Printing when carrying concieled

This is just food for thought. The last two times I have been out of the house I have spotted two different people carrying. I am not one of those who spends time looking for CC'ers but both of these were pretty obvious to me. That is not to say that they would be two obvious the the general public. This is just to call you attention to what you do.

The first was a guy in Academy Sports. He was dressed in normal athletic shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes. He did not look out of place at all except for his tactacool man purse. It was tan and looked like something you would carry to the range. I looked him over and I saw where it had a Velcro panel for pistol access. He was not really printing, but it was obviously a gun holster. I will refrain from comment on the man purse.

The second guy was well concealed with an inside the waste band pistol but he had obviously been carrying in those pants for some time. You could see where the edge of the gun had rubbed a light spot into his blue Jeans. The shape of the gun was outlined in a lighter color than the rest of the pants. Think a skoal can ring in you back pocket. This got me to thinking and I have the same problem with two pairs of my pants. I am going to have to retire those pants or carry in a different spot.

Just some food for thought.

The Chubbier I get, the more I print.....
So maybe it should be "LESS food for thought for ME"

same here.

If you decide to carry in those pants, even if its in a different spot people will still see the mark. Just like you still see the skoal can lid even when they don't have a can.

Thanks for the post gonna have to check my pants. I'm sure they are bad. Most of mine the dam belt loops are pulling off. They just don't make pants like they use to.

I honestly dont care if I happen to print or as the young urbanites call "get made"....I dont do much open carry so mostly in my crossbreed st iwb and every now and then it does pop out from a tshirt but does it make or break the mission?? I doubt it....I like to people watch myself but never pay that close attention to someone unless long legs and short skirts are envolved......

powerstrokin06 wrote:I honestly dont care if I happen to print or as the young urbanites call "get made"....I dont do much open carry so mostly in my crossbreed st iwb and every now and then it does pop out from a tshirt but does it make or break the mission?? I doubt it....I like to people watch myself but never pay that close attention to someone unless long legs and short skirts are envolved......

Couldn't agree with you more!!!

I'm perfectly within my rights to print in this state, and a thug who most likely doesn't use a holster isn't very likely to notice printing that occurs at 3:00 because most Mexican carry in the appendix position, or the like, so I honestly don't worry about it 99% of the time, even if carrying OWB and my holster peeks out a bit...who's gonna notice? I'm usually in jeans, riding boots and a Harley shirt....is a little extra leather really going to look out of place on a biker type person?

Case in point, this afternoon, I was outside talking to my neighbors at the fence, and looked across the other side of our property and saw my papaw fiddling around on his side of the fence, so I stepped over to investigate(and get a couple jars of preserves he'd promised our neighbors). Got over there and he was after a snake he thought he saw in the weeds! And was wacking at a patch of weeds with a tree branch, I made the comment that he'd better not fling it toward me, he retorted "don't you have your gun on you?" I replied "well my pants are on" he said "that's what I was planning on! I was gonna let you shoot it!". So anyway, we got back over to the fenceline by my neighbors and started talking to them, and he told them his plan for me to shoot the snake if we'd seen it(we never did), and the lady neighbor(who's husband hunts, but she's not a very adventurous type and definitely not used to as many guns as we have around our house) said "what!? You've got a gun on you!?". I lifted my shirt to show her(known her all my life and trust her more than most of my family so her knowing I carry is of no concern to me).
Moral of the story, despite the fact that I was carrying OWB, with a large gun, my browning hi-power, and the holster peaking out the bottom, she still would have never noticed it had I not shown her! And since her husband was over there as well he got to ooooooh and ahhhh over it ha. I took the chance to extend an invitation for the husband and their 2 boys to go to magnolia with me sometime, especially once I found out the youngest(19), was becoming interested in guns. And if it all goes well I'll be doing my best to get his wife out there with us at some point as well!

Gotta agree with you on the man purse though dock rocker! That's right up there with a fanny pack, hawaiian shirt and a tacticool vest in my book!

But there's always a bright side to man purses:

The only time I really worry about printing is around around non-close friend acquaintances and extended family. I just don't want to have to say " Yes, I'm carrying a gun. No. It's not dangerous, and I'm not paranoid, blah, blah." I used to worry about the grips of a pocket pistol or revolver peeking out, but not so much anymore.

I do a good bit of traveling across Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Florida. I take extra caution not to print in those states b/c I'm not certain of their laws. But atleast they reciprocate.

I carry a Glock IWB and probably print from time to time. I figure 80% don't know what they are seeing and the guys who know what they are seeing don't care.

If it is 98 degrees and someone is wearing a fleece vest or a photographer's vest, they are printing even if they don't think so.

Those who carry are more likely to notice printing than the general population.

miker84 wrote:If it is 98 degrees and someone is wearing a fleece vest or a photographer's vest, they are printing even if they don't think so.

Those who carry are more likely to notice printing than the general population.

When I was working in another state, it was not uncommon for us to wear fishing/photographers vests to cover our weapons, which was a requirement by our boss at that time. I walked into a grocery store and a young, thuggish looking stock boy kind of smirked with this "I know you are a cop" look and said, "Yo dawg...you going fishing?". I replied, "Yep...fishing for morons. Looks like I just caught my first one.".
Gonzo

miker84 wrote:If it is 98 degrees and someone is wearing a fleece vest or a photographer's vest, they are printing even if they don't think so.

Those who carry are more likely to notice printing than the general population.

Old guys with leather vests and fanny packs. I used to say they have no fashion sense...Now I know they are packing!

I'll admit to wearing a vest. Mine is black leather and has patches all over it. Of course, it only blends in when I'm around other bikers.

If I were to wear it on top of my dress shirt and khakis, it might look suspicious.

miker84 wrote:I'll admit to wearing a vest. Mine is black leather and has patches all over it. Of course, it only blends in when I'm around other bikers.

If I were to wear it on top of my dress shirt and khakis, it might look suspicious.

Back when I rode I had a vest with no pockets on the inside. I had a seamstress sew in a pocket into the inside on my weak side for a cross draw. It was nice to have and easy to reach when riding (if needed). Sold all the bikes except for most of a slab side shovel so I would look dumb in that vest now. The slab side is a LONG term project, so may be one day I can use the vest again.

Caleb C wrote:......You could walk through Wal Mart with a live chicken on your head and 80% of the people in there would never notice.

Was that you I saw there at 2am with the chicken on your head???

its a SATCHEL!!

It's a european carryall!

There is a reason their called "Shoot me first" vest.....

i've gotten a little less paranoid about printing since i've been carrying my CW9 in the CompTac; perhaps a little too much. i was at Buckle in Ridgeland a week or two ago, and some dude was trying to show me some shirts on the bottom shelf of a table. needless to say, i went for it and the next thing i heard was, "oh, damn!" i reached around to pull my shirt down and realized that the t-shirt i was wearing wasn't quite long enough for that position, LOL. he didn't say anything else, and i didn't worry about explaining it. he did seem to quit being so aggressive with his sales pitches after that though.

AFAIK, that's the only time i've been "made".

TheGreatGonzo wrote:

miker84 wrote:If it is 98 degrees and someone is wearing a fleece vest or a photographer's vest, they are printing even if they don't think so.

Those who carry are more likely to notice printing than the general population.

When I was working in another state, it was not uncommon for us to wear fishing/photographers vests to cover our weapons, which was a requirement by our boss at that time. I walked into a grocery store and a young, thuggish looking stock boy kind of smirked with this "I know you are a cop" look and said, "Yo dawg...you going fishing?". I replied, "Yep...fishing for morons. Looks like I just caught my first one.".
Gonzo