I write this as a cautionary tale from my experiences on both sides of the counter. As a firearms instructor and firearms enthusiast, I have both purchased firearms from gun shops and have worked as an employee at gun shops where I was the one selling firearms. The best advice I can give to anyone in the market for purchasing a handgun or any firearm for that matter is to take your time and don’t be in a hurry to make a purchase. This is critically important especially if you are making your first purchase or are new to firearms in general.

The decision to carry a concealed firearm for personal protection has a lot of responsibility associated with it. Most importantly is knowing when you are justified in applying force on another person. From a legal perspective, a responsible person who is lawfully carrying a concealed handgun would read the criminal statutes to a point where they fully understood not only what the law says but also how to apply it to real life defensive situations.

One of the challenges of having a concealed handgun license and carrying a firearm on your person is that you unfortunately are not able to carry your firearm concealed everywhere you want to go. The laws regarding where you can lawfully carry outside your home are getting better since the supreme court ruling on NYSRPA v. Bruen however there are circumstances that currently exist where you are going to be forced to leave your handgun in your vehicle because the location you are going into has criminal consequences for carrying concealed even if you have a CHL. The idea behind writing this is not to focus on where you legally can and can’t carry, but rather methods that can be used to secure your firearm in your vehicle should you find yourself in a situation where you decide not to have your gun on you.

You are allowed to fly commercially with a firearm in your checked luggage, however there are some things you will need to know and plan for before showing up to the airport with your concealed handgun. First and foremost is having a good travel safe, this would be a safe that is of high-quality construction and good locks. When you are selecting a safe, a lot of the manufacturers will even list on the packaging that the safe meets the requirements for air travel. Additionally, I always place an apple air tag inside the case just in case I am having trouble locating my baggage at the baggage claim area.

I want you to think about training with your firearm in a similar manner to working out at the gym. If you are new to working out and you get your gym membership and are walking into an area that is full of training equipment, then it may be hard to know where to start. Many people elect to have a personal trainer or fitness coach teach them how to properly use the gym equipment, discuss human physiology regarding major muscle groups and create exercises that are easy to understand and perform that achieve the person’s physical fitness goals.

A question I have continuously received throughout my career as a firearms instructor is “what is the best handgun caliber for personal defense?” Unfortunately, there is not a “one size fits all” answer for that question and it is based on a multitude of factors. However, there are some trends we see and some recommendations that can be made to assist the new shooter with making a better-informed decision.

A trend that has been popular over the last 15 years is to have a flashlight mounted to your concealed carry handgun. I do think there are absolute benefits to this, however there are also liabilities that should be discussed. One of the biggest benefits to having a flashlight mounted to your gun is that it can assist with positive identification of a threat. Quite simply, you need to be able to see what you’re shooting at, and that it is a threat that you would be legally justified in applying deadly force on

Getting pulled over by a law enforcement officer is never fun and it can be even more nerve racking when you have a concealed firearm on you. I have spoken to many Oregon Law Enforcement Officers and have specifically asked what this process looks like from their perspective and how they prefer the lawfully armed citizen to navigate this type of an encounter.

For some reason it is always the unloaded gun that ends up going off unintentionally and killing someone or damaging property. Regardless of whether you are handling a real firearm or a fake firearm you are building muscle memory which turns into habit. It usually takes about 1000 repetitions to make something a habit. My recommendation is to handle all firearms consistently and with a sense of deliberate purpose with an awareness of what is going on around you.

The process of purchasing a firearm starts with going to a gun shop or firearms retailer who has an active FFL (Federal Firearms License) as a dealer and is lawfully able to sell you a firearm. Having said that, when you are at the gun shop and have selected the firearm that you intend to purchase, the clerk behind the counter will have you fill out an ATF form 4473. This is going to record the transaction and allow the gun shop to remove the firearm from their A&D books. They will ask for your valid driver’s license which needs to have a current address or will need an additional supplemental legal document which verifies your address.

There are literally thousands of different types and models of firearms available on the market today. It can be incredibly overwhelming to confidently select what firearm is going to work best for your intended purpose. The advice I generally give to people who are new to firearms is to take a hands on, live fire class through a certified instructor, using a rental gun prior to making a purchase. There really is no substitute for hands on experience.