When should you carry a concealed handgun?

What's the last thing you check before you go out the door as you leave home? Car keys? Wallet? Is the door locked? How about, "What am I going to carry today?"

I first got my concealed-carry permit in 2006 and did not carry at all for a while. Then I started carrying occasionally, just when I thought I needed to. Then I thought it through and eventually decided to apply a truth I learned as a Boy Scout. The Scout motto is "Be Prepared."

Since nobody knows what's going to happen when you leave home, how can you be ready to confront a deadly threat? Be prepared by never leaving your home or anywhere unarmed.

Here's a short answer to that question from a Sig Sauer Academy senior instructor.

"I only carry when I think I need to . . ."

Have you heard this before? I have, many times. Recently I was working with a large group of law enforcement personnel. We were having a casual conversation about what we carry "off duty" while out and about. I was surprised to hear the answers (no I wasn’t). Many of them stated they only carry when the think they'll need it. After about the third time I heard this I had to ask., "So, how do you know if you are going to need it?" The responses ranged from, "Well, if I'm going into a bad part of town", or, "If I'm going to be out with the family". The reality is that we will never be presented with a criminal intelligence update that tells us the day or time we may need our firearm. So how do we mitigate not being prepared for a deadly force encounter? We do it by carrying all of the time. Yes, this includes running out to the corner store on Sunday morning to pick up the paper or hitting the deli for a sandwich on your day off. Make the commitment to yourself right now. Never be accused of not being prepared. Especially when your life or the lives of others may depend on it. A wise NCO once said to a new paratrooper standing in the door of an airplane, "Son, you're about to become either a training success or a not too amusing anecdote."--Adam Painchaud, Senior Instructor

Here's the latest commercial from SIG SAUER Academy, "Training for Armed Professionals and Responsible Citizens." They have satellite classes in various locations around the country with the closest to me being Midland, Va. Maybe one day I'll be able to attend one of them.