A: Not really. When you make the decision to carry a concealed firearm, you also have to decide to accept the responsibility of keeping that firearm
totally concealed from those around you, at all times. To do otherwise could constitute reckless display of a firearm and at best your CCW will be revoked.
How you carry will depend largely on your personal and/or professional lifestyle. There are literally dozens of methods of carrying a concealed firearm comfortably on a daily basis and PDI would be glad to assist you.
Just drop us an e-mail note.
What is important is to find a carry system that is comfortable, because if it is not, you won't carry. And that sort of defeats the purpose of having a CCW, doesn't it?
A: The technical answer to this question is, yes. A Florida CCW holder is justified by statute to defend another person.
Doing so, however, is not without pitfalls. It is imperative that you be able to identify the person you are defending as someone who actually warrants such action on your part. If you mistake the actions of someone as harmful and in fact they are not, you will be subject to prosecution.
Remember, even though you hold a Florida CCW license you are NOT a police officer! It is not your duty to protect the rest of society. PDI suggests that unless the person is someone you love dearly or it is patently obvious that the imminent commission of a forcible felony is a reality, you dial 911 and let the police handle the situation.
A: Depending on the ammunition you've chosen to carry, the answer can range from yes to no.
Some ammunition can really light up the night. In this case, it is very true that upon firing your handgun, you could be temporarily blinded for a matter of seconds.
There are several brands of defensive ammunition available today that use low-flash gunpowder to minimize muzzle flash. Some works, while others do not.
The instructors at PDI have fired all kinds of ammunition from many different manufacturers and have found that some ammunition will have little or no flash signature, while other ammunition will create a huge fireball.
Please realize that many different items go into the muzzle flash equation and that what works very well in one gun may not give the same performance in another gun, even of the same caliber.
From a purely personal defense perspective, we at PDI think that the muzzle flash controversy is over-rated and of minor concern. In real life, you will not hesitate to shoot because of any concern for muzzle flash.
This is exactly why we developed our PDI-2 "Nightfire" class. It gives the student a chance to try their favorite gun/ammunition combination in realistic low-light conditions. If any modifications are necessary, it becomes immediately apparent.