Getting Comfortable with EDC

Suck it up, Buttercup. We never said this stuff was easy.

EDC stands for Everyday Carry. Every. Day. Carrying a loaded gun with you. Everywhere (well, mostly everywhere.) All the time.

Inconvenient. Heavy. Uncomfortable. Intrusive. I've heard it all -- why people don't always carry. Oh, you don't carry when you are in safe areas? You mean like churches, and schools, and libraries, and parks, and ... You get my drift?

Here's a clue. You don't know when bad stuff will happen. Or where. Or whether you will alone, with family, at home, taking out the trash, driving in your car, at the theater, gassing up your car, or anything else. WHY did you decide to get a carry permit in the first place? So you would be able to protect yourself and your family. You can't do that with a gun that's snoozing in your safe. It has to be with you. Not in the truck console. Not under the seat. With you. ON you.

So, how do you get to the point where you routinely carry -- every day? You work at it. You get a pistol that's a good size for carry. You try and then buy one, two, three, twelve holsters until you get the one that's right for you. Or, the three that work for different situations. And you BUY A FREAKING GUN BELT and stop wearing that Walmart POS that barely holds up your pants and sure as heck won't hold a two-pound chunk of steel plus the extra MAGAZINE you need to always carry.

Wear the gun. Wear the gun. Wear the gun. Every day. Everywhere you can. You'll figure out what's working and what isn't. Change things. Try something else. Take another serious class on gun fighting. Practice DRY draws -- every day. Every day. Fast isn't fast. Smooth is fast. Work to be smooth.

Otherwise, you aren't making a vast effort. You are making a half-vast effort. Got it?

"What have I done this week to make myself better prepared for the attack?" It's a pretty good question.

Oh. Every time you put on your gun, say this out loud. (Yes, it has to be out loud, so it sticks.) "This is the day I will need this gun." There. You've taken a big step in reducing your reaction time. You already said you will need the gun today. That's a step closer to plowing through the denial stage, to recognize the threat, and to take action to save yourself and your family.

Remember the movie "The Untouchables?" Actor Sean Connery has a line that should stick with each of us. "What are you prepared to do?"

EDC. It's not just what you carry. It's a total change in lifestyle. It's a total commitment. In many ways, it redefines who you are. ~ Tom

Tom Gresham
Author, outdoorsman, gun rights activist, and firearms enthusiast for more than five decades, Tom Gresham hosts Tom Gresham's Gun Talk, the first nationally-syndicated radio show about guns and the shooting sports, and is also the producer and co-host of the Guns & Gear, GunVenture and First Person Defender television series.

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