Pocket Carry vs. Pocket Strength

[Dr_B]

I prefer not to pocket carry, but I find myself needing to during the warmer months. It works well in cargo shorts. But I can't help but wonder if pocket carry might eventually result in worn places that could allow the gun and holster to fall out. Pocket material just doesn't look that durable.

Anyone ever had a pocket holster wear holes in their pocket? I haven't spotted any wear yet. And by extension I guess my car keys would be more likely to cause wear than a pocket holster. Just wondering what other people's experience have been.

 

[AZ Hawkeye]

I don't trust pocket carry; it seems that the majority of the recent accidental discharges have been by people that were pocket carrying. I can imagine forgetting you had a tiny gun in your pocket, and then fishing around for your keys or cell phone or money clip, etc., only to accidentally pull the trigger, especially if you don't do it ALL the time.

I prefer to put a good knife in my pocket, and I carry the same way 99% of the time; this allows for muscle memory due to lots and lots and lots of practice. Muscle memory is incredibly important when the midbrain takes over for the forebrain during the high stress of a self defense scenario.

 

[JTQ]

Here is a Clint Smith article in American Handgunner about pocket carry. His belief is you need a holster in your pocket if you want to use that mode of carry.

http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/AmericanHandgunner/AHMJ11/?page=24

 

[quatin]

I have not carried for long, but mine is roughly a little heavier than my wallet, which hasn't worn a hole through any of my pants yet. Also, there's 4 pockets on a pair of pants, why put the phone, keys and gun in the same pocket?

*
Are you just putting the gun in your pocket and not using a holster? There's all sorts of wrong with that. Use a pocket holster and you don't have to worry about it.

 

[41magsnub]

I pocket carry every day in jeans. I've never worn out the pocket material with a j frame in a Desantis nemesis pocket holster. However, there was a nub of frame material on the bottom of the frame where the grip did not cover it that was wearing holes in my pants. I rounded that off and the issue went away at the expense of totally destroying any resale value of the gun. It is a working gun that I'll keep forever so I don't care...

The grip is a Crimson Trace LG-405.

 

[Jim PHL]

Probably 90% of the time that I carry it's a j-frame in my right-front pocket. I never carry anything else in that pocket - even when I'm not carrying a gun there I've conditioned myself not to use it for anything else. I would certainly never have anything else in my pocket along with a gun, pocket holster or not. I normally carry my wallet in my right-rear pocket, keys, pen and knife in left front, when I carry a re-load, my left rear pocket is usually a speed strip when pocket carrying a j-frame or extra mag if I'm belt-carrying an auto. Cell phone is either in a belt clip or in one of my left side pockets. Paper money is in my wallet. I don'y normally carry any loose change but if I come into some during the course of the day I just dump it in with my keys. (ALL loose change goes into the "gun-money" jar every day!)

I usually have the snub in a pocket holster. It spreads out the profile making the bulge look less like a gun and more like, well... a bulge. It covers the trigger guard and also keeps it upright allowing for more positive grip when you put your hand into your pocket.

 

[Dr_B]

I always use a Desantis holster when I pocket carry my P238. I really like J-frames, but I don't think they fit in my pocket quite as comfortably as the Sig. Like some people said already, NOTHING goes in the same pocket as the gun.

 

[Cosmoline]

You have to exercise discipline if you pocket carry. The pocket IS the holster, so there can be nothing else in there. The problem with wear is going to arise if you have no leather and the barrel is rubbing directly against the fabric. Get a Galco or other pocket holster and that problem is fixed. You still need to keep the pocket clear though.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I did a fair amount of pocket carry, with a Kahr PM9 in a Mika pocket holster.

Front sights, muzzles and other sharp edges can wear holes in pockets, all right, but a pocket holster will prevent this. I consider one a necessity. It will also keep the handgun in position instead of twisting up into a wad, as well as protect it from lint. The pocket should also be dedicated to handgun carry only. Never put any other objects in that pocket. Keys, coins, pens, etc. can wedge in mechanisms or even snag triggers.

 

[ripp]

it won't happen if you use a pocket holster. NEVER carry in just a pocket, snags, etc are far too likelly to occur, lint and debris get into the gun, bad things come from not using a proper holster.having one's hand already on the gun (still concealed in pocket) makes a duffer as fast on the draw as the fastest pistolero using a ccw belt rig.

 

[Ancient Woodsman]

Pocket carry works and is a proven tactic with small guns. It is safest with a holster designed for such. I won't pocket carry without a good-quality holster made for such. I pocket carry every day off-duty, sometimes as a BUG and sometimes (Bermuda shorts, etc.) as the only gun. That's been since 1987.

Ditto on the "nothing else in that pocket".

In my experience pocket guns get far dirtier, quicker, than just about any type of personally-carried firearm. Make sure you take yours out for a good cleaning on a regular basis if you carry every day.