[ceestand]

Does anyone know of a holster designed to be worn just above the wrist? I was thinking it might be a good place for a small BUG, say a P32 for example. An ace up the sleeve if you will.

[George Hill]

ACE...
The Bandage.

[MJRW]

Was going to suggest duct tape a la Die Hard, but the ACE I would imagine works just as well. By the way, would this make you an armed^2 citizen?

[Kor]

I think there's some guy who makes these rigs, custom - name's Travis Bickle, I think, works as a NYC cabbie to make ends meet or something. Tough guy to deal with, though - he's always asking if you're talking to him. :p :rolleyes:

Seriously, unless you're prepared to wear a GI field jacket like Travis, or some other garment with BIG sleeves/cuffs, you're gonna have a tough time either reaching in to draw the gun(even if you can sneak your hand up the sleeve, once you grab the gun the "monkey-trap" effect happens where your fist holding the gun is too fat to pull out), or pushing the sleeve up to clear the gun(the cuff MAY snag on the corners on a P32's frame/slide, I'd be thinking about either a NAA mini-revolver or a REAL small derringer with a rounder, sleeker silhouette). If you're hoping the gun will sneak past a pat-down search, fuggedaboudit - the serious players on both sides of the law will frisk you there anyway, to check if you've got a stiletto taped to your forearm. Finally, the gun is only accessible to one hand(the one it isn't taped to), which limits you unless you strap a gun to each of your arms.

I still think the best combination of speed and discreet carry is a smallish gun in a front trousers pocket or coat pocket. If, however, you're looking for a really sneaky way to deep-cover carry your "onion field insurance," consider having a seamstress sew a heavy canvas gun pocket in the back of your shirts/jackets, just below the collar and between the shoulder blades - you can draw the gun with either hand from the "surrender position," and VERY few people are going to think to frisk you there.

[ceestand]

I wasn't living out taxi driver fantasies here, nor trying to evade police searches. I came up with the notion while flipping through some back issues of TFL.

Doing some homework on .38 Special loads, I ran across a post by a lady who said she would sometimes carry a P32 attached to her bra. Well, that's all well and good, but guys (at least most of them) don't wear potential shoulder rigs like that everyday. Even if they did, women, more so than men, wear their necklines lower, thus making that kind of carry more accessable.

Kor, the points you bring up are certainly valid, but any BUG carry will be a compromise in these respects. Try grabbing an inside left ankle holstered gun with your left hand. It takes the use of both hands, some funky maneuvers from the left hand, and a compromised body position. Trouser or side coat pocket carry has the same problems of one side access and I have troble getting my wallet out of my trouser pocket while sitting or up against a wall. I'd have similar difficulty under stress and in a major rush.

The monkey trap could be solved with a one handed "Hackathorn Rip"-style move where you pull up your sleeve as part of the draw. Most long sleeves have room to clear a P32 and even if it did catch the gun (poor design) it would pull the gun deeper into the holster (no room to go) and/or the holster further up the arm (again no room as the forearm is wider the higher up you go). This draw could be done in almost any position as long as both of your arms were free, even while running.

Unlike the shirt pocket idea, you can wear this with many different outfits, and if you have to take it off, it would be easy to do in a bathroom or even under a table. If no one is making these, maybe I should... :D

[Kor]

Well, if you're bound and determined to move forward with this idea, I'll just make a few suggestions:

- You could try stitching up a prototype from suede leather, self-adhering Velcro and nylon strapping; get the suede, Velcro and leather-working kit from your local hobby shop, and 1-2 yds of nylon straps from a hiking/camping/climbing shop. If you're just not handy with awl and thread, you could probably hit up a kid who's been to summer camp recently - he should be able to take care of it for you, no sweat. I'd cut the pouch nice and deep, with a couple of "ears" that can Velcro together behind the backstrap for retention. If you want to cut to the chase and get a nicer finished product, I'd suggest you contact www.fist-holsters.com and see if they can make something for you out of their super-thin Kydex.

- If you strap the rig directly to your arm, you can't really take off the garment immediately above it for fear of exposing the gun; I think it'd be tough to conceal the gun & rig with just a shirt, unless that shirt was cut generously and made of heavy material. I've checked my Kel-Tec P3AT against my own forearm, and it ain't gonna work for me, but YMMV. I might suggest instead that you use a patch of Velcro inside your jacket sleeve, mated to a corresponding patch on the holster pouch to anchor it - that way you can take the jacket & gun off more discreetly.

- If you draw the gun by pushing the sleeve up to clear it first, that makes the drawstroke a 2-step process, the sleeve material is prone to bunching up and snagging on the gun, and you gotta hope that the sleeve doesn't decide to slip down by itself while you're trying to grab the gun - I see a big Murphy potential here. Instead, consider tying a short 550-cord lanyard around the grip, and using the lanyard to pull the gun completely clear of the sleeve on the draw. You could use your support-hand to catch the pistol and stabilize it while the shooting hand establishes a firing grip, and then you're pretty much there with a two-handed grip. For discretion's sake, you could move the rig up an extra inch or so above the wrist, and tuck the lanyard inside your watchband - you don't want to be flashing the gun when you shrug your cuff up to check the time.

- Even an ultra-light gun like the P32 will have a tendency to slip down your arm with the normal swinging motion of your arms while walking - Velcro-attaching the rig to the inside of your sleeve will better secure the gun against this tendency. Also, consider keeping your support hand on an object like a newspaper, umbrella or portfolio tucked under your support-arm, so you have an excuse to keep that forearm elevated and stationary. This also works with your hand on the shoulder strap of a backpack or gym bag slung over your shoulder.

To quote the late, great Chic Gaylord on the subject: "In days of yore, when men wore very wide, heavily starched cuffs, the wrist holster for a small derringer was a pretty item to have around. The way clothing is cut today, however, a wrist holster is a dead giveaway and would be detected in short order by any smart mob."

On the other hand, Chic seemed to rather like another option: "In climates and urban areas where suits or jackets are worn the armhole holster is an effective undercover holster for very small revolvers, such as the Smith & Wesson Terrier or small automatics. This holster is buttoned just below the left armhole. It hangs down inside the left sleeve with the gun in a butt-forward position. The gun can be drawn with reasonable speed, and it will not be detected by a bump frisk. Men working undercover have worn this holster and gone through a regular police frist without the weapon's being detected."(Gaylord, Handgunner's Guide: Including the Art of the Quick-Draw and Combat Shooting. New York: Beamhall House, 1960. pp. 74-75)

Just some food for thought...

[Roadkill Coyote]

We use our hands for everything all day. We gesture, wave, point, work, play and reach. Any cuff big enough to retrieve a P-32 from, is big enough to see down. You'd have to modify your behavior to pull it off, and that still might get noticable. Also, every time you reach all the way to the back of a drawer, around or under something, you risk catching your gun on it. Ever snagged you watch on the edge of a pocket, or had to reach way around to the wires on the back of a PC?

Then there's the safety issue. How is the muzzle going to be oriented? What will it be pointing at when you have your arm extended? I realize that Kel-tec make a good gun, I have one. But I still don't point it at my chest, even in a holster.

:scrutiny:Edited to add: and with the gun on your off wrist, you can't use your off hand to defend yourself while your drawing in a close situation either.

[Old Fuff]

Back in the dark ages S.D. Myers in El Paso made a wrist holster with a spring clip designed for the Remingron O/U derringer or a small vest-pocket pistol. I have one, and have used it - but not much. It works as it should, but becomes unconfortable in a short while. A jacket will hide it, but not a shirt.

If I was going to make something myself I would get a very wide watch band and attach a small holster to it with velcro.