Welcome to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we looked at why the Glock 19 became the gold standard in the concealed carry market. 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 look at some of the biggest mistakes people make when training and how to bridge the gap between the drills you shoot at the range and carrying your concealed handgun every day. Let's take a closer look at how it can be beneficial to build skills at the range. The Common Trap People Fall IntoOftentimes, we get focused on various drills and range gun setups with not a lot of crossover for actual carry gun training. In a perfect world, it's always best to actually take your carry gun out and train from concealment to put everything together. The reality is somewhat different since most people prefer using a full-size firearm that has every accessory available. The biggest issue is people don't try to use a comparable handgun to what they carry, so there's no common ground between range training and concealed carry. While a double-stack 1911-style handgun certainly allows you to shoot faster than other style handguns, most people will carry a Glock 43X or something similar, which has a different action and trigger entirely. The vast majority of people can shoot their range handguns extremely well, but when it comes to their carry gun, it's not nearly as familiar to them. Even if you put 50-100 rounds a month through your gun after you shoot drills with your range gun, it allows you to familiarize yourself with your actual carry gun rather than a tricked-out range gun that has nothing in common with what you carry for self-defense daily. It seems crazy when you look at the big picture, but this is how most people are. Yesterday I was at the range with a close friend and my red dot died on my regular range handgun. I forgot my maintenance kit back at the house and my red dot battery finally died after three years. I should have replaced it, but I only had my stock Glock 48 and that was the only option to use. Switching to an iron sight carry gun from a red dot range gun is exactly what I'm talking about. I bring up the trap because I talk about the importance of training with your carry gun, but even I fall into this trap of using only a couple of different range guns. Relating Range Training To Carrying I completely understand how time can be limited and you only have once a month to train, which means you have limited time to shoot your handguns while having a meaningful training session. One of the ways is to have a dual-purpose range session. Using the same family of handguns is a great way of still being able to shoot a full-size gun that can translate into your smaller carry gun in terms of controls and trigger feel. Shooting a full-size handgun like a Glock 17 or 34 with your carry gun being a smaller 48 variant will allow you to get the full-size feel and advantages of the extra mass at the range, but still allows you to be familiar since the triggers and overall design and controls remain similar. Of course, the overall size and weight will be different, so naturally the larger handguns will always be easier to control than the smaller concealed carry models, but it won't be drastically different. You can still practice sight picture, trigger manipulation and reloads since everything is almost identical other than overall size. While I know it's not a perfect solution, being able to train with a similar handgun from the same company does allow you to have some crossover if you can't or just won't train with your carry gun. But putting reps through your carry gun will always be the best choice. I cannot tell you how many people I have met who just outright refuse to shoot the actual handgun they carry and instead choose to shoot a larger handgun. Whether it's fear of not shooting as well or just not enjoying it, I don’t understand this thought process, but it's certainly a real dynamic in the concealed carry space. With the SIG P365 and now P385 models, it's even easier to switch out between the grip modules and allow for customizing as well so there's another option to shoot the same family line of pistols to train. There's plenty of options on the market, so even if you refuse to do proper training with your carry gun, there are other options that will cross over. Overall Thoughts When it comes to training for concealed carry, the absolute best way to train is by using your actual carry gun, but for reasons I don't quite understand, some of you just downright refuse to do that, so the next best thing is to find a comparable handgun that's slightly larger so there's some crossover. The other big obstacle to be aware of is falling into the trap of training with a specific type of handgun with a red dot and fully kitted out while your carry gun is a bone stock handgun with iron sights. Training with those two handguns is like apples and cinderblocks, not oranges. They are drastically different and that's why it's important to train with what you actually carry. What do you guys do to train with your carry guns? Let me know your thoughts down in the comment section. 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 in the next edition of Concealed Carry Corner. TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK