7 EDC Lessons I Have Learned

There are plenty of people who have been carrying, or able to carry a firearm daily in their EDC. However, from many of the posts and videos out there, people have either not done much real thinking about how their EDC system works or they don't have enough experience training and using the gear they experience. In my experience, the more you use something and the harder you train with it, the more likely you are to uncover problems. This is what I like to do for my channel and blog. I like to push the limits of my gear and my own capability in order to expose weaknesses. In this article, I am going to share lessons with you that I stumbled upon or realized after making a grave error.

#1- DIVERSITY IN TRAINING

No this is not talking about applying Affirmative Action in training. When you are looking at acquiring training as a responsible citizen, I feel that it is important to train, study, and practice a wide variety of skills. All the skills I am going to list have their own inherent lessons that end up giving you a greater likelihood of survival, which I will list along with the topic.

Force on Force: Gives a realistic sense of what skills are important such as target focus shooting, malfunctions, tactical thinking, constant maneuver, etc.
Basic Infantry Tactics: This will teach planning, risk mitigation, preparation, how to think tactically, and awareness, if you pay attention.
Basic Medical & Trauma Training: If you really need to ask what medical gear you need to carry on your person or in your vehicle, you probably haven't taken a medical trauma course.
Combatives Training: So many people get cocky about having a gun but forget about the risk of being taken to the ground and not even being able to get their gun out of their holster.
Firearms Law Consultation: Many people may have a gun that they carry, but they lack the knowledge of when their use of deadly force will be justified.

These are just a few of the training and study topics I recommend if you are interested in maximizing your ability to competently defend yourself and others. Getting training is not enough though. You have to constantly build on what you learned and practice techniques to a boring level of proficiency. It isn't glamorous, but I find it fun to build myself and maximize my capabilities. The classes may cost money, but practicing among yourself afterwards is free and only requires time and imagination that can involve the whole family. Families that prepare to fight together, stay together, right?

#2- BRAINSTORM GEAR POST-TRAINING

I can't tell you how many times I have bought guns and gear before training because I thought I would just copy someone else's example. For example, after medical trauma training, you will know exactly what kind of medical gear you will need for the medical issues you are trying to prepare for. Further you will understand the principles of medical treatment and be capable of improvising. This is why training is the first thing on the list. Knowledge weighs nothing and it gives you more value to your family and community.

#3- SELECTIVE EDC CLOTHING

In my opinion, the clothing you wear can make or break your EDC system. You may have a sweet pocket trauma kit and a great pistol, but without the proper clothing on, you may be so uncomfortable and stiff carrying all your crap that you just forego carrying certain stuff everyday. Thus you will be turning the acronym EDC (Every Day Carry) into MDC or Most Days Carry.

#4- FREE YOUR GUN HAND

Your gun hand is your life. Your gun hand should always be empty and ready if you should need to fight. Do not let your family block it or restrain it in any way. Do not hold things unnecessarily in your gun hand such as children, a phone, or a family members hand. In my own system, the only items stored on my gun side are items like keys or a knife, which can act as weapons in lieu of having access to your pistol. Time is life when your life is on the line, so don't add seconds by occupying your gun hand.

#5- GUN SIZE VARIETY

I have learned over the years that it is damn near impossible to have a single gun that is good to carry all day, all year around. I have found it handy to have a small gun like an M&P Shield for quick runs to the store or even for maximum concealment on a date night. I have also found it useful to have a midsize gun the size of a Glock 19 that is okay for concealment, but adds capacity and shootability for when I am going to be out for a long day or I am going far from home on a drive. Try to make sure your EDC system has more to do with categorical consistency rather than strict item adherence. If you are rigid in your EDC pistol choice, you will lack versatility and ultimately just lack a capability to function in society and blend in. This is how you fail yourself with your EDC system. Be flexible in specifics but never in category.

#6- UTILITY KNIVES DON'T FIGHT WELL

There are alot of people that choose to carry folding utility knives for defense but also as a utility knife. i can tell you right now that I carry a knife for utility purposes. However, I also know it CAN be used as a defensive option. However, if you are carrying a folding knife for defense, you may want to upgrade to a fixed blade option so that the knife works better for its intended role and doesn't require work before usage such as opening the blade. If you have ever had to go hands-on with someone and got to the point that you started really losing, you would know that this is the worst time to have to work on opening a blade.

#7- HANDHELD LIGHT ONLY

When I have conducted low or no light training, I found that having a handheld light was much more useful than a weapon mounted light for concealed carry. First off, a light is for gathering information and identification. Once you pull out your pistol, you will rarely find it prudent to switch to a weapon light. When the shooting is over and there are no more threats, do you think it is wise to use the light on your gun to check your surroundings by waving it around everywhere? Probably not. Plus, you lose concealability and add weight and a procedure that you have to spend more time than necessary mastering such as transitioning from a handheld to a weapon mounted light. This is unnecessary and you will find this to be a bit more work than it is worth in force on force training.

SUMMARY

I feel like I could go on for a long time about all the little stuff I have learned and picked up through training, practice, and experience. These are just some of the highlights that I feel most people tend to neglect through blindly running through the motions at training or just never having had training or experience facing real violence. This just means that people typically have fantasies about how they will respond or what dream scenario they will face. A good training course with realistic balls to the wall worst case scenario training is the best option if you want your moneys worth IMO.