Plus & Minuses of Concealed Carry

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Harve Curry

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I'm considering getting a concealed carry permit ( I just hate the word permit). I'm in rural New Mexico. Sometimes travel to Arizona, Texas.

What's the consensus of those that have one, your thoughts and experience??

Would other states accept a New Mexico CCW permit?

Can I get a CCW from another state and use it in New Mexico?
 
get a NM permit. That way you can carry in CO, KS, MI, and FL. Those states all require you to have a permit from your home state.

Here is a map to all the states you could carry in with a NM permit.

new_mexico_map.gif
 
Also, if you got a NH permit after you got your NM permit, your carry coverage would look like this. A NH permit is only $20 and takes 10 minutes to apply for.

nm-carry.gif
 
Go to the NM DPS website (www.dps.nm.org). THey have a link to the CCW process on their home page. As I recall both Texas and Arizona have reciprocating arrangements with NM.

The process here in NM is straightforward and the DPS is reasonable cooperative. They do have some odd regulations such as a permittee may only carry one weapon at a time (no back-up).

I have not experienced any down side to pursuing your Constitutional right in NM.

Good luck.
 
I thought about getting the NH non-resident license in addition to my Texas license, until I realized that the only state I pick up is NH. Not really worth it. I guess if I am planning a trip there.

Nebraska is the state that is pissing me off. If they would just pass reciprocity or allow for a non-resident license then it would not be so hard for me to get to SD!
 
What's the consensus of those that have one, your thoughts and experience??
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I've only been carrying for about 8 months now and for me there aren't really any plus or minuses. It's just there. I even forget about it sometimes. It's like being 16 in anticipation of driving. After about 6 months the hype fades quickly. I guess one subconcious plus for me is that now I'm a little better prepared for any grave situation that I might encounter. One minus for me would be having to factor my ccw into clothing options for certain situations.
 
I don't do a lot of concealed carry, but when I want to I really, really want to. When you live along the Mexican border there are times and circumstances when it's advisable.

A license isn't hard to get, and Arizona has provisions for non residents. There is a down-side though. I once had to qualify with some other person who was shooting an SAA revolver... :neener: :D

He did qualify. Made big holes in target, :cool:
 
Always a good idea to have your home states permit.

If you're anywhere near ABQ, or planning a trip in once you've got your paperwork/class done, you can drop your application off in person at the darth vader building near Louisiana and I40.

Robert
 
Although Arizona is a gold star open carry state, the CCW will cover you for for some funny spots in Arizona status and case law. For example, when carrying openly in your car, you may be considered to be carrying concealed if the officer cannot readily see your openly carried sidearm. Also, you won't have to worry about putting on a jacket and having your openly carried sidearm being partially or entirely covered and suddenly becoming a criminal from that act.
 
What's the consensus of those that have one, your thoughts and experience??
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I just got mine in the mail recently (early Feb.).

Is it a little bit more hassle? Truthfully yes, a little bit. It's just one more thing to remember when I leave the house, and my clothing options are a little bit more limited. On the other hand, I already feel naked without it.

What I wasn't prepared for was how much I would spend for good holsters (yes, you'll end up buying more than one), mag carriers, and a good gun belt.
 
Do you carry with your own reloads or buy a major brand ammo for CCW?
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I've done both. The supposed objections to reloads is (1) the primers are usually not sealed against oil, and (2) in the event of a shooting a bottom-feeding lawyer might try to make an issue of your ammo being hand-made to be especially lethal. I don't worry about either issue too much, but when I rolled my own I used special care, and I never use someone else's handloads.

Looking at the above issues, commercial ammunition may be safer and more politically correct, but it isn't necessarily better.

I am not one of those that believes that whatever is the current fad in magic bullets will guarantee I’ll win any confrontation I might get into. Precise bullet placement is a much better option. Any experienced big game hunter will understand what I’m saying.
 
I prefer to carry factory ammo, just for reliability sakes. (I mean honestly, the 1 time in your life you may need to use your CCW, do you want the ammo to fail?) Not saying reloads can't be made reliable, but for the little money spent you may as well use factory.

my 2c
 
Well if extreme care and inspection is used, reloaded ammunition might be more reliable then the commercial kind. For example you occasionally find a cartridge with the primer upside down, or even a case with no flash hole. 100% inspection would prevent this. You also sometimes find a commercial round that won't fully chamber - particularly if a tight chamber(s) are involved. I have known some knowledgeable pros that would remove the barrel from their pistol(s) and use it to guage each round of ammunition they carried to be sure there were no chambering issues.
 
I travelled to NC from MI last July. While in NC I had some spare time and I emailed several large city Chamber of Commerces along I77 and told them--

I will not be stopping for food, gas, lodging or anything else until CCW reciprocity with MI occurs.

Give that a try for Nebraska and I plan on that for WI for my next trip west.
My trip in WI is only about 90 mi and I dont stop..
 
I have a CCW, got it about a year ago, but have yet to ever carry. Live in MN, not much danger here abouts, and I don't need to carry to fill some void in my self-esteem.

Got the CCW for a couple reasons, 1) to help the ratio of permits versus CCW holder gun related events, and 2) in case I ever feel I need to carry it, I will be able to.

So far, in MN at least, there have been almost zero incidents of any illegal action by a CCW with his weapon. (applause), and I haven't had a need to carry.
 
the only reason i see to get one from another state is if they would not honor yours from your home state, AND they would give you one in theirs being a non-resient. go ahead, get one in your own state, it is going to be where you spend 90+% of your time anyway, unless you travel for a living. then you have your homework cut out for you. or just make it simple, become a federal agent!
 
I rarely open carry, and CCW as much as is practical.

It takes a little more thought to consider apparel choices and can be unfortable from time to time. However, it's not so much as to not carry anything.

Always CCW with factory JHP ammo. I prefer Speer Gold Dots, but there are plenty of good ones. FMJ has a far lesser chance of stopping a fight, and a much higher chance of going through the target and into an innocent.

Also, if you are involved in a shooting using your own reloaded ammo, you will be eaten alive for using "special bullets designed exspecially for killing" and you'll be painted as some blood thirsty madman. If you are able to respond that you use store bought ammo, and that it's the same ammo your local police branch carries, it's one less thing they can use against you.
 
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