There is a lot more to armed self defense that carrying a gun. In the context of modern defensive pistol training, Col. Jeff Cooper’s Combat Triad is one of the earlier, if not the first, attempt at unifying multiple facets in a unified foundational concept. The concept was illustrated as an equilateral triangle made up of marksmanship, gun handling, and combat mindset as a base. There have been several adaptations to this concept since it was introduced which for the most part cover the same aspects presented in different ways. While all of this is important when it comes to armed defense, the skills, abilities, and tactics aren’t nearly as beneficial if the proper self defense tools aren’t accessible immediately when they are needed. Hence the title of this post: Always. Be. Carrying.

The concept isn’t hard. It’s actually quite simple and is often summed up as the first rule of a gun fight. Which is, have a gun. Yet, as simple and as obvious the rule and concept are, it no longer amazes me at how often I learn that, for some reason or other, folks, who can’t carry, don’t. At least not all the time they are legally allowed to do so.

It’s worth pointing out that for a long time I was amazed when I learned that someone who could wasn’t carrying at that moment. To this day I can’t wrap my head around the rationale behind that decision. It is mental gymnastics that I simply can not carry out because when trouble comes a knockin’ it isn’t going to make an appointment or provide any sort of advanced notice short of being able to identify it early through situational awareness. While I still can’t do the mental gymnastics, I am no longer surprised because I see the decision not to carry occur with high frequency. I suppose I could say I’ve become desensitized to it.

Let’s look at some of the common rationalizations I hear when folks attempt to explain their decision not to carry when they could otherwise be.

I’m just going down the street to…

This is the most common answer I get when I ask folks why they don’t carry when they leave their home. They are just making a quick trip to a location to perform a fast task and won’t be gone that long. As if distance or time has any bearing on a criminal who selects them as a victim.

I’m sorry but a criminal is not going to know how long their victim has been out and about. They are also not going to know how far their victim has wandered from the comfort of their home. Nor is a criminal going to care.

Once you are selected as a victim, that’s it – you are the target and you will have to deal with using your skills, abilities, and tactics along with whatever tools you have at your immediate disposal. There are no do overs here. There will be no opportunity to go home and retrieve the tools that were left behind.

Always. Be. Carrying.

My gun is too bulky…

Larger heavy pistols aren’t easy to conceal. Even when they are concealed or when one opts to open carry, they can be uncomfortable or start feeling heavy when worn for extended periods of time. This can make the task of donning it feel laborious or daunting which in turns leads one to decide to leave it at home.

Unfortunately, this brings us back to the exact same problem risk as the short distance and short duration logic. The criminal isn’t going to know or care why your defensive pistol was left at home. It’s not their problem. It’s yours.

I get it. I do. And guess what? It’s time to buy another carry gun. I suggest considering the qualities of a defensive handgun before going and making that purchase to minimize the risk of acquiring yet another dust collector. You want a pistol that is reliable, effective, portable, and easy to use.

If comfort wasn’t the driver, but was driven by conceal-ability due to the permissiveness of the environment, then it’s worth spending sometime becoming better versed with concealment techniques and options which may be sufficient to keep one from leaving their existing carry gun at home next time. In some cases, it may still warrant a smaller, and likely harder to shoot well, handgun for these specific scenarios.

Always. Be. Carrying.

My gun or holster is uncomfortable…

Every time I hear this line of reasoning, I am reminded of a saying that is often attributed to Clint Smith…

A gun isn’t supposed to be comfortable. It’s supposed to be comforting.

Clint Smith, probably

While I hold a similar opinion, I too prefer comfortable carry over uncomfortable carry. I also recognize that discomfort can be fuel that facilitates the decision to leave the carry pistol at home. Especially during those short distance and quick duration outings that we’ve already discussed. Further more, discomfort isn’t always due to bulk. In many cases, discomfort comes from hotspots created by the holster combined with the carry method.

Improved comfort starts by ensuring we are using a well designed, high quality holster. However, that isn’t always enough. As such, comfort can be further increased by customizing the holster with foam padding and making adjustments to where and how the holster is worn. A great resource of this is PHLSTER Holsters. More specifically, their wedge kit for padding and their freely available guide covering the basics of concealment mechanics.

Working through the comfort issues may take some time, but it’s a worthwhile endeavor. Especially if comfort, or rather lack thereof, is justification for leaving the carry gun at home.

Always. Be. Carrying.

I only carry when I go to dangerous places

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s far more prudent to avoid dangerous places altogether. After all, don’t dangerous places violate one of John Farnam’s rules of stupid?

Don’t go to stupid places.

Don’t associate with stupid people.

Don’t do stupid things.

John Farnam, Rules of Stupid

Dangerous places can’t always be avoided though. It is also possible to inadvertently or unknowingly pass through or end up in a dangerous place. Regardless, there is no such thing as a violent crime free zone. Sure there are places where violent crimes are less likely, but counting on luck is a dangerous game to play with very high stakes. Frankly, not carrying when one otherwise could is arguably a stupid thing to do which also violates one of Farnam’s rules of stupid.

There is one more saying that comes to mind and that is: “The world is a dangerous place.”

Always. Be. Carrying.

But I’m at home

Our home is our sacred castle. It’s a place where we rest, eat, and celebrate. It’s a place we consider safe. It’s also a place where we want to be and often get comfortable. The thing is no matter what steps we take to secure and fortify our homes, stuff happens. Including home invasions.

More often than not, when the topic of home invasions is brought up, this rationale is followed with the discussion of safe rooms or staged weapons in the form of: “I’ll just go to such and such place and grab my such and such firearm.” That’s great! I’m all for safe rooms and staged home defense weapons.

However, I think there number of folks who live in a home where a firearm is easily accessible and within reach at all times regardless of what they are doing is the exception rather than the rule. As such, there is always a chance, however remote, that at the moment of a home invasion (or some other violent incident) the deadly threat may be blocking the path to the staged weaponry forcing us to rely on whatever we have on our person.

While I prefer and suggest folks keep their defensive carry handgun on their person at all possible times including in their own home, it’s worth considering having a small, light, extremely comfortable home carry handgun that can be used to fight one’s way to a more effective home defense tool. Something akin to a snub nose J-frame revolver. The caveat here is that whatever is chosen merits developing proficiency with at least to the level of competence.

Always. Be. Carrying.

Like putting on a seat belt when we get into a vehicle, donning the carry gun as soon as possible after waking up and only doffing it when it is absolutely necessary to do so is a precaution against the possibly of a violent and deadly encounter. The hope and the likely outcome is that the handgun will not need to be used that day. However, today might just be the day it is needed. And that is a statistical reality.

In his book, Concealed Carry Class: The ABCs of Self-Defense Tools and Tactics (2019), Tom Givens shares that out of the thousands of students that have been through Rangemaster’s training, there had been, at the time of publishing, 67 student use of force incidents resulting in 64 wins, zero loses, and three forfeits. When I attended his Combative Pistol course, I learned that the three forfeits were incidents where the student had left their gun at home when they found themselves in an unexpected situation where use of force was the only answer. Sadly those students forfeited their lives.

While there was no guarantee of a win had those students had their guns on them at that time, the tally of 64-0-3 suggests their odds would have been much better. This is further evidenced by more recent student incident numbers presented in the Rangemaster Instructor Development courses I attended in 2023 and 2024. If memory serves me right, then the most recent tally I heard was 72-0-3.

Those tallies suggest two important things. The first is that with adequate skill and tactics the likelihood of winning a defensive gunfight increases dramatically. To be clear, winning includes staying alive, staying out of jail, and staying out of the poorhouse which further highlights the importance of quality armed self defense training. The second important thing suggested is that the likelihood of forfeiting a gunfight increases when the gun is left at home.

To reiterate: Always. Be. Carrying.