# Concealed Carry Carry Handgun class

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concealed-carry-carry-handgun-class/617484>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 1, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concealed-carry-carry-handgun-class/617484 "2012-04-01T15:48:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concealed-carry-carry-handgun-class/617484/41 "2012-04-06T12:38:55Z")

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> [@Lumpy](#):
>
> If keeping the gun away from kids, visitors, etc. is necessary you should get a gun vault with quick-open combination buttons. I have one and I’ve made sure I can find the buttons and push the combination by feel in the dark. Cable locks and keeping the gun unloaded should be only for firearms you don’t intend to have available in an emergency. Modern firearms are safe to keep a round chambered; if you need a gun you may need it fast.

We have three children, ages 14, 13, and 9. Here’s what I’ve done, and it works well for us. We’ve never had any problems. YMMV.

1. All guns in the house are unloaded. No exceptions.
2. No guns are hidden.
3. No guns are locked up.
4. Ammo is often within easy reach.

If there’s an “uninvited guest,” I load a weapon with a mag.

Even though this works for us, I do _not_ suggest it for others. In order for this to “work”, you need to raise children around firearms and get them shooting at an early age. In our household, guns hold no mystery; they are as ubiquitous as furniture.

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**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concealed-carry-carry-handgun-class/617484/42 "2012-04-06T12:44:08Z")

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> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> This is why I don’t carry a .45.
> 
> If I’m going to carry a handgun for self defense, I need to become proficient with it, obviously. I can’t afford to become proficient with a .45. (Well, I suppose I \*can \*afford it, but I really don’t want to shell out those kind of bucks.) Which means I shouldn’t carry a .45. By contrast, I \*can \*afford to become proficient with a 9 mm, hence the reason I carry a 9 mm.

If most practice is conducted using the. 22lr, one can afford to become proficient with just about anything. The core group of skills remains the same regardless of the gun’s caliber and those skills can be developed and maintained with a. 22lr. If you are skilled with the. 22 then the larger calibers can be picked up quickly. If you are burning center fire ammo just learning basic skills, then I imagine lots of cartridges, most of them in fact, are too expensive to learn to shoot well.

Final thought: dry fire, except for the initial cost of a snap cap, is free.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concealed-carry-carry-handgun-class/617484/43 "2012-04-06T12:58:54Z")

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> [@Scumpup](#):
>
> If most practice is conducted using the. 22lr, one can afford to become proficient with just about anything.

That’s my plan, previously learned on the 'Dope.

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