Pocket carry bulge.

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I usually carry an LCP in my front left pocket of my jeans in a Nemesis holster. Going onto two years since I bought the little pistol no one has spotted it. There are a few places I go, private businesses that post "no guns" but I carry in them anyway. If asked I'll leave. Oregon has no penalty other than trespassing if you refuse to leave a posted business. When I carry my SR40c it's normally in a jacket pocket, again in a pocket holster, or in a belt holster under my coat. I've never been 'outed', most people aren't looking for a gun on a person. I did feel a bit conspicuous for the first week I carried but that passes quickly. Now I feel a bit naked if I go out unarmed. Carrying a weapon is odd in a way, I'd be more likely to forget my cell phone than my pistol. I'd be more likely to go back home to get my pistol than I would my cell phone. I know that the odds of needing a gun are really very slim but if you can carry and don't and the need arises then you'd be the fool. Kinda like having a spare tire and jack in the car, odds are you'll never need it but if you don't have one you'd sure feel the fool if you were stuck on a road somewhere with the spare back home.
 
If a cop were to ask what the heck is that in my bulging pocket, I can haul it all out and show him: Wallet, telephone, buncha keys, market receipts...

The thinner pocket, the one that does not stand out, contains a .38. Magicians call this misdirection.

But no one has asked.
 
Pleated pants, like Dockers, show less bulge than most types.

What KB said...

One advantage with pocket carry is that it's possible to establish a grip on the gun without looking like anything other than someone with his hand(s) in his pocket(s).
 
No one's going to be staring at someone else's crotch, they have things they want to see, especially when shopping. I usually carry OC and the number of people that notice a honking pistol in its holster on my belt are laughably small.
 
No one will care. I have a friend who is a construction supervisor and he regularly carries 3 iPhones in big rubber cases and a 2 way radio around with him stuffed in the pockets of his cargo pants and no one notices a thing.
 
My derringer bulges quite a bit from my front pocket in it's holster.
It never bothered me. My jeans aren't exactly baggy either, it looks like a wallet and nobody has ever came up to me with the whole "Is that a gun in your pocket or are ya happy to see me?" skit.
 
Look, everybody and their brother has a bunch of stuff in their pockets
you are just paranoid, no body is really going to notice, and as long as the pocket allows you ready access (so those nut huggin' Wranglers are out) you are fine

UNLESS, the person staring at you knows what a gun in your pocket looks like, and those tend to be in 3 categories,
Cops
Criminals
and Fellow CCW's

So, I'm more concerned about people getting close to me and noticing I have a large hard object in my pocket, but even then I've never been made, but I have been asked about my 'Smart Phone'... I don't have one of those BTW

Oh and a good holster helps, a really good one and the only question you will ever get asked is why you have two wallets, or about your phone.
 
First off no one is going to notice unless they are law enforcement trained or spies. Everyone at a store is focused on their own thing. People pretty much don't notice anything.
Now there are two handguns I carry my Kahr P380 in a pocket holtser and my Taurus Millenium 40.
The pocket holster for the Kahr is necessary for several reasons: being leather it protects the weapon. It breaks up any gun contour and looks like a thin wallet; it keeps the gun firmly in place eliminating contour printing. The construction of the pocket holster make it possible to draw the weapon quickly by the hand grip leaving behind the holster which is designed to stay behind. The holster covers the trigger, very important with the Kahr if you have a cartridge in battery.
Same thing fo the Taurus except the Taurus has a safety.
With a long black polo shirt no one notices or cares.
 
I would agree that no one will notice, but I understand the paranoia. I just recently started carrying, and sometimes carrying my LCP inside the pocket I get nervous about the bulge, but as long as it is in a decent holster it doesn't print, so no worries, and it is actually only like 1/8" thicker than my wallet! The thing to get used to is the weight. Even at 12 oz or so fully loaded, it is twice as heavy as a wallet. IWB is a little better but I was playing pool at a friend's house and leaning forward to take a shot I got nervous that the pistol would print on my back, but then I figured they'd have to be staring at my butt to even come close to noticing and I wouldn't have to worry about that.

I also agree that pocket carry is less than ideal, but sometimes it is the best or only option, and it is real inconspicuous to just walk around with your hands in your pockets.
 
The last couple of days I've been running a series of tests to see if I can GET anyone to notice the firearm in my pocket. I'd meet up with friends or family, not tell them I'm carrying and see how long it takes for someone to mention something. I'd make it real obvious too, like sit in a way that makes the gun print like crazy, stand in such a way that it pushes the gun out, nothing. No one noticed a damn thing.

Course the second I'd mention the fact that I was carrying their eyes would wander and then notice the suspicious lump in the pocket, but that's a given. All in all I'm still not at the point where carrying doesn't phase me ever, but I'm getting there.
 
Concealed carry was made a whole lot easier by the invention of cell phones, pocket cameras, pods, pads, blackberries and all those gizmos that bulge pockets. People are so used to seeing lumpy pockets they've stopped looking.

Anyone who doesn't understand the benefits of pocket carry has not researched it at all or is just arguing for the heck of it.

John
 
First of all, if you have a permit why would you care if a cop notices a bulge in your pocket? You have a license for it right? So what? Anyone else who might notice has no legal power to search you.



"Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just glad to se me?"

__ May West
 
I pocket carry a Kahr P380 in a Desantis Superfly. Standing or walking it's invisible. It prints slightly sometimes when I sit down, depending on how I'm seated, but I hardly notice. I don't think anyone else notices at all (aside from my wife, who already knows what I carry and where, and thus knows exactly what to look for - and even she has to 'cop a feel' sometimes to be sure).

R
 
Owen Sparks said:
First of all, if you have a permit why would you care if a cop notices a bulge in your pocket? You have a license for it right? So what? Anyone else who might notice has no legal power to search you.
Click to expand...

+1

That's what I keep wondering. If you're carrying lawfully, so what if someone notices 'something' in your pocket, so what if it looks like a handgun? It's legal, remember?
 
Just ordered a Desantis Super Fly pocket holster for my Ruger LC9, but I've carried it in both a shorts and jeans pockets with no noticable bulge and no more bulge than a large cell phone.
 
No one will care. I have a friend who is a construction supervisor and he regularly carries 3 iPhones in big rubber cases and a 2 way radio around with him stuffed in the pockets of his cargo pants and no one notices a thing.
Click to expand...
That has been my experience.

I honestly stopped caring. I now just carry OWB or IWB at 3 o'clock. It isn't the most concealable position, but I can draw quickly from any position included seated in the car. Sometimes I print, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I even print in the shape of a gun. :what:

Most kids wear more stuff on their belts and print more than I do. I was worried about printing in line once and then I suddenly realized that the guy in front of me had a huge, mega-screen Droid in a protective case on his belt that printed more than anything I carry.
 
A bulge in the pocket is FAR less noticeable than wearing a khaki "tactical vest" that hangs below the belt. May as well wear a flashing neon sign "I'M CARRYING A CONCEALED DEADLY WEAPON" :D
 
Even if they do notice and disapprove, they don't come up to you and say anything about it. Sheeple, "It does what its told!" Folks who don't disapprove may give you a "I noticed" glance, or perhaps even start a conversation about it depending on where you are. But in sheeple public, at the grocery store etc., they don't say anything --and if they do, you'll find out about it when the cop comes up and starts asking questions.

Like has been said on here, you will notice it more. You could even give yourself away by fidgeting or trying to cover it more. People will watch your hands if they are moving, then try to figure out what they are doing, otherwise, they watch your face. If you look at them, they usually look away.

I have no problems, I've noticed all the above, I sometimes let mine show --if the wind blows my shirt or jacket back, if the shirt prints, etc. Now and again I may even open carry, but I usually just do that to protest (and always with a retention holster).

I mostly use an IWB holster, it does work the best in my opinion, but from time to time I do pocket carry a scandium 340PD --this is, in my opinion, THE pocket carry piece. It is almost weightless, I've literally forgotten about it before. Fierce recoil though. The weight is what sags the pocket down and screams "Pistol!" Keys, even a bunch, won't weigh down and sag a pocket like a heavy pistol will.

Printing a little is fine, you have the knowledge of what is there so that skews your perception. I agree, WEG's post was kind of useless given the context, but an IWB carry does, from my experience, work better over time for conceal carry --to make it work though, you need to get a great holster and belt, department store junk won't cut it. You can draw much faster from IWB also, I can draw in the blink of an eye, but I have to dig around in my pocket for the revolver. A holster is superior for so many reasons, a belt one I mean and either IWB or OWB, but pocket carry is "better than nothing" as they say.
 
So what if it prints? The worst thing that could happen is that you have to show a cop your permit.
 
I think the good folks are missing the point. It is concealed for a purpose to be unknown by others. Until need arises.
Effort to bend, sit , dress and covert checking position could well save your hide.
If Mr BG notices it and you get targeted you may be the first on his list for unpleasant treatment.
A ccw is not there so you can say too bad I got a piece of paper.
Dress right , +2 inches for IWB have a good quality holster and be polite to others. All will be fine. It is just another tool for your safety , like a fire extinguisher of safety harness.
I have not spotted another CCW and I am aware of my surroundings.
Also be aware that saps, black jacks and electronic defense tools need permits too in WI.
 
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