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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Another reason is that having a large, solid metal object directly over your spine can cause you severe and long-lasting injuries in a fall. Also, it is in a perfect position for a person to take it from you.
I had the same problem until I made a simple decision to add Hawaiian/camp shirts to my wardrobe. I bought a good, thick gunbelt and IWB holster and, voila, my goverment model 1911 disappeared.
If it's too hot for a camp shirt/T-shirt combo, I can still conceal under an untucked XL tee using an hankie as a sweatguard between me and my gunleather.
Stop. You’re killing me. Every time I broach this subject with the wife she innocently asks “does that come with a diamond for me?”
- “Yes, dear. A tennis bracelet as a matter of fact.”
IMHO Gator and Elephant are the only acceptable exotics when it comes to gun leather. The 1911 pattern was made to be carried in gator hide...now if you’ll excuse me, I must contact the Credit Union and a local jeweler.
The glue-on belt clip caught my eye. I have a .38 spec snubby for which it would work nicely.
I’ve seen a lot of nice stuff done in ostrich.
The nice thing about elephant is that it is pretty much indestructable.
my son caught the tag as I scrolled a page last weekend , he had to stop and absorb the thought...lolol...
A convert !.........:o)
Ive considered full wardrobe chnges, Im just too hardheaded a redneck at this time, besides, as this thread illustrates, there will most likely be several different arms, modes of carry, events/situations etc per week/year to consider anything as one size fits all...
I plan to keep 'tryin on' different combos and whichever works best will be the 'right' one on any given day...
thanks for he thoughts...
hehehe...my aim prolly aint THAT good...
Maxwell Smart: "Missed it by that much"...
Similar but I don’t think that was it. The one I’m thinking of used two screws from the S&W plate to secure the clip.
Maybe in a fall but concealed does mean concealed. I don’t know why anyone would try to take it from you if they don’t know it’s there.
To be truely prepared you also need something for the AR/AK in the pickup.
http://www.onesourcetactical.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1207
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