Common Concealed Carry Mistakes

Whether you're brand new to concealed carry or refining your daily setup, avoiding key mistakes is critical to staying safe, legal, and confident. This guide walks through the most common pitfalls, based on real-world concealed carry tips for beginners and experienced carriers alike. When it comes to concealed carry, though, the stakes are pretty high, and errors should always be avoided at all cost. With that in mind, here are a few of the most common concealed carry mistakes. Learn what they are so that you yourself can avoid them.

How Does Improper Holster Selection Affect Safety?

One of the most frequent errors is improper holster selection and fitment. A poor holster may lack proper retention, ride too low, or fail to cover the trigger guard—creating safety risks and printing issues. Choose a holster molded to your firearm, with adjustable cant and ride height to match your body type and carry position.

While most people understand that it's important to carry a high-quality, reliable firearm, some people fail to realize that the same holds true for holsters. The truth is that not all holsters are created equal.

Some holsters are going make your weapon difficult to draw, uncomfortable to carry, easily visible to outside observers, or all of the above. When choosing a holster, give the decision the careful attention that it deserves and pick a high-quality holster that will serve you well.

How Does Situational Awareness Impact Concealment?

Poor situational awareness and concealment discipline—like fidgeting, adjusting your holster, or wearing improper clothing—can expose you as armed. Stay alert, blend in, and minimize unnecessary movement. Concealment is as much about behavior as it is about gear.

Adjusting/Touching Your Gun in Public Every time you reach down to casually touch your weapon or adjust it you are drawing attention to the fact that you are carrying. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, if your goal is to be discreet, touching/adjusting your weapon in public is anything but.

Only Carrying On Occasion

If you make the decision to obtain a concealed carry permit and carry a firearm, it's in your best interest to carry it with you all the time. People who start carrying only on occasion often end up not carrying anymore at all.

Carrying on most occasions leads to carrying only on some occasions which leads to a person leaving their gun in the safe to stay. Make a commitment to carry your gun every time you go out and soon it will become second nature. Printing Sometimes, even if your firearm and holster are completely covered by your clothing, the outline of the gun is still visible. This is called printing, and it drives many people who concealed carry crazy.

While printing probably isn't as serious an issue as you might think (most people never notice) it is still a mistake that should be avoided if you value discretion. Always dress around your gun and experiment with clothing and holster combinations to find the ones that best eliminate printing.

Carrying Where You're Not Allowed/Not Supposed To

Unfortunately, gun-free zones do exist. To stay out of hot water, you'll want to avoid carrying your firearm anywhere it's not allowed. Many times, though, either by an accident or on purpose, people end up carrying their weapons in places they shouldn't; in 2015 alone, the TSA confiscated over 2,500 firearms. Not only is it important to avoid carrying your weapon where it's not allowed, it's also important to avoid carrying it places where it's just not a good idea to have it on you. At a doctor's appointment, for example, where you are likely going to be required to let a doctor closely examine you, it's probably not a good idea to go in with a gun on your hip.

The Biggest Mistake?

Perhaps the mistake that those experienced with concealed carry are most guilty of is growing complacent. No matter how old-hat concealed carry becomes, you must always maintain vigilant awareness. Be on the lookout for potential mistakes as well as opportunities to improve your skills. Only by always keeping your head on a swivel will you be able to avoid the common concealed carry mistakes listed above as well as the many others that exist.