Concealed Carry App Review: Smartphone Gun Knowledge At Your Fingertips
Very rarely is something made available for free that is actually a very good resource. There are some paid apps that range from okay to great, and some free ones that are from shoddy to okay, at best. Then again, sometimes people blow you away with their generosity by giving away something that is exceptional, for free.
There is an excellent tool out there that, if you don't have downloaded on your smartphone, I strongly suggest you do. It's something that I use regularly — in fact, I used it just today when I responded to a comment about some gun laws in a couple of states.
That tool is called the Concealed Carry Gun Tools App. It's totally free and if you're serious about concealed carry and knowing the laws, you're missing out if you don't have it.
The app itself is intuitive and easy to use with clear menu options and tabs. For example, if you want to find out the reciprocity for your chosen permit(s), simply go to the reciprocity tab and check off all the permits you have both resident and non-resident. The result is an easy to read map that is color coded.
Here's a picture of my NC reciprocity.
All the green states are those where my permit is valid with the off-limits states listed in red. Also made available is a quick-readout if you like words more than maps, or your geography skills were left back in grade school like mine were.
Something else that is extremely useful is that the gun laws are also listed as an option. Just click on the Laws tab, click on the state you're researching, and ingest the info. Whenever I went away I'd check out the gun laws in the states I traveled through, as well as the state I was ending up in.
It's beneficial to know the laws in states other than your own because they may have different laws than you're used to. If you care enough to not break the laws, this is one of the best tools you can have.
I feel strongly that anyone serious about carrying a gun for self-defense should not only know the laws in the state they're in (whether you live there or are visiting), but also have easy access to something that can help you learn something at a moment's notice if needed.
I've used this app for that purpose. Last time I visited Florida I needed to know (quickly) if I'd be breaking any laws by going to a restaurant with a prominent bar in it, even though I wasn't planning to drink. I was able to find my information out and act accordingly.
The app provides in depth information that is easy to understand in an app that's easy to use. And, there is a guy employed by Jacob with the sole purpose of working on this app so it gets updated regularly.
As an added bonus, we also have all of our blog posts written by yours truly and others, AND you can listen to the podcasts directly on the app as well.
Finally, if you need to buy a new holster, dummy ammo, SIRT gun or anything else listed for sale in the store, there's also a tab to order stuff.
Now, before you accuse me of selling out, or just endorsing something put out by the people who pay me … please know that yes I am the editor here and the app is put out by the company I work for. But, I'd never endorse something I didn't like, and the guys know this. They also know I have no issue shedding my opinion on things, whether positive or negative.
Sometimes, I feel like my sole purpose for the company is to just give my opinion on things, with the secondary job of writing/editing articles, not that there is anything wrong with that.
Anyway —
You can learn more about the app and how to download it both on Android and Apple devices, here.