I started carrying my first handgun, now what?

[s1mp13m4n]

Hello everyone. As you know I got my first handgun a couple months a go. I received my concealed weapon permit two days a go. I am carrying the gun IWB using a VersaCarry holster. At night when you take the gun off, how should you store it? It is a striker fired gun with an external safety. Would you store it with a round in the chamber with safety on, no round in the chamber but magazine in the gun, ammo removed from magazine, etc? This is my only gun. Also, there is a debate about the spring in the magazine. Do you leave the magazine empty and load it each morning, leave it loaded all the time, etc? The gun came with two magazines a 10 round and 17 round. I carry with the 10 round as it makes the carry package smaller. The gun is a Ruger SR9c. It is in the category of the Glock 26 in size.

 

[kozmic]

IMO, you should always consider the safety of your daughter and her friends and others first and then what "condition" makes sense to you.

Is it meant to be a home defense weapon at night or are you just storing it until the following day?

Then safely store it accordingly.

 

[jaykellogg]

You need to wipe the gun down occasionally. If it has a black slide it is alloy steel and can eventually rust. I do not unload my carry gun. If you do you have to be aware that cycling ammunition through the gun can damage the ammunition. I would occasionally shoot up the ammo in the gun and load it with fresh ammo. I would not keep the ammo in the gun more than one year. Shorter is safer. If you cycle the ammo through the gun over and over you risk having the bullet push back into the case. I have also heard of a LEO that did this every night and the primer material fell out. When he went to fire the gun it didn't go off.

I am not concerned about keeping ammo in the magazines of my guns. You can buy new magazine springs.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

IMO, you should always consider the safety of your daughter and her friends and others first and then what "condition" makes sense to you.

Is it meant to be a home defense weapon at night or are you just storing it until the following day?

Then safely store it accordingly.

The gun is for now......or I would like it to be....a "do it all" gun for carry and apartment defense. That being said I must find a safe place to store the gun at night yet have it easy for me to get should it ever be needed....yet away from my daughter. Right now as I type this the gun is ready to fire with safety on while locked in a safe place.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Glad to hear that you have a place to lock it up. I would recommend against playing with/handling/loading/unloading on a daily basis. I have several guns, and usually when I put a carry gun, even a revolver, in the safe, I put it in loaded with a sign on it that says "LOADED." That's so I'm not constantly loading and unloading firearm. And that's a revolver, which is a lot simpler than an automatic.

If you were to play with that thing (unload and load it) daily, where would you be pointing it when doing so? Would that really be safe? Only you can answer those questions, but the easiest answer is "Don't!"

If your locked place isn't accessible enough, small strong locking containers of bedside size are available, especially at gun stores. They usually cost waaay less than $100. Less than $50 seems to be the most recent decent one I saw.

 

[mrbort]

After you figure out what is safest for you and your family then think about the following:

Others have touched on this but for me it's a balance between making sure the gun is clean and well lubricated and the toll chambering a round takes on the cartridge.

1) Your gun will get all sorts of pocket lint and dust in it just carrying it around. It's good to clean it and make sure it's properly lubricated every once in a while. You don't want a dust bunny gun.

2) In a semiautomatic pistol, every time a round is chambered by racking the slide vigorously, the bullet is pushed a little bit into the casing. I haven't seen definitive evidence either way but the theory goes that this can cause an overpressure situation and not have the kind of "bang" you're looking for.

Since I don't know one way or another but do know that they make cartridges a certain way for a reason, I tend to not like to chamber the same SD round more than 3-4 times. I carefully rotate the rounds to the bottom of the magazine and make a note in my logbook. When each bullet has gone through three rotations, I put it in the range ammo bin. I am comfortable with this as I'm certain that it won't blow up on me, has a reasonable lifetime, and will go bang when I want it to. If on the range it doesn't, I don't care but I have the occasional few SD rounds to practice with.

I guess I try to balance economy with making sure the thing I am lugging around with the sole purpose of saving my life does the trick should work if, god forbid, it ever be called upon to do so.

 

[TACC1]

As far as safety concerns go, for me anyway, I have
only myself and the Dober-dog. (He can't shoot for beans)
I figure that an unloaded firearm is about as useful as extra
fittings on a boar hog. No guesswork for me, I Know
they're loaded, and handle them accordingly.
JMHO, TACC1.

 

[rwsmith]

I have to weigh the chances

I'd like to keep it by me, ready to go. What are the chances of a home invasion vs. the chances of some kids getting it and causing a tragedy. I'm compelled to keep it locked up.

 

[amazingflapjack]

I would suggest that you start over. Do some research regarding the mindset suggested by Col. Cooper, and don't carry the gun until you have completed a thorough survey of multiple aspects of concealed carry. Be methodical. Ask questions here based on what you learn. Then, when you feel that you have the answers to the right questions, decide if this responsibility is something you want to take on. Go safely.

 

[nachogrande]

NEW GUN OWNER AND CC

becoming a gun owner and protecting your family is good, but with it comes responsibility ESPECIALLY with a child in the house and if you plan on cc. I don't know if you have any prior exp with guns, but as you stated it's your first and only gun. if your exp is limited I think cc so quickly is getting ahead of yourself. if you only have 1 gun I doubt you have a big/heavy safe at this point. gun lockers are much less expensive, lighter, can hold 12 rifles and 6 pistol for 100+/- $'s and will certainly be good enough to keep it away from a kid. if you find a good spot you can build around it to further slow down a pro from getting to your guns. and always mount it to wall studs from the inside that can't be accessed from the outside. find a system for you and stick to it each and every time so there is no hesitation or ? if it's loaded or empty. I prefer all guns in the safe empty, mags unloaded and ammo somewhere separately in another locked box. for s/d the gun should be fully loaded (one in the chamber) and ready to go at all times, but on your person. Not in a drawer or such until the kid is asleep. a shelf up high is simply not good enough. a holster mounted to/ in/ under the headboard or boxspring, that can be quickly reached from bed, but still out of sight is good. don't think for a minute that any mechanical device called a "safety" makes a gun safe. good luck with your 1st, of many I'm sure.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

I am having two issues carry the gun around the apartment trying to get use to having it on me. The issues are snagging the butt of the gun when I get into or out of a chair and also my shirt riding up revealing the butt of the gun. How do I fix this, what are my options? Is this kinda normal? Do I need shirts with longer tails?

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Are you carrying the gun at 4:00 o'clock on your body? Perhaps 3:00 o'clock would be better. Or even just a bit in front of that.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

Are you carrying the gun at 4:00 o'clock on your body? Perhaps 3:00 o'clock would be better. Or even just a bit in front of that.

The gun is at 4pm right now. I do not notice it is there when walking yet I am overly aware or worried that the gun might show when I bend down, etc. From what I understand....when you conceal a handgun...it means hide it so no one knows you have it. Am I trying to hard or worrying too much? LOL My wife says sometimes when I move you can tell there is something there, but you can not tell what it is. She says that if she did not know what it was she would think it was a cell phone or something.

 

[Poodle Soup]

I am having two issues carry the gun around the apartment trying to get use to having it on me. The issues are snagging the butt of the gun when I get into or out of a chair and also my shirt riding up revealing the butt of the gun. How do I fix this, what are my options? Is this kinda normal? Do I need shirts with longer tails?

Different holster position and also a gun belt can do wonders. Some things are things you learn to avoid and live with. You sit/stand/bend/kneel/lift to accommodate something being strapped to your hip.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

My holster is this
Versacarry :: The Original ZeroBulk Holster ? Versacarry

And a leather Dickies work belt.

 

[sipowicz]

Also, there is a debate about the spring in the magazine. Do you leave the magazine empty and load it each morning, leave it loaded all the time, etc?

There is no debate....mags are designed to keep loaded for years. for now I would keep the mag loaded but not in the gun until you feel very comfortable with it...for home defense, get yourself some kind of quick access gun vault...then you can leave the mag in it, locked up...just pull back the slide and you are ready to go...when you become more comfortable around a loaded firearm, then you can decide whether to leave a round in the chamber. In a gun vault, it shouldn't be an issue but every little safety step helps...

 

[nachogrande]

NEW GUN OWNER AND CC

imo the fastest way to become familiar with a gun is to have a lot of time in hand for muscle memory, feel balance etc. what I do with new guns is keep it in my hand unloaded 24/7 for as long as possible, lining up the sights at moving tv figures and dry firing with snap caps, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T HARM THE GUN. having a gun safely locked away is useless for s/d unless you can get to it and get it into action in a very short time, while under stress, (not too realistic or practical). when you first start to carry concealed you are a bit paranoid and think everyone knows, when in reality most people are pretty oblivious, but still think, longer tailed shirts. a good belt is just as important as a good holster imo. also pants a size larger in the waist for iwb carry can help. your thinking about and asking these questions indicate you are responsible and wanting to learn, good on you. don't expect to get 30 yrs exp in 30 days. it will come in it's own time. a class couldn't hurt.