Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about how to carry concealed on a motorcycle. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to take a deeper dive into some of the issues we all seem to run into when traveling and where these issues are most common when carrying a concealed handgun. Let's take a closer look at navigating unwelcoming gun areas. Urban Areas When you travel into highly dense urban areas, there is a lot more resistance to having someone walking around with a concealed handgun. If you live out in rural parts of the country or even the suburbs of America, seeing people with firearms isn't a really shocking sight, with plenty of law-abiding citizens carrying and having firearms on their property. As soon as you go into heavily populated areas, though, things change for sure and people aren't nearly as open-minded or understanding when it comes to firearms. Most people who live in dense urban areas don't understand the importance of gun ownership and when these individuals see a firearm, they immediately associate it with someone breaking the law or being less desirable. Having anything like a gun-related shirt or various firearm brand apparel can bring unwanted attention to yourself when in highly populated areas. This is when it really pays off to dress nonchalantly and have generic regular clothing that blends in with everyone else. The gray man aspect is pretty much played out at this point, but that concept of dressing to blend in and not bring attention to yourself really does pay off here. I’ve said it in past articles as well and I'll say it again: being kind and the best version of yourself also helps out a ton. Getting doors for people, smiling and just being outgoing in general disarms people most times and they don't suspect anything just by being kind or doing something helpful for them. It may seem oversimplified, but it's really that easy to blend in. Most people have this preconceived notion that people with firearms are straight out of action movies who are straight-faced, tough and show no emotion, so just doing something as simple as a smile can throw them off. The People Who Live In Urban AreasThe biggest issue with carrying a high in urban areas is the fact that most people have had almost zero interactions with firearms. Concealment and keeping your gun hidden is the absolute best way to go when it comes to carrying in cities or densely populated areas. The less they know, the better, because most individuals in the city will immediately call the police if they see anything to do with a firearm, especially in the higher-income areas. The last thing you want is having the police asking questions about what you're doing with a concealed firearm and potentially charging you with brandishing. It sounds crazy, but stranger things have happened and it's key to make sure your handgun is absolutely concealed at all times when you go into populated areas. The vast majority of times you carry, if you remain confident and don't bring attention to your gun in any way, 99% of people will never suspect or wonder if you're carrying a firearm. Confidence is key and knowing that your gun is concealed really is the only thing you need to disarm someone's curiosity. New people in the concealed space will overthink and check their gun or make sure it's concealed, which isn't a bad thing, but they do it too often, ultimately bringing attention to their firearm and raising suspicion. Check it once throughout your errands and be done with it. If it's concealed when you check it, there's no need to check it 3-4 more times. Unsupportive Spouses or FriendsThis is one of the toughest situations and oftentimes will get a split reaction down in the comments section. If you have supportive friends or family members who are against carrying guns, it's usually best to avoid carrying around them entirely. Going into a family member's house carrying a concealed handgun without their permission is really a gray area and bad practice all around. It's best to either avoid the situation or leave your gun at home, sadly. When things get really tricky, though, is when your spouse can cause some real issues that aren't always easy to fix since it's the one person in your life that you're with constantly. The best way I have found to avoid an issue is just to slip into a bathroom before you leave and throw your gun on and just come out ready to run your errands. Don't bring attention to it and in most cases they won't even realize you have a firearm on and they won't make a fuss about things. So many guys want to have this power struggle argument and say I'm going to carry rather than just strapping your gun on in private and having them unsuspecting that anything is off. It's much easier to avoid any type of strange argument this way and ultimately makes your life easier. Overall ThoughtsWhen it comes to carrying in unwelcoming areas for guns, it can be tricky to learn the ropes, but it's certainly not impossible. So many guys I know will avoid carrying and go without their gun because it's too overwhelming or intimidating to confidently take their gun. With the right amount of confidence and thinking ahead, it shouldn't be a problem or stressful to carry in highly populated areas ever again.Let me know what some things you guys do when carrying in populated areas in the comments below. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK