Alien Gear Holsters has officially launched their newest holster – the aptly named Roswell OWB and IWB/Appendix Carry holsters. The Roswell has been carefully designed with a minimalist approach to peak performance and according to Alien Gear is both lighter and stronger than other standard Kydex holsters currently available on the market.

If you look at training courses offered by some of the larger companies, one of the most common courses you see is some sort of vehicle CQB class. I will be the first one to admit that I’ve taken some of these courses and they are typically higher-level shooting classes with a ton of movement and definitely teach you about cover versus concealment. There is nothing wrong with that but not many talk about the true realities of carrying in your vehicle and what that means if you find yourself in a self-defense situation. After some thinking on this topic, I decided to look at it for you guys from a different perspective than most. Let’s take a closer look at the realities of carrying in your car.

Throughout all the articles I’ve written on TFB, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written about things you should carry on your person. What isn’t talked about are some of the things that shouldn’t be carried on you when carrying a concealed firearm. There are way more than just a few, but I tried to narrow it down to the top 4 things I see most when it comes to carrying concealed. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top things not to put on your carry gun.

When it comes to advancements in carry pistols, one of the most recent jumps in technology has to be the addition of small red dots. Whether it’s the classic Trijicon RMR or any of the other options to plunge into this market, there are a ton of different variations when it comes to handgun optics. I get asked fairly often what the benefit of having one style or the other for concealed carry since there are so many manufacturers supporting this area of the market. Let’s take a closer look at some of the differences when it comes to open vs closed emitter red dots for carrying.

When looking at self-defense training, the vast majority of people will focus on closer engagements with their carry handgun. This is widely accepted since the most common self-defense shootings are very close quarters for a short amount of time. The recent mall shooting in Indianapolis is an interesting case study that suggests otherwise when it comes to self-defense training. It’s definitely an interesting topic to look at since the most common handguns for concealed carry are relatively small, so taking longer distance shots with those will be incredibly difficult. Let’s take a closer look at what you need to know when it comes to self-defense shooting distances.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to head back down to the Academy training center to take a pistol barricade course from legendary trainer Ric Sutton. After the first day of the course, we ended up all going out to the local Mexican restaurant to just have dinner and chat about the course and shooting in general. We started getting into the difference between defensive shooting and offensive self-defense which doesn’t get talked about much in the mainstream gun community. Let’s take a closer look at offensive vs defensive protection.

Senate Bill 143 (Act 680), was signed by Governor John Bel Edwards. The law enacts LRS 14:95.M to provide concealed carry exemptions for active military and veterans who meet certain requirements. The Act can be read at https://legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1290223

The 2022 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) session resulted in several decisions impacting gun ownership. What exactly these cases mean and how they will impact gun regulation in America is not totally clear, but some points are fairly certain. An in-depth discussion of the nuance of these cases would be an entire book, and is far beyond the scope of one article. We will instead keep this a surface-level discussion.

When we think of carrying concealed guns, we oftentimes go back and forth about the pros and cons when it comes to size vs shootability. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the argument for either smaller guns to carry versus carrying larger handguns that are easier to shoot under stress. I ended up deciding to take a few of the most popular handgun models on the market and do a simple drill from 10 yards to see how well each does comparatively. Let’s take a closer look at how each pistol did in our popular carry gun shakedown.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is constantly talking with like-minded individuals about carrying concealed. You wouldn’t believe some of the crazy things that get brought up when it comes to carrying a firearm in public. Whether it’s figuring out the perfect gun and holster combination for a situation or just talking about your favorite carry positions, it’s never a bad day talking about guns. When it comes to new people carrying, I’ve had some crazy questions for certain situations but I think they can apply to a wide variety of tough situations. Let’s take a deeper dive into some tips for carrying in tough situations.

The current trend in every day carry (EDC) pistols is definitely leaning towards the ‘smaller is better’ philosophy. Every major manufacturer has spent the last five years designing small, thin, and lightweight pistols that have all of the features of their full-size counterparts. Wilson Combat is continuing this industry march towards a small footprint with the addition of the subcompact EDC X9 9mm pistol. Retaining a 15-round magazine capacity while reducing the barrel length to 3.25” will definitely attract the concealed carry crowd. Bring your checkbook – pricing starts at $3,145.

Holsters are something I think a lot of people take for granted – I know because I used to be one of them. However, as I started expanding the types of pistols I carried and the styles used to carry them, I quickly learned that there is a lot of give and take when it comes to both holster design, and concealability. Although many are staunch opponents to the appendix inside the waistband style of carrying (AIWB), there are those that not only love it but preach it as the superior style of concealed carrying (I’m looking at you Hop). To see what all the buzz was about, I started going to the range and practicing with this method. To aid in this trek of firearms self-discovery, I reached out to Blackhawk for a sample of their Stache IWB Premium Holster Kit. On the surface, the Stache seems like your standard Kydex holster, and it kind of is, however, with the premium holster kit, you’re also getting access to a modular system that can adapt with you and your style of carrying. Today we’ll be going over my experiences working with the Stache IWB Premium Holster Kit and how it taught me to better appreciate AIWB carrying.

Every week I sit down and look at the number of topics I have written down for the Concealed Carry Corner articles. One thing that blows me away is seeing the vast differences between people willing to upgrade every aspect of their carry pistol on one end, and on the other people not spending money and continuing to use the same gear they have for years. These are two very different ways to look at carrying a concealed firearm but each attitude has its merits. Whatever side you agree with, it’s always interesting to look at what is considered good enough gear.

Bubix GmbH is an Austrian firearms manufacturer whose first product, a subcompact pistol called Bubix Bro, was launched at the end of the past year. While having a lot of features common for a modern pistol such as a short barrel recoil action with a tilting barrel lockup, the Bubix Bro also features some rather unusual design solutions like the grip safety on the front strap of the grip or the takedown button inside the trigger guard. Let’s take a closer look.

With summertime hitting the Northeast and Midwest states full force this week, there’s no better time to look at carrying smaller guns. Individuals who live in the great north have lost their security blanket of layered clothing and heavy coats with the rush of hot summer weather. For most, the general trend is to carry the smallest handgun possible in an effort to make carrying more comfortable. There’s no denying that carrying a smaller pistol does make life easier in the hot summer months, but there are also disadvantages to really small carry guns. Let’s take a closer look at why smaller isn’t always better when it comes to carrying a concealed firearm.

Hello and welcome to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its various guns, gear, sports, and ammunition. Last week we talked a bit about CCI Stingers for use as a concealed carry .22LR cartridge. Once again we saw that although the round can get pretty fast and expand pretty aggressively out of a rifle, it really doesn’t hold up when shot from a backup-sized pistol. That being said, if it’s all you’ve got or all you can manage to carry, it is most certainly better than nothing when it comes to a defensive shooting situation. 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire is the big brother of .22LR and many of you have expressed interest in its viability as a concealed carry cartridge. With the recent release of the Walther WMP – a full-size semi-auto optics-ready .22 WMR pistol – the question has come up in my mind once again to determine whether or not .22 Magnum might actually make for a decent lighter-recoil self-defense cartridge for concealed carry. So today we’ll be taking a closer look at the performance metrics of .22 Magnum to see how well it holds up compared to other lighter recoil options for concealed carry.

Big boxes of unused holsters are something that a lot of gun owners have. It’s almost inevitable that you’ll want to try out different styles and types of holsters for your carry and range guns and because of that, you’ll wind up spending a lot of money just trying things out. Sometimes there are even new guns that come out that don’t have holster support at all and if you’re wanting to carry that shiny new piece, you’ll want something to safely carry it in. Blackhawk’s TecGrip FormLock holster is a DIY solution that you can shape and mold to fit any handgun similar to how a Kydex Holster would fit. Blackhawk Holsters sent me out a sample of one of their Size 1 TecGrip FormLok holsters to try out and today we’ll walk you through the process of forming this holster.

When it comes to training for self-defense, there are typically three vital parts to successfully protecting yourself. The biggest step is avoidance at all cost, you win every fight you’re never in so that’s the biggest step to remaining safe. The second step is draw stroke and ultimately if things get bad enough the third is shot placement. Pulling your firearm should be absolutely the last resort but there are occasions when there’s no other choice. We’ve talked a few times about certain drills for shot placement and working on your pistol accuracy under stress. One thing we haven’t really looked at is draw stroke and some tips to give you the upper hand when it comes to a faster draw stroke. Let’s take a closer look at ways to draw faster.

There are plenty of weeks when we talk about the latest gear and training techniques when it comes to carrying a concealed firearm. Typically every week there are discussions about the topics down in the comments below. But what you guys don’t see is we will have random conversations about carry guns in a TFB group chat as well. Whenever someone gets a new carry gun or sees something interesting, we will typically send it to the group chat to have a discussion on a certain firearm. After some conversations, I decided to go through the various firearms most of us at TFB carry on a daily basis. Let’s take a closer look at some of the carry guns of TFB.

Hornady have added a 30 Super Carry load to their popular Critical Defense line of ammunition. Loaded with a 100-grain Hornady FTX bullet, the new Hornady 30 Super Carry Critical Defense ammunition is advertised to have a muzzle velocity of 1250fps when fired from a 4″ barrel which results in 347ft/lb of muzzle energy.

Over the last few weeks, I have done my fair share of traveling across the country doing various events and seeing friends who shoot. Throughout my travels over the years, I have met a ton of people who have been great but if I’m honest, there are some similarities between people in our community. Let’s take a closer look at the different personality types of carrying concealed.

Over the last few years, there have been a few trends that emerged in the gun community. The older generations love to talk about their 1911s and leather holsters, while the young whippersnappers love plastic holsters and aftermarket attachments on their carry guns. Younger shooters like to give the older generations a hard time about certain carry items. If we are completely honest, there are a few that will always be a trend no matter how much time goes by. Let’s take a closer look at some timeless concealed carry trends.

Not too long ago Shield Arms released the S15 Magazine for the Glock 43X. This revolutionary little mag brought the 10rd capacity of the slim pistol to 15, in line with its fatter older brother, the Glock 19. On the 18th of May, Shield Arms will be adding the Glock 43 Z9 magazine to their lineup. As the name implies, this is for the standard Glock 43 and brings the capacity up to 9 rounds in a mag that’s the same size as the OEM mag with a pinky extension. Our favorite guntuber  James Reeves has a video showcasing this new mag. I suggest you give it a watch.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves reviews the new Shield Arms Z9 magazine for the Glock 43. Adding less than a half-inch of length to the G43, the Shield Arms Z9 magazines increase the Glock 43’s magazine capacity by 50%, with 9 rounds of 9mm instead of the 6 rounds provided by the factory magazine. Magazines are a critical piece of equipment: Are these Shield Arms Z9 mags reliable, or even worth your attention? James tests them out in today’s video.

When the weather starts to finally become warm in the great north, it’s always time to start thinking about your carry options. Here in Michigan, you can typically carry a larger-sized pistol roughly 8-10 months out of the year, but on a rare occasion, it does actually get warm here. With the warm weather arriving, it means fewer layers and ultimately a smaller pistol to carry for most people. The change in weather is typically a great time of year to do some regularly scheduled maintenance on your firearm to make sure it’s in tip-top shape. You may still have your winter dad bod, but at least your gun and gear will be squared away. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top maintenance items for concealed carry.

In the world of modular handguns, nothing really is as customizable as the SIG Sauer P320 system. As many of you know, I am quite a fan of building up P320 handguns with different aftermarket parts. Just a couple of weeks ago, I posted about the new Micro Comp from Parker Mountain Machine. While testing out the Micro Comp, I also installed my first grip module from Wilson Combat. As many of you know, Wilson Combat makes some phenomenal handguns, and I figured I would try out one of their P320 grip modules to see how it was. Let’s take a closer look at the Wilson Combat P320 Compact Grip Module.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves takes his mom to the range with a new pistol that he got her for Mother’s Day because she was a fair-to-middlin’ mother to her children. What gun did I get her and why? Check the vid to find out.

I really like rigid EDC belts that feature Cobra buckles. For the last 3 or 4 years, I’ve worn one pretty much every day. However, one major downside to these rigid belts is that they tend to be pretty uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time while hiking. That is why the Galco Trail Belt seems like a pretty interesting adaptation of the EDC belt design.

Oftentimes, when people ask me various concealed carry questions, I get asked about what’s best when it comes to carry permits. With a number of states passing Constitutional Carry, more and more people are starting to wonder if going through the extra steps of carrying with a permit is worth it. Depending on where you live, you may have several states around you that have constitutional carry while others will have only permit carry so it can be tricky to figure out what the best option is for you. Let’s take a closer look at Constitutional Carry vs Permit Carry.

Most of you will know Shield Arms for their novel 15-round flush-fit magazines for the Glock 43X and 48 pistols. The S15 magazine took what was already a great handgun and turned it into a contender that could keep up with guns released shortly after that featured 12-rounds or more as standard magazine capacities. Now Shield Arms is proud to introduce their new Glock 43X/48 Premium Magwell that is designed to allow for faster reloads and a better grip on the compact-sized slimline handguns.