Starting My Concealed Journey
Welcome to the #stylemecommunity Chelsea. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Name: Chelsea | Florida | Connect: @oh_she_packin
Hi everyone! I am @oh_she_packin, I do not have a scary moment or an incident that happened to make me get my CCW and start carrying, which I am very grateful for. But I would like to explain my reasoning for starting this journey, how I am trying to become self reliant and that I won’t go down without a 2nd amendment fight.
I didn’t grow up around guns, have my dad or any family member take me shooting but yet I was never scared of them. At age 15 I shot my first revolver then shot clay pigeons with a shotgun and was actually really good! Then I was in ROTC Marines in my freshman year of high school and learned rifle shooting which I was an amazing shot. I got first place in my class for disassembling and reassembling my rifle and felt so proud of myself.
Years went by before I went to an actual gun range as an adult with my boyfriend and other times with my step dad. I give lots of credit to my step dad who taught me the actual first fundamentals of handling a gun, rifle and shotgun. So once I was actually out of my parents house and moved away with my now husband I decided I definitely wanted to have my CCW and so did my husband. I just always thought to myself that it is a good idea for anyone to have it and how badass I would feel, haha. Buuut I didn’t take it serious enough to actually start carrying. It honestly was intimidating once I got my CCW Oct of 2016! I was left with the thought of what’s next? I didn’t take advantage of YouTube at the time with so many people explaining about guns, “guns for women” and how to conceal carry. So I went to a gun show and I was fortunate enough to have a vendor explain that a heavier gun is actually what helps with recoil and small guns for women are harder to control and he introduced me to the S&W M&P Shield 9mm. I had a male coworker that had that same gun and said he liked it so I just went and bought it without trying it first. I did take it to the range shortly after but I was back to square one of not knowing how to handle it.
Needless to say I never started to carry nor did I go to the range a lot. And I’m going to admit I still have only gone a handful of times to the range with this gun. Okay, now you are up to date on my beginning stages of where I come from with guns and why I got my CCW. Now let’s get into the concealing part.
I literally started carrying around August of 2020 and I am quickly learning a lot but know I have so much more to go. The whole point of me sharing my journey with my oh_she_packin IG page is to show how it is achievable so you can join me and we can figure it all out together.
Obviously the beginning of 2020 started off scary with covid but then we got hit with the shutdown leaving many Americans without work and I’m not ignorant to the fact that desperate times calls for desperate measures. I started getting nervous of people possibly breaking in my home or me getting robbed when walking to my car. Then the riots started and of course that put everyone on edge and felt that they needed to protect themselves, loved ones and possessions. I was also one of those people. What did I do? I ran to YouTube and started looking up how to conceal for woman and I came across my first holster, the Lethal Lace. You can basically use this anywhere on the body so it’s an all-in one holster. But a girl can never have too many options. Style me Tactical, She Equips Herself and Armed and Styled then introduced to me other options and the best part, style!!!. Okay, so I had found my first holster and absolutely love it still to this day but I didn’t know how to conceal. I started learning about patterns on shirts, tucking in a shirt, flowy shirts, poofy skirts/dresses opposed to form fitting skirts, jackets, sweaters and accessories like scarfs are different ways to conceal. Plus, deciding where to carry your firearm on your body it all plays a part in concealing. I’ve been recently following Armed and Styled who has taught me my sweet spot on my body where to carry and explains certain style details! So since my first holster in August I now have 5 holsters which one is a purse, my 6th one on the way and my first gun belt! I’m starting quite a collection. I have completely changed how I buy clothes but yet keeping my style which is sometimes girly, sexy, professional, comfortable etc. Meaning, you don’t have to just wear bulky ugly clothes all the time.
Alright, let’s talk other topics. I’ve stated that I’ve barely went to the gun range and bought a gun I had never shot. So after watching plenty of videos and learning what I should have done, like going to a range and trying out different firearms, how it should feel in my hand, can I reach the trigger, can I rack the slide etc. I’ll admit that I still need to do this even though I do feel comfortable with my Shield but I’ll never know if there’s something better unless I try different ones. I also need to definitely get more used to just shooting in general however, dry fire is my new favorite thing! I have reached out to two local gun ranges which are actually not selling ammo to help with the ammo shortage or even letting you rent guns because they are selling them. So in the meantime I’m dry firing at home, practicing my draw from all of my holsters, concentrating on my grip, finding my sights, getting on target etc. I’m also becoming more aware of my surroundings no matter where I am, locking doors behind me and as soon as I get in the car. So even though I don’t have a lot of bullets through my gun or shots on target under my belt I am still practicing in any way I can so if God forbid I do actually have to draw my firearm I can hopefully rely on my muscle memory to kick in and put down my attacker.
After all that being said, I am just another person, woman, daughter and wife learning to protect myself, my loved ones and innocent citizens. I’m not perfect at this yet with concealing but I want to be an encourager to show that you can do it too. You can follow me as I struggle, figure things out and learn from me. If I can help one person feel confident in protecting themselves by conceal carrying then that is potentially one person I have saved from being a statistic victim.
Thank you who have taken the time to read this random story on this random person. Remember to stay supportive, protected and practice your second amendment right as an American citizen.