Your Obligation to Bare Arms — Part III: If You Carry, You Must Train
Carrying a firearm, open or concealed, is not the finish line. It’s the starting pistol (pun intended). If you choose to carry, you owe the people around you competence: safe gun handling, sound legal judgment, performance under stress, and most importantly, the self-control and willpower to know when NOT to act. That standard doesn’t come from gear. It comes from training and repetition.
Why training isn’t optional
1) Safety isn’t “common sense.” It’s a learned, repeatable behavior.
The core rules of safe handling and secure storage are simple, but they only become automatic through practice. Industry programs like NSSF’s Project ChildSafe exist for a reason: preventable errors still happen when people skip fundamentals. Train the rules until they’re reflexive at home, in your vehicle, and on the range.
2) Real events unfold faster than your untrained brain.
Under stress, perception, decision, and motor response are racing a clock you don’t control. Force-science research documents how quickly a lethal threat can appear and change, and why practiced mechanics and pre-planned decision points matter. You are accountable for every round you fire, and you don’t rise to the occasion; you default to your training.
3) You’re responsible for outcomes, not intentions.
National data remind us that injuries from firearms are a public-health problem with real victims. Your obligation as a carrier is to reduce risk, not add to it. That starts with training, ongoing practice, and locking down storage and transport.
The legal piece you can’t ignore
“Reasonableness” is the heartbeat of self-defense law. Prosecutors, juries, and grand juries look at whether your perceptions and actions were those of a reasonable, prudent person in the same circumstances. That includes what you did before the shot: avoidance, de-escalation, identification of the threat, awareness of bystanders, and choice of force. Federal guidance for active-threat situations emphasizes exactly that sequencing: escape if you can, hide if you must, and fight only as a last resort. Civilian carriers should be trained to the same decision ladder.
States differ on details like duty to retreat, signage, prohibited locations, and reciprocity changes. Build a habit of checking a current, reputable reciprocity map and confirming with the destination state’s official page every time you travel.
What “good training” covers
A competent defensive-pistol course should include, at a minimum:
Safety & handling: draw-stroke, ready positions, muzzle discipline, trigger management, and secure storage practices that work in your real life.
Marksmanship under time: hits on demand from concealment, one-handed control, reloads, and malfunction clearance at realistic distances.
Movement & environment: use of cover, positional shooting, and managing unknown contacts.
Decision-making: shoot/no-shoot judgment, threat identification, and post-incident actions (call sequence, scene security, interaction with responders). DHS/FBI materials are a good baseline for “what right looks like” in active-threat events.
Medical: tourniquet application and basic trauma management until EMS arrives.
Law & policy: state-specific carry rules, transport, signage, and what changes when you cross state lines. Use an updated reciprocity tool, then verify with the state’s official site.
Evidence note: policy-review work suggests that requiring live-fire training as part of permitting can be associated with lower violence in some contexts. Regardless of mandates, voluntary, high-quality training is the responsible standard for everyday carriers.
Your quarterly training plan
If you carry daily, treat training like any other perishable skill.
Monthly (live fire, 1 session):
Confirm zero/POA-POI at your chosen distance.
From concealment: 10 reps each of draw-to-first-shot at 3, 5, 7 yards with a performance-standard par time.
20 rounds of controlled pairs from concealment with a 2-second par at 5–7 yards.
10 one-handed strings (strong and supportive).
6 malfunction drills (tap-rack, rip-work, and slide-lock reloads).
Weekly (dry practice, 2× 10–12 minutes):
20 clean draws to a sight picture on a 3×5 card at chest height.
10 one-hand draws each side.
10 reload reps and 10 “eyes-then-gun” reps from a staged position.
Quarterly (scenario & medical):
One force-on-paper or simulator session focused on judgment calls.
15 minutes of tourniquet reps on both arms and a leg.
Review state-law changes and reciprocity before any travel.
Log everything. A written record makes progress visible and exposes weaknesses you can actually fix.
[ Use our range log book, available on Amazon ]
Standards to hold yourself to
Safety: zero administrative gun handling without an intentional, named process.
Speed with control: first accurate hit from concealment inside 2.0 seconds at 7 yards is a responsible baseline for many carriers.
Accountability: all A-zone hits at 7–10 yards on demand; no-shoots untouched in judgment drills.
Knowledge: you can explain, in one sentence, why you carried there, why you drew, and why you pressed the trigger. If you can’t articulate it cleanly on paper, you won’t do better under adrenaline.
Final word
If you carry, you must train. Not because someone may mandate it, but because the responsibility you’ve chosen demands it. Safety, judgment, and performance aren’t accessories. They’re the whole point.
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Sources
Safety & storage: NSSF, “10 Rules of Firearms Safety”; Project ChildSafe program overview. NSSF
Public-safety context: CDC, “Fast Facts: Firearm Injury and Death.” CDC
Decision ladder & active-threat response: DHS, Active Shooter: How to Respond and quick-reference poster; FBI, Active Shooter Safety Resources. DHS
Force-science timing & performance under stress: Force Science Institute analyses on reaction time and decision cycles. Force Science
Travel & reciprocity checks: USCCA Reciprocity Map and state-verification workflow. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Policy evidence on training requirements: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions summary; RAND Gun Policy Review on training requirements and concealed-carry effects. Johns Hopkins Public Health
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