Being Made when CC'ing

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conwict said:
Someone might engage you in a debate?
Oh wait... that's what you want.
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Why on earth would you say that? I don't want to debate anyone on the subject, and I don't.

:rolleyes: indeed.
 
once a few of us got our cc permits (western NC) we would carry inside walmart and reach up for stuff, squat down, sometimes reaching over people to see if they would notice. After about 3 times of doing this (with my glock 29 and govt. springfield) i figured that i was doing good concealing and that i should conduct myself as i would if i wasnt carrying. Either they didnt notice or they didnt care. Most people around here are gun friendly though.
 
I can see that i'm likely paranoid.
I do believe "for me" CC is better than OC. I do have a desire to remain out of the spotlight and keep my hardware hidden.

I can see how the word "clueless" was misleading. I don't mean to be prejudicial or condescending. What i'm really getting at is that I wonder how aware or able to identify what they see as a gun?

My gut feeling is most likely right that most people won't know what they are looking at. I'm 6' and 175. I can't really add a bulge to the already present bulges that some have ;)

I can legally open carry here in MN, so thats not really an issue. As has been discussed at length before, I am thinking more about the PR of the issue. But it sounds like those that would be in the know wouldn't be the ones that would care.
 
I got made by my instructor while in class one day. She used her pointing stick--finely made in Sweden*--to poke me in the side above it as she walked past me.




*if you get that, I'm shocked.
 
One time since 1995. I was at a mall kiosk to upgrade my wife's phone. I had just retrieved my Miami Classic from a friend of mine, and he had let it out a notch because he's bigger than me. I was wearing an unzipped hoodie. The guy in the kiosk (it was run by three brothers,) said; "That guy totally has a gun. Dude, are you packing?" I looked and realized that the left side strap was showing, because it wasn't as tight as normal. It started a conversation about carry, and I told him to read "The Teeth of the Tiger" by Tom Clancy, in which carry permit holders thwart a mass shooting in......the mall which we were standing in and talking.
 
Background : I live in Wisconsin, where OC (long-time)and CC (recently) are legal. I did OC (OWB) my "big" Sig P229 into Starbucks on Valentine's day, and told them why I was supporting them. People noticed but didn't care or comment ... at all.

Every day, I carry a S&W BG 380 in a pocket holster. I typically wear Levi's, and it is noticeable, but looks like a big-ish phone or a wallet. The Levi's contain it better than dress pants, where it flops a bit. I have it in my pocket right now at my desk.

Here are five common (true) scenarios for me :

1. Most mornings, I change from my jeans to shorts at the Y ... right next to a Sherriff's deputy who puts his pistol in his locker right next to me 2-3 x / week. I've even asked him about how the new carry laws have affected their job and the atmosphere on the streets (Answer : "None ... 48 states have been doing it for years"). He has never seemed to notice, even though I take my jeans off right in front of him. He certainly has never asked me or let on.

2. Every morning, I carry into our hospital and change into scrubs, usually along with my buddies, some of whom are also gun people. No one has ever seemed to notice or mentioned anything about carrying. Holster stays in the pocket and jeans go in a (locked) locker.

3. I sometimes stand on stage at our church (carrying R front pocket as usual) and sing in front of ~1000 or direct the choir. Again, no appreciable notice.

4. I've been to meetings with the hospital CEO and all the big wigs -- trusty R front as always. No notice.

5. My daughters play around with me on the floor, and we goof around together all the time. Trusty R front .... No Notice. (Hold your AD/ND chatter ... In a holster, completely covering the trigger guard, long, hard DAO pull, PLUS the manual safety on.....)



Getting the picture? ....... :)


It is easier for me, because I have chosen to pocket carry for the above reasons. Hard to discreetly take your pants off with a P229 in an IWB ....

I also carry openly when on my land, and most folks know I have a little 22 LR shooting range out back. Still, no one asks me.


I wouldn't worry at all, UNLESS printing or revealing is a BIG sin in your AREA.

JMHO
 
Most people don't notice even if you are open carrying, much less concealing it.
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I went to a leather shop last week to order a holster. His shop is his work area, he's not behind a counter. We talked at length and he showed me some of his work. It wasn't until I was about to leave that I noticed the full sized 1911 with pearl grips he was OCing at 2 o'clock.

I wouldn't worry overly about people noticing.
 
kopcicle said:
This incident occurred December of 1991 . The most recent "conversation" I had with local LEO was early this year . I was approached with no less than three patrol cars and four officers over a license plate light . I spent nearly 20 minutes handcuffed , face down with a foot in the small of my back while my vehicle was searched , so I was told , for weapons .

and so it goes .

~kop
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Are you doing anything about it? Or is there more to that story?

I was pissed enough when I was relieved of my fixed 4" knife in the parking lot of my own apartment. The officers stripped me of my dignity when they illegally frisked me (in this particular instance it was definitely illegal) and then proceeded to lecture me (incorrectly) that it was illegal to carry a fixed blade or any knife of that length. They were sorely mistaken. I could walk around the lot all day with a pistol under my shirt and be within my rights, even though I don't have a CC permit.
 
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I was "made" when -- while sitting down -- my Seecamp slipped out of a slick-as-glass horsehide holster and bounced on a linoleum floor. In a Sears.

I build my carry gun and my wardrobe around not being made (the Seecamp is gone). That usually means either a pocket gun (a pair of 642s) in spring and summer or a mid-frame gun in an OWB under a fleece zip-up vest in fall in winter.

My goal in concealing is not whether or not the public is disturbed but whether some bad guy wants to a) get the drop on me when commiting a crime or b) follow me home to see where the guns are.

You've heard of "low-profile"??

I prefer "no-profile."
 
I have "made" a lot of people, Especially lately. Not so much as by the bulge or print but by their actions and or reactions. Periodically feeling for it/adjusting it, pulling their shirt down after reaching movements and they are generally more aware of their surroundings. All of which I catch myself doing from time to time.
I am a LEO so I am not worried about being "made" by other LEOs but other people seeing as I live in California and it is a crime to do anything.

PS... Disneyland is against CC in the park, but PRO carry to the park. Just let security know when you get to the baggage check area and they will escort you to the gun lockers. I did this my last visit and other than adding a couple minutes to my enter/exit it was quit enjoyable. Security treated me with discretion and respect.
 
I got "made" today at Sams Club after church. I had placed my purchases in the truck and removed my suit jacket, then went to move my cart to the little cart area. While walking back to the truck (about 20 feet) I looked at the face of the driver 2 spaces down. His eyes were wide open and he was pointing at me talking to his wife. I guess the black SW CS 40 stood out pretty well against by white dress short and brown IWB holster.
 
I'd be taken for a cop (I actually still get told I look like one, or am mistaken for one, even though it's been twenty years since I last jockeyed a blue & white.) If I've ever been "made", it has not been brought to my attention.
 
As an aside, I was recently in a Gander Mountain store, and got into a conversation with a young man who was eyeballing some of the Kel-Tec models in the case. He asked me if I was familiar with them, and I responded that "I have two of them on me right now." He proceeded to arc his head around as if to try to see where they were. I did not tell him. I'm left-handed, so he might not have guessed. The PF9 was on my left-side belt (OWB) covered by a shirt, and the P32 was in the left front pocket of my jeans, in an Uncle Mike's pocket holster.
 
1. My 17 year old gave me the best advice I have received regarding Concealed Carry. He commented that in big bold letters right on the front of my permit it says "Concealed" not Invisible. :cool:

2. I see people all the time walking into displays, shopping carts, parked cars, etc. while focusing on their phone's display. Pretty sure they don't notice the bulge on my right hip. :neener:

3. Given the above, I still try to be careful about bending over like into a shopping cart or reaching over my head for something. I see no reason to be careless or obvious.

4. I'm carrying an XDm 3.8 Compact in an Outside the Waistband holster at 3:30 usuallly with a darkish colored untucked t-shirt. That's not exactly a small gun. A good belt was the final key to making it disappear into the natural curve of my back.
 
I've got another one today.

It's been pretty windy the past week here, and I was wearing an unzipped track jacket. The wind almost took the damn thing off, and a fellow walking out of the Dunham's I was walking in to me commented "Well, you're just ready for anything, aren't ya?". I was wearing my 1911 and a double mag pouch.

I replied "except the wind".
 
People are to caught up in their own business and thoughts to notice. I've carried some pretty large guns and never had anyone notice (at least that I know of)
 
A lot of what SAM1911 is quite true. People, overall really don't see a gun outline under your t shirt, they see a lump that follows the lines of the cell phone case outside your pocket. They see a baggy shirt, or somebody, like myself, with too much stuff in his work shirt pockets to ever see the "print" of a firearm. Normally. There have been a few occasions when I wasn't paying enough attention to myself, like after getting out of the truck in a hurry, or not knowing the bottom of my holster was exposed under my shirt when reaching upward. A few looks have been exchanged but, nothing was ever said. Even the other day when a buddy and I were shooting the bull, him being a CHL holder and all I asked if he could see the outline of my full size Ruger SR9 under my t shirt. He just looked at me in a quizzical manner and said he couldn't tell at all.

I've noticed that for the most part, unless you, meaning other people, are intentionally looking for a firearm, they just really don't see it. Basically, if it isn't a big, flashing, neon sign, or blatantly out of place, people don't really care and really won't even notice it.
 
LOL, I've been punched in my 1911 more than once.

Twice by my cousin with physical boundary problems. He knew I carried, but didn't realize I was at that family picnic. Nearly broke his fist on my side.

Another time by a friend from colelge who didn't know I carried. He was shocked and also nearly broke his fist.
 
I usually carry a Glock 26 in a Blackhawk Serpa holster. I also use an IWB holster from time-to-time, and sometimes carry a full-frame Glock in a Serpa holster. I've been CCWing for about a decade, everyday.

I do believe that WE notice our guns more than most of the public. I know I'm wearing it, and every little bump it makes against my T-shirt makes me think it's obvious. I often have my girlfriend check me for printing before I leave the house if I'm wearing less baggy clothing that I'm not used to wearing with the gun. Most of the time she says it isn't at all obvious, even when I think it is (she's even occasionally remarked that she didn't think I was wearing the gun at the time that I asked her to check -- and she knows I usually wear it).

I've even had friends bump into it without noticing it (one friend who gave me a hug, another who jokingly swatted at me after I made a smart-butt remark one night, etc).

Some people are more "programmed" to notice such things. I'm a cop, and I tend to look for signs of weapons on people when I approach them. It's just something I'm used to doing, because it's something important for me to do at work. Plus, in addition to looking for weapons, I'm also pretty familiar with the most common ways that people will choose to carry a weapon, and how it'll look if the weapon is showing or printing.

I used to go for ultimate concealment, whereas today I concern myself more with gun security. I've had a gun fall out of an IWB holster before (you can be darn sure that's obvious if it happens in public), and I've had friends who've reported dropping a gun from an ankle holster. As such, I prefer the retention of my Serpa holster, even if it isn't as concealable.
 
Last night at a bowling alley, a girl that I was saying hello to gave me a big hug and pretty much palmed the grip of my 1911.

She didn't seem to notice.
 
i wear 2x tees or hawaiian shirts and haven't been made (IWB) that i know of. I've made others though. Some guys can't resist the urge to continually pat or check for the weapons' presence on their body. Probably new carriers
 
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sonick808 said:
i wear 2x tees or hawaiian shirts and haven't been made (IWB) that i know of. I've made others though. Some guys can't resist the urge to continually pat or check for the weapons' presence on their body. Probably new carriers
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Don't be so sure. I do that with my wallet and phone all the time. I don't carry a pistol.
 
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