First Conceal Carry...little nervous

[Germothy]

Hi,
CC'd for the first the time tonight. Just a trip to the ATM and then to pick up some Chinese food. Carrying a 9mm XDm in a Crossbreed Super Tuck.
I had on a long sweatshirt on with a heavy unzipped jacket over that. Man, did I feel like my gun was sticking out there! I know it was all in my mind, but I kept secretly feeling the bottom of my jacket to make sure nothing was sticking out, especially when getting out of the car.
I did a lot of "practice wearing" at home in front of a mirror and I knew that even if there was some printing, the average Joe on the street wouldn't even notice. Once, I was out and about, I was so self-conscience of it that it made me a little nervous, especially when I dropped my keys inside the Chinese restaurant. I paused for what seemed like about 10 minutes, but was really like a half a second. I just told myself, "just pick the stupid keys up and go, no one will even notice you." Sure enough, no problems, even though in my mind, I had a 6 ft long 2x4 for a gun grip sticking out my side.
Walked out and thought, "see nothing to worry about." As I walked to my car I noticed that the town cop was blocking an intersection for snow removal. Of course, I have to walk right in front of him to get to my car. Once again, I reassured myself that I have absolutely nothing to worry about and that even though I was over conscience of the gun, he had no clue. (still felt a wee bit nervous).
Long story short....a successful carry, in that I kept it concealed, I got my initial gitters out of the way now and feel more confident carrying and I DIDN'T NEED TO USE IT.

....of course, this was fairly easy with a winter jacket on....going to start practicing for carrying in warmer weather with less cover

[bogey1]

you'll get used to it.
OC is what i cant get myself to do. yet

[HiredGoon]

you'll get used to it.
OC is what i cant get myself to do. yet

And nobody says you ever have to OC. Your choice...whatever you're comfortable with

[shermdo]

Firstly, welcome to the forum!

Congratulation on your first CC trip out and about. I think that everyone feels much as you did the first time or first several times. You were right in your comment to yourself that no one will notice. The odds are no one will ever notice you CCing ever no matter how well you do or don't conceal.

I have been carrying for a good number of years now and I am too the point that I just simply do not care. I almost never OC but I sure don't worry one bit about printing, showing the bottom of a holster or anything else.

Now there are some situation that I do actually pay attention because I want to stay truly concealed -- church, hospitals, picking the kids up at school, the Post Office (oh please don't anyone start that), friends houses who do not know that I carry, etc.

Oh, excellent choice on handgun and holster by the way.

Welcome to PAFOA and to carrying. Be safe.

[TheF00L]

Post deleted by poster, as I am, doing to almost all my posts.

[svltrack]

Yes, welcome to the forum!

I too was nervous much like you were tonight. Almost wondering just to wonder.. LOL

After a pretty short time now though I really don't care if they see or not. I do not necessarily want attention but I also do not try to inconvience myself for the sake of CC.

[TaePo]

Pretend you're a female type in a short-short skirt and bend at the knees to get your keys. Saves when you are older with a balance problem from crashing into the fountain!

Try not to get into the habit of checking the weapon in public as you will be giving yourself away to LEO and other knowledgeable citizens. If you must, find a private area or restroom.

You will soon get over it. It's like poker, though, put on the poker face and don't use any tells.

Congrats by the way.

[Mtbkski]

Welcome to the world of the CCer. It is a bit unnerving when you first start to carry. But after while, you will get use to it. You will learn little tricks that help you to keep the firearm concealed and keep you relaxed. You will start to finally realize that not everyone out there is staring at your hip. And in no time at all, you will find that going outside without a firearm is now what makes you feel weird.

[normanvin]

Welcome to the forum. It gets easier and more comfortable form here.

[Curmudgeon]

I think it's basically all been said, so I'll just add greetings to the mix. Welcome to PAFOA and the world of responsible, effective self defense.

Here are a couple of very useful threads put together by forum members regarding weapons carry in and around PA. If you are not familiar with these you may find them useful.

Where you can and cannot carry...

http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...nsylvania.html

Particularly useful for open carry...

http://forum.pafoa.org/open-carry-14...re-you-do.html

A copy of the recent training memo for law enforcement officers...

http://forum.pafoa.org/open-carry-14...nal-draft.html

And a flyer you may wish to have handy while carrying...

http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...carry-you.html

As for carrying concealed during warmer weather, you're likely going to have to start dressing around the gun, i.e., very loose t-shirts, button downs or 'Hawaiian' shirts, etc. Obviously your body type and handgun play a major role in this as well. A great many folks here have been successfully CCing for a long time and can provide some good advice on what works. There have also been many threads about concealing effectively already.

I hope all your "carry days" go as well as this one did, except you can expect to become progressively more comfortable with it.