Dressing for CCW as a young gun owner was a struggle for me. I’m 27,so I will admit I’m growing closer to the age of comfortable pants and fashion you would find in your dad’s closet rather than a cool trendy millennial. I remember when I turned 21, the concealed carry market was geared towards the 50- and 60-year-olds who loved rocking the cherished CCW vest that looks like a fishing vest. I thought it was terrible then and honestly, it never got cooler, it’s still awful!

There are a ton of arguments in the gun community about the role of flashlights in an every day carry loadout. Some people say you don’t need flashlights on your weapon or even on your person. I would respectfully disagree on both accounts. Statistically, the probability of you getting into a situation where you need to use your weapon in a self-defense situation is extremely low, and at night it’s even lower. I can understand why some people think its a waste of time to carry a weapon mounted light. There are people on both sides arguing the validity, but carrying both has its benefit.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves reviews Kimber’s new single stack, striker fired Evo SP handgun. This is, of course, a welcome diversion from Kimber’s typical 1911 fare, but not the first time they’ve done it. Kimber made the Solo for several years prior to the Evo, later discontinuing the Solo. The Solo was not an excellent gun, and the Evo is the heir apparent – but does the Evo succeed where the Solo failed? More importantly, how does it stack up against the Glock 43 or S&W M&P Shield?

Beretta has just announced a new variation of their APX line, coming out with the APX Carry. Beretta began teasing the unveiling a week ago on social media and today, Beretta released a video titled “worst 30-seconds” on social media, showing a small variation of the APX. Beretta says they listened to customers who wanted a smaller variation of their striker-fired handgun. The Beretta APX Carry is set to be released in the next few weeks.

SIG Sauer Academy has announced a new Concealed Carry course specifically built for women.  The course was developed and is instructed by experienced women.  The Academy concealed carry courses currently listed on the schedule are April 18-19, August 22-23, and November 15-16.  The courses will be held in Epping, New Hampshire.

In the last few years, there has been a massive increase in vehicle-based shootings. These shootings include police attacks, where officers are ambushed in their cruisers. Let’s be honest though getting into a gunfight at all is a bad day, and getting in a gunfight while in a vehicle just plain sucks.

In the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of people who carry “truck guns” or vehicle-based guns in everyday life. It can be tricky navigating certain laws when it comes to truck guns but we won’t get into the legality. Maybe I’ll dive deeper into the legality in a later blog, but for now, let’s focus on the overall concept.

Out of all the topics to discuss about the gun industry, I don’t see many people talking about the maintenance of their firearms over time. Now don’t get me wrong, some shooters go out every weekend and put a ton of rounds down range each year. Those guys typically keep their guns maintained out of necessity, so they don’t have to deal with malfunctions. I’m writing to the people who conceal carry but don’t always have time to hit the range as much as they’d like, but still carry daily. This happens a lot and it’s not a bad thing, but firearm maintenance is even more important for people who carry daily but can’t go to the range as often as possible. Let’s face it, you don’t want to be the guy who’s gun looks like the lint trap of a dryer in the rundown part of town.

Many of us who carry a handgun routinely want to be healthy and stay fit, but what do you do with your handgun when you are in a gym or workout facility? This situation presents a lot of problems for the law-abiding concealed carrier who is trying to work out. You need to combat a lot of issues you might not otherwise experience going to, for example, a grocery store, gas station, or some other mundane errand in your day. In this week’s Concealed Carry Corner, we will take a look at the obstacles you need to overcome and what might work best for you.

I always love hot takes on gun subjects from big, fancy publications whose contributors really don’t know shit about guns, but they take a hard stance on the issue nonetheless because “By God, we are the [ New York Times / Washington Post / USA Today etc. ] and we couldn’t possibly be wrong.” [Inserts picture of an AR-15 with a chainsaw bayonet]

Shoot houses and Close Quarter Battle (CQB) courses are often accompanied by misconceptions. People are confused with what the courses are about and who they are intended for. They assume the information will not apply to them if they are not law enforcement or military. Others see civilians that attend CQB courses as just wanting to attend a tactical band camp or be a Navy Seal for the weekend.

Spring is coming and soon training classes will start to pick up. Courses will be available for every budget and shooter. Some will focus on basic safety and cleaning. Other courses will cut tenths of a second off draw time or teach CQB team tactics.

It was just a couple months ago I reviewed Bravo Concealment’s BCA OWB 3.0 Gun Holster for a Glock 19. If you read that article I spoke very favorably of the holster because it checked all of the right boxes for me and what I am typically looking for in a good quality holster. Since that review, Bravo Concealment has added extra utility to the OWB BCA 3.0 Gun Holster by providing a paddle attachment option. If you already own that holster you can simply purchase the paddle attachments to give yourself more ways to use the same holster. In this review, we will assess these NEW Paddle Attachments that Bravo Concealment has produced for their OWB BCA 3.0 gun Holster.

Federal Premium has taken their Syntech bullet and technology and applied its properties to a segmented jacketed hollow-point (SJHP) to create Syntech Defense. The unique property of this defense round, other than the encapsulated bullet that typifies a Syntech round, is that this one will segment off into 3 separate pieces upon impact. A central core bullet will likely penetrate 12″ – 18″ while the 3 segmented petals will travel a shorter distance of roughly 6″ in tissue. This creates 4 total wound channels and should stop nearly anything in its tracks.

The Glock evokes a lot of emotion from the TFB community. It’s amusing. You have people who are Glock haters, many times because the Glock is the “Toyota Camry” of the gun industry: Reliable, prolific, “boring.” And then you have the tuners who will modify their stock Glock beyond recognition, and even go so far as to build a Glock from the ground up without even using a single Glock component (Polymer 80 frames, ZEV uppers, etc. etc.).

In this edition of Concealed Carry Corner, we’re discussing carrying on your person, while at home. Of all places that you should be able to feel comfortable, secure and safe, it may not actually be that safe after all.

The term “mindset”, when it comes to defensive situations, may be a bit cliche by now. The word draws images of a warrior in quiet contemplation, clicking carabiners while staring off into an infinite expanse. While that may be what I do every morning to prepare for that one defining, heroic moment that may never come (that’s a joke people), the ability to mentally prepare for a life or death situation is a skill that is infrequently practiced and rarely mastered. So let’s have a discussion about the CCW rules of engagement – a topic that will create more questions than we will find answers.

Good afternoon shooters and welcome back to TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner where we discuss anything and everything related to the topic of packing a firearm for personal protection. Today we are going to revisit a topic we touched on more than two years ago: a by the numbers look at two of the most popular ultra-compact pistols currently on the market. The GLOCK G43 vs G43X debate has been discussed numerous times since the “Silver Slide” debut of the G43X and the longer G48 about two months ago. But now that the feverish new-product rush is past, how is the latest release stacking up against the original 9mm GLOCK pocket pistol? Let’s take a mathematical look, shall we?

Today’s installment of TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner series is a historical one telling about one of the most interesting early attempts of adapting a full-size handgun for concealed carry use. Particularly, in this article, we’ll take a look at the history of modified Colt revolvers known as Fitz Special.

When it comes to concealed carry, just having a gun and successfully concealing it is only half of the equation. Another half are skills – situational awareness, legal knowledge and last but not least – marksmanship. In the previous article, I talked about the  “Triple Nickel”, one of the most challenging concealed carry drills ever invented. But not everyone has access to ranges where you can shoot multiple targets. So today, I will talk about the drill you can do at any range that allows you to draw from the holster – the FAST drill.

Much of the United States recently experienced some truly insufferable cold temperatures coupled with strong winds and snow. Only something this miserable could catch the coined phrase of polar vortex from our national weather reporters. If you are reading this, you are likely a hearty individual and survived the (insert cinematic music here: dun, Dun, DUN)… Polar Vortex! This raises an interesting situation though. When you are donning a parka reminiscent of the Michelin man and are buttoned up tighter than Fort Knox, how do you conceal carry? How do you draw? Do you just say, “Forget this, I am not leaving my house!” I was in the heart of the polar vortex in Minnesota and I absolutely changed how I carried. Here are my thoughts.

“Hand over your watch!” Why certainly, Mr. Burglar. That’s the headline for an article in Popular Science magazine from December 1917. It’s proofed that some things never change, even after 101 years. If you’re approached by a mugger and you’ve got a nice watch, he’s going to want it. Leonard Woods of St. Louis, MO, knew this, so he designed a pocket watch with some firepower inside of it.

Holsters are like Pringles… you can’t just have one. It does not matter if you have 2 or 20. Whether you are fully satisfied with yours or not. We are always going to be in pursuit of the latest, greatest, and most mysterious one we can stick our guns into. For me, Alien Gear Holsters has always been a shadowy company. They seem to be everywhere. You seem them at the range, in advertisements, and people talk about them online. Simultaneously, I knew nothing about them and have never owned one. In a very serendipitous fashion, like smoke from a UFO with a glowing green light beckoning to me, Alien Gear reached out to me asking if I would like to try one. “Well, duh” I thought to myself. So in this TFB Review, we will take a look at one of their Cloak MOD OWB ( Outside the Waistband) holsters fit for my Springfield Armory 911 .380 ACP carry pistol.

When it comes to unwavering support of law enforcement, military and civilian shooters, the industry has no better friend than DSG Arms. Not only do they have a wide selection of guns and gear at excellent prices, but they also build a lot of products in house, turning from a dealer/distributor to a full-blown manufacturing complex in just a few years. Catching up with my friends this year, I was able to take a look at their latest version of the  DSG Arms Ranger Rack – a modular and customizable organization system that can be hard mounted or clipped into a vehicle for rapid deployment.

This is Victory First‘s first appearance at TFB.

Beginning in March this year, Full Conceal will be shipping their very own complete Glock aluminum lower. This will be an in-house product and afford shooters to take the Gen3, Gen4, or Gen5 Upper Slide Assemblies they already own and create a Full Conceal folding Glock pistol of their own.  This New complete aluminum Glock lower from Full Conceal is called the M3D AL.

The talk of SHOT Show, and leading up to it, has been the NEW Mossberg MC1 sc 9mm perfectly suited for concealed carry. This is the 1st handgun that Mossberg has produced in 100 years. So aside from the fact that the MC1 sc 9mm is a solid carry option it has been forever since you heard “Mossberg” and “handgun” in the same sentence.

Springfield Armory was in attendance at SHOT Show’s “Industry Day at the Range,” and they brought along a lot of their new toys for all of us to enjoy and check out in person. The highlight for many people was absolutely the New 911 9mm. The 911 model itself has been received very well, but people have been begging for it to be offered in 9mm, and now they have it.

One of the biggest challenges every company has is to never stop innovating and moving forward, especially when things are going well. Going into 5.11 booth at the 2019 Shot Show I really did not know if I will have something to write about, but after a product demonstration I was really impressed with the concept of the  Low Vis Collection  and the fact that 5.11 recognises an issue that developed in the recent years.

Front Line Holsters is a company that has been acknowledged for their holster quality and creativity world-wide. The Israeli Secret Service employs Front Line Holsters as well as Israeli S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams. The police from the island country of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean also trust Front Line holsters for duty. The holsters they make are not run-of-the-mill or cheap in any way. They are a higher-end fabricator of holsters and it shows in their work.