Concealed Carry Class: The ABCs of Self-Defense Tools and Tactics

Tom Givens is widely considered to be one of the top living firearms instructors. His Rangemaster organization sets the gold standard for rigorous instructor development and training. He is definitely someone worth learning from. For that reason, I was excited to pick this book up. Even though it's marketed as the "ABCs" of self-defense, there's a lot of valuable information even for seasoned shooters.It is, however, not without some small but significant problems. One is that there are no citations for any of the statistical claims he makes! This is rather annoying, especially for those interested in data-driven or evidence-based approaches to self-defense. As a published author myself (both in academic and popular contexts), this is just simply unacceptable. It might be excusable if this were a blog post or internet article, but a book? Yikes...What makes this all worse is that Givens seems to make several blatant factual errors in areas that may significantly impact the merits of his case. Here are some examples, all from the first few pages (I picked these because they play a key role in the argument he makes in the first chapter):1. “The number-one cause of on-the-job deaths in the United States is homicide” (page 10)2. “One of every six on-the-job deaths is a homicide” (page 10)3. "OHSA reports 1,000 workplace homicides each year." (page 14)4. “According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), almost 6 million people a year in the U.S. are victims of some violent crime each year.” (page 10)Claims 1 and 2 are false: according to the National Safety Council, the leading cause of workplace deaths is motor vehicle accidents. Homicide doesn’t even make the top four. I have no idea where Givens got the idea that homicide is the leading cause of workplace death. This is where a citation could have helped.The third claim is likely the basis for his second claim about homicides being one of every six on-the-job deaths. Both claims, however, are factually incorrect. The actual number is 458, half of what Givens claims. There were 5,147 workplace fatalities in 2017. 458 x 6 is 2748. That’s not one-in-six. Not even close.The fourth claim appears to be flat out wrong. It’s not 6 million. It’s 3.1 million. It may have been 6 million a few decades ago, but it’s nowhere near that now. Givens’s crime estimate is off by nearly 3 million (to be fair, that there are 3 million victims of violent crime annually is nothing to dismiss). While some might complain that this is only one data point and therefore a small thing to cry foul over, significant errors start to creep in if you use the 6 million figure to run other calculations.[I would include links to all these sources but Amazon apparently doesn't allow external links]Is this nitpicking? I don’t think so. The factoids mentioned earlier are very important parts of Givens’s argument in the first chapter. The fact that they’re either false or unverifiable counts significantly against him.But I might be wrong about this. Maybe I’m missing something here — perhaps there is data out there corroborating what Givens says, or perhaps the discrepancies are due to how we’re counting the data. The problem is that he doesn’t cite anything nor does he explain his methodology, so we have no grounds to take him at face value. Expertise as a firearms instructor doesn’t translate to expertise as a statistician or researcher.There are tons of other smaller statistical nuggets that don't have any citations or references either. For example, Givens cites gunfight distance data from the DEA (2007) and FBI (1989-1994). But there were no citations listed for these either -- and I wasn't able to track them down.Caveats aside, the book really is fantastic in terms of training advice, tactics, and gear suggestions. The part of the book that deals with "software issues" is worth its weight in gold, subject to the caveats mentioned. He does a fantastic job talking about decision-making, behavioral cues, color codes, intelligence gathering, and other facets behind the concealed carry lifestyle.Moreover, although I was critical about his lack of citation for gunfight distances, that particular section is fantastic. Assuming the numbers are correct (to his credit: the distance figures from LEOKA correlate roughly to what he's saying), there's extremely valuable advice there.There's also lot of clear visuals, and Givens goes into great length to explain things that most other books on the topic do not. For example, he discusses how to do a left-handed revolver reload! As a left-handed shooter myself, I was pleasantly surprised!One thing would've liked to see is more discussion of different methods or techniques. Despite its popularity, Givens quickly (and in my opinion, unfairly) dismisses appendix-in-the-waistband carry and devotes the substance of his discussion on drawing a handgun to strong side carry. As an experienced instructor he is certainly entitled to promote one method over another, but I think it would be useful to at least discuss alternative methods of carrying given the diversity in the CCW community -- even if he ends up preferring one over others. He does talk about ankle carry, pocket carry, but only in terms of holster design. Some advice on how to draw using these methods would've been great.My verdict? Trust, but verify.

No “Tacticool”. Just plain common sense information based upon decades of real life experience. Tom Givens is easily the best in the field. If you own a handgun, or are thinking about getting one, read this book!!!!

Good introduction for new firearms owners. Just don’t stop here. Owning a firearm is serious business and one needs to Become a student of laws, practices, and hazards associated with the path you have started down. Books help but courses are better. Be safe.

I knew zilch about carrying and using a gun. This is helping me up to speed with everything I need to know. This book was recommended to me and I am pleased to pass along the recommendation.

This title is appropriately named.I'm a super-new Firearms Instructor. When I started teaching, I was surprised to see just how many would flood our classes for the state-mandated Permit Classes, but how few would be available for follow-on training. Even something as simple as a free gun-cleaning clinic would only net maybe 5 or 6 students. After asking our students why they haven't booked a class, you get the usual responses. Usually a lack of spare time or spare money.It's not even about making money. This is really a part-time gig, and I have a day job that does very well. I became a firearms instructor because if it wasn't for my instructors, I wouldn't have as much fun with firearms as I do now. The skills they taught me allow me to really enjoy shooting, and I get great satisfaction that my passion can save the life of a loved one or myself. You can't buy that kind of confidence!Well, maybe now you can."Concealed Carry Class" by Mr. Givens does in print, what those gateway instructors did for me in person. It explained the complicated concepts and techniques in a way that's easy to understand and hard to forget.So after I trained with Mr. Givens, I so trusted his experience and research, I gifted this book to my mother and aunt when they bought guns. You may ask yourself, "You're a firearms instructor. Why don't you train them yourself?" Because they changed my diapers, and so, they never listen to a word I say.This book allows them to learn how to be responsible gun owners, at a low cost, at their own pace. Is it as good as live instruction? Nope. Is it better than nothing? You bet. Hopefully, they seek out live instruction after they finish the book. But even if they don't, it's a solid foundation, rooted in Mr. Givens' experience and research. It's actually geared toward the brand new gun owner. It answers questions that they never knew they had, and introduces them to the concepts and techniques they need to master in order to defend life with a handgun.

Read this. It’s a difference maker.

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