This summer has been amazing, I have done some great stuff with the family and on my own. A lot of folks talk a good game about being armed all the time, so I put my money where my mouth and had a blast.
Blastalicious
So, what did I do that was so “blastalicious”…..(new word cool points). I spent a lot of time participating in recreational sports and yes, I was armed. That took it to a whole new level and the lessons learned were pretty amazing. It is one thing to go about your day in a leisurely manner, walking to your vehicle, sitting at your desk or committing to and from work. While all part of the normal daily carry modals they can sometimes give us only a partial view of what may or may not work under light to medium activity.
Put your money where your mouth is
First off, all the activities I participated were with my family and that is the point, I wanted to be armed. Second, the activities were all performed legally. So, here is the list of three activities I participated in that were not only fun, but challenging to conceal. I went bowling, golfing and believe it or not stand-up paddle boarding. Each of these posed a unique set of circumstances that challenged my equipment and clothing selections. The default firearm for all of them was a compact Glock, either my Glock 19 or my Glock 43. The golfing I think provided the most challenging experience due to the proximity of other folks outside of family around me as I had to change my holster selection and location completely. The bowling was a challenge, but I had done it before so not too bad. Yes, I was out on a stand-up paddle board with my Glock 19 and yes, it got wet on more than one occasion. Why? Why not, actually I just wanted to see how I would do it and if it would work. Kind of a big gamble since if my holster selection didn’t work out I could lose the damn pistol, but I felt pretty confident.
Give and take
Aside from the fact that I wanted to be armed with my family why would I go to these extremes to carry concealed. The biggest reason would simply be to validate a few ideas I had and again to live my life and not let my life be limited because I wanted to be armed. Albeit some locations prohibit firearms on their property so you will have to be certain you are not breaking the law, but if I wanted to enjoy this summer I had to make a few concessions.
Live your life
Plus, I don’t want to be a spectator in my own life (read more here), I want to get out there and do things. When I hear guys go through their load out on what they carry on a daily basis I kind of laugh, don’t think I don’t get it of course, but still I got to laugh a little. Before folks get all butt hurt, this exercise was invaluable at proofing concepts such as my ability to conceal during light to moderate activity. Second, it tested the retention of my equipment under light to moderate activity. I’ll admit the SUP concealment option once wet wasn’t too concealed as my t-shirt while weighted from the water layer on the slide and made it a little easy to pick up, but since I was out in the water and there wasn’t many folks around it wasn’t a game-ender and I just had to be aware when I went ashore.
I sincerely doubt many have tested their options in this manner and while I’m not suggesting you go out and do something crazy, at least take the time to run a little, do some burpees to learn about your gear.
