Posted on 08/05/2008 4:14:56 AM PDT by Pistolshot
Free Republic Gun Club – Concealed Means Concealed
You finally have your CCW permit. Now what?
You’ve qualified, shot the course of fire, did all the paperwork, made the conscious decision to protect yourself. Now what? Holsters.
The one mistake I see novice CCW permit holders make is the ‘hand-check. They consciously keep reaching for where the gun is in its holster. It’s a dead giveaway. I have more than once walked up to a permit holder and ask them why they keep checking to see if the gun is still there. If it’s in a secure holster and you’ve done the job of checking the mirror that, yes, it is concealed.
LEAVE IT ALONE.
Concealed mean the ability to hide a weapon where it can be reached and employed in the quickest manner possible. THAT NO ONE ELSE KNOWS IS THERE..
Deep concealment is for law enforcement, so let’s dispense with the ankle holsters, waist band, bra, garter, and other deep concealment holsters. They are S L O W. Slow to access and slow if you need it right now.
For anyone who has a CCW permit, you’ve had to make a lot of choices. What kind of gun to carry, caliber, and especially, how to carry it and still have it quickly accessible. What I am going to talk about today are holsters. The one item you can never have too many for carry.
We all have our favorites or the ones we rely on for almost every day usage. But there is a difference between carrying in cooler northern environments and the hot desert of the Southwest, between the jeans and a shirt and a suit or in the case of women, dresses, skirts, and blouses. The environment alone will determine what you carry as well as how. For most guys a good strong side holster inside the waist will be sufficient such as the Summer Special
or the Milt Sparks Executive Companion
My favorite for autos is the Biachi Pistol Pocket.
The PP covers just about everything I need in a good IWB holster and has one feature that has me sold on it for all my autos. The buckle has a swivel to change the cant of the holster. It can be shifted to crossdraw or deep behind the hip. It has a nice thumbsnap to help with keeping the weapon secure at any angle or even a tumble if you fall.
Ok, so these are a little more pricey that you’d like to spend on a IWB holster. Well, Galco has this little number.
It covers the tire weapon and is secure.
What about revolvers?
Also from Galco.
But a word of caution on IWB for revolvers. The cylinder is going to poke and rub against you. It will be uncomfortable. For revolvers I suggest a high rise thumbsnap such as the Bianchi Black widow.
Now, I didn’t forget the ladies. Galco has a couple of holster purses that work well with almost any size firearm.
These are not the only modes of carry. There are crossdraw, shoulder, ankle, small of the back or pocket holsters depending on what you want to carry. The crossdraw has you reaching across your body, similarly the shoulder rig does the same. Both modes are secure, but both have extreme drawbacks. If you are wider around the middle, or especially endowed on top, a shoulder rig or the crossdraw may not be your best choice.
Pocket holsters are great for the mouse guns or something along the Kahr/Kel-Tec lines, but for anything bigger, a proper holster should be employed.
Small of the back holster are nice IF you are not driving. Something about even a small pistol sticking you in the back while driving down the highway doesn’t sound too appealing. Fanny packs are out there, but a word of caution. Most law-enforcement officers pick them out quickly and a LOT of the criminal element take a fanny pack as a challenge.
These are not the only choices you have in a holster, just the ones I would recommend. You can find holsters almost anyplace, garage sales, flea-markets, and especially gunshows. I, personally have about 100 different types of holsters. Some work well…..others….well….they make good examples of what not to wear.
What do you like to use? Remember this is for concealment.
Enjoy
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Also, I have used a Clip-Draw with my Glock 27, along with a Saf-T-Blok to block the trigger while carried IWB. This offers a few different carry options, as well as the option to carry in cold weather or hot weather clothing.
Seen those clips too. Never used them. They make one for the KelTec P3AT. (Ruger has a new micro-carry out too - the LCP .380)
IWB is the absolute last-ditch method of carry (for me). The pocket is better; simply adjust it (as discreetly as possible) as you need to BEFORE sitting down, so that it is accessible should you need it.
I’ve carried IWB; it is uncomfortable as hell, tends to dig and chafe, and sweat build-up from body contact can mess with the metal. It’s simply not ideal for me.
I’ve found that simply switching my carry piece makes it easier for the summer; normally, a Glock G19 is my preferred trusted companion, and the SW642 is my BUG. But summer makes the G19 more difficult to conceal, so the bUG becomes primary and the G19 is either in the car or at home.
A handgun is a handgun, and you fight with what you got. A .38+P in the pocket beats a 1911A1 stuck at home in the gun safe, you know?
For Winter/fall carry, I use a shoulder rig or paddle holster (both Galco) for the G19 and a small of the back (Galco) for the BUG with a button over shirt (kept open, or one single button).
It’s like anything else - you make the adjustments you need to accomodate your life. Carry is a way of life. I feel absolutely nekkid without it.
It’s MY “American Express” - Never Leave Home Without It.
Nearly everyone who starts carrying ends up with a collection of holsters as they discover what works for them. It is a very personal issue, as peoples needs, builds, and habits all differ considerably.
I like the idea of everyone telling what works for them, but I don’t think that comments to the effect of “this should never be used” are very helpful. Everything works for someone at some time.
I carry like this:
i love my desantis belly band for carry. very comfortable, holds everything from my smith revolver to my compact .45, to my 220.
take a look at this one. looks like reguler, man’s day planner.
I carry my SW 342 in an Uncle Mikes pocket holster in my cargo pants pocket.
Come winter it will probably be my SW 40MPc on the belt.
Thanks for the tip! I just picked up a Desantis Pro Stealth. That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!
Diggler:
Aside from the fact that the Second Amendment IS my “carry permit”...(I’ll let that one alone - for now (Ha!))...
...Discretion IS the better option in areas such as PapaBear3625 mentioned above. Remember - the enemy still controls the law to one degree or another (for now) in many places (especially Philly - Chief Thugramsey is a real tool, and Mayor Thugnutter is a fascist A**hole).
You can argue rights this and rights that all you want, but if you’re sitting in a jail cell, it gets you exactly ZERO. You can be more effecitve out here, recruiting as many “carriers” as you can.
Make it a goal - introduce at least TEN people to shooting, take them to the range, etc., (especially kids, if possible). Then you become TEN TIMES as effective. And you piss in the gun-grabbers faces by multiplying OUR numbers. A noble goal, to say the least....
Once you wake people up to their right to PROTECT THEIR OWN LIFE, you empower them to BE Citizens - probably for the first time in their lives, they’ll come to understand just exactly what Liberty is, and why it’s worth fighting for, and more importantly - WHO the REAL enemy is.
I’ve carried open in PA at times too, with little harrassment; but I’ve decided to fight for THAT particular hill another day.
Stay safe brother, and stay in the fight. We need every street soldier we’ve got, and sitting in jail doesn’t accomplish the mission...
“...It is a very personal issue, as peoples needs, builds, and habits all differ considerably...”
Very good point...
It’s something that all who carry must make adjustments for, and more importantly PRACTICE with.
The moment may come when you MUST draw it (hopefully never, but life is fickle), and you’d BETTER be damned sure that you can clear leather (or Kydex, etc) smoothly, snag-free, and quickly so that YOU wind up standing at the end.
With every rig that I use, I practice the draw (unloaded, of course) and bring the weapon to bear as smoothly as possible. If it snags, catches, or otherwise binds, I find a different way.
It’s only my LIFE that I’m concerned with, after all...
“Define “expert”.”
Not you, apparently.
Any expert with firearms will tell you that a holster that makes you point or sweep the muzzle of your weapon toward some part of your body is considered more dangerous than a holster that prevents this from occurring. Hip holsters are therefore preferred since you draw toward the ground and never point the wepon at a vital part of your body. Cross-draw and bandolier-style holsters also keep you from shooting yourself, but they also take more time to draw and force you to sweep your weapon laterally.
When drawing quickly, the back holster tends to make you point the muzzle of your weapon in against the side of your abdomen or hip. That is very, very bad. When drawing from many shoulder holsters, the muzzle must be swept past your arm, which is also not a good situation to be in. You can, however, move your arm up and out at 90 degrees from your body while drawing, but this is clumsy and unnatural. If wearing a jacket, it can sometimes cause the weapon to get caught up in the jacket itself. The shoulder holster also forces you to sweep the weapon laterally by as much as 180 degrees, which exposes anyone walking behind or beside you to a premature firing.
The only way to avoid these problems is through extensive training to learn not to engage the trigger until the weapon is pointed at the target. The other option is to never let yourself get into a situation where you have to rapidly draw, but in real life the situation cannot always be controlled by you.
If they were that dangerous then people wouldn't use them.
Lighten up Francis.
“Not you, apparently.”
blah, blah, blah. Guys like you give the industry a bad name; going off about things you have only read about and have never experienced. We have so many fat nerdy dorks trying to tell us all “like it is” as though there is always a perfect answer and they have it. If you are too stupid not to blow your butt off using an IWB then that’s your problem. I’ve had the need to draw from IWB and it worked just fine for me.
Ankle holsters may be the best mode of carry if you are driving a vehicle for a living such as a cabdriver. Keeping the gun in a glove compartment or a console is not a good idea if you’re suddenly carjacked. You give them the car and also the gun? Also, most conventional holsters will be under your seatbelt which also is not a good idea.
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