How do you carry your CCW permit?

I've started taking the dog on long walks trying to lose some of the weight I've accumulated over the last five years. Being adjacent to the 9th circle of hell like we are, at least during the summer months, I dress as lightly as possible. It's lightweight gym shorts and a t shirt, which enables me to carry a lightweight snubbie in an IWB holster.

The problem is that the pockets in gym shorts are virtually useless, so carrying a wallet is problematic. Not only is it too heavy and the shorts to baggy, causing it to gallop to and fro as I walk, but the pockets in gym shorts aren't secure at all, giving the very real possibility of tipping the wallet out when I stop to dig a rock out of my shoe (this happens frequently; I live in the country, so many of my routes are unpaved), retie a shoe, rub out a charlie horse, etc.

So what I've been doing this entire time is taking out my permit and carrying it loose in the pocket, which solves the galloping wallet problem, but there's still the very real likelihood of losing it when I kneel down. Not to mention I have to remember to put it back in my wallet, and we all know how that goes.

So my solution was to order a neck wallet. It has just enough room for an ID, a credit card, and maybe a 20 stuffed in there. Or it would hold two IDs if you preferred. It's very low profile, and once tucked inside a t shirt you can't even tell it's there. So to make a very long story short, I'm beginning to realize there are certain advantages to carrying a CCW permit this way instead of in your wallet. I'm actually considering always using the neck wallet from now on.

My state has duty to inform, so the normal routine involves digging around in your back pocket directly after telling the cop you have a gun, which makes both parties rightfully nervous. With the permit hanging on your neck, though, your hands stay in plain view the entire time you're digging it out. I realize there are neck holsters, but they're very uncommon, this doesn't look like one at all, and it still beats reaching behind your back.

It's also next to impossible to forget your CCW permit this way. Once you get used to it, you feel naked if it's not there, so you can't easily leave the house with your gun and no permit without immediately sensing a disturbance in the force. It's not like a wallet that can be forgotten because it's in your other pants. And since it's around your neck it's virtually impossible to lose as long as your head is attached to your body. This is a big bonus when out on the water, when you would be tempted to leave your wallet in the car for fear of it ending up at the bottom of a lake. And if you were to lose your wallet at any point (we've all done it), you would still have your emergency credit card and 20, so there's that too.

This would be particularly attractive to women, as well, seeing as how they like to stuff cash in their pockets and leave their purse in the car. This would enable them to make a habit of doing that without risking forgetting to transfer their CCW from their purse to their pocket. Same thing for men who use a locker room at work, the gym, etc. There's nothing like being halfway home only to realize your permit is in your wallet in your pants in your locker at the gym.

Well, that about sums it up. Thoughts?

J-Bar said:

I have worked in industrial environments in which neckties or anything else around your neck is considered a safety hazard. I don't like anything around my neck. I've seen dogs and cats die getting hung by their own collars. I know that wearing IDs around your neck is more common than it used to be, but it still makes me uncomfortable.

If you are going to wear one, please use a neckband with a breakaway link to avoid any injury to your neck. If I were in your situation, carrying without a conventional wallet, I would laminate my card and carry it on a wristband.

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The chain isn't strong enough to choke you out, so no worries there. But yea, it would be a problem if you were to use paracord or something like that. I actually can't stand things on my wrist. I don't even like wearing a wrist watch.

bassjam said:

Long before I ever carried a gun I was on the search for the perfect thin wallet. Adulthood and marriage has added more than I’d like, but I still manage to keep it to 8 cards (including CC license) and some cash, and that’s it. So it’s very rare that I don’t have my wallet on me. But the few times I do leave without it, it’s because I’m on a walk through the woods behind my house or walking on some of the country roads around me. I don’t worry too much about having my CC license in those instances when I’m still within a couple miles of my house. In the 6 or so times I’ve been pulled over while carrying I’ve not once been asked to show my CCW permit.

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I wish my state were that understanding. We have to have the card on us AT ALL TIMES when carrying, even says it one the card. I'm not sure what the penalty is for breaking that law, but I don't really want to find out. We have some cops around here running for brownshirt of the year, so better safe than sorry.

bassjam said:

We have to keep our license with us as well whenever we are carrying, but its not worth it to me to do so at all times. Heck, I just checked my state's attorney generals website and our law also states that you need to keep a 2nd government issued form of identification with you in addition to your CCW permit when carrying.

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Huh, does it not have a photo? Ours is actually a full blown ID, pretty much identical to our DL. I believe it even conforms to the real ID act since it has the photo, chip, and watermarks.

Some of our routes are around 10 miles long, so we're not talking about just a stroll around the block. Minimalist shorts are what I wear, and there are good reasons for that. Chafing is one of them, breathability and moisture wicking are others. Khakis start chafing me in about two miles, they don't breath, and once they soak up the sweat they don't dry fast enough and therefore stop wicking moisture. I actually have no problem packing the snubbie in such shorts either. It's 100% stable and secure, and surprisingly comfortable. I can even run with it like that.

I despise hot weather, so I'm looking for the lightest, most minimalist clothing available. If it were legal, I would go naked with a sun umbrella.

jimmyraythomason said:

I never take mine out of my wallet but if I am walking, I won't need it as I'll be open carrying and we don't need a permit for that.

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Our local PD would have a fit, even though open carry is legal here as of last year. They're the kind of cops who would find something to charge you with, like disorderly conduct or some such nonsense. I was actually stopped one time and asked for my ID, well demanded actually. I asked the cop why he had stopped me, and was promptly informed that he was the one asking the questions here and threatened to take me to jail if I didn't comply. Little $%^$#% was acting like I had just approached a checkpoint in Fallujah. Papiere bitte!

Oh, and the best part, his reason for stopping me was that some kids had tagged a library, so stopping everyone in the vicinity was part of his "investigation." Yea, a guy walking his dog wearing reflective clothing, heading in the opposite direction of said library, during the morning rush hour when everyone is out on the roads...that's some good detective work there sherlock.