Question for concealed carry folks...

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BoneDigger

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This may heva been discussed before, but I have a question. I am getting my CCL in a few weeks, so I have no experience with the following question.

After getting yourr CCL, have you been more cognizent of OTHER people around you that may be carrying concealed? In other words, have you seen people in the mall, or grocery store, or whatever and based on the way they were dressed, or some lump in their coat, figured they were carrying?

Does going through the process of finding the right gun and holster combo and figuring out how to wear your clothes to conceal the gun, make you better able to spot others with CCLs?

Todd
 
For me, carrying a gun has shown me that I need to have good situational awareness, evaluating the people around me, etc. Having said that, the only people I have seen that I thought might be packing were wearing fishing/photographers vests (I call them shoot-me-first vests, as that seems to be an unofficial uniform for some concealed-carry types.)

Congrats on applying for your concealed carry license, and welcome to THR, Todd.

Edit: Oops! I see you've been a member since January!
 
Short answer is, Yes.

At first you will be very conscious of your own gun. Try not to constantly touch and adjust it.
After you become more used to the gun on your own body, you will begin to be more aware of others carrying. Most of the time it's a suspicion rather than knowing they are packing.
 
I am awating my CCW but my wife has always accused me of having "Sherlock Holmes syndrome" (i.e. I notice every little damn detail) so I don't think anticipation of the CCW has that much of an effect on me.

The thing I've noticed in my area is how hard it is to tell if someone is CCW because of the proliferation of various cell phones, pda, pagers, blackberries, daytimers, on and on and on. People bulge all over with the crap they carry around :D

I doubt anyone will ever "make" me with a "wallet" holster because I've carried a PDA like this around for years.

Now where the hell I'm gonna carry my PDA now I don't know. :banghead:
 
For me not really. Although I have seen a few guys wearing a vest leafing through the gun rags. :) I'm more interested in threat assessment. I try to look at faces and hands and mannerism. 99% of the people I see are so detached from their surroundings that I feel it is pretty safe to ignore them.
 
I eyeball everyone I approach to see if they COULD be carrying. (Wear sunglasses, it makes it easier to do this without getting slapped.)

The ones I have seen who make it obvious are guys wearing camo BDU pants, hi-tec boots, and a (I'm not joking) flourescent green nylon fanny-pack holster.

But in reflection, it seems like I noticed this more ten years ago when we first got the permits, it's not as noticeable. Sometimes I see cops moonlighing as mall security guards with them, kind of the "Technically I'm concealing, so you can't complain" attitude.

I still use a black leather fanny pack a lot, mostly because I can wear it with anything, but most people don't anymore. I suspect that most other permit holders and cops recognize me, but I don't mind. In Utah, we are not required to conceal.
 
Other than some **** wearing a 5.11 vest, no.

I'm watching people's hands and eyes, not they're waistline or ankles. If trouble were to start it will begin with the hands, mouth, or eyes. Your personal little OODA loop will be shot to hell if you're wait until you see a weapon.
 
I actually noticed it more prior to getting a CCW permit. For the longest time, I was not aware that a civilian could get a permit to carry and assumed these were off-duty or plain clothes cops. Now, I know a lot more about it and rarely see anything that is particularily obvious other than the usual fanny packs and stuff. I just don't look any more for the most part. As mentioned, people have lots of bulges these days with cell phones, pda's, blackberries, etc. I am more concerned when someone has a sock stuffed down their pants as it suggests something is "wrong" with that person... not that I look. :)
 
This may heva been discussed before, but I have a question. I am getting my CCL in a few weeks, so I have no experience with the following question.

After getting yourr CCL, have you been more cognizent of OTHER people around you that may be carrying concealed? In other words, have you seen people in the mall, or grocery store, or whatever and based on the way they were dressed, or some lump in their coat, figured they were carrying?

Does going through the process of finding the right gun and holster combo and figuring out how to wear your clothes to conceal the gun, make you better able to spot others with CCLs?
Click to expand...

When I took my CHL class some 20 years ago they focused a lot on "situational awareness". In short you should always be aware of where you are, who you are with, what is (or isn't) going on around you. Kind of like an "uber" defensive driving approach to carrying concealed.

So, I am constantly on the look out for that which "might" happen and thinking about what I could do should it happen.

I sure don't think this has, at all, made me aware of who else is carrying concealed. As other posters have said, people wear so many things that bulge or otherwise stick out there is just no real criteria for who might be carrying concealed.
 
I am currently going through "the awkward stage" of concealed carry myself. I was in Home Depot the other night and I pretty much know that this man behind me in line knew I was packing. I am a big guy, but my carry weapon is still tough to conceal (USPc 40). I think I'll get a small wheel gun some day.

To answer your questions:
1) I've been even more aware of who might be carrying by their clothing, but even more I'm aware of possible threats. My wife thinks I'm crazy.

2) See above.;)
 
If I may respectfully ask this question.

Assuming you did observe someone - say at the mall - who you felt was carrying a gun, what difference would it make to you, the way you conduct yourself and what, if anything, you would do about it?

The criminals don't care diddly about CC permits and the law-abiding permit holders like yourself aren't out for notariety, trouble or confrontation. IMO, being aware of your surroundings in general is far more important than who may or may not be legally carrying concealed.

Try acting completely normal :neener: but for goodness sake don't wear a cheap crappy universal type of holster that flops all about on your belt under your shirt. If you're like most handgun owners, you'll soon collect 6 or 7 holsters - or more - before you come close to the one that YOU wear very well and effortlessly.

Have fun!
 
A "casual" awareness of what is going on around you, avenues of escape, etc., are more important to me than "is that dude packing?"

CCW'ers bear a heavy responsibility to avoid confrontations and situations where they must use their weapon, thus I stay on the alert to what is going on around me, and how to get myself and my family to safety if I can.

I was a LEO for many years. I will leave enforcement to the professionals, so unless the actions of an individual draws my attention to him, I don't care if he is carrying or not.
If his actions indicate trouble, and I can avoid him or the situation, I'm gone.

I have carried a concealed weapon for over 40 years. No one but my wife has ever had an indication that I do.

IF forced to defend myself or others, I have no qualms about doing so, but unless the red flag goes up I will continue to graze quietly among the sheep, and hope there are more like me in the herd.
 
I work security in a major grocery chain in NE Ohio. I see virtually everyone that enters and leaves the store. I thought it would be fun to spend a couple of weeks trying to spot Concealed Carry License holders as they left the store. I can honestly say that I never saw anyone that I knew was carrying their weapon. No printing (even in the hot summer months). I had a few that I suspected were carrying, but could not confirm it. Either folks in NE Ohio are very good at concealment, or none of the 80,000 License holders in Ohio came through the store during the weeks I was actively looking.
 
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I never notice anyone's clothing except for the aforementioned photographer's vests and fanny packs. I observe people to ascertain who might be a potential threat as opposed to good guys who may be carrying concealed.

After 13 years with a CCW permit, I still am consciously aware of my own carrying. I don't adjust or touch my handgun while in public but I always make sure I'm still concealed when exiting a car or restaurant booth for example. I don't think I'm giving anything away as the movement can be disguised while pushing yourself out of your car seat or while removing your wallet to pay for a meal.
 
Very well stated Iggy. The points you make determine the mindset one has for carrying a concealed handgun.
 
Those cell phone swivel holsters psyche me out every time. Everyone looks like they're carrying. :rolleyes:

Honestly after just two years of CCW, I do find myself glancing around to see who might be packing, just for the hell of it. I don't go out of my way to be REALLY concealed and figure others in the area are probably in a similar situation. We don't have to conceal, which is nice. I 'print' all the time but it doesn't bother me.

I just wish this state had better training requirements. Any borderline psycho can carry provided they have a clean record.
 
I notice and worry a little

There is one fellow I met at a range who is a fellow CHL holder here in Texas. In the course of conversation about holsters I learned he typically carries IWB at 5 o'clock. I see him in public every now and then and I try to spot his piece. I have made his b/c I knew his carry position, otherwise I really think I would have missed it, or discounted it as a pager, phone etc...

The statistics in Texas are 1% of the population has a CHL. I assume most carry regularly. I worry when I'm carrying in a place like Walmart, or a Luby's, or the grocery store, if a situation calls for me drawing, will a fellow CHL holder think I'm part of the bad guys, or will I mistake a fellow CHL holder as a bad guy?

You've got to know before you pull your gun.
 
Having a permit and carrying has made me much more cautious. My primary objective is not to get in a situation where I have to use a gun.

Observing other people is par for the course. One thing I like to do when driving or when shopping is to predict what people will do next based on what they are doing right now. Sometimes I think I have a better idea than they do.

The more you pay attention to what's happening, the more intenst mundane experiences will be.
 
Not really

Not really. I think I've made one guy in the five years or so that I've been carrying. The guy was carrying OWB, under an open vest. I started looking at him because of the shoot me first vest, and about three seconds later, when he turned, the vest flared, and there for all and sundry was a nickel-plate Government model, gleamin' in the sun, as springsteen would say.

I know from personal experience, that anything remotely well concealed is pretty hard to spot. I've got a double shoulder rig that I use mostly for demonstrating that very point. If I can hide a pair of .44 Mag Super Blackhawks, I can hide nearly anything. IMHO, the best concealment garment ever created by the eye or hand of man is the Wrangler snap front shirt. It's made of heavy cotton, so printing isn't much of an issue, available in dark colors, and one pull is all it takes to open the snaps.

Basically, if someone is trying to make someone else as carrying, what they are looking for is the asymmetric bulge, since people bulge all over the place, (girls in most delightful ways,) but usually have a natural symmetry to it.

~~~Mat
 
I read this in somebody else's post a while back and I've found it to be a good rule of thumb:

Always assume that everybody is packing.
 
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