Preventing a CC Print - How?

[HoosierQ]

I have gotten much info on the perils of "printing" a concealed firearm.

Now I have to wonder a couple of things.

Is wearing something way baggie to cover up just as bad? I would think a big, opaque button down shirt with the tail untucked would cover a pancake or IWB well but it you got one a size too big, does that count as printing? I guess we live in a time when baggie is OK so maybe that is to our advantage.

In terms of otherwise concealing, it has occured to me that you'd be most likely to print when you bent over or turned so that the garmet draped across the gun and showed the print. How about starching the area covering the gun so that if you bend, the cloth stays stiff and does not conform to the gun and thus print? How about sewing a stiff liner over the gun for the same reason?

Am I thinking about this too hard? What do you all do to avoid printing through? Thanks.

 

[esq_stu]

Yes, you are thinking about this too hard, as do many of us.

It's not printing if you don't see the lump or can't tell what the lump is.

It's probably not a good idea to over-analyze this. Some people can get really caught up in it.

That said, I often look in the mirror before I go out to see how bad the lump is.

Fery few people that don't carry ever think about whether the person in baggy clothes or the person with a lump is carrying. They just don't pay attention. Usually, the only people that might either notice or assume you're carrying when you wear a vest, baggy shirt, or waist pack is another person that carries or is a LEO.

BTW, you are not alone. I had a gun in my pocket and a cell phone on my belt yesterday. When I looked in the mirror, the cell phone was printing under my Hawaiian shirt and it looked like a gun. I pretty much laughed it off and went out. Later the same day, I had a 1911 on a belt slide and felt like the muzzle might be peeking out. I went with it anyway.

 

[James T Thomas]

"bloodstopper grip"

I recommend you search here for threads like "Public is oblivious to my gun,"
etc.
Sorry, I can't recall the exact titles, but they are here, and that has been my general experience with carring.

If you need to, then maybe you could hollow roll a bandana or large gauze pad, handkerchief or similar to insert over your grip to soften the outline.
Then you have a nice make shift field bandage for yourself or to aid someone else -should you ever have to fire your weapon. See if it would interfere too much with a hastily taken grip. Or if you could remove it quickly.

 

[LKB3rd]

The way I judge is this: I look at it and ask myself if it looks like a gun clearly. If it looks like an unidentifiable bulge, I don't worry about it. When I bend over I either do it turned in a direction where no one could see what is in my waistband, or just sort of hold my shirt tail down, and do it quickly.
One thing that helps is to put my cellphone right in front of it, and it sort of bulges out my shirt in that area, which makes "printing" less frequent, and obvious.
Lots of people carry various things on their belt these days, and I don't think (agreeing with above post) that most people give a second thought to it 90% of the time.

 

[RustyShackelford]

weapon "buldges" and CCed printing...

A common issue for many CC license/permit holders and/or sworn LEOs-military that carry weapons concealed is printing.

A read a few useful articles over the years and here are a few thoughts;

Buy high quality gear/holsters. Cheap belts/holsters will break/wear/sag and could expose your weapon/equipment. These systems are not cheap but last long and to another "armed profesional" will show that you know/understand concealment,

Wear dark colors and/or thick fabrics. Weather-climate issues may prevent it, but a lightweight vest or jacket that conceals well is better than nothing, . Prints and/or wild designs may prevent your weapon from printing but it will also draw attention to you or may not be a proper look where you are working/going.
Think about the size of your duty weapon and what types of gear you carry. An odd shape or heavy weapon may cause the printing. Think about how and where you conceal these items. Could you get a compact or sub-compact duty weapon? Do you need 2/3 spare mags? etc.
RS

 

[3KillerBs]

Guys have it easier:

A. Guys almost always wear belts. Women frequently do not.

B. No one thinks twice if a guy's sense of taste is entirely on his tongue -- leading him to wear loud, baggy shirts untucked. Women are expected to do better. :lol:

C. Guys carry so much hooked to their belts and pockets already that another item just blends in with the cell phone, leatherman tool, knife, work pager, VFD pager, ... . Women normally just buy a bigger purse for that stuff.

 

[Josh Aston]

As much as you may want them to, people are not paying attention to you. They just don't care. So don't worry about it. 99% of the population won't even notice. That other 1% is going to be worried about whether or not you saw their CCW printing.

 

[CAS700850]

For almost 2 years now, I've carried a Smith 649 in my front pants pocket 5 days a wek at work. As much as I think looking at myself in the mirror "I can see the gun in my pocket" the closest anyone has come to outing me for CCW is one woman who said that it was nice that cell phones fit in my suit pocket instead of looking so out of place strapped on my belt.

In other words, don't worry about printing...worry only about carrying in a way that works for you.

 

[The Bushmaster]

If someone who doesn't identify themselves as LEO asked. Tell them it's a colostomy bag. "Do you want to feel it? It's warm"

 

[RustyShackelford]

True story; drug store cowboy...

About 10 years ago in a low income area near Pittsburgh PA, I went into a well known chain drug store to buy a few items. I set off the alarm and the store mgr looked at me as I walked by. Since I was entered the store, I thought my big Beretta 96D .40 may have set off a metal dectector, . The mgr laughed and told me it was a minor glitch. I laughed to and quickly pulled back my jacket to show him what I meant. The mgr was cool and said not to worry, .

My point is that some people may not notice a large weapon but it needs to be CONCEALED and secured, .

That is the difference between the drug store cowboys & mall ninjas and the "quiet professionals".
Rusty

 

[Treo]

I try not to print but the longer I carry, the more I realize people aren't paying attention to me ( even when I'm in my LOUDEST Hawwiian shirt) They're all tied up in their world not worrying about who's packin'.

Case in point the administration at my school is having a meltdown because someone was seen open carrying on campus Thursday. I don't have all the details but apparently the guy wasn't even brandishing, he just happened to be OCing in the parking lot and he wasn't a student.

Long story short I'm sitting in class this morning (complete W/ EDC) hearing this storey and all the safety announcements and wondering " What's the BFD?" .

 

[lions]

If you are concerned about bending over I would say drop to a knee instead. Which knee down depends on where the gun is but you can figure it out. It gets you down where you need to be and you don't have to bend at the waist.

 

[Geronimo45]

Avoid too much worry about it. Very few people scrutinize you thoroughly. Unless you're some kind of celebrity, that is. Otherwise, they just take enough notice of you to avoid walking over you.
Cops usually don't care much either, unless you're acting funny or they can actively see your gun.
Nobody notices you. I carry where legal, and make sure my gun is not visible when I do so. A sportcoat, hawaiian shirt, or oxford shirt cover it (shoulder rig) just fine.
Never had a problem, and I carry a full-sized revolver.

 

[riceboy72]

LKB3rd has some good suggestions that I do, too, including turning away and quickly bending to do whatever it is, and not doing it in such an overt fashion that it draws attention to you. I also tend to bend at the knees and not the waist when I'm carrying. Just act natural and trust me, people don't care what you're doing so long as you don't bother them.

I wear a good, quality belt and buy well made holsters. I tend to wear button up shirts that are busy in pattern and fit on the loose side. While I don't buy them overly huge, I do buy them with enough room to cover up the bottom of my OWB holster and so I can freely move around without the shirt getting caught up on the butt of the pistol. The quality holster helps in this area as it pulls the entire pistol close to my body and doesn't flop around as I walk.

If you spend all your time worrying about trying to hide your already hidden pistol, your actions will seem unnatural and draw more attention to you than you originally intended.

 

[HM2PAC]

Josh hit it on the head:

As much as you may want them to, people are not paying attention to you. They just don't care. So don't worry about it. 99% of the population won't even notice. That other 1% is going to be worried about whether or not you saw their CCW printing.

Only those of us carrying are worried about the guy wearing a trench coat in 80F heat.

I have come to find that a simple cloth belt with 2 D-rings cinches a 1911 up to my appendix wicked snug. Best belts I have.

 

[Mainsail]

Search for threads on open carry, then you can stop sweating it.

 

[aikidoka-mks]

Or you could move to a state that allows open carry

 

[DrLaw]

As Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd would say...

I am a wild and craaaazeee guy, and the women like my big bulges!



The Doc is out now.

 

[velobard]

It doesn't help to have love handles pushing the grip out above the belt line. Glad I own a pocket-size mouse gun for my first conceal carry gun.

 

[DrLaw]

Seriously

I agree with Velobard. It's a real be-atch to be fat. Hard to conceal anything in the waistband. The only way I could carry, if I was allowed to in Illinois, which we are not because we honest people are not trusted by our Governor and Mayor of Chicago since the honest people are not carrying gang members is to wear slightly baggy pants and carry in the front pocket in a pocket-style holster that breaks up the outline of a mouse gun.

The Doc is out now.

 

[PX15]

For a man: I would recommend a rear pocket (wallet type) holster.

Choose the small pistol of your choice (I recommend the Seecamp LWS32 or LWS380).

Place small pistol in small wallet style holster and place in in a back pocket.

Problem solved.

If you are of the opinion that a pistol of 32 or 380 cal. is insufficient for personal protection then I can't help you. (I will add than in 32cal. the Silvertip jhp round has produced a record of "one shot stops" in actual shootings of over 60%.. I would expect the additional 6 rounds found in the Seecamp to resolve the remaining 40%, or at least distract the aggressor sufficiently to allow me to run like crap in the opposite direction.)

For a woman:

Wear slacks and follow suggestions for the men.. (This style would be perfect for Hilliary, slacks are all she wears... Oh sorry, I forgot, she's not a 2nd amendment type person.. (Her bodyguards carry a pistol on her behalf.)

I HAVE found that my LWS32 in a rear wallet style holster does not print, and is light enough that you can easily forget it's even in the back pocket. (Of course you wouldn't want to be forgetting that little fact in a crisis.)

Just personal opinion/no offense intended.

Jesse

 

[tdyoung58]

I usually carry either a Ruger P345 or a Taurus PT745 Millinium Pro and hardly ever have any problem with just a t-shirt over it, unless I happen to reach for a high shelf of something.

Had a little bitty old lady ask me to reach something for her the other day and saw my gun and said, "Oh, you have a gun, me too,"then she opened her purse and showed me a full size colt 1911

 

[Robert Hairless]

In addition to the good comments above, concealment also involves your hands and your eyes. People who observe you tend to look where you look and where you point. If you feel awkward about carrying and tend to check whatever it is, other people will look there too.

 

[REPOMAN]

If someone who doesn't identify themselves as LEO asked. Tell them it's a colostomy bag. "Do you want to feel it? It's warm"

The Bushmaster...... You owe the co. I work for a new keyboard.... You made me choke.....

 

[19-3Ben]

Had a little bitty old lady ask me to reach something for her the other day and saw my gun and said, "Oh, you have a gun, me too,"then she opened her purse and showed me a full size colt 1911

G-d bless America.