NOTE: USCCA Customer Engagement team members get a lot of questions, and they pass a good number of them along to Concealed Carry Magazine Senior Editor Ed Combs. If you have a question, you can either ask it below or email it to editor@usconcealedcarry.com. We, of course, cannot guarantee answers to all questions — Ed’s a pretty busy guy — but we’d love to help you out with whatever’s stumping you.

Jared Blohm
Managing Editor
Concealed Carry Magazine

What are your BB Gun top picks?

There are two main considerations when choosing an air pistol, and I am forced to assume you’re asking this question in the context of self-defense training.

First, if you are buying it as a training aide, try to find one as close to your EDC gun as you can — feel, weight, sights, the works. The reps you will put in with that training gun should be as useful as possible. That’s tough to do when you train on a Beretta 92 clone but carry a J-frame.

Second, you will get what you pay for — and get it good and hard. I’ve fired countless pellet and BB guns over the last few decades. The only constant I’ve personally noticed is that if it sells through a catalog for $39.99 or three for $100, it will disappoint you if what you’re expecting is an air gun that will actually hit what you’re shooting at. This has been my experience even in the cases of big-name firms licensing their names to lesser manufacturers.

If, however, all you’re after is something that will spit a projectile every time you press the gritty, creepy trigger, understand that it will be hard for you to gauge whether you’re using proper form and technique. For super-close-quarters training, even an airsoft pistol will do. But once you get out past about 5 yards, you’re going to have to spend almost like you would on a firearm if you intend to be able to track your progress. It doesn’t seem like you should have to spend $200 or $300 for a quality training BB-bopper, but that’s unfortunately been my experience.

What is the best way to draw a firearm from under heavy winter clothing?

This will vary significantly depending on how the firearm is being carried. Whether from a traditional IWB position behind the hip or from appendix IWB (and whether we’re talking about a right- or left-handed draw), the technique will basically be a slightly more intense version of drawing from a lighter covering garment. Regardless if you use the thumb on your draw hand or use the entire off- or draw hand, you’re going to pull the garment up and off of the gun and then draw as you normally would.

There are, however, two big traps to avoid:

  • Do not switch your pocket carry over to a jacket pocket. Unless you truly will not be removing that jacket until you get back into your vehicle or residence, it can be very risky to carry a firearm in a jacket pocket. Remember, you need to be in control of that loaded gun at all times, and leaving it on the back of your chair in a restaurant as you go to the restroom isn’t going to cut it.
  • Beware of the little plastic toggles on the waists of outerwear. They are notorious for assisting in negligent discharges with striker-fired-style triggers and even long double-action triggers. Firearms can’t tell the difference between human fingers and small pieces of plastic designed to adjust drawstrings. I universally remove them from all of my clothing, and I recommend that you do the same. And as always, holster that firearm cautiously and deliberately.

For further reading on winter concealed carry, check out, “The Ultimate Guide to Dressing for Concealed Carry, Part 1: Cold Weather,” by the U.S. Concealed Carry Association.

If I am forced to evacuate my home, what are some ways I can safeguard my firearms?

This is either going to be simple or a real bear.

If, like millions of Americans, you own a single handgun and no long guns, you can toss the pistol or revolver in your bag with the few boxes of ammo you keep on hand and get on down the road. You can even get away with this method with several handguns and a few long guns. Just make sure to keep them covered with a blanket or other luggage so they are not visible from outside the vehicle as you go about your business. I’ve had excellent luck transporting multiple cased long guns in a golf club travel bag acquired from the thrift store, but even wrapping them in blankets will do in a pinch.

If you own anywhere from several to several hundred firearms and have more individual rounds of ammunition than individual baked beans in your residence, you will have to accept that you will not be bringing everything with you. If you have guns that you cherish but basically never use, it’s time to look into some long-term storage solutions like the bags from Zerust and other options available from retailers like Brownells. These are bags that are specifically designed to prevent corrosion over the long haul. If your residence gets flooded, they’ll give a lot more protection to your guns than just sitting in the safe. The few hundred bucks you spend to bag up all of the firearms you won’t be carrying with you before heading for higher ground may well pay for themselves many times over.

Speaking of safes: They’re always a good idea for storing all of the guns you aren’t immediately wearing. Most models deter curious kids and opportunistic burglars. Until you start spending like you really mean it, the average big-box store locker or safe can be chopped open with an axe or opened like a can of sardines with a Harbor Freight angle-grinder. Your biggest assets in keeping your guns safe are discretion — as in not broadcasting the fact that there are firearms in your residence — and living in an area that is not prone to looters. The former is a lot easier to swing than the latter, I know, but it is an unfortunate reality.

Other than that, if you can get them all into a vehicle and know where you’re taking them is safe, do so. If not, you may be better off leaving them locked up in your residence until you return. Only you are going to be able to make that call. One thing I can guarantee you though is that if the thought of leaving your guns locked up in your residence and leaving town disturbs you, then you need to start planning to secure them now, while there’s plenty of time to get everything lined up and anchored to the foundation.

About Ed Combs

Ed Combs is senior editor of Concealed Carry Magazine and a former educator and law enforcement officer.