CCW for the 1st Time: Should it Feel Weird?
- Thread starter Dodge DeBoulet
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harmon rabb
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- Mar 14, 2009
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why the hell would you do that? i wouldn't move to a state where i couldn't carry. simple as that.
DERGLOCKINMEISTER
Member
I carry everywhere it's legal , and I avoid the places it isn't. It started off feeling foreign , but that quickly goes away . Open carry would make me feel as though I was flaunting the weapon and it would quickly take away the element of surprise. I always wonder what effect the open carry guys are hoping to create. I'm fairly well recognized in my local area and I think that it would surprise some folks if they knew I was always armed.
Being able to carry felt weird to me at first, but it was a good weird. After years of being able to carry, the only weird feeling I get is if I am not carrying. This doesn't happen often, but you kinda feel naked. Enjoy your right to carry and don't leave home without it.
Hopefully your M&P will call you in the morning and maybe even bring you flowers. Seriously though, it will feel like everyone is staring at you at first. The reality is that no one is noticing, and you will be more at ease after a while. Winter is a great time to start CCing come to think of it. Starting out in a Texas summer, not so much.
Zundfolge
Member
I've been carrying 24/7 long enough that most of my pants are a size larger than I need to accommodate my gun.
But if you don't have any larger pants, these things work great.
button extenders
(of course you can make them with some heavy string and an extra button)
AJChenMPH
Member
As others have said, you're not alone -- it took me a little bit to get used to as well. I sort of primed myself by carrying all the time at home before I moved to a state where I could carry legally.
And it only took me...
And it only took me...
...about a month to get that "it feels weird" feeling when I can't carry.Zundfolge said:
There will come a time when putting on your carry piece in the morning will be like slipping a wallet in your pocket. No big deal. Until that time, DON'T ACT WEIRD. No pulling at your shirt. No funny hop-skips to get your clothes to adjust themselves. No checking out your own butt. If you dress right, and check yourself in the mirror to confirm that you are concealing well, nobody else knows that you're carrying until you start doing rookie moves like tugging at your clothes.
Keep it real, be safe, and remember that you are not a cop or a dog. You are a dude that carries a gun in case he needs to use it to stop somebody from killing him or putting him in a hospital.
Keep it real, be safe, and remember that you are not a cop or a dog. You are a dude that carries a gun in case he needs to use it to stop somebody from killing him or putting him in a hospital.
NWCP
Member
It feels odd not to carry after having done so for the better part of 25 years. The novelty will wear off, but not the responsibility. My own wife doesn't know when I'm carrying 9 times out of 10. That's the way it should be. It's not a fashion statement, or anything you should advertise. With a good gun belt, holster and suspenders (it keeps you from having to hitch your drawers up often) your firearm is secure and properly covered no should be the wiser.
RonBernert
Member
+1 on this one. It DOES feel wierd when you are not carrying... When it is locke in the car safe, you always wonder how long it will take to get to it..
Jonah71
Member
I'd have to say, carrying a legally concealed gun feels a lot better.
Jonah71
Member
A little ironic that so many years ago I was more concerned with survival than being legal. Now that I live in the safest environment in my entire life....I'm legal.
Guy de Loimbard
Member
I started carrying about two years ago with a CZ-82, an el cheapo wal-mart belt, and no holster. It felt weird. I got a holster pronto and it still felt a bit odd but I did get used to the weight of it there. I got a Beltman belt about a year ago and since then putting on a pistol is about like putting on socks in the morning. You do it, it's there, and you don't really think about it for the rest of the day because it just becomes natural to have it there. If you carry enough it feels weird when you don't have it on.
Gouranga
Member
Like everything else, takes time to get used to. It will grow on you eventually then you'll feel naked without it.
John Parker
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2009
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- 679
...or he was checking you out.
Oh man did it feel weird at first!!!!
Every time someone gave me a second look, or checked me out I was afraid he/she had 'made me.'
And it was especially bad with cops, security guards, rent-a-cops, etc... I was totally freaked that they somehow just knew.
I've been carrying 4 years now, and have come to realize that nobody has any clue. It doesn't even enter into their consciousness that I might be carrying. There's no reason to.
Heck there are people who have seen the NRA stickers on my car and know I'm a gun owner and I don't think that even they know I'm carrying. And cops? I've had full-blown conversations with cops who had no idea I was carrying at the time.
As MrClean says, don't act weird. People don't notice a bump on your hip. People do notice you acting all nervous, tugging on your shirt, grabbing your gun through the shirt, etc... Just be cool.
I do give a subtle tug on the bottom of my shirt when I stand up to make sure it didn't catch on the grip of my pistol, but it's not noticeable to anyone. Only my wife has ever picked up on it and she knows when I'm carrying because she sees me get dressed in the morning.
Every time someone gave me a second look, or checked me out I was afraid he/she had 'made me.'
And it was especially bad with cops, security guards, rent-a-cops, etc... I was totally freaked that they somehow just knew.
I've been carrying 4 years now, and have come to realize that nobody has any clue. It doesn't even enter into their consciousness that I might be carrying. There's no reason to.
Heck there are people who have seen the NRA stickers on my car and know I'm a gun owner and I don't think that even they know I'm carrying. And cops? I've had full-blown conversations with cops who had no idea I was carrying at the time.
As MrClean says, don't act weird. People don't notice a bump on your hip. People do notice you acting all nervous, tugging on your shirt, grabbing your gun through the shirt, etc... Just be cool.
I do give a subtle tug on the bottom of my shirt when I stand up to make sure it didn't catch on the grip of my pistol, but it's not noticeable to anyone. Only my wife has ever picked up on it and she knows when I'm carrying because she sees me get dressed in the morning.
I think the weird would wear off after awhile. Like when my wife started carrying a knife, thought it was big and heavy in the pocket. Now she always has one.
Just got to get used to it, like anything else. Wearing a tie, or glasses. just wait until it's normal.
Just got to get used to it, like anything else. Wearing a tie, or glasses. just wait until it's normal.
Mainsail
Member
Give open carry a try, then CC will seem old-hat.
NMGonzo
Member
I am going for the beltclip on my 1911
Coyote3855
Member
As Clint Smith says, "A concealed firearm should be comforting, not necessarily comfortable." Or words to that effect.
Yup, feel naked without it.
Yup, feel naked without it.
Hi,
Welcome to the world of the sheep dog. As a "good sheep" for so many years it is natural to feel suddenly like a "bad sheep" . . . kind of like you are suddenly a "nut," or a "paranoid" sheep. But you are not. Instead, you are now a "good sheep dog!" You are still one of the good guys . . . certified as a person able to pass a background check . . . and a lot more in many states.
The first test for you is to do the "Wal-mart Walk" as you test whether the minimum wage greeter and all the folks at Wal-mart "notice." They don't have a clue. Neither did you until you started packing! The "Wal-mart Walk" is an unofficial rite of passage it seems . . . a logical place to get over your jitters. It is also a place you SHOULD pack.
WHO NOTICES . . .
Like a pot head can spot other pot heads, the only people who MAY "make" you are the other good guys and the cops. If a cop is concerned, he might approach you . . . but your actions are licensed and TOTALLY legal. After seeing your "I am NOT a convicted felon" license, he'll surely be cool with you. After all, in an extreme emergency when the sheep are cowering and he's stuck absorbing bullets from bad guys . . . he knows there's a sheep dog nearby who is totally concealed, and probably about to unleash a surprising fury on the unsuspecting thugs . . . and this MIGHT just save the cop's life!
I assure you that in time you won't be self-conscious anymore.
I attended a Christmas party and had a great conversation with a veteran Atlanta police captain who was also a guest. We talked in length about the reduction in crime reasons in Atlanta last year. We also talked about armed, legal citizens and he was all for it! He NEVER "made" me . . . yet my "always" J-frame S&W revolver was in its discreet pocket holster. Ironically . . . he was NOT packing!!!
Well . . . maybe he DID make me, but I don't think so. Either way . . . I didn't care, for I was legal . . . and was no threat to anyone there. Heck, I'm no threat to ANYONE . . . unless something bad happens and I CHOOSE to bite back.
Heck, I now even pack when I'm mowing my lawn on a hot summer's day, wearing nothing but gym shorts and a t-shirt. My S&W Airweight snubbie does just fine, even in those light shorts . . . and I get a kick out of talking to folks and KNOW that they are totally clueless that their neighbor has a "snubbie in his pants!"
Welcome to the world of sheep dogs . . . now relax and start acting cool . . . you have NOTHING to worry about!!!
Welcome to the world of the sheep dog. As a "good sheep" for so many years it is natural to feel suddenly like a "bad sheep" . . . kind of like you are suddenly a "nut," or a "paranoid" sheep. But you are not. Instead, you are now a "good sheep dog!" You are still one of the good guys . . . certified as a person able to pass a background check . . . and a lot more in many states.
The first test for you is to do the "Wal-mart Walk" as you test whether the minimum wage greeter and all the folks at Wal-mart "notice." They don't have a clue. Neither did you until you started packing! The "Wal-mart Walk" is an unofficial rite of passage it seems . . . a logical place to get over your jitters. It is also a place you SHOULD pack.
WHO NOTICES . . .
Like a pot head can spot other pot heads, the only people who MAY "make" you are the other good guys and the cops. If a cop is concerned, he might approach you . . . but your actions are licensed and TOTALLY legal. After seeing your "I am NOT a convicted felon" license, he'll surely be cool with you. After all, in an extreme emergency when the sheep are cowering and he's stuck absorbing bullets from bad guys . . . he knows there's a sheep dog nearby who is totally concealed, and probably about to unleash a surprising fury on the unsuspecting thugs . . . and this MIGHT just save the cop's life!
I assure you that in time you won't be self-conscious anymore.
I attended a Christmas party and had a great conversation with a veteran Atlanta police captain who was also a guest. We talked in length about the reduction in crime reasons in Atlanta last year. We also talked about armed, legal citizens and he was all for it! He NEVER "made" me . . . yet my "always" J-frame S&W revolver was in its discreet pocket holster. Ironically . . . he was NOT packing!!!
Well . . . maybe he DID make me, but I don't think so. Either way . . . I didn't care, for I was legal . . . and was no threat to anyone there. Heck, I'm no threat to ANYONE . . . unless something bad happens and I CHOOSE to bite back.
Heck, I now even pack when I'm mowing my lawn on a hot summer's day, wearing nothing but gym shorts and a t-shirt. My S&W Airweight snubbie does just fine, even in those light shorts . . . and I get a kick out of talking to folks and KNOW that they are totally clueless that their neighbor has a "snubbie in his pants!"
Welcome to the world of sheep dogs . . . now relax and start acting cool . . . you have NOTHING to worry about!!!
Bhamrichard
Member
To any of you that are yet to get to the comfort zone of carrying, I can't agree more strongly that a QUALITY belt is the most important investment you will make. If you have to make a choice between a good belt or a good holster, choose the belt first, then start saving for the good holster to replace the crap model that was affordable.
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