Shooting Tips

5 Appendix Carry Tips

By Tom McHale|2023-09-15T09:33:27-04:00September 15th, 2023|

When I embarked on a multi-month experiment to see what all the fuss was about with appendix carry, I encountered the exact same challenges you describe. Now, I carry a full-size, double-stack Staccato P model 2011 appendix every day, even while sitting and spending hours in the car.

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The Art of Reviewing a Semi-Auto Pistol – American Handgunner

By Tom McHale|2023-08-25T10:03:11-04:00June 7th, 2023|

Reviewing guns is 38% objective, 54% subjective, and 93% opinion. Those of you who aced Trigonometry might have figured out we blew right past the 100% limit, but that just goes to show that evaluating a gun isn’t an entirely quantifiable exercise. Now that I think about it, there is a word for a perfectly objective gun review. Specifications.

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False Assumptions! You Most Certainly Can Carry a Larger Gun

By Tom McHale|2023-06-06T10:25:06-04:00June 6th, 2023|

I’m saying you can carry a larger gun concealed — every day even. To be clear, I’m not talking about one more powerful or in a larger caliber. I’m talking about a handgun physically bigger than the pocket micro mini subatomic ultra-compacts all the rage these days.

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How Do Your Concealed Carry Team Skills Stack Up? Team Tactics: Pernicious Pas De Deux

By Tom McHale|2023-03-13T10:03:50-04:00March 13th, 2023|

Humans are naturally confident, bordering on arrogant. In our minds, we’ve got all the correct answers, and for those situations we haven’t yet experienced, we assume we’ll make the right choices on the fly. We’re awesome like that.Gunfighting schools, on the other hand, are a force created by the universe to expose and counterbalance our genetic hubris. These diametrically opposed forces of nature are like gravity and orbital velocity — the reasons our hunk of rock topped with flawed humanity doesn’t crash into the sun or zoom past Pluto.

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Less-Offensive EDC Tools

By Tom McHale|2023-03-06T09:18:15-05:00March 6th, 2023|

The parking garage was darker than normal. That light at the top of the stairwell was busted. No surprise, if the public bathroom on the ground floor is any indication, maintenance in the city’s public parking garages takes a distant second place to fixing that pothole at the end of 2nd Street. No reason to panic … yet. Nothing unusual about the light being smashed given the copious scrolls of graffiti on the walls.

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American Handgunner Carry Options DeSantis OWB Season Leather – American Handgunner

By Tom McHale|2023-02-21T12:11:18-05:00February 21st, 2023|

Winter is here, so for me, it’s outside-the-waistband (OWB) carry season — at least some of the time. While I generally make more use of Kydex for IWB carry here in the humidity capital of the world (leather can get sticky on the draw when moist, and yes, I hate that word), the cooler months offer an opportunity to easily conceal a full-size pistol with classic OWB leather.

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Tactical Foolery Or Effective Concealment?

By Tom McHale|2023-01-10T20:35:15-05:00January 10th, 2023|

It seems all the “cool kids” are carrying concealed in the appendix position these days. You know, the guys with beards, high-speed, low-drag instructors and all manner of serious gun folk. So, is it a “tacti-cool” fad or a responsible and effective method of everyday concealed carry?

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5-Point 1911 Safety Check: Is Your Gun Safe?

By Tom McHale|2022-12-27T10:30:13-05:00December 27th, 2022|

If I had to wager, I’d wager at least 10% of the 1911s I’ve worked on over the decades have had safety issues. Some were even new guns. If I just think about well-used 1911s, I’m betting the percentage is more like 15% or even 20% — especially gun show “parts” gun amateurs often assemble. Not long ago a friend brought me a foreign 1911 (an Argentinian “Sistema” Colt clone) saying it needed some work. No fooling.

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Gun Cranks Podcast: Then And Now: Our Concealed Carry Journey

By Tom McHale|2022-12-20T07:58:15-05:00December 20th, 2022|

What was your first carry gun? Tom McHale, Ashley McGee, and Nic Lenze discuss where they started, what they carry now, and how clueless husbands can be.

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Top 10 Tips For Urban Survival

By Tom McHale|2022-12-20T07:54:35-05:00December 20th, 2022|

Some people are naturally observant. I’m not one of them. My wife can sprint through a crowded airport on a holiday weekend wearing noise-canceling headphones and then proceed to describe everyone there, who has middle seats on their next flight and which of their kids are taking violin lessons. On the other hand, I could trip over Jabba the Hut playing “I Am the Walrus” on a set of kettledrums and not notice. What’s the moral of the story? I have to work at situational awareness. No, I mean it. I deliberately have to “switch on” when I’m out and about or the world will pass me by while I remain blissfully unaware. As a result, I’ve had to learn and develop some techniques and hacks to help me spot potentially dangerous anomalies and lifesaving opportunities during my daily travels. Maybe some of these strategies will help you too.

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