Month: March 2023

NYS Concealed Carry Class

Women Handgun Selection for Concealed Carry

More and more women are starting to carry firearms for personal protection. Many of the Trade Associations said there’s been a 7% rise in female gun ownership from 2005-2020. Constantly we are seeing women come into the store looking for their first handgun. Many of the times they are with their significant other who is there to help guide them in their buying process. Most of the time they are very excited to announce they are here to help their wife or girlfriend get their first handgun. And the second thing they say is .. “I think she might be best with ____ or _____.”

Most of the time the recommendations typically come from the males opinion of what they shoot best or what they think is appropriate for what they can handle. I remember when my wife started shooting with her father on Tuesdays. After several visits with her dad and the boys at the club she came home and said “My father thinks I should get a revolver because it only holds 6 rounds and requires a longer trigger pull.”

So you might be asking yourself why is a revolver a bad choice? Lets start with a couple of key points before I answer this question.  We all get involved in shooting and firearms for a variety of reasons, from hunting, to target shooting, to personal protection, to my significant other wants me to.  No matter the reason why they decided to buy a firearm, the key here is to maximize their enjoyment in the shooting sport industry, and secondly they are successful at improving their shooting skills.

Revolvers present several problems for new shooters. First of all they are very light now and typically are designed using a lighter alloy. This combined with the fact that when you hold the handgun the barrel sits higher over the hand. Combine both of these issues and you have a firearm that will bull whip more making it harder for women to control the firearm potentially diminishing accuracy.

Of course the other option that women tend to be steered to are small handguns such as the Ruger LCP, Smith & Wesson Bodyguard, or Keltec P3AT or something similar to these. Though the 380 caliber is effective for self defense the small compact firearms typically are not easy to control when firing and in most cases do not have good quality sights. These issues make these guns hard to shoot accurately of distances or 10ft. They are commonly referred to as “belly guns”. And your hand is typically sore from shooting.

So what is the best firearm for women you may be asking. Like any other person when you come in the gun store it is about fitting the handgun to the woman’s hand, interest, and use. Obviously the ideal is to find them the best fitting handgun that fits their hand, will give them accurate trigger pull improving accuracy. Is the right size that she will enjoy shooting it at the range. And lastly is compact enough that if it is for concealed carry it can easily be concealed.

Other consideration may be weight of the handgun and does she wear a belt that will not only help to conceal the handgun but also carry the weight of the gun and ammunition. Even now though there are options even for ammunition to lighten the weight of the loaded handgun. Liberty Ammunition makes a product called Civil Defense that is probably one of the lightest ammunitions on the market. With ammo like this you can decrease the weight of the firearm and make it more comfortable to carry and even easier to shoot with less recoil.

gun shop

What Makes Our Gun Store Different from Others

Most gun shops are born from a love for the industry, typically someone who started with home based federal firearms license. And as they grew their customer base, and volume of firearms and ammunition sales, they would start to get encouragement from those same customers to open an actual store. This love for an industry and encouragement from others is what typically develops into many of the firearms dealers you see around your community.

My story is like many of the others in this industry in that it was born from an at home idea. However I started with needing a holster that would fit inside my suit coat when I would go to do presentations or when I would visit job sites in the stormwater industry. I could not find one, so I turned to the power of the internet and YouTube. I started watching videos and learned how to work with a product known by so many as Kydex thermoplastics. I soon started making and listing my products on eBay. And holy cow they started selling.  I then invited my father to join my idea of starting a holster business selling online and making them in our basements. And born from this idea was Just Holster It LLC.

We soon grew from a basement business, to a rental space, and finally to buying a building and actually hiring staff. We not only sold online, we sold exclusively holsters in our own store, and supplied many dealers across the country. We chose a Alden, New York as our home base town for Just Holster It since the town sat in the middle of 5 correctional facilities. Of course thinking forward I was always trying to envision the next big move.

It was not until I had graduated from the University of Buffalo -Center For Entrepreneurial Leadership CORE Program and in the middle of Covid my business started to grow. In fact it grew 56% a year for two years. I went from 2 employees to 6  employees at the time. I then decided it was time for the next step and I joined the CEL Mastery Program and it was there my idea of moving my holsters to a bigger and better store that encompassed not only the largest selection of holsters, but also firearms, ammunition and accessories. This was the starting point of Just Holster It Firearms & Training Center now located in Elma, New York.

As I started to develop the idea of a gun store, I started using friends and family as a sounding board. I started exploring the things they did not like at other stores they had visited in Western New York. Soon people started asking me what is different from my Gun store compared to others in the Buffalo, New York area. Why is Just Holster It Firearm’s & Training Center so different? What makes your store special. Or what do you offer that other stores do not.

Unlike many other stores in the industry I started to develop the gun shop idea on the basis of sound business facts with a team of business owners from the CEL. We needed to build a business like no other in the area, from the building to the offerings. It was a lecture in one of my classes with CEL and what we uncovered in our early years as a Holster store that drove the vision. We needed to focus on the Disney experience and create a store that engages our senses much like Disney does when you visit the park.

Though we could not capture to the level of Disney we are focused on the touch feel, education, and visual experience. We designed a store that is not your traditional rustic shop focus, but more industrial open air feeling. From the moment you approach the door and you grab hold of a 45 long Colt for a door handle as you enter the store. You are then greeted much like Norm from Cheers finally we are taking the educational level of buying to a whole new level. You are given the opportunity to touch and try not only the largest holster selection in New York, you have a variety of products you can touch, feel, and try out. You can try out the latest gun lubricant, a magnet to hide your gun, range bags you can explore, or test out some of the latest lasers, lights or RMR optics we offer. Finally if it is a firearm you are looking for, then you have the opportunity to interact even more with the expert staff we put together to help guide you and maybe even educate you as you move through the buying experience whether you are a new gun owner or a seasoned veteran.

Of course the last step is training classes guiding you through the learning experience to get your NYS License, or giving you a class on Article 35 Use of Force Training. Or maybe you are looking to be prepared for something more serious and want to take our Class Stop the Bleed. We are building out a wide selection of training classes focused on helping to make you a more proficient and safe firearms owner.

Of course none of the current store or our future stores could be possible without the perfect ownership team.  I initially asked a very dear friend to consult for me on the FFL process, who later approached me and wanted to be a part of this business in a bigger way. Josh Hawkins is one of the most knowledgeable gun enthusiast I know, besides having 10 years’ experience managing and operating a Firearms Store and building it into a strong business.  Josh was the perfect person to be a owner and manager of the business. Next we knew we needed to focus on training and who better then James Emmick one of the only full time firearms instructors in Western New York. James is respected as a industry expert and source for many of the agencies in the area. Students leave his classes wanting more and more. For this reason James was brought in as an owner and the ideal person to oversee our instructors and classes offered. Finally as we move from one store to the next, and so on we needed someone focused on growth and keeping us on track.  Alan Pawlowski has years of experience in financial business management and  business acquisitions. The final piece of the puzzle that would keep us on track financially and ready to guide us to the next 5 stores when we are ready.

Gun Store Ribbon Cutting

Firearms Dealer Opens a Gun Store in Buffalo Area in Spite of NY Increased Regulations

Elma, New York, March 18th, 2023 As Governor Hochul increases gun regulations in New York State a new business emerges and a variety of legal suits emerge over many of the laws. Just Holster It Firearms & Training Center opened on Saturday, March 11th, 2023 in spite of the new laws. The support that turned out for the opening weekend was a representation of the community and political support for this Second Amendment business.

Political Support was evident as Certificates and speeches where presented by…

  • Philip Gow, Jr from Congressman Langworthy’s Office
  • Senator Patrick Gallivan
  • Assemblyman David DiPietro
  • Legislator Jim Malcziewski
  • Legislator Frank Todaro
  • Chief Mitch Martin from Sheriff Garcia’s Office
  • Honorable Judge Boeler

Business Partner Jeffrey Benty stated “My partners and staff were amazed by the support of all the government officials, and the nearly 600 people that came by during Opening Weekend. It is this support that tells us we chose the right community and the need for our business in the Western New York community.”

Just Holster It Firearms & Training Center is focused on education at the forefront of the business model. From buying a firearm to accessories, we have a highly trained team of professionals to assist our customers in their buying process. Whether you are a first time gun buyer needing an education on your first purchase choices, to a seasoned veteran looking at some of the latest products on the market. Our team will walk you through the process. Not sure how to operate the firearm you just bought, our team will take the time to help educate you on what you need to know. If you want to take your training further we offer a wide range of training classes in our 900sqft training room. We are expanding our class lineup and offer Licensing classes, Article 35 Use of Force Class, Stop the Bleed, Concealed Carry for Women and so much more. As a Premier Buffalo Gun Store we hope by making education the focus of all we do we will help to make education a focus to all of our customers, ensuring safety is first.

Company Owners:

Josh Hawkins, General Manager/Owner has over 10 years experience in retail management and more specifically developing and growing a firearms retail and range busines. He has been a key role in growing another Firearms Store to a successful business. Josh has extensive knowledge and training in the firearms industry.

Jeffrey Benty, Managing Partner has worked in sales and marketing for over 20 years. Jeff has over 15 years of business management and currently owns and operates two other successful businesses. Jeff has been involved in the firearms industry all his life growing up fishing, hunting, and target shooting.

James Emmick, VP of Training/Owner has years of experience in the firearms industry and has trained 1000’s of licensed permit holders in the community. James operates Firearms Training of Western New York, a business focused on training and education. In addition to being a Erie County Sheriff Reservist, James was one of the first full time firearms instructors in Western New York. James key role is managing, planning, and overseeing the classes offered at Just Holster It Firearms & Training Center.

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