I've had my CCP for almost a year and am just getting used to carrying in public.  I have a S&W Bodyguard .380 that I sometimes carry as a true pocket pistol and a glock that I hope to be carrying soon in an IWB holster.



I only carry when I have large pockets in my pants or coat pockets with zippers.  In a crowd, I not worried about printing......I am petrified that my pistol will fall out of my pocket somehow and be seen by someone who will go berserk.  Perhaps bending over at a hardware store or at a grocery store.



Anyone else have similar thoughts or have any of you actually had an incident in public?  If so, how did everyone react?  



Because of this fear, I am super careful in public!



Thx,



Garland in VA

I carry in IL. I give zero shits if someone gets sceered.

I was racing my four-year-old down an aisle at a grocery store.
I heard that unmistakable sound of a gun hit the floor. My KelTec P3AT fell out of my pocket and was skidding down the aisle.
Only one other person was in the aisle, an older black lady. She saw everything and didn't react at all.
I humbly approached her in the next aisle and reassured her that everything was ok.
She said "I know". I was happy she didn't freak out and was surprised by her indifference.

No more racing down grocery store aisles for me.  

If you have to worry about your pistol hitting the floor you are carrying it completely wrong.

"True Pocket Carry"?  Really?  Get a pocket holster.  

If you don't care what others think about careless pistol handling, you should.  The last thing we need are more voters seeing more idiots handling guns irresponsibly and having that be the foremost thought in their minds the next time a gun rights issue or an anti-gun candidate is on the ballot.

Carrying firearms is a constitutional right, not a God given right and if we don't exercise that right responsibly we'll end up losing that right when others feel the threat posed by morons outweighs the benefits of the rest of us being able to carry firearms.

So when you carry, remember - with that right you also have a responsibility to carry safely, and without scaring the hell out of other people.

You have open pistol carry in VA.  Use it.  ARFCOM will be butthurt.

Quote History

Quoted:
If you have to worry about your pistol hitting the floor you are carrying it completely wrong.

"True Pocket Carry"?  Really?  Get a pocket holster.  

If you don't care what others think about careless pistol handling, you should.  The last thing we need are more voters seeing more idiots handling guns irresponsibly and having that be the foremost thought in their minds the next time a gun rights issue or an anti-gun candidate is on the ballot.

Carrying firearms is a constitutional right, not a God given right and if we don't exercise that right responsibly we'll end up losing that right when others feel the threat posed by morons outweighs the benefits of the rest of us being able to carry firearms.

So when you carry, remember - with that right you also have a responsibility to carry safely, and without scaring the hell out of other people.

View Quote

This^^

I could do cartwheels and my pistol wouldn't fall out of its holster.

Can someone recommend a pocker holster?  The are a number of different styles.  Maybe the wallet-type would do.

Galco and Desantis both make good holsters. If you are on a budget Tagua makes a good one. Remember the pocket you put it in matters too. I carry mine in my front right jeans pocket in a Tagua pocket holster. I am not worried about if falling out and it is just another bulge in my pocket. Carry around your house until you are comfortable carrying.

when I carried a P3AT and LCP (I now carry a G42) I used an Andrews Custom leather pocket holster.... I added a kydex flap that rolled up out of the way when the pistol was gripped... pic of a couple of the Andrews left and right handed models that preceded  the pocket, also a Fobus with kydex protector flap

carry it in your purse or in natures pocket.


seriously you are doing it wrong. i could hang upside down with any of my carry guns and they wouldnt fall out

Don't worry about it. I have been carrying for almost a year as well and have yet to be outed for carrying concealed and I carry a Glock 19 everyday. The first step to not being caught is a high quality belt and holster. Those two will ensure your weapon doesn't fall out (carrying with no holster in the pocket isn't one of my go to methods but it works). Second is all about you getting comfortable, next to no one will see your gun. Hell even if it fell out most people would think it was your phone honestly. People don't really pay that much attention and those who do notice are mostly other gun enthusiast.

If your concerned about your gun falling out, your doing it wrong. I don't get what's wrong with a holster?

I think your problem is you carry a pocket pistol.  IMO pocket carry is the worst way to carry a handgun.  Get an IWB holster from a quality manufacturer.

Probably had a snubnose in her purse.

I highly recommend the DeSantis Superfly.  It's essentially a DeSantis Nemesis with an additional flap made of the same holster material to break up the outline.  This extra flap is held on with Velcro, so if you don't want to use it just pull it off, then reattach at a later date.  This holster is very grippy and stays put very well in the pocket.  I like the extra flap for wearing in thinner fabric pants/shorts, since if I move my leg a certain way the pistol may print slightly, but with the flap it just looks like I'm carrying a wallet in my front pocket.  

I carry a Ruger LCP all the time in my Superfly.  It's a great holster, and I can't really say anything negative about it.

Haha yeah you think she's cool, but she had her hand on HER bodyguard the whole time lol. You can get a tiny little iwb holster that with the little gun will be almost imperceptible

I don't worry about printing in public. Most everyone is updating facebook or some shit and they wouldn't see a body on the floor much less your gun in your pocket or under a shirt!

If you're going to carry, do so in a proper holster and do it everyday all day with zero f's given.

+1 On The money

Carrying a pistol in your pocket without a holster has always seemed like a terrible idea. Especially because my pockets always have some type of debris in them (landscaping).
almost as bad as the guys in the movies that never use a holster and just tuck it in their waistband.
I have a Peters custom holster for my shield that has a lot of retention. I like to have full control over the weapons I carry.

I hesitate to tell this story cuz it was so embarrassing for my buddy - and could've proven far worse. (Yeah. I was rather embarrassed as well!)

"John" and I were enjoying a game of pool and a couple beers at a bar during Bike Week, in Gettysburg. He'd not been licensed all that long and, despite my advice, he was carrying w/o use of a holster. He just had it tucked into the waistband of his loose-fitting jeans and . . .

Well, as they were known to do, the Gettysburg PD came into the bar and just walked around, checking everybody out (make of that what you will). They weren't called, or anything. They were just there. So, being new to CCW and overly-self-aware, he saw them come out of the crowd nearby and, self-consciously, he did a self-check - and knocked his XD45 right past his waistband - where it fell right through his baggy shorts (yeah. He rides in shorts too!) and clattered to the floor - the magazine flying one direction, the pistol, another - stopping halfway between him and the stunned police officers!

Needless to say, he had an "Oh, shit!" look on his face and the cops didn't know WTF to do! My buddy looks over to me with a "WTF do I do now?" look on his face and I just held out my hands in a "be calm" gesture - which the cops saw, of course.

You'd have thought it was the Red Sea parting, the way every biker backed away from us! The silence was deafening. THANK GOD we were in Gettysburg and not some high-crime shit hole, or it may very well have ended differently!

Thankfully, everything turned out okay. He explained what happened and even though the cops weren't too pleased, they didn't cite him for carrying in a bar while drinking. They gave it back to him and told him to go lock it up or go home. He chose the former - but, we soon took off cuz nobody wanted to have anything to do with him after that (or me, for that matter)! I guess they figured he was either a narc or undercover - albeit, a pretty doppy one! LOL

That was better'n six years ago and, sorry as I am to say, he still carries that way half the time. I guess that, like the warden once said, "Some people, you just can't reach." At least, he wears a fucking belt now, so I hope THAT will never happen again. But, it was one helluva thing to witness, let me tell ya!


ETA: A year or so later he and the cops involved actually had a good laugh over this incident. My buddy picked up the borough and police dept as an AFLAC group (he's an Aflac agent) and when he went in to present & sign up the officers, he told them who he was and reminded them what happened. Apparently, the cops started howling at that!

He's actually got a great relationship with them all now and they tease him about it every time he shows up during their open enrollment period!

I know, CSB.  

God, I hate pocket carry without a holster.  Get a pocket carry holster or a proper IWB holster, what is so hard about this?

It's almost like people don't think about safety nor practice drawing from their carry rig.  Almost....

There is a reason why strong side belt carry in a proper holster is the best option.

That was a good story. However, there is no law in PA that prohibits you from drinking while armed in a bar.

Ditto, but I do try to be opsec. No need to have the man in my life cause some tard saw me holstering getting out of the car (I hoster before opening the door) but will unholster before getting in.

Can't help you there I stopped pocket carrying my big pretty quickly and switched to weak side iwb.


Magazines on the other hand. I had my lcp spare mag clatter to the floor in a crouded Walmart 1week after I got my card. I was tried "keep calm" but the cashier was VERY efficient in getting done with me

Gravity does not make stuff come up out of your pocket.  

Understandable to be very self conscious when carrying a pistol first time.  Couple things:

1) People are not observant  - and usually the people who are observant are other gun carriers
2) Obviously, carry a properly functioning, maintained gun in a proper holster.  If it falls out and somebody gets freaked, let them express their opinion.  If they really get freaked by an ordinary citizen carrying a firearm for self-defense, did you really want to make their acquaintance in the first place?

In my opinion, it changes if you are stuck in a shit hole like NJ or something, where there's basically no way to legally carry.  

Remora does well with my S&W .380

 
Really , both of you?  FIFY, The first 10 amendments to The Constitution are called The Bill of Rights. Do you know what's special about them? Hint: they are [span style='font-weight: bold;']inalienable rights:  All men are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" including "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The spelling may vary but the meaning is clear: an inalienable right is something that can’t be given or taken away by a government or another legal power.  Only the individual whom this right is bestowed may surrender this right.  
The government isn't supposed to be able to take these rights away from us which is exactly why the 2nd amendment is so important.  Sometimes supporters of the 2A are our own worst enemy.  Read The Constitution, read the SCOTUS decisions  and KNOW what's really at stake.

-T

I just received my new IWB holster from Polite Society Holsters.  I was sold on IWB carry within minutes.  It is VERY comfortable while sitting, driving, etc.  I'm wearing it at the 4:30 position.

No worry about it dropping out of my pocket by mistake.



Even though the stock S&W Bodyguard .380 has a seemingly 4" trigger pull, I agree that it should be in a holster while pocketed.  I'm going to try one of the pocket holsters that looks like a wallet.  

I had one. Sucked. It did hide the profile but didn't hold the pistol securely.

I use a Sticky or Remora holster to pocket carry.  It stays in the pocket when I pull out the gun.

This.

I've had mine exposed while picking up dog shit, and the guy washing his car across the street said nice glock.

Not a pocket carry story, but a tale of unseeing people.  Several years ago, I was strolling through Terminal D at the Atlanta Airport.  I had a HK USP in a fanny pack (legally I might add).  It was something I was trying out to transport the gun…because, while I was authorized to strap it on in the cockpit, I was not allowed to wear it in the terminal.  Anyway, while walking from one plane to the other, this cheap ass fanny pack decided to rip open and dump my duty pistol (in a holster) to the floor in front of hundreds of people.  Quick as I could, I threw the small duffel bag I was carrying on top of it and waited for the screaming to start.  And waited, and waited.  Long story short, NOBODY NOTICED the gun on the floor.  It was at that moment, right there, that I stopped worrying about printing with my CC pistol.

ka

Damn, that must of been a large fanny pack to conceal a USP.

Not exactly what we're talking about, but its close...

So, I'm working a second shift on overtime, just booked a guy at jail. I get out to my car, roll out of the sally port... stop at the stop sign at the corner. Check the call screen, find a stick of gum, car rolls by that looks good for a stop, so I punch it from the stop.... I heard a thunk in the trunk.... needless to say, I didn't stop anyone until I turned down the next street and retrieved my duty gun from the trunk...

That's one of those mistakes you only make once....

The trunk in those cars were always a mess, no organizers... all kinds of stuff back there for a Glock trigger to snag on when it fell. Dumb and lucky... that's kind of my thing, and and getting paid your tax dollars to screw stuff like that up....