As internet firearms guides go, this one from the Alien Gear blog isn’t bad. The font is hard to view, though, and needs to be updated.

There are hundreds of very usable holsters and thousands of functional holster and holster retainment (i.e., belt) combinations. Find the combo and weapon body placement that’s best for you to carry a firearm every day. Some folks have different carry options and even different guns depending upon the environment, weather, location, and other limiting factors.

In the video below, the number one mistake is the worst type regardless of how you try to possess a weapon; never give up!

Accepting segregation as a general philosophy, I choose not to go where prohibition doesn’t allow guns. You don’t like my kind, and I don’t like your kind; that’s fair. As to the law, well, let’s not make stupid self-incriminating statements. But in either case, there are ways to safely and securely carry almost anywhere.

Also, see The Beginner’s Guide to Concealed Carry, and not exactly a definitive but informative guide.

This topic is important to me because I’ve had five or so concealed carry guns and nine or ten holsters. I spent money I shouldn’t have to find the right weapon and manner of carry for me. Most of the training about how to find a carry gun is terrible, as the video points out.

He waits until the 13th minute to discuss what really should be the very first thing any trainer touches on with regard to this topic. If you want newbies to have fun and be comfortable, that’s a good start but what we want in order to make new freedom lovers who take the defense of self and family seriously is confidence.

Building confidence from the start is key. If somebody with minimal experience doesn’t have confidence in the weapon and themselves, they won’t practice or carry the firearm.

The first confidence-building step is to rent guns, lots of them, to find the one they can hit with. This might mean more than one trip to the range, returning to narrow down the two or three that seemed good to the new shooter.

We should never talk new shooters into buying features they don’t want, such as safety, specific types of sights, caliber, etc. Speaking of which, caliber doesn’t matter if they have no confidence in the gun and no confidence in their ability with it because they won’t carry it in that case. A small caliber gun you can hit with and have confidence in is better than a bazooka left in the safe because you won’t carry it.

How a firearm feels in your hand is a sales counter technique, not a serious-minded way to find the right gun. You must shoot the guns to find the one you will have confidence in and carry every day.

He does address the ability to hit, draw-ability, and biomechanics, but really, the ability to hit is primary because from that comes the confidence to practice all other aspects. Even if you’ve owned several handguns, rent, before your next concealed carry purchase, rent several firearms.

Be flexible in how you will carry. Most people get a picture in their mind of how they will carry; then they buy the tools for that style only to find it doesn’t fit their job, or around children, any number of factors, or it hurts their back, etc. Find the gun you can shoot, then find the carry method for that gun that is appropriate for your life circumstances.

I ended up going with outside the waistband carry under an untucked shirt because that’s the best way for me to carry the weapon I can hit with. I never wanted to or thought I would end up carrying this way. But I can draw and hit; confidence in shooting is why I carry what I do the way I do. I don’t care one iota what gun or holster or carry method or caliber or features all the counter salesmen and high-speed operators think are good, and neither should any newer shooter. Find what works for you through actual shooting!

The video shows a lot of guns and a lot of information, but there are nuggets of good info.