Setting up a new CCW rig

[Scott]

So what do you do when you are setting up a new CCW rig? I have had my new SA Champ for a couple weeks and I'm starting the process I use to carry this gun.

This weekend I purchased a holster I like. It may not be the only holster for this gun, but it is a good start. Picked up several different types of ammo for it to see what it likes and more importantly what it may not like. Going to shoot a minimum of 500 rounds through it before it is carried outside the homestead. I'll also carry it around the house and property to identify any issues with how I carry it, etc. After a month or more it may be allowed out of the house as my primary carry gun. Depending on how its training goes.

So am I missing something major? What else do you do, or I am over the top?

-Scott-

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Bud White]

I break it in 500 rounds with 250 per mag no problems move on to the next..

Pick up a holster and wear it around the house for about a Month to break in The holster and get used to drawing.. I use built up dummy rounds for actually weight .Also pratice drawing etc etc...


I know some think this is a long time to do it but i have more than one carry gun so i prefer to be Super comfortable. Some Dryfire also


Basically i do same breakin as you.. Only time iver broke this is with my glock i put a lot of rounds though it fast and it uses same holster as my Xd so once i was sure of it working every time I started packing it ..

[Euclidean]

I thought that was interesting you posted that Scott. I'm currently setting up my first rig (thanks in no small part to some of the great guidance I've gotten on this very forum) even though I'm basically sitting and waiting for paperwork. I've been warned to expect a 3 month wait or longer before I ever even see the application.

But the good news is I decided on a method of carry and a carry piece, and I'm getting a Mika's holster, some speed strips, some ammo, and everything else together beforehand. I hope this means I'll have an opportunity to shoot it a couple hundred times before I ever start actually carrying it.

I actually did a lot of experimenting with the guns I already have before purchasing a designated carry piece. I have multiple holsters for each gun, and I was able to use them to figure out how I should carry by strapping on an unloaded gun and just walking around with it while I did chores, etc.

Really at this point I am playing the waiting game. I already know where to get the prints, I think I know where to get the photo, and I know a place where I can take the course in one grueling day. I've had to research all this and have been for about 3 months now, and that's not counting my successful search for a better place to shoot so I can practice more.

So I guess really we all have to plan ahead. I've learned that a CCW is not for the impatient or impulsive.

As soon as all my accessories get here, I plan on just wearing the gun around at home and at the range even if I don't shoot it on that particular outing. I'm also getting myself used to keeping it in my vehicle, because it will spend a lot of time in there due to restrictions I face. I'm currently seeking an elegant solution to storing it in the vehicle.

[rocky]

good advice all round. I recommend you get a good belt to go with your holster. Don't want the gun to flop around. Practice drawing and break in the holster if its leather.

[FortyFive]

Scott-don't answer the door wearing the rig. (where are the smiley guys)??

[APachon]

Scott depending on what you carry, see if normal attire can trip the safety. A friend who wears a 1911 with a tactical ambi safety has to periodically check to make sure the safety has not been tripped. I use a full length mirror to see if I am printing as well in my normal "lazy attire." Sorry if I could function every day in flip flops I would. However looser "fashionable" jeans makes IWB a breeze. For the guys, stop by and check out Lucky Brand jeans. The jeans seem roomier in the arse area thus allowing IWB carry to be completed very easily.

~A

[Scott]

Forty Five, shoot I not only answer the door I work in the yard and such.

APachon, I had not even considered the safety getting taken off. The guns I carry now do not have external safeties. Good call. I will definitely check that.

A good belt is very important. One of the first painful CCW lessons I learned. I had a good holster and a crappy belt. After a couple hours I wanted that rig off in the worst way. Got a good belt and now I tote S&W N_Frames all day with no problems.

-Scott-

[DDGator]

Part of my routine with a single action gun and a new holster or carry position is to wear it around the house (cocked and locked -- or whatever) with a full mag (for weight), but an empty chamber -- just to see if there is any issues with the holster swiping off the safety.

It probably goes without saying, but I also practice many repetitions of the draw (with an unloaded weapon) from concealement, from sitting, from my vehicle, etc. to get used to the whole rig together.

[rfurtkamp]

Scott depending on what you carry, see if normal attire can trip the safety. A friend who wears a 1911 with a tactical ambi safety has to periodically check to make sure the safety has not been tripped.
~A

I had a problem with a Steyr M9 popping magazines out if I went in and out of the car as I bent to duck into the door frame and sit down. Similar stuff like that happens with particular guns, particular holsters, and particular carry positions. It's stupid, but you never experience it without practice.

[APachon]

That is the other thing I forgot, make sure you do not activate the mag release. Thanks for reminding me rfurtkamp. With free falling mags it was not a problem, but with semi-tacky mags that did not drop free; bang followed by a click was very disconcerting to say the least.

~A

[rocky]

rfurtkamp, good point. Found that my Taurus would release the mag. carried in the sob position while sitting . Best to find this stuff out before leaving the house.

[QKShooter]

Mark or log your new or spare magazines.
Since incompatible or faulty magazines cause about 80% + of all semiauto failures ~ Keep careful track of exactly what particular mags are in the pistol any & every time you have any sort of malfunction.

[Euclidean]

I knew I kept a Sharpie marker in my range bag for a reason!