fanny pack holster recommendations?

[old lady new shooter]

Well, after many hours of googling, and getting input from folks here and elsewhere, I decided to go with the DTOM in the large size, and ALSO a cross-body carry purse ( https://www.romagunbags.com/product-page/front-pocket-leather-concealment-crossbody-bag ). (Carry purses have come a long way since I first looked at them a few years ago!) If they both work for me, then I can use whichever one is more suitable for a particular activity, and if I totally hate one of them I can return it and still have something.

 

[Old Dog]

OLNS, I missed this thread, but have you checked out "Gun tote'n Mamas?" They've got some great options for women, and some of my female officers who don't typically carry on-body when off-duty use them.
https://www.gtmoriginal.com/

 

[old lady new shooter]

OLNS, I missed this thread, but have you checked out "Gun tote'n Mamas?" They've got some great options for women, and some of my female officers who don't typically carry on-body when off-duty use them.
https://www.gtmoriginal.com/

I did see some of theirs. All their cross-body ones that I looked at had gun compartments too small for my Colt.

Did you check out the Roma bag I picked? Any thoughts on that one?

 

[Old Dog]

Hadn't heard of Roma before, but it looks very practical, well put-together (and fashionable). And it's good that they come in colors other than black. Please provide a review after you've used it for a while. For some reason, I seem to be a resource for many females in the family and my work/social circle for recommending concealed carry options.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Hadn't heard of Roma before, but it looks very practical, well put-together (and fashionable). And it's good that they come in colors other than black. Please provide a review after you've used it for a while. For some reason, I seem to be a resource for many females in the family and my work/social circle for recommending concealed carry options.

Will do.

 

[milemaker13]

Thank you, your comment put an equal smile on my face.

I like to think my appearance is a tactical advantage, what BG would expect somebody who looks like me to shoot back?

STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT!

 

[MikeInOr]

Back in the 80's when practically everyone had a fanny pack they were the best concealed carry option ever! I could carry a much bigger gun and deploy faster from a concealed carry fanny pack than any other concealed carry technique. Not as fast as a good open carry holster but pretty darn close. The good old days!!!!!! LOL!

 

[.308 Norma]

I like to think my appearance is a tactical advantage, what BG would expect somebody who looks like me to shoot back?

Sorry OLNS, I can’t answer your question. But it’s quite the coincidence you brought this up. There’s a group (6-8) of us “old” guys from up and down the valley here that get together at “Flags West” (a local diner/truck stop) every Wednesday afternoon for a short Bible study and coffee. One of the guys, Barry is probably the worst off physically, and he’s often unable to attend.

Anyway, Barry walks with a cane, wears thick glasses that have what I’m sure are some kind of hearing aids built into them, has an oxygen maker hung on one shoulder, and oxygen hoses in his nostrils. And he wears a so called “fanny pack” with its belt around his neck and under his left arm, which makes the pack hang right where an average person would wear a shoulder holster.

I, and probably most everyone else just assumed Barry carries a few emergency medical supplies in that pack – like maybe an epinephrine pen and an inhaler. But last summer I learned differently.

After the meeting one day last summer, one of my other buddies (Gary) and I drove over to a local public range to run a few rounds through Gary’s new .22 revolver. We were only there a few minutes when “ol’ Barry” pulled up. Barry got out of his car, and using his cane, slowly walked over to Gary and me, said “Hi,” then walked over to a shooting bench a couple of benches to our left.

What he did next pretty much astounded me. He first placed a box of ammo that he had been carrying in his non-cane hand on the shooting bench, then he positioned his cane under his backside so that he could sort of sit on it. Next, Barry unzipped that “fanny pack/shoulder holster,” reached in, pulled out a pair of ear plugs and put them in his ears. He then reached back into his “fanny pack/shoulder holster,” pulled out what I think was a Kahr 9mm, and went to shooting at some targets someone else had left behind.

I’ll tell you what – if I’ve read it once, I’ve read it a hundred times on these message boards how fanny packs just “scream gun.” But I cannot believe that – at least not in “ol Barry’s” case.

BTW, I'll ask Barry the next time I see him what kind of holster he uses in his "fanny pack." That might be a while though. Like I said, Barry can't make it to "coffee" every Wednesday, not even in the summer, much less this time of year when there's 2 feet of snow out there. Hopefully you'll have already found a holster by the next time I see Barry.

 

[dfariswheel]

Whether a fanny back screams "GUN" depends on where you are.
In a small Texas town people will wonder.

In a small city area, especially if it has a college, no one will look twice.

I've noticed that even people who claim a fanny pack is almost certainly filled with a gun are surprised when I ask "Did you see that fanny pack, I wonder if it has a gun in it".
I usually get a "Huh"!!, because they just don't look around and don't notice what's going on around them.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Whether a fanny back screams "GUN" depends on where you are.
In a small Texas town people will wonder.

In a small city area, especially if it has a college, no one will look twice.

I've noticed that even people who claim a fanny pack is almost certainly filled with a gun are surprised when I ask "Did you see that fanny pack, I wonder if it has a gun in it".
I usually get a "Huh"!!, because they just don't look around and don't notice what's going on around them.

I think there's also a big difference between a guy wearing one, vs a little old lady.

 

[old lady new shooter]

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF NEW PURCHASES:

DTOM
Very impressed with the DTOM, after a little experimentation, using only my right hand I can open it, draw and get on target in what I estimate is about 2 seconds. Somewhere I have a little timer thing (not an actual shot timer, but I can make it for example beep every x seconds) I want to practice with. The adjustable belt fits snugly around the waist and the pack does not move. Also the profile is much slimmer than all the other fanny pack holsters I saw online, it really looks like a normal fanny pack. I tried it with my phone in the appropriate compartment to check. And it is very lightweight, only 9.6 oz.

The Colt fits nicely in the gun compartment:


The one thing I don't like is the tab things sewn into the top corners of the seam on the inside of the non-holster side of the compartment:

This is way too easy to catch something on when drawing. For now I am tucking the right (drawing) side one behind the pack, as I am leaving a small space open at the top of the vertical side to insert my thumb to open the pack. I would consider cutting it off altogether if nobody gives me a good reason not to.

Trying a friend's suggestion, ripping forward from the top corner opened the top but the gun can't be withdrawn that way, so I'm leaving the opening at the top of the vertical side, rip forward and voilà!

gun purse
This is so far not nearly as satisfactory as the fanny pack, the main plus being that it looks like a purse.

First I couldn't fit the Colt inside. The zipped opening where you insert and remove the gun is not gigantic, and the holster is affixed with velcro to the inside of the compartment on both sides, and I don't have teeny-tiny hands, so I as soon as got one side unstuck, the other side would be stuck again. Finally I succeeded in positioning it so the gun would fit. Here is the compartment with the holster reasonably positioned but without the gun, so you can see how it's constructed:


A very big disadvantage is that so far I need two hands to draw because when I pull on the gun, the purse moves. The holster feels like it might be folded over, if I can get it all the way out and make the opening larger, maybe that would allow drawing without having to hold the purse still.

Even using two hands the draw takes longer than with the fanny pack because the zipper has to be actually opened -- leaving a space for the thumb is a little faster than using the tab but not much because there's nothing to help it open.

Finally, it's pretty heavy -- empty weight is 1 lb 13.8 oz.