Most states that offer concealed carry permits require the permit applicant to go through some type of training. Our opinion is that this training is necessary and indispensable. You will learn about firearms safety, conceal carry do's and don'ts for the state that you live in, tips from professionals that have been carrying for years, tactics, and probably most importantly, legal issues related to the proper use and discharge of a firearm.
If you live in a state that offers a permit without any training requirements, we highly recommend that you take some training anyway. The more trained you are, the better prepared you will be if you should ever have to use your gun for self defense. In fact, we urge you to go beyond the basic training. After you have your initial training and permit, sign up for an advanced course. It will be well worth the investment.
Of course, there is no substitute for range time. If you can, we recommend shooting on a firing range once per month, in order to hone your skills. If you ever have to use your pistol for self-defense, you will be drawing from your holster and firing quickly. Unfortunately, many ranges do not allow you to practice from the holster, i.e. draw and fire quickly. This presents the range with a safety (and liability insurance) problem. Most modern centerfire handguns can be safely dry fired without damaging the gun. Just to be safe, however, we recommend the use of snap caps, which is basically a dummy bullet with a dummy primer for the firing pin to impact.