I don't see a problem with carrying in a purse.

Hell, I leave a pistol in my car 24/7; a car which sits unattended for hours at a time. I would think that should be considered worse than carrying one on your person, yet not physically attached to you.

It's not my preferred carry method but having something on you(purse) is better than not at all. Cowboy got me an across the body coach purse that my shield or LCP can fit in so I can carry while pregnant. When not pregnant I often carry on my body and in my purse.

It's a perfectly good way to carry if you are careful about it.  I'm always amazed to see how many women go into a store and immediately put their purse in the basket or who hang their purse on the back of a chair in a public place or walk away leaving their purse sitting wherever.  Those women are probably not candidates for purse carry.  While I prefer the look of a standard shoulder bag or otherwise, I carry a cross body because the only way someone is going to get it from me is  by serious force.

I have purse carried and think the hate over it is a huge annoyance.  

Barbara, THANK YOU!

I'm in IL and applying for my carry permit as soon as we can on the 5th (that's when apps are available). I'm going to purse carry. The push back I've gotten from guys is incredible whenever I've mentioned it. I have a small CCW purse from Gun Tote'n Mamas that I've already been using sans holster for several months. I'm used to carrying a smaller purse cross body for years and that's the kind of carry purse I got. The one I chose allows for vertical draw, very similar to a hip holster.

My instructor allowed use of my carry purse in my CCW class a few weeks back. In IL, the law stipulates that you must practice drawing from concealment in class (dry fire in class room). I can get at my pistol pretty quickly. There was only one other woman in the class with a carry purse, some fancy, impractical one that had such a small gun pocket on the backside of the purse that a Ruger LCP wouldn't fit in it (the women's LCR barely fit). It was good I had my CCW purse, as a number of women were interested in it.

I don't put my purse in the shopping cart. It's always attached to my body. I chose to begin carrying the CCW purse months before I got my permit so people were used to seeing it and didn't connect new purse with items in the news that carry permits are being issued. The first ones won't be issued until sometime in April, probably (90 days after application).

I've got lotsa hips and something of a belly, so carrying on the waist won't be very comfortable or concealable.

ETA: a new book on concealed carry for women by Gila Hayes, has a number of chapters on different carry methods, including purse carry. The purse I have is one specifically mentioned as being just about the best option. Excellent book, I have it on my Kindle. The pictures show real women, often middle aged, and not stick thin.

Concealed Carry for Women

In the classes I teach I talk about purse carry and the pros and cons associated with it.  

Pros:
You don't have to adjust wardrobe to carry.
Makes carrying a more useful sized pistol more practical, particularly for smaller people.
Excellent concealment.
Women almost always have a purse with them, so the gun will be too.

Cons:
Mechanically it isn't as fast or efficient.  
You have to be religiously attached to it in public (or in a home with kids or irresponsible adults present).
The gun is in what may wind up being the specific target of a criminal, making it easier to lose or at least harder to access.

It isn't what I consider the best way to carry for self defense, but the individual must weigh the pros and cons and decide for themselves.

ETA:  Almost forgot, purse holsters can complicate training.  Most ranges and classes won't allow them for safety/liability reasons on a firing line.  It is incumbent on the user to train with the equipment they will be using so a person carrying like this must find a place they can do so.

I would carry a gun in a purse too!

However, I am a straight male.


And, most importantly, I can't find a purse I like.

Nothing wrong with it at all. Everything comes down to situational awareness. Situational awareness will give you the extra couple seconds it may take to draw from a purse that you may need. In most cases if you are aware of something that could turn a bad way you can already have your hand on the gun or in close proximity. Plenty of times I have goofed and got my gun hung up on my shirt so stuff happens and you can't prepare for everything but you can carry in the most efficient way possible and practice that method. If the most efficient way you can carry is a purse then there is no problem at all with that.

Even if I carry on my side I also carry a fullsize in my northface shoulder bag. I say bag cause it's not small like a purse or big like a messenger bag it's in between. Plain and simple I feel more comfortable engaging threats with a full size than I do with my sheild, bodyguard, or other small carry gun. I normally have my glock 17 or if feeling destructive my glock 21 in my bag and have it rigged with a paracord charm or whatever you call it to the lanyard loop on the grip and it's rigged on the back of my bag so I can vary easily grab that and pull the gun from the velcroed pouch on back.

I vary much like carrying in small bag/purse or messager bag as I can carry a full size that if carries on me I could never fit with any of my clothes unless I am wearing a jacket and not taking the jacket off.

However like any wardrobe option there are many kinds of accessories to work with different things and I look at a carry gun that way. I don't just have one carry gun and I don't have just one carry method. Variety is the spice of life and no matter what someone chooses you have to have good situational awareness, practice with the method, and most importantly carrying in the worst way is better than not carrying at all (not to in anyway say purse carry is the worst way).

The point is to have it when you need it.  If having it is your purse fulfills that for you, you're all set.  Anyone who is critical of something that is working great for you is just being difficult.  Don't spend energy worrying about them.  You can't make other people happy.

Me too. While not preferred, sometimes off body is unavoidable. It's either that, or not carry at all.

Oh hai! Good first post.

And welcome to the site.

For me, I wouldn't want to drag a purse everywhere with me. I hate my purse

I think carrying in a purse is about 1000% better than not carrying at all, and I wish it weren't so heavily discouraged. But having done it for a couple years, I can say I really really really do not like it, and I'm in the process of paying off a Kel-Tec P3AT so I can carry on-body.

Yes, the P3AT is teeny-tiny. But the Glock 19 in the Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack I carry is too big and heavy for me to carry on-body without completely changing my wardrobe, which I'm not willing or able to do.

I work at a place where I have to walk from one building to another sometimes, often amidst crowds, in all kinds of weather. I'd like to leave my bag in my office, but then I'm not only unarmed, but have irresponsibly left my weapon unattended. (Other people have keys to my office, so locking it is insufficient in my opinion.)

I'm not allowed to carry at work, but I do anyway. I work in a very bad neighborhood in a very large high-crime city. If I were to get made by someone here, I doubt they'd turn me in to corporate. And if they did, oh well. Rather be fired than dead.

We have large events here at work, ranging from a few thousand to 25K people, always with at least a few unsavory characters, and I'm out walking among them regularly. No way I'm doing that unarmed - but now my only option is a big, bulky, suspicious-looking bag, made very heavy by a loaded Glock 9mm.

Yeah the P3AT is small, but it's what I can conceal in the light clothing (dresses, skirts, leggings) I wear to weather the Texas summer. In an Uncle Mike's clip holster at the 5:00 position, it disappears. And it's light enough (around 8 oz. unloaded) that I can carry it while walking the dog, grocery shopping, etc.

I personally look forward to knowing I have it right there on me. But I agree that a big fuss is made about purse carry that I think puts some women off from carrying at all, and that is a shame.

Interestingly, since I got my carry permit two weeks ago, I've only carried on body. I'll probably carry in my purse once the weather warms up more.

"it's not the ideal method, but that doesn't exist." Truer words never spoken.

I've never heard that expression "training like you live," but I like it. I have noticed that most guys go to the range in standard guy clothes, the kind they might wear on any given day, but women have to dress in clothes they might never wear anywhere else. I understand the safety reasons for wearing long pants, a shirt with a higher neck, etc. But I never dress that way in real life.

That like arguing that it is perfectly acceptable to carry in condition 3.  In a self defense situation, you're probably already going to be at a disadvantage; why would you want to compound that by limiting yourself further?

True story.

I was helping out several years back at a friends shop and this middle aged black lady came in and announced she was ready to purchase a G27
that she was going to purse carry and she first wanted to test fit it to this particular purse .

Although she seemed to have her mind made up the boss and I started to ask if she had thought through the various potential problems of off body carry including possibly having someone taking the purse .

She came back with the fact that this particular purse was some high end designer deal that was worth more than the Glock and the fight would be on if anyone looked twice at her purse. "Ain't nobody touching my (name brand) "

Additional info proved out she had come up through the ranks at the New Haven Police Department to Detective and she needed this Glock as she was turning all City gear in the next day at her retirement.
New Haven is a tough place and I am pretty sure the Police there see the worst of it , no doubt even in advanced middle age this was one tough lady

Did the paperwork, paid for gun and ammo , asked to load it after which she tucked the gun and spare loaded mag in the purse , slid the box back over the counter "I don't need this stuff" and was on her way!

In police training we frequently use the phrase "train like you fight".  It means the same thing:  train in your uniform, in inclement weather, with the same gear you carry on the street, etc because you want your skills to be built around details consistent with what is likely to occur on the job.  

One thing we don't emphasize enough is training with our off duty weapons and carry methods, which vary considerably from our on duty gear.  It is on the individual officer to train this way on their off time as the department doesn't conduct training for off duty weapon use.

The basic idea is to make training as much like a real life gunfight as you safely can.  It will give you the best odds of success in an actual shooting.

Do you really think a thug who is attacking or robbing you is going to just stand around waiting for you to get your gun out of your purse?  Do you think you could have done better than this Arfcom member with your gun in the purse?  Have you read this 30 page thread on street robberies?

The truth is that in most deadly force situations, you (we) are probably going to be at a disadvantage because the criminal(s) will have the drop on us; it's not going to be like in the movies. While it's true that carrying concealed is always a series of compromises, the compromises should involve effectiveness vs concealability.  

You state that no one has ever tried to steal your purse, have you practiced a scenario where you are trying to access your weapon while someone was trying to steal your purse?

Bravo! I always say to people that just having a gun is not enough. Learning unarmed self defense is a must for all and your per suit of training inspires me!

Also situational awareness goes a long long way and so does common sense which is not so common these days. There is no one in all situation solution so thus there is not one right way to do things, there are many right way to do things. We can't prepare for everything but we can train as much as we can and hope that we never meet a situation that training can't help us.

So, I'll take that as a "no" then.

As I see it,  how you carry is a personal decision.   Whether it be OC, CCW, purse, murse, shoulder holster, pant holster, leg, bra whatever....   how you carry shouldn't be dictated by how someone else carries.  What works for them may not work for you after all.


If how you carry works for you then, good and carry on.

Very true words.  We are all adult enough to realize that walking around with a gun in your hand half cocked is the only way to get an optimal jump start on personal protection. That's obviously not safe, smart or legal. If your lucky enough to live in an area that allows oc then that's also as close as you can get to being truly "prepared" for a fight. Also not always legal or smart. So given the opportunity to carry my gun on me in any form or fashion, including purse carry when it's the only option, is still an advantage. As potential victims of crime we are always behind the curve. I know Barb trains and trains often in order to better improve her chances. That's more than most do. Anything we can do to give us a better chance no matte how small is a positive thing.

I'm not being obtuse any more than you are being evasive.  I asked three pretty straight forward questions, you didn't answer any of them.  How can you say "I'm prepared as much as I can be for any eventuality and that includes having a gun" when you haven't trained in the situation you're most likely to encounter, i.e. a man trying to take your purse while you're trying to get access to the gun in that purse?  

I don't want to come across as the mean, tough internet dude, but it seems like there are some areas of your training that you might want to re-evaluate.  If you're perfectly satisfied with you level of competency and have no interest in hearing a differing opinion, then that's certainly your prerogative, but to ignore the consensus that purse carry is a bad idea smacks of folly and hubris.  The sky is blue, but I'm not the one who doesn't believe it.

As a woman and carrying on my side... I  really dont like carrying in my purse.. When I carry a purse.. its a bottomless pit and I would have to tell whoever is robbing me to hang on while I dig in my bottomless pit to retrieve my gun.lol.

I am not sure on I would stick in my purse.. I am not worried about it getting snatched...I would worry that if iIleave my purse( which I have) somewhere. a kid gets ahold of it.

Carrying it in your purse is better than not having  any protection at all.. if you train  with it.. keep  your eyes peeled and recognize trouble before it gets bad.. you are all set:)