we are only as secure as our ability to protect ourselves. Think about that for a moment. It is a simple statement  yet profound as we look at it personally and nationally. It speaks to our ability to protect ourselves from a violent criminal but it is also profound as we look at it in terms of how our country is governed. Our ability to protect ourselves is one that is granted to us as US Citizens by our government.. Yes I believe that the human right of freedom is one that comes from God, but as US Citizens we also accept the fact that these laws and even our rights are decided and determined by our elected government. These, as Americans we agree to live by. Our “ability to protect ourselves”  therefore comes from our government. The deepest beauty in our democracy is that we have a voice - WE elect the people that are in essence our government. 

I am not a politician and won’t pretend to fully understand all of the nuances of the political game being played with our 2nd Amendment rights. But I do know that lurking just below the surface - pressing hard up against our rights as we currently know them is a very real threat. One that no matter how much we complain, argue and defiantly cry out “From my cold dead hands”, jeopardizes them.  Our rights as citizens of this country are in the hands humans, of our elected politicians. Electing and putting the right ones there is our job alone. Yours and mine, period. We must take the responsibility and we must also be held accountable for the outcome.

Did you know that our 2nd Amendment was almost lost? In 2010 the Supreme Court upheld this fundamental right to bear arms by just 1 vote!  Are you aware that the next President of the United States will likely be appointing 1 to 3 new Justices to the Supreme Court during the next presidential term? The election of our next President is crucial. 

We have all heard about the UN Arms Treaty and were relieved when it was dropped during this years discussions. The reality is - it will be back in full glory next year.! Our Senate however, must ratify such a treaty if it were passed for it to be honored here in the US. Who those Senators are whom will be making that decision is critical. You will be deciding that NOW.

There are many more examples of legislation both nationally and at the state level that are part of the cancerous efforts to eliminate our 2nd Amendment rights.

Should you be scared? Yes, you should. Not scared stiff and immobilized but scared into action.

What is the point of this article? It is NOT to begin an argument over any of these issues and not to tell you how or who to vote for. It is to challenge you to take responsibility for your government. Take the time to understand the significance of this election season and  educate yourself on the politicians and the issues. Support those organizations that are working to protect your rights and of course to inspire you to VOTE .  Talk with your family, friends and co-workers and “Rally The Troops” to do the same. It literally may be now or never.  

Are you willing to take your chances? I’m not and pray you aren’t either.

http://www.nraila.org/

When You've Got To Go.... You've Got To Go!

The ladies room, potty, doing your business, going to the bathroom, or even powdering your nose. Whatever you call it - we ALL have to do it! The problem is, what in the world do you do with your concealed firearm when you do? 

For some obvious reasons, men have it a little easier in this department, well... most of the time. There is quite a bit of confusion and not a lot of discussion on this “interesting” topic. In a recent discussion on The Well Armed Woman Facebook page, the lack of information clearly results in less than safe solutions. So, what should you do? You don’t want anyone in the next stall to see your firearm, freak out and call 911 when you’re simply answering Mother Nature’s call. You don’t want it to fall on the floor and slide over to into the next stall with a mother assisting her young child and you certainly don’t want to do anything that could risk an accidental discharge. So what do you do? 

Photo: Theo Romeo UCD Advocate

The answer is quite simple. The less you do the better! Anytime your remove your firearm from its holster you create risk. A well made in the pants or on the waist holster should hold your firearm snug, even if you accidentally turn it upside down. If your’s doesn’t - get a new one.  Not everyone likes a thumb break but here is a good place where they come in handy. Keep your hand on the HOLSTERED firearm as you carefully slide down your pants and keep your hand on it. Keep the top of your pants up off the floor and out of view from “neighbors”. If you’re wearing a belt, this is even more important as once you undo your belt - the weight of whole package takes on a mind of its own. 

The problems arise when you remove the firearm to get comfortable. Some of you are placing it on the toilet paper dispenser, the back of the toilet and even hanging it by the trigger guard on the hook on the door. These are not safe solutions and yes, even the most responsible and conscientious gun owners can leave and forget their firearms behind. It has happened, perhaps it has even to you. 

Many women are wearing bra holsters and belly bands. With these holsters this challenge is eliminated. For those of you that carry in your purse, as awkward as it may be, place your purse on your lap or even hang it over your body cross body style.  

If for some reason not addressed here you MUST remove the firearm from your body, keep it holstered and hold it or keep it on your lap while you’re “busy”.

All of this “work” just to do your business may seem cumbersome, uncomfortable and even a pain in the neck. The truth is, this comes with the responsibility of safe gun ownership. If you really think about it, we are very lucky to even have the right and opportunity to be a little uncomfortable this way.  So... Give thanks and go take care of business! 

MY DEFENSIVE HANDGUN TRAINING AT THUNDER RANCH

It was a long day of travel - I kept wondering why did Thunder Ranch have to be so far away in the mountains? Once I arrived I quickly understood. The property was breathtaking. The facilities even more impressive. This was way more than a shooting range, this was a serious training facility - surrounded by God’s amazing majesty. I hand’t met Clint or Heidi previously - our entire relationship had been a “digital one”. Facebook, email and a couple of phone calls. I knew they were special people as it was easy to tell even via email, however, I was a little nervous. They had contributed so much to The Well Armed Woman with their positive support and the incredibly generous donation of the Ultimate Giveaway Training Class and they are legends. I wondered what they were expecting in me? We’re they expecting a highly seasoned gun gal? One who already knew all they were about to cover in the class? 

Of course all that worrying for nothing. I was greeted by two warm and gracious faces and big hugs.  Instantly I was comfortable and felt like I had known them for many years. 

Trainings start early at the Ranch - there is so much to do and much ground to cover.   First we met the women from all over the country taking the class. An impressive group of women representing every demographic and every level of experience. Some with none, some with much and everything in-between. I was thrilled to get to meet some of TWAW Facebook fans that were there. We spent the first morning in the classroom where Clint reviewed facility and safety information, what we would be covering and the basics of learning to “fight”. We all were riveted! Not only by what we were being told - but with Clint and his totally captivating “Clint Self”. I don’t think any of us have ever met anyone like Clint Smith. Here are few words to attempt to describe the indescribable! Bold, candid, straight shooting, blunt, raw, serious, funny with a dash of shy. Two of the young moms in the group shared with me on the last day that at home, because they have young children, they work so hard to keep their language and that of others “appropriate”. They said at first they were shocked at Clint’s candor, but by the end, they laughed and said they had started to sound like him. 

We started on the range after lunch with the in-depth safety reminders and rules. (which is how we started each and every session) Some basic shooting first - just to get the jitters out and to get comfortable on the range. We quickly progressed to multiple shot drills from about 15 yards. We incorporated verbal commands - very loud ones I must say, and practiced working alongside a partner, providing cover for reloads and malfunctions. Heidi, Clint and their staff followed each of us closely, working individually with each, guiding and instructing us on what we each needed to correct. We shot all afternoon, hundreds of rounds!  I think we all were in firearm heaven even with the blisters that began to show. Arms were tired, hands were tired - but eyes and smiles were wide. 

I was pooped.. My arms and hands hurt but I couldn’t wait for day two. I slept like a baby. We were on the range by 7am. I arrived with blisters bandaged and all 7 magazines fully loaded. Day two had movement drills, leaning, flash light training, clearing malfunctions and shooting steel plates (way harder than it looks!) and the  TERMINATOR 3 in store for the afternoon. At one time, Heidi had us all stand at the other end of the range with our backs to her and she and her staff created malfunctions in each of our firearms. We had to run, find our firearm, attempt to shoot, discover the malfunction and clear it and shoot the target (attacker) 3 times in each zone. Talk about stressful! It actually was probably quite comical if you were to watch a video of it. Thankfully, none exists. I hope!!! 

Terminator 3 is a two story structure where we would begin to learn to scan and maneuver inside a building after a threat in multiple light levels. There was quite a bit of apprehension in anticipation for this. Moving ourselves and our skills from the stagnant shooting range at home into a life like scenario of our homes proved to be emotionally challenging for some. I think the reality of what we were really here for began to sink in.

We donned our body armor and  were taught, one by one how to maximize the distance as we cleared each room, clearing doorways and walls. It was awesome to bring all of the skills we had learned into a scenario and put them all together to protect ourselves, our families, our home and yes to victoriously get the bad guy. We each had the opportunity to work the Terminator 3 three times individually with clint, working various layouts and multiple light levels over the last 2 days. 

Day two ended in victory and bodies ready for bed. Funny, I don’t really remember much about the evenings. I know I ate and I know I slept! 

Day three was for me, my favorite - we moved and shot from every conceivable position. We ran forwards, backwards, sideways,  we kneeled, we sat, we laid. We fired massive amounts of ammunition (with pretty impressive precision I must say) into every zone from every distance. When it was time for the final drill of the course, I was at the back of the range waiting to be the last one through Terminator 3. As I watched I saw a totally different group of ladies on that line. They were confident, competent, strong and powerful. I don’t know how many rounds Heidi instructed them to fire - but it was a lot! It was like the 4th of July fireworks. I just smiled at the sight and sound of these incredible Well Armed Women, truly ready to fight for their lives.. 

On the long drive and flight home I reviewed all that I had learned. Here are a few of the key lessons and impressions. 

Clint and Heidi are two amazing people. Passionate and gifted teachers committed to helping people train to their greatest potential. I am blessed to have these two new friends.

The threats we arm ourselves for are very real and very ugly. We must face that and train to fight for our lives. 

Training is perishable - we can’t train and then never practice to keep it “fresh”. With training comes a commitment to keep our skills honed. 

Carrying a firearm is a lifestyle change. If we make the choice - we accept the “inconveniences” and the responsibilities that come with it. As Clint said, “Carrying a firearm isn’t supposed to be comfortable, it is supposed to be comforting.”

Nothing can replace live training. Do all you can do to get trained. Save coffee money, don't buy as many pairs of shoes, sacrifice where you can to get the training you need to save your life. 

Training to fight and why we train refreshed my memory of Ruth. Many of you have met Ruth as I have shared her story here on my blog. It is why we train and why the work of The Well Armed Woman is so incredibly important. In her memory - we train so there is never another story like Ruth’s.