Concealed Carry for Women

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 7/17/20 | N Perna

[w1n1]

A look at the pluses and minuses of off-body and on-body techniques
Like most men in law enforcement, I have little or no fashion sense. My closet contains clothes in “earth tones” (brown, green, black and tan), along with the occasional blue (jeans) and white (T-shirts). I dress as if I’m preparing for some sort of tactical event, where the ability to camouflage myself is the key to survival.
You'll find no chartreuse, periwinkle or mauve in my wardrobe! My wife, on the other hand, has a mix of different types of clothing. As a fellow law enforcement officer, she also has some drab colored stuff, but for her, that's for wearing while on the job or on the range.
The rest of her gear is what I categorize as "girlie stuff" – dresses, blouses, skirts, etc. True, not what you want to be wearing during an end-of-days scenario, but it all looks a heck of a lot better during date night.

CARRYING CONCEALED MEANS THAT my wife, like most women, has to decide how to “tactically accessorize” before going to work, shopping or just out on the town. In other words, she has to pick a carry option for her firearm that works with what she is wearing.
Both of us are very strong believers in carrying concealed all the time. We do it to protect our children, each other, the public and ourselves.
Tactical accessorizing is pretty easy for me. I pick a weapon I like to pack and I choose my carry options, generally carrying it either OWB (on the waistband) or IWB (inside the waistband).

At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, I can generally frame handgun with relative ease, especially given that I generally purchase clothes with concealed carry in mind. I have plenty of "cover coats" and "cover shirts" designed to wear as over garments to cover up my weapon.
This usually consists of a shirt or jacket one size larger than I would normally wear. For women, it's not so simple. The average American female is 5-foot-4, while the average male comes in at 5-foot-9. Men are obviously bigger and heavier, so, in simple terms, more body mass equals more space to conceal a handgun. A 115-pound female isn’t going to be able to conceal an M1911A1 on her person, regardless of whether it is carried inside or outside the waistband. However, she can generally hide a small- or medium-frame gun with little or no difficulty. From a fashion standpoint, most women aren't going to want to wear extra-large clothing to cover up their piece. Women do have a distinct advantage, though, in terms of additional options for concealed carry.

They can opt for off-body carry. This involves the use of purses, handbags and other accessories to carry a handgun. Now I don't want to exclude my brothers who have embraced their more feminine side and opted to carry a "murse" (man purse). They are popular in Europe, so maybe there is something to it. I use a tactical murse to carry at the gym, so I'm not totally opposed to the idea, especially if it goes with your man bun hair-do … Generally, though, women are the ones who carry purses on a regular basis.

OFF-BODY CARRY HAS both advantages and disadvantages. Here are a few: Advantages of off-body carry Ability to carry a larger weapon:
If a suppressor-equipped HK USP .45 SOCOM is your preferred carry weapon, you can carry it in a purse. For more practical applications, though, large-frame handguns such as a SIG P226 or .45-caliber Glock 21 can also easily be carried in this manner. This means more firepower. Read the rest of concealed carry for women.

[taxcontrol]

The 5 rules of a gun fight

1) Gun beats no gun
2) A hit beats a miss
3) Fast beats slow
4) Big holes beat small holes
5) Two holes beat one hole

Understanding these simple facts AND THEIR MEANINGS, can greatly assist in the selection of a sidearm.

[dhs12345]

Rule #1, as Paul Harrell states, is program compliance. There maybe compromises for one reason or another. However, if you are not carrying because the firearm is too big, etc. or awkward, then it is all moot.

Find the best solution and compromises that ensure that you are more likely to carry your firearm.

Lastly, I like the statement...”concealed is exactly that.” Even though you might be able to open carry legally in some cities and states, concealed gives you the advantage of surprise. Plus, you can still carry, at your own risk of course, in places (private businesses) that may not want you to carry. However, places like banks and government offices are verboten.

Anyway, the three rules of self defense — surprise, speed and strength. Surprise being the first.

Just my two cents...

[yarddog]

Women have a real advantage in that they often carry purses.

[Cobra64]

Selection of a firearm should first and foremost: RELIABILITY.

Ergonomics

Felt recoil - a full house magnum shot from a titanium 2” snubie is going to cause pain.

Gun mass / caliber Relationship.

Cost should be last. All you cheapskates who buy cheap shit may regret it when the gun doesn’t go boom when you’re being chased by five democrats with knives and machetes.

[The Pack Knight]

Purse carry seems more convenient, but I think it’s a horrible idea. For one, unless the purse is specifically designed with a holster, draw from a purse tends to be very slow. And a holster is essential to protect the trigger—I certainly certainly wouldn’t want to be around someone carrying a chambered handgun loose in a purse.

More importantly, women generally have a tendency to leave purses unattended or even leave them behind. They don’t carry their purses with them literally everywhere they go: How often have you had a wife or girlfriend ask you to watch her purse? At work, they usually leave their purses somewhere (ideally in their own private office, but often somewhere unsecured if they don’t have an office). That could have disastrous consequences if the purse is found by the wrong person. Of course, the danger is even worse if there are kids around.

As difficult as it is with women’s clothing, I would always recommend that a woman find a way to carry on her person rather than carry in a purse.

[Pollster1]

when you’re being chased by five democrats with knives and machetes

I'm old. I remember when it was four democrats with union protest signs nailed to two-by-fours.

For the young, it could be ten democrats with skateboards and bricks.

In any case, it's hard to see any pattern in violent mob attacks against the innocent . . . just as it's hard to see a pattern in "lone wolf" terrorist attacks against the innocent.

[Twotone]

A purse can also be a disadvantage. Takes longer to withdraw the weapon & then aim. My concealed carry instructor warned that you might just have to fire thru the purse if you can’t get it out quickly enough.

[itsahoot]

I certainly certainly wouldn’t want to be around someone carrying a chambered handgun loose in a purse.

I would like someone to demonstrate how a modern hand gun such as a Glock can accidentally discharge in someones pocket or purse. Check how much force is required to fire a Glock and tell me how that gets done accidentally.

[Hiddigeigei]

Most semi-autos are not like Glocks where the trigger finishes cocking the weapon.

[Psalm 73]

Wife carries her Ruger 8-shot .22 in a "carry purse" specifically designed for a firearm.

She is very petite with weak wrists - .22 that she can consistently hit a target with is better than a 9mm she can't wield.

[itsahoot]

Most semi-autos are not like Glocks where the trigger finishes cocking the weapon.

The most sold to amateurs are. Double-Single actions tend to be much heaver and are rarely a concealed carry option for non pros.

The Double-Single types are not big items in most gun stores I have been in lately, 1911s being the exception but again I doubt that is the first option for most Concealed Carry customers. They are likely going to go with a Ruger or some other 9mm or the Ruger LCP 380.

I do have a 38 Special J frame and can't imagine carrying it with the hammer back. Older people and Women would likely not have time/strength to quickly rack back a slide to put a round in the chamber so it would be very dumb of them to carry with an empty pipe.

[Mr. Mohasky]

Gen 5 Glock 26 for my wife, and reinforced steel strap on our purse so not once can cut the strap and run off with it.

[The Pack Knight]

Here's a story I saw the other day about a discharge in a worn leather holster. Here's one I found in about a minute about a discharge during pocket carry.

The "how" seems pretty straightforward to me. If something else carried in the pocket or purse gets into the trigger well and either that object or the handgun is pushed around or jostled, it wouldn't take much to generate the force necessary to pull a Glock's roughly 5.5 lb trigger. The trigger safety certainly isn't going to stop it. The trigger could also be pulled when a person is rummaging in the pocket or purse and tries to grasp something.

I'd say a striker-fired handgun is the last thing you want to pocket carry. If I was going to pocket or man-purse carry without a holster (which I'd never do), I'd take either a double-action gun like a J-frame or decocked Beretta, or even a cocked-and-locked single action like a Sig P238 before I'd take a striker-fired gun.

[Dutch Boy]

I have to disagree with the 115lb woman not being able to carry a m1911. I meet a woman at a gun shop that was probably 110lb soaking wet. She carried a full size m1911 in her purse, a commander sized m1911 on her hip and a .380 auto on her ankle. She not only carried, she practiced frequently and took defense classes. I am not sure what happened to her but I am sure it’s not going to happen again, at least without a big struggle.

[Hiddigeigei]

I carry a S&W Model 10 4” with Crimson Trace lasergrip that I taught myself to shoot double action (for speed). I’m a fairly large man (6+’/205#) and usually wear a guayabera or shirt outside my belt (the revolver in an under-the-belt holster), and find it pretty comfortable. I don’t particularly like these little autos. I have a High Standard .22 pistol that I enjoy shooting but don’t carry.

[itsahoot]

I don’t particularly like these little autos.

You are a big guy and have plenty of hiding places for the bigger guns, old people and women not so much. Any encounter we have is going to be close range for self defense and anything more than 5 feet you can count on a trial and likely conviction. Otherwise we use a rifle.

[itsahoot]

If a striker fire went off in his pocket he pulled the trigger while fiddling with it. The holster weapon had to either be a double action and he dragged the hammer back with some article of clothing or he had it cocked without the safety being on. I have never had a weapon of any kind go off that I didn’t intend for it to. And I have been shooting them for over 70 years.

[The Pack Knight]

Both firearms were striker-fired.

The holster weapon was a Glock 19, and if you look at the story I linked to, he shows, with photos, exactly how it happened. Part of the holster folded into the trigger well and pushed the trigger as he twisted his torso.

The pocket-carried gun was a Ruger LC9. There is no indication in the news article as to what happened. Perhaps he was fiddling with it in his pocket, or perhaps something caught on the trigger when he was moving around. Either way, that’s exactly the same sort of discharge that could happen with a pistol loosely carried in a purse.

Those were just two examples I had handy. There are numerous others if you care to look, including two linked in the holster-carry article.

I applaud your 70 years of negligent-discharge-free shooting. But that doesn’t mean they don’t happen, and sometimes they happen because people carry without a holster that covers the trigger. I appendix-carry a cocked-and-locked 1911 with no worry, but part of that is because I carry in a proper holster that covers the trigger and the thumb safety.

[Big Red Badger]

Keys lodged
In trigger
Guard?