How good are you telling if someone's carrying, or do others notice you're carrying?

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GuyWithQuestions

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How good are people here at knowing if someone's carrying a concealed firearm? If the other person is carrying with certain holsters, ex. ankle or inside the waist, do you notice if they're carrying?

Also, has anyone here had people notice that you were carrying and they actually pointed it out to you or did or said something to someone next to them that let you know that they actually knew?
 
How good are people here at knowing if someone's carrying a concealed firearm? If the other person is carrying with certain holsters, ex. ankle or inside the waist, do you notice if they're carrying?
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This question is basically impossible to answer. How would anyone know how good they were without a controlled test? If they walked through the grocery store and noticed 3 people carrying out of 100 they walked by, did they notice 100% of those carrying or did they miss the other 10 or 20 or 97 people that were carrying.
 
i never caught someone carrying. but i and a friend was talkin for a long time with a chief of police in plain clothes and i couldn't find the gun. he had his lowest button undone. i once saw a plain clothed open carry and i couldn't see the badge. maybe i was on the wrong side.
 
I can't say as I look that hard. Outside of LE, in this state only criminals CC, or maybe I should say CC makes them a criminal.

I did see a couple guys once who looked suspiciously cop like with fanny packs last summer at a WalMart wearing tee shirts and shorts. Only people I have seen with fanny packs around in forever.
 
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I don't look at or think about others (regarding CCW). I try to be generally alert for suspicious behavior. I never notice other people carrying.

Lots of people that CCW habitually tap their guns through their shirt or jacket - THAT looks suspicious so get out of the habit.

Most people just aren't going to be looking for bulges on your hip. Most people, unless they carry, even if they see a bulge or even the bottom of a holster (even the uncovered barrel of my glock when I use a belt-slide holster) sticking out from under my shirt, assume it's anything but a gun - maybe a cell phone case or something else.

There are so many times I thought I should've been made I've lost count.

It takes a lot of carrying to get to the point where you're not self-conscious.

I've been made once. But the gun (Glock) got completely uncovered when my jacket flew back in the wind and it was spotted by a fellow gun enthusiast that did not know I carry. Se we both had a laugh.
 
I've noticed people carrying without a holster before in "bad areas" I've traveled too. It was hard not to notice once as somebodies CCW slipped out of his waistband and hit the floor in line at Home Depot.
 
I don't really look

I used to go to a gun shop where pretty near everyone in the place carried. It was a Saturday morning tradition to have breakfast at the lodge then go hang out at the gun shop. I know most if not all of the regulars carried, but I never really noticed anyone carrying till they pulled it out for whatever reason. There was one guy who would occasionally haul out some Dirty Harry sized revolver, and I never could tell that he was carrying, but he always was.
I was recently at a family function when my sister asked me about which gun to buy and she asked if I ever carried concealed. I told her that I did sometimes and made the point of getting up and getting us both some sodas. I did not sit down for about 30 minutes, walking around in front of her all the while we were talking. I then took off my shirt and she was shocked that she hadn't noticed. All of my family knows that I own guns and none of them suspected that I was carrying. None of them seemed to have any problem with it including my 95 year old grandmother. I do still feel self concious when carrying but maybe theat keeps me from being noticed.
 
My favorite one happened the other day. A sherriff who got busted for stealing Narco evidence out of the vault, I caught concealing a Glock in a paddle holster. I pointed out that fellons arent allowed to carry, and he rushed out of the sandwich shop. Still wondering if I should have turned him in.
 
My favorite one happened the other day. A sherriff who got busted for stealing Narco evidence out of the vault, I caught concealing a Glock in a paddle holster. I pointed out that fellons arent allowed to carry, and he rushed out of the sandwich shop. Still wondering if I should have turned him in.
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You made a mistake. You still have a chance to rectify that mistake.
 
I know I'm 100% accurate when I see a coonazz in a 1980's, two door pickup with a camper cover, wearing a Walmart jump suit, WWII vet cap, jogging shoes, clip on sunglasses and a fanny pack.

THAT old phart is packin' heat every time.
 
Well I never noticed before I started to carry but now that I do, I do catch myself looking and catching other people and my wife does it too now.

ME, I get caught all the time. BUT I carry a 1911 commander and if it is not cold out I only wear a tshirt so it is sometimes pretty obvious that I have a gun, and sometimes if my t-shirt is tucked in I dont even bother untucking just to run into the store or gas station, but in TN I can do that.

Ive been spotted by police before and all they have done is comment to their partners.

J
 
I don't try to notice whether others are carrying or not, except once in a while when I expect that they would be carrying and don't see it. One time the livestock detective was out at our place (a couple we knew were splitting up and their was a custody battle over their equine "kids" who were temporarily at our place as neutral ground) and I didn't notice he was armed until he took off his down vest. I was relieved, and he didn't know I was carrying under my long shirt. I sort of expected the man of the couple to come by and get belligerent.

Lately, I've been wearing a vest which is short enough that a couple inches of holster shows beneath it. Nobody has said anything yet.
 
I can at least tell when people have a really heavy fannypack and their wallet in their back pocket. I see a LOT of those in CO.
 
dont really look, sometimes i can guess, dont really care unless my situational radar goes off- might need covering fire

no one has ever "caught "me, i use a variety of holsters and found the best is a 357 or 9mm in my cowboy boot
 
I've seen a few in Texas:

-A 350lb 21 y/o at the book store reading the gun magazines. He had a boonie hat, a HEAVY fanny pack, camo pants, and a tactical flashlight in a holster on his fanny pack strap.

-I've seen shoulder holsters on detectives in cheap suits (thin material) that were too small for them (they had gained weight since buying the suits).

In AZ I got to see some younger open carriers.
-Baggy pants falling down with a nylon Uncle Mike's holstered XD. I stood behind one guy in line at the stop'n'rob; his hands were full with sodas and food while the grip of his xd was sagging out to the side right in front of my face. Retention was based entirely on friction of the unfitted holster. The thumb-break had been removed and the striker was cocked.
 
Oblivious

Seems most people are oblivious to most everything. Those who aren't, look around, pay attention and have some situational awareness are more likely to carry.

IOW, to me at least, paying attention to one environment is a pretty good tell.

'Tis my thinking...
 
I was in an auto parts store about a month ago and was carrying my mobile phone on my belt, left side, under my untucked shirt tail(as is normal for me). An off-duty security guard was shopping there as well, and he kept glancing at the bulge the phone was making and maybe at the very end of the phone(an "antique" Nokia 5190) that hangs about an inch below the shirt tail.

When I got to the register, this guy had the audacity to bend over to "get a better look" at what ever I had on my belt making the bulge under my shirt. I do believe he thought I couldn't see him, but when I turned to my left and raised my shirt tail to retrieve my wallet and pay - which fully exposed the phone - he damn near fell over trying to right himself. 'Course, he had no idea there was a 1911 tucked tightly away at the 4:30 position on the other side!

I just smiled and left with my new windshield wipers. Had I had a moment of brilliance, I'd have cast him one of those "pursed lip-thrown kisses" and winked, but the muse apparently was not with me at the time.

Woody

Our government was designed by our Founding Fathers to fit within the framework of our rights and not vise versa. Any other "interpretation" of the Constitution is either through ignorance or is deliberately subversive. B.E. Wood
 
I would say my ability to tell if you carry isnt superb but probably better than most.

Here I will let you in on a few while leaving out the obvious (aka black fanny pack, heavy unseasonal jacket wear, photographers vest, pager-pal pager, large "walking gant" while using thunderwear, weighted-to-one-side jacket, bulging side lump on same side of body as dominant hand, over layers of untucked clothing (and even then there might still be a bulge on their dominant hip/mid-back/under non-dominant arm when they step forward or turn), or even the simple test some can do by dropping something of value and watching them pick it up with one hand while securing the firearm with the other. Anyway here we go!

#1 If they hurry across the street they will 99% put their hand on the gun to control the swing/weight/possibility of it falling whatever, their hand will go on it.
#2 Standing still for any period of time they will touch it. I am not sure if this is just that its human nature to want to know its there or if maybe they are checking to see if its adjusted right? I dont know I pocket carry...
#3 When they are close to others their hand/arm/elbow will cover/secure the side they are carrying (this can happen even if they are not carrying if they carry alot just by habbit).
#4 If someone is carrying they will likely manuever canted. Somewhat the same as above but if you see someone moving between to shopping carts or around closed areas and they are slightly skewed to one side its a flag.... and thats the side they will usually have the firearm.
#5 If someone is carrying and they do make an "adjustment" at anytime they will often times look around to see if anyone just watched what they did (unlike someone adjusting their cell phone carrier in which they dont care if you saw). Its just habbit and persona of human nature and characteristics of actions. Simply normal to be aware of your surrounds... its just another flag.

I would really like to tell you guys more but heck if anyone reading this altered their behavior due to training techniques it would make it harder for people like me who are super vigilant to tell. Hope you enjoyed!

:)
 
My wife (from Canada) has become very saavy at noticing. She came home and said she noticed a guy printing the the Post Office. :what:

I know she would never say or do anything regarding pointing it out. If it had been me, I very well might have pointed out quietly to the individual that the P.O. is off limits. I really don't care to see statistics on the State of Texas DPS website of CCW holders getting busted for doing dumb things. It gives the rest a bad name.
 
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