CC Questions

[MMH]

Newbie CC questions. I have a CC permit, but have yet to carry. When CCing, I guess that some sort of loose fitting shirt is has to be worn. To get the gun out, the shirt has to be pulled up and then the the gun can cleared out of the holster. How difficult is it to get the gun out of a inside the belt type of holster? I'm thinking about getting a crossbreed holster, but have not bought it yet.

Also, what are the options if a shirt must be tucked in? Are there any for CC short of wearing a jacket over the shirt?

[/dev/null]

While Im not an old pro at this myself, I have been carrying now and had many of the same questions. Simple answer is PRACTICE.... Practice carrying (even around the house) - get used to it, practice drawing, practice everything. Know your weapon like your spouse (or better - depends on how well you know them I guess).

I considered a cross draw myself as thats what my shoulder rig is (that being a scoped Desert Eagle - not to practical for concealed carry, but a great "Hollywood" looking thing that goes boom, and accurately), and I thought that would be great for CC as well. Im in my car quite often (small sports coupe) and cross draw might be a smidge easier to break if needed, but with a little practice Im just as, if not more comfortable carrying strong side.

As for holster types, I use both IWB (jeans - casual) and a OWB speed scarab (when I have dress slacks &/or a suit on)... get used to both. With an IWB you can tuck in a shirt, but it will slow your access to the weapon - so back to practice. Also do some looking around at holsters.... there are some decent ones out there designed just for this (although mine isnt one of them - a simple Bianci, but effective for my needs

[Driver400]

First thing is to have a holster that you are comfortable with. If you do not have one that is comfortable in time you will probably just decide not to carry because after all, you are just running to the corner store or whatever. There is danger in that thinking because we all know, trouble can come at anytime or anywhere. Now, with that out of the way I must say that I agree with practice, practice, practice, but IMHO when practicing do it without the firearm being loaded, or at least with an empty chamber.

[ROCK-IT3]

Originally Posted by MMH

Also, what are the options if a shirt must be tucked in? Are there any for CC short of wearing a jacket over the shirt?

Several holster manufacturers make IWB holsters called "tuckable" style, or some similar name. I have a Crossbreed IWB tuckable, but I cant tell you much since I am just breaking it in, and also my 4" XD9 has been giving me some FTE issues, so I haven't CC'd with it yet. I do wear it around the house with the gun empty, and am still experimenting with positions and adjustments (it has different positions for each belt clip which allow the gun/holster to sit higher or lower, or canted to varying degrees) and it seems to hide nicely under a sweatshirt. With a button-down shirt it prints more than w/ a sweatshirt.

[gf45acp]

As to the CC without a shirt or jacket, yes there are other options.
I very often carry a p3at in a pocket holster (Desantis Nemisis). Pocket holsters are made for many smaller, and some not so small guns.
There are belly bands which can be worn under any shirt or low enough to be below the top of your pants.
There is the classic fanny pack, and it's cousin the belt pouch, and if you like the man bag.
Don't forget ankle holsters.
And Thunderwear.
Neck chains for really small guns (under shirt, but tucked).
There are also options for off body carry, such as day planer holsters, but I do not care for off body.
Any and all require pratice to draw the weapon. Even OC holsters do.

[Ja86son]

My only advice is not to get too generic of a holster. My IWB is just an uncle mikes, but it stays in real close to your body anyways so its not as big of a deal on that one, but i just went and sprung for a Galco OWB holster and thought they were crazy for wanting like 70 bucks but thought about it and i paid how much for the gun and the ammo, why get cheap on the holster. With my IWB at about 4:00 I can wear just about any clothing even a regular fitting t-shirt and its not noticable at all. with the OWB i need a slightly looser t-shirt and maybe even a little longer to hide the bottom of it. But ya deffinately just try it around the house first, and get used to it, wear it to take the dog out, to get the mail, to take out the trash. at first its noticable, but after a while its like your watch or wallet. you sometimes forget you have it on you, and freak out when its not

[mardo]

I have been using the CrossBreed for over a year, and love it. I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy and never had any issues. The CrossBreed has several positions, try them all. As for t-shirts try the longtail: http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/c...tion=dept_left
When you start to carry, you will probably be self conscious, thinking every is stairing at you. You will tug at your clothing, making sure that you are covered. That will go away soon.
One more thing, get a good gunbelt.

[Bucks_Man]

High Noon Holsters makes a good IWB tuckable called the Split Decision http://highnoonholsters.com/Product_..._decision.html. I agree with the previous posters, remove the mag and practice an untuck and draw over and over (in front of a mirror helps a bit too). You'll need to try different shirts and styles. I find the thicker shirts are tough to pull up out of the tuck so I fold them over so there is only a small amount of fabric being tucked. The thin shirts can slide all the way down the tuck. Shirts with patterns bulge around the gun, solids do not. A lot depends on your build as well which will determine where on your body the IWB fits best.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Originally Posted by /dev/null

While Im not an old pro at this myself, I have been carrying now and had many of the same questions. Simple answer is PRACTICE.... Practice carrying (even around the house) - get used to it, practice drawing, practice everything. Know your weapon like your spouse (or better - depends on how well you know them I guess).

I considered a cross draw myself as thats what my shoulder rig is (that being a scoped Desert Eagle - not to practical for concealed carry, but a great "Hollywood" looking thing that goes boom, and accurately), and I thought that would be great for CC as well. Im in my car quite often (small sports coupe) and cross draw might be a smidge easier to break if needed, but with a little practice Im just as, if not more comfortable carrying strong side.

As for holster types, I use both IWB (jeans - casual) and a OWB speed scarab (when I have dress slacks &/or a suit on)... get used to both. With an IWB you can tuck in a shirt, but it will slow your access to the weapon - so back to practice. Also do some looking around at holsters.... there are some decent ones out there designed just for this (although mine isnt one of them - a simple Bianci, but effective for my needs

Just a little tid bit to this, make sure when you practice all of this it's with an unloaded gun. Just incase.

[rwilson452]

There are those that brag about how many hours of schooling they have had. but they don't train on what they learned. they don't practice what they learned. An old army adage. You fight the way you train. the opposite of that is if you don't train you can't fight. It the reason that LEOs in a firefight don't follow the training they learned back in school. Combat action shooting can help. I must point out that the scenarios must be realistic. One thing you don't see in these drills is backing out of a bad situation. It is a safety issue. I have thought hard on how to do this but you still have a tripping issue.