Best way for a girl to carry in a purse?

[VegasAR15]

My fiancee and I just took our CCW class on Saturday and we should be carrying within the month. She has two guns that are hers to carry, a Taurus 85 38special and a Taurus PT709 Slim. I know that off the body carry is not the way to go, but she will not do it any other way, its better than nothing. I am trying to figure out what is the best way to keep it in her purse. I know if she is carrying in a purse, one specifically made for conceiled carry would be best, and I have told her that, but nope, they are not fashionable enough(she is 24). I think I will have her carry it in one of the smaller zippered pockets. Would it be best for her to put it in a good pocket holster, maybe one of the cargo pocket holsters so that it cant flop around as much? I know its not the best, but at least she is going to carry so I have to compromise with her. Thanks

 

[Zundfolge]

Coronado's purses aren't too shabby looking. http://www.coronadoleather.com/
Galco's purses don't look too bad to me either http://www.usgalco.com/Women.asp
(but what do I know, I'm a straight male)


Getting a velcro backed pocket type holster that she can stick to the inside of her various purses would probably work best if she's going to insist on carrying in a non-gun ready purse.

The gun needs to be very easy to access (always in the same place) and it needs to be protected from other items in the purse and the trigger area MUST be covered to prevent items in the purse from getting in there and causing a negligent discharge (there's no such thing as an accidental discharge)

I wouldn't put the gun in a small zippered pocket, I'd velcro it into the main compartment of the purse so she can get it easily.


If you want to frighten her, have her do a Tueller Drill with that purse holster and she'll probably decide to start open carrying

 

[batmann]

My wife carries her .38 S&W in a specialty leather purse with a side pocket that has velcro. I don't have the name in front of me, but I believe a velcro retainer is quicker to acess than a zipper.
I will see if I can find the name, but I am sure it was made by a major maker. She's had it for over 15 years and outside the normal wear, it is still like brand new. Wish I could say the same for her----LOL

 

[heviarti]

My mother has a Smith 39-2 she carries in a clip-on belt holster she's been tuning to perfection since 1982.

I will say it doesn't protect the trigger (she set it up so she could fire from the holster if she had to), but the steel clip was good for her to slide on to one of the separator walls of a purse. If it rode too high, she'd cut a slot for the clip.

maybe there's a woman that has an idea.

 

[sxenopho]

If you're under threat of harm, the bag might not be on you. When driving, it's on a seat or on the floor. When sitting at a table, it's on the floor, over a chair, or on the table. At home it'll be wherever you happen to leave the bag, which is not generally in exactly the same place every time. A woman never goes out with the same bag every day, changing bags means changing contents, the chance to forget something, etc.

If you're living in a society where you feel the need to defend yourself with a gun, the incidence of bag snatching is already high, so you're at risk of losing the gun.

Keeping a gun in a bag is a really bad idea if you spend any time around children.

Can't think of a good enough reason to not have the gun on your person.

 

[Brian Williams]

Go to The Cornered Cat

 

[rainbowbob]

We realize your fiance has already rejected any alternatives other than purse carry, but sxenopho has nailed many of the reasons it is a bad idea.

[Welcome to THR!]

Ask her to go to Kathy Jackson's excellent website at corneredcat.com for articles written by a woman - for women - specifically addressing this issue.

[Edit: Brian beat me with the Cornered Cat suggestion by a whisker. ]

 

[VegasAR15]

Trust me I've told her purse carry is not the best idea and told her the reasons why. Everytime I tell her to grab something out of her purse for me, sunglasses etc. and it takes her a minute to find them I say, "Now what if you needed to find your gun because someone was attacking you." She is completely unwilling to alter her wardrobe at all or strap on a holster everyday, so the best thing I can have her do is put a holster in an outside pocket that has NOTHING else in it. Now she has to realize that she can't set her purse down anywhere, throw it in the car before she puts the groceries in the trunk, put it in a cart and walk away from it, etc. Hopefully as she gets a little older she will get a little wiser too. I am trying to instill more of a sheep dog mentality into her, as opposed to her current sheep mentality. Thanks for the cornered cat suggestion, I browsed it this weekend, but have not looked into it much yet, I want to read more of it with her there.

 

[bigfatdave]

CrossBreed makes the Ohai holster (LINK)
As far as a Velcro holster goes, it is pretty good, offers retention, stability, and protects quite well.

She'd need to put loop Velcro in her purses, and a dedicated pocket is important.

I feel your pain, MrsBFD carries almost all the time (because I nag) but won't go on-body for various reasons.
One of these days I'll find the right mousegun, I'd rather she packed a .32acp on-body than anything in a purse, although assuming she can draw she's quite well armed with an XD9sc and a full-size reload mag.

 

[Zundfolge]

I forgot all about the Ohai, that would be perfect ... just velcro it into her purse and she's good to go (I know lots of folk are going to try to talk you out of purse carry ... but I'm married so I learnt long ago that the womens has a mind of they own).

 

[Guillermo]

purses are the target of theft.

Not a great idea

If she is intent on it, there are MANY concealed carry purses available.

Again, I would encourage her to reconsider

 

[leadcounsel]

Incremental victories. I say it's a victory to get her to carry. Odds are that nothing will happen and after a year of carrying she may decide that purse carry isn't good enough and on-body carry is better. In that time though, she will likely have a situation where she didn't NEED the gun, but was glad she had it.

Yes, for reasons stated above we all know that purse carry is not ideal. Purse thieves are a real problem. My advice is to ensure that her purse straps are strong and won't break, and that she wears the purse across her body, rather than slung from her shoulder, to reduce the chance of a purse snatching.

Also, yes, she needs to designate a pocket for the handgun, and select a perfectly fitting holster that 'locks' into the pocket so that she can literally reach in and draw the same, every time, in a matter of 1 second. This needs to become second nature for her.

 

[earlthegoat2]

My sister carries in her purse.

True it is a prime pursesnatching target (hence the name) but she is a State Trooper and would probably either cold cock the guy or at least give chase and probably catch the guy since she has just started training for her SECOND Ironman.

 

[bigfatdave]

MrsBFD uses a purse from this company (not the one pictured above, do your own shopping, lady!)

The straps have a steel cable incorporated to prevent the "slash and grab" but of course no hardware can prevent the theft of a purse not in the hand or on the shoulder.

 

[357mag.]

You REALLY need to change her mind!!!The odd's that she will be able to get the pistol out of her purse quickly enough when needed are about nill.Add to that, it is a fact that purse "snatching" is a very common crime which will leave her without her weapon,and another stolen gun on the streets.There are MANY great iwb/owb holsters out there,she really needs to re-think her options.

 

[Zundfolge]

I understand that most of y'all telling the OP he NEEDS to talk her into a different method of carry mean well but we have to be realistic.

First off, a large percentage of women will just simply refuse to wear the gun on their person. Period. Aside from the fashion issues, for a woman with curvy hips carrying on the belt is significantly less comfortable than for us narrow hipped men (even when we have a spare tire).

Second, even if this particular woman can be convinced to change her mind, chances are its not going to be the OP that does the convincing ... in most issues women are simply not willing to be convinced of anything by the men in their lives. Our culture is just too saturated in gender feminism and women are just too heavily indoctrinated in the idea that "giving in" to their man is a form of weakness ... I guess they fear if they admit we're right once, we'll have them barefoot and pregnant within weeks.

Third, MAYBE eventually she'll come around, but in the mean time she needs a good holster for carrying in the purse.

 

[VegasAR15]

You are preaching to the choir. It is either she carries in her purse, or she is unarmed. At this point I would rather it be in her purse than in her glovebox.

She is not going to change her wardrobe in the summer to be able to carry on the body(Las Vegas 115+ days). I have not even been able to find a good purpose built handgun purse for her to carr that she likes. I guess at this point in her life fashion is more important than safety and if I push her to hard she just won't carry at all. Hopefully those ugly leggings will go out of style soon and something more CCW friendly will come into fashion.

 

[Zundfolge]

Hopefully those ugly leggings will go out of style soon and something more CCW friendly will come into fashion.

Not likely ... once the leggings go out of fashion they'll be replaced by something equally unfriendly to CCW.

Unless she gets all fat and starts wearing baggy clothes its just not going to be easy to hide a gun on a woman that dresses even remotely fashionable.

Maybe the fashions of the 80s will come back (high waisted pants and sport coats).

Of course there's also this or this if she's top heavy enough she could probably conceal a decent sized piece that way

 

[Wolfebyte]

wished I could remember the name of the manufacturer that made the woman's purses in the 80's that the hand strap to the purse was actually connected to a leather harness that wrapped around the pistol grip.

the purse may be grabbed, but as long as the owner had that strap around their wrist, the weapon would pull free from a Velcro closure. you didn't have to worry about items getting around the handgun, it was in it's own space..

 

[Ky Larry]

A dear friend was recently robbed of her purse. She's 69 years old. She was at the beauty parlor getting her hair done and was holding her purse in her lap. A punk ran in the door and tried to grab her purse. She wouldn't turn loose and was drug out of the chair. She finally turned loose after sustaining a broken hip and nose.All she lost was a few dollars, keys, and ID, all easily replaced. However. she will be on the mend for a few months. Your lady friend won't be able to fight off an attacker, hold on to her purse, and draw her weapon. Off body carry is not a good idea.

 

[c919]

Best way for a girl to carry in a purse?

Not at all....

 

[bigfatdave]

WE ALL KNOW THE PROBLEMS WITH OFF BODY CARRY

So stop reiterating them, unless you plan on finding the OP's girlfriend and bothering her in person.

Helpful suggestions or keep it to yourself, folks.

 

[NMGonzo]

 

[heviarti]

Perhaps if Dolce and Gabbana made a gun rig? Or Gucci made a carry purse? I've thought for years if we could get a pistol to be a fashion accessory more women would vote in such a way as to make carry more friendly. They'll pay a grand for a handbag... why not a Pretty Pretty Princess 1911 with Abercrombie and Fitch grip scales? Or a Martha Stewart's Living hi-power?

That being said, my mother carried for years in the PRK in a godawful round, blue zip up shoulderbag with pink piping. She was more concerned with the fact it didn't look big enough to have a gun in it. Her friend Jane used to carry these gigantic designer purses with gold tone chains with leather as the strap. She often had a Charter Arms snubbie loose in what she called the 'checkbook pocket'. Otherwise it lived in it's box, in her night stand. Don't think it's ever been fired.

Good carry gun? Ruger LCP, Seecamp .32, or if she can handle recoil a P-10 or Detonics Combatmaster for slammers. Ruger LCR, Charter Arms Undercoverette, Japanese type 26 (bad ammo availability), Cut down Webley in .38 Smith loaded to .38/200 specs with 148 grain CWBH, S&W Airweight Bodyguard, or something akin to the old lemon-squeezer on the wheelgun end.

 

[Zundfolge]

bigfatdave is mah hero