Born to Protect: USCCA Launches Rebrand at SHOT Show 2020
For SHOT Show 2020, the United States Concealed Carry Association will unveil a dramatic update to its brand and messaging. The change marks a milestone in the company’s history after nearly 16 years of dynamic growth that saw USCCA memberships soar to more than 330,000 in 2019, with additional expansion of its training and partnership programs.
The rebranding includes a major upgrade to the brand’s look, now “safety gold,” and the introduction of a new brand slogan, “Born to Protect.” Continue reading
Concealed Carry Basics Part 3: CCW Belts
Don’t Underestimate this Important Piece of Carry Gear
This is the third installment in the Concealed Carry Basics series. In Part 1, we addressed the factors involved in choosing the right firearm for you to carry. In Part 2, we brought up a number of considerations in choosing one of the main pieces of carry equipment: the holster.
As mentioned in the holsters piece, one of the most common means of concealed or openly carrying a firearm is “on the hip” or, rather, somewhere on the waist. Wherever you decide to carry on your waist, it is important to have a good holster that is well fitting, comfortable, secure, and easy to access. Lots of CCW-ers put a lot of time, effort, and money into finding the right holster but overlook another piece of equipment that is equally (or more) important: the belt. Here, in Part 3 of the series, we will address that.
If you haven’t already, be sure to catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 of the series. If you are starting from scratch, head over to Firearms 101 for the basics on what firearms are, how they work, and commonly used acronyms.
So, do you really need a special belt to carry your firearm?
Like everything else, the answer is completely subjective and it will depend on what you are carrying, where you carrying it, and how you are carrying it. However, a good number of the issues that concealed carriers run into (which can sometimes convince them to stop carrying) can be easily solved with a belt upgrade, which is hard to believe until you have tried it. Continue reading
Concealed Carry Basics Part 2: Holster Options
You Have Your Pistol – Now How Do You Carry It?
This is the second installment in the Concealed Carry Basics series. In Part 1, we addressed the factors involved in choosing the right firearm for you to carry. As we mentioned there, people have been carrying firearms for protection since there have been firearms. The practice can be as simple as literally carrying it (like, in your hands) or tucking it into your waistband. However, the first method will likely (at best) lead to a chat with Officer Friendly after he gets a MWaG (man with a gun) call while the second might lead to such pleasantries as a surprise vasectomy. Therefore we strongly recommend not using either method for your EDC.
Many, if not most, folks who endeavor to carry a firearm tend to go through a number of holsters before they find the one that works best for them (or, worse, end up using a bad holster). Thus they end up having to try to sell their used holsters or having the proverbial box o’ holsters tucked away into the back of their closets. Good holsters can be somewhat pricey and a box of pricey holsters can add up pretty quickly to real money.
We’re here to help with some basics on what kind of holsters are available and some considerations to keep in mind when choosing yours. As with the choosing a firearm part, This article is not a primer on what specific holster is best or which one you should get – instead, we hope to help you find one that works best for you and your situation.
If you are starting from scratch, head over to Firearms 101 for the basics on what firearms are, how they work, and commonly used acronyms.
So, you have the firearm you want to carry for protection… what next?
First off, you should definitely use a holster – no questions asked. Sure, some people do just drop a firearm into their pocket or purse or tuck it into their waistband like they just got out of jail and found it in an unlocked glovebox, but it’s a bad idea for several reasons addressed below. Continue reading
Concealed Carry Basics Part 1: Choosing the Right Firearm
Finding the right pistol to carry
This is the first installment in the Concealed Carry Basics series. Carrying a firearm on your person is as simple as… well, as carrying a firearm on your person. It is not rocket science – people have been carrying firearms for protection since there have been firearms – but there are pieces of information that you pick up along the way that make the practice easier, safer, and more effective. With a couple combined decades of carry experience among us, the GunLink team hopes to share some of that information with you to help make the process easier.
This article is not a primer on what specific firearm is best or which one you should get. Rather, it lays out a number of considerations that you need to make when choosing the best firearm for you and your situation.
If you are starting from scratch, head over to Firearms 101 for the basics on what firearms are, how they work, and commonly used acronyms.
Technically, the first thing you need is the mindset – the decision to carry a firearm in the first place – but the first three parts of this series are focusing predominately on the gear, with mindset coming in Part 4. For now, let’s presume that you have decided that you want to carry a firearm for protection… what next? Continue reading
Sticky Holsters Unveils New EDC Products for SHOT Show
Just in time for SHOT Show, Sticky Holsters is unveiling a bevy of new products for Concealed Carry EDC.
We have been reviewing Sticky Holsters for years now, since we were first introduced to them by a GunLink Forum member. Since then, we have tried out and reviewed a number of their products, including their standard holsters in a variety of sizes, as well as their Super Mag Pouch, and the custom ECR-compatible holster for Viridian’s C5L compact light and laser.
We have had great experiences with Sticky Holsters’ products over the years and are happy to have them come on board with us as a SHOT Show Coverage Partner this year. Operations Manager, Eric, sent us over some details about the latest products coming out of the Sticky Holsters shop and we’re excited to get the opportunity to see them first hand at SHOT Show next week.
Sticky’s new products aren’t necessarily directly pistol-holster related but, rather, geared more toward the EDC stuff that you might lug around if you are packing heat already, like spare mags, tourniquets, a knife, etc.
The first set of new products are their Mini Mag Sleeves and Pouches. As you saw in our review of the Super Mag Pouch (SMP), we generally used that product for double-stack pistol mags like those for the G19 and G17. Using the SMP for single-stack mags, like those for the XDS45, was passable, but not ideal since they didn’t fill out the pouch enough and we worried about the possibility of the magazine sliding out at inopportune times. Trying to use the SMP for tiny mags, like those for the .380 ACP Ruger LCP, was nigh impossible. This is what we wrote at the time: Continue reading
The National Rifle Association Launches NRA Carry Guard
On Monday, the National Rifle Association of America announced the launch of NRA Carry Guard, a program created to provide America’s most comprehensive insurance and legal coverage, as well as best-in-class training for those who carry a gun. NRA Carry Guard members can access many great benefits including legal assistance and the ability to select their own counsel, as well as immediate access as needed to supplementary payments for bail, legal retainer fees, compensation while in court and more. NRA Carry Guard is the only membership program for self-defense insurance and training developed and supported by the National Rifle Association, representing the next evolution in freedom’s defense from the most powerful civil rights organization in American history.
“For the last 20 years, I’ve supported and defended the Constitution of the United States. I really do believe that an armed citizenry makes for a stronger country, a stronger society, a safer society,” says veteran U.S. Navy SEAL George Severence, who serves as NRA Carry Guard National Director. “The Second Amendment would look vastly different today without the NRA. With so many concealed carry permit holders out there, it would be my hope that all of them would become NRA members, because the only reason that they have that right to carry is because the NRA has been defending that right.”
“There is no other organization in the United States of America that can do what NRA has done with NRA Carry Guard,” says Dana Loesch, NRA National Spokesperson. “Without the NRA, there would be no right to carry a firearm at all in this country. The NRA and its 5 million members have led the movement for the past three decades to restore this freedom to its rightful place in America.” Continue reading
