Gosh, I guess that title is a little nasty sounding (thinking of prison movies).

Anywho, I was just wondering what you guys do in a public bathroom situation. I for one have to pull it from the holster and hold it under my arm pit while whizzing or it will pull my pants down. This usually means that I have to wait for an empty pooper stall. When using the porcelan throne, I can usually manage to put enough tension on my pants to keep from having trouble, but sometimes I have to hold it.

This may sound silly, but it is a real question that I hope you guys can help with.

Option A: If it's a paddle style holster or something else easily removed, remove the holstered pistol and drop it down your pants leg when seated. This works even better if you're wearing cowboy boots too.

Option B: Rather than removing the whole rig, just unholster the pistol, and stow it as described in option A.

Option C: Suspenders look normal enough on my elderly Dad. Maybe you can do it too.... Particularly if you have to take a leak every 10 minutes!

Quoted: Anywho, I was just wondering what you guys do in a public bathroom situation. I for one have to pull it from the holster and hold it under my arm pit while whizzing or it will pull my pants down. This may sound silly, but it is a real question that I hope you guys can help with.

As I have stated on many CHL/CCW threads, IWB cross-draw front is easiest when dealing with bathroom visits.

I'm a bit confused over your problems with urinal and your pistol pulling your pants down, (as most of my pants have a zipper, which I use, thus pants generally stay up even while zipper is down), why not leave the top button or waist catch fastened, holding pants up and just use the zipper? (guess I could make a joke here about trouble finding what your looking for, and needing to drop trow to whiz, but I won't )

I'll use the urinal right next to ya and you'll never know as the button on top of my jeans holds pistol snug in place and I have no trouble find my you-know-what. FWIW, removing the pistol in a public bathroom is not something I normally do as I prefer nobody know I'm carrying.

For stall etiquette:
With IWB cross-draw front, simply grab pants and holster, w/ left hand, (I'm right handed) un-button pants using right hand, lower pants, to lower thigh tucking IWB holster with weapon in it atop your left upper thigh, above the knee, sit down, spreading legs, which pulls tension on holster and will keep pistol from moving while your taking care of your business.

Should pistol for some reason fall out, it'll normally be caught by your jeans before it hits the floor, however mine never does as tension keeps it atop left thigh, even while wiping....

Feels a bit weird, explaining this, but hope it helps ya out. Nuthin is more embarrassing than having your pistol hit the floor in this situation, especially if someone's in the next stall......

Mike

Thanks for the seriousness.

Gunny - I'm only 23, so the suspenders might not work. I like you're option B though.

mr_wilson - I usually undo my belt button and zipper. I don't know why, that's just how I've always done it. I guess I'll start using the trap door (zipper). You're stall etiquite is usually what I do, but sometimes it feels like it wants to hit the floor. In this situation I'll use gunny's option B.


Thanks a million guys!

I haven't been carrying long, so if you can think of any other akward situations that I might encounter, please let me know. One of the worst things I've had to do as a water plant operator is jump in a ditch that was waist deep in mud. As opposed to giving the gun to someone else I just let it soak in the mud and spent 3 hours cleaning it when I got home.

I'm new to the carrying scene myself but carry ~ 4:00 IWB. I've always (well, for a long time, anyway) used a stall even before carrying, mostly because I'm paranoid. It's not a good idea to have your back exposed and be otherwise distracted in a public bathroom like that - at least the stall door buys some reaction time.

Anyway, I've had a good deal of success with unbuckling my belt and then grabbing the gun/holster combo with my right hand. Drop trou' like normal, only keep enough tension with your legs to keep your pants from dropping too far below your knees. This gives you some lateral visual cover (though anyone peeking under stall doors *deserves* to see a muzzle peeking back!) and also creates sort of a hammock between your calves. The weight of the gun/holster should fall forward naturally into it.

Yeesh. Just reread and that sounds a bit more confusing than the act itself. Hopefully, it makes sense to you, Gun_Fan.

Hey, Mr_Wilson, no need to joke. Us "non-zipperers" just need the extra maneuvering room. Can't fit a garden hose through a button hole, ya know.

Quoted: Option B: Rather than removing the whole rig, just unholster the pistol, and stow it as described in option A.

That's exactly what I do, Gunny.

Am I missing something? If you've got to piss, just leave your pants and belt buckled, and unzip your pants and pull out your piece thru the hole.
Most tighty-whitey's and boxers have a hole for this method too.
That way you can still use the urinal, and not worry about it bringing your drawers to the floor, or screwing up how your IWB is sitting.

For the number two operation, NEVER leave your jacket on those coat hooks. Criminals snag peoples jackets while they're on the pot. Most scount who is going where, and make a guess on if they have their wallet in their jacket pocket like most smart people.
I wouldn't fumble with the gun in the bathroom. Doing number two, leave it holstered around your ankles.
Be mindful of the guy next to you in the next stall. A snatch attempt would be kind of funny for a TV skit.
-Steve

The guys from NYC may be able to shed some more light on this, but my understanding is that several years ago, a popular robbery method there was to catch a guy sitting on the john, reach under the door, grab his pants and jer...err...yank him off of the throne so he fell hard on his butt/spine onto the hard floor, hold a knife to his privates, then take his wallet and run. Victim was usually in no shape / condition to respond quickly. Just something to think about.

Quoted: ...yank him off of the throne...

Which is effectively countered, if your pistol is one short movement away from being held at the low ready.

Scenario:

You're seated, hands clasped as if praying to the bran muffin gods for deliverance. Your pistol is resting in the basket created by the seat of your trousers,it's barrel parallel to your leg. Suddenly you are being pulled under the door. Your hands grasp the pistol laying just under your hands, and you come out of the stall firing from a perfect prone position (except that you are on your back, bare ass on the nasty deck).

...which is also why women use the restroom as a group. They recognize the tactical advantage of having numerous friendlies in the AO.

Quoted: Scenario: You're seated, hands clasped as if praying to the bran muffin gods for deliverance.

A shoulder holster works.