Everything Concealed Carry

[TacticalCowboy]

Appendix or ankle for me. I carry a full size XD40 and/or a kel tec p3at in those positions, respectively.

[MQ32Shooter]

Rookie mistakes. Buying and trying to carry a Hog Leg concealed, just because someone else says that it’s simple, light, carries all day and NEVER knows it’s there. Bull. If it ain’t VERY comfortable and convenient, you won’t carry it all the time. If it ain’t on you when you need it, then you could be dead meat. It doesn’t have to be a cannon with a 20 round clip. It’s not like buying a Tractor where under buying is typically the problem. Good luck. Hope your mistakes will be cheaper than mine.

[John Bowy]

On the hip Taurus pt111 double stack

[jaytx]

G19 using a T-Rex holster in the 8 o'clock position I'm left handed. Its about the only place I can conceal one consistently.
I can say I've tried to run a small pistol like I would in a real situation and honestly can't do it. If you are thinking about carrying a small pistol like bodyguard or other similar pistols try running one hard in simulated situations like TVC184 suggested above and you might change your mind.

[Hunter75]

You have to start at the foundation, a high quality belt. I use an SOE belt with the Cobra buckle. A more ridgid belt makes all the difference. Then spend the money on a good holster. I have been using Ventcore IWB mini by StealthGear USA at the 3 or 4 o'clock position (stealthgearusa.com) for a number of years now and absolutely love this setup. I carry a S&W Shield everyday and it almost "disappears". I'm also using a Kydex double mag carrier at about the 7 o'clock position.

Like others have said, in the beginning you'll think everyone can see that you are carrying, not really the case. You'll also learn how to "adjust" things. If you don't get the belt just right it will tend to fall a bit. There will be a learning curve, just like someone said about visiting the restroom.

Just find the gun you'll actually carry comfortably, if not you'll tend to leave it at home.

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[Jeremy7306]

Appendix or ankle for me. I carry a full size XD40 and/or a kel tec p3at in those positions, respectively.

Xd on the ankle and kel tec on the belt right?????


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[Hooverfb]

The best position to carry ive found is either strong side hip or 5 o clock. Double stack and single stack fobprint differently, but if you practice and dress accordingly, its not a big deal. I'd honestly say the biggest rookie mistake you could make is using a small gun.it might be easy to hide, but small guns are hard to shoot accurately consistent without alot of practice, and don't give you any ammo benefits. Get something you can shoot well. If you conceal, you still have to hit your target and no one else.

[lbbf]

Also as others have said, get a good gun belt! It should be stiff. Make a world of difference in how comfortable you are while carrying.

[stinkbelly]

Explain the o'clock to me please. Is belly button 12 and back 6?

Yes. Belly 12, right hip 3, back 6, left side 9.

[1shot]

Almost everything in life has a positive and negative. You have to weigh them personally to see what you are willing to put up with for what benefit. For example most people would probably agree that in a gunfight, in most situations a shotgun or rifle would be a better option than a handgun. Then why a handgun ever? Convenience, weight, easy to carry most of the time whether concealed or open, etc. In such a choice the less firepower as a negative is weighed against those positives. It is that way with most choices.

For what it’s worth (which is just about nothing), I have carriy concealed for 34 years.

Most comfortable carry for most people if IWB is probably about 3-5 o’clock. It just doesn’t pinch or constrict as much as other options. Is it the best? Not For me it isn’t. I opt about 99.9% of the time in appendix carry... if IWB. I always carry concealed unless on duty which is a different animal. Why appendix when IWB? Access/speed. So it is an option between comfort and speed. I choose the speed. For me appendix is not uncomfortable but other options are “more” comfortable. Like always, it is a personal preference between positives and negatives.

I also carry conceal in an OWB holster but only when I can cover it with a jacket.

For purely comfort, someone people like an ankle holster and especially if with a small handgun. It can be one of the most concealed locations period. The negative? Access and speed. It is probably the worst place to draw from. If someone has to draw from the ankle, I hope that about a 10 warning is given. Walking through the mall and you hear shots being fired by an active shooter several stores away and you just want to get your family to safety, an ankle holster might be great. You have a few seconds to arm yourself and egress from the situation. If however a guy comfronts you and you only have 2-3 seconds to react, I hope an ankle holstered gun is not your only option. But it can be great to conceal and comfortable (but even that, not for everyone) so for some people that positive might outweigh the negative.

If carrying concealed with a jacket, a shoulder holster might be the ticket. It is just about as easy (and with larger hanguns, way better) as the ankle but way more accessible. I have carried that way in years past but not anymore. I just don’t like to have to reach across my body to draw. That is my negative but I am sure that some people love it. Personal preference in positives vs negatives.

What do I carry? Mostly a SW MP Shield 9mm. Sometimes the MP Compact 9mm and on very rare occasion, the full size MP. On similar rare occasions I carry the SW Bodyguard 380 but only if I can’t conceal at least the Shield.

Single vs double stack? Printing difference for similar frame size is so small that I doubt that anyone can tell even if looking for it. If I can conceal my Shield single stack then I can conceal my Compact double stack. Weight is the only difference. The negative on the double stack is it is heavier but for that you might carry another 3-5 rounds. I always carry an extra magazine so for me capacity is not that big of an issue but I do think about it before I leave the house. Positives vs negatives.

Rookie mistakes? The biggest in my opinion is not training for self defense and that goes for even veteran police officers. I am not talking about shooting skills either. Yes you should practice drawing and shooting and under stress. Quite frankly very few people do. Even those that do shoot, stop right there. For can LTC carriers the last time they will shoot is during the licensing or requals. But again, that is not what I am talking about.

In my opinion shooting skills many times take a back seat to mental preparation. The body will not go where the mind has not first gone. I have been in shootings, have witnessed shootings, have watched many videos of shooting and have spoken to or heard face to face from many officers that have been in deadly force incidents including ones that I have witnessed. If you haven’t mentally thought about it beforehand, you won’t do it at crunch time. Now, that doesn’t mean you will necessarily freeze. But before you take any action toward a threat, your mind will have to resolve it. That might only take a few seconds but being shot at or charged with another weapon is a bad time to start making plans.

I could go into many scenarios but there is no room here for that. I will leave it at this. About three years ago my best friend at my department and a former partner shot and killed a guy in an up close engagement (his second fatal shooting). When I first saw him maybe two hours later, the first words he spoke to me went something like, “I did exactly what you and I trained to do at the range”. He faced a guy with a gun about 10 feet away and the bad guy got off the first shot. My friend drew while moving to cover and firing while moving. The bad guy got off one shot. The officer got off seven in probably less then two seconds and you can actually hear him pause twice during that time. We have two car videos of it. I asked him about the pauses and he said that he was refocusing on his front sight. It was like pop-pop-pop... pop-pop... pop-pop. As he told me, he could have never done that had he not trained with me for that exact situation. The main point is again, the body will not go where the mind has not already been.

Many people reading this forum might be better shots than me but shooting paper might not help when you have half a second to make plans. An average shooter will likely win a gun battle with a great marksman when he has prepared mentally.

In my opinion.

Really good info. Thank you

[Hamshire]

I'm just waiting on TVC to write a book. I'll be the first in line to buy it.

That's not sarcasm!

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[dcbrown]

Glock 23 40 cal., 4-5 o'clock position, Texas Gunleather "Texas Heritage" IWB holster. Carrying this combo for about 10 years now.

[35remington]

I'm just waiting on TVC to write a book. I'll be the first in line to buy it.

That's not sarcasm!

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I hope the footnote on every page says "In my opinion."

[Hamshire]

I hope the footnote on every page says "In my opinion."

Well, that's your opinion.

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[Smithwr]

I carry a xds in a crossbreed supertuck 4 oclock