Pocket Carry

 Today, it is 90 degrees in the shade, and it is the start of summer. So, how does the armed citizen carry?

The answer depends on the people around you. If you're the only one wearing an overshirt while everyone else is in shorts and tee shirts, you’ll look out of place. It's like wearing a fanny pack holster at a formal event. The art of the ‘gray man or woman’ is to blend in and appear ordinary.

Do you see a gun?  So is he unarmed?

I like ankle holsters, but long pants are the de rigueur for that method. Shoulder rigs require a button shirt or cover garment, as does IWB carry. Always ask yourself, do I fit in?

One option for those hot, sticky days when everyone is wearing the least legal amount of clothing is pocket carry.

Can we talk?

There are several problems with pocket carry.

You shouldn’t just drop a gun in your front pocket. The firearm will eventually orient itself, and Murphy's law says it will be the least convenient orientation to access. By least convenient, you should read that as most likely to shoot yourself.

There are two options for this. The expensive one is having the pocket custom-tailored to fit a specific gun with a magazine. Or, you could buy a pocket holster that fits your gun.

Glock .380 with proper pocket holster

Don't carry anything but the gun in the holster in that pocket. No spare change, Chapstick, keys, you name it. Anything you carry has a chance of lodging in the holster, plugging the muzzle, interfering with your draw stroke, or pressing the trigger by accident. Don't shoot yourself while drawing your weapon. 

“Oh,” you tell me, “I’m too trained (experienced, good, lucky, blessed) for that to happen.”  Want to bet?

The gun in the holster should go in your strong side pocket—that's what you've trained for. If you need to draw and shoot, you'll likely be shooting single-handed. The last time I looked, FBI stats indicated that 50% of the time, the initial rounds were fired with one hand. Do you want that to be your less dominant hand?

Current go-to pocket carry a Taurus PT 738

There is a workaround. Spend time, a lot of time, practicing with your less dominant hand. I've done that a lot, but even with an external holster, my less dominant hand always feels out of sorts.

The gun and holster MUST your pocket. This is a problem with many shorts, which have shallow front pockets. I'm told this is almost a universal problem for women’s short and pants. Women of the world, unite! Do something about that problem!

Small front and rear sights

Typically, pocket guns have small sights. Problems with aiming tiny sights are legion, but most armed conflicts are relatively close. Practice hitting an eight-inch paper plate at ten yards.

I prefer paper to see where I'm hitting, but I had access to 12 inch steel plate and that's what I practiced with. 

Ten yards from steel 

The gun must smoothly emerge from the holster and pocket. Do I need to explain why having the pocket holster retained on your drawn gun is a problem?

The gun shouldn’t print, and you shouldn’t give away the secret, either. You don't want to keep touching it, reorientating it, pressing it back in the pocket/holster, or reassuring yourself it's where it belongs. Yes, pocket carry can be a tad uncomfortable, but a large part is your lack of familiarity. Start carrying at home; after a while, it will change from uncomfortable and troublesome to mildly tolerable. Remember, you should be comforted by its presence, not necessarily find it comfortable.

When reholstering, the holster should come out of the pocket, and the gun should be inserted and returned as a unit to the pocket. Looking for the holster by jabbing the gun muzzle around in your pocket can lead to disastrous results. An AD can result in injury to your profunda femoris (deep femoral) artery, and you’ll bleed out.

The gun should be as large as you can conceal and draw from your pocket. I've used a Glock 42 in .380 and a Taurus PT 738 with their correct holsters, and I shoot the Glock better. But the Taurus conceals better. Since I take it as an article of faith, and in 30 years, it has been true, I will carry much more than I will ever draw a weapon, much less discharge it.

Small sights mean I must practice more to maintain the desired skill level. Take a clue from that.

Ammo isn't cheap any more, but my life is well worth the practice

What I haven't talked about is caliber. The conventual wisdom is to carry the largest caliber you can conceal and accurately shoot and control. Since I'm not an LEO, just an armed citizen, I don't have a duty to apprehend, stop or control. I'm not likely to be drawn into a lengthy gun battle. Having said that, I might have to deal with someone under the heavy influence of drugs. There are cases of violent criminal offenders who are bullet sponges, soaking up round after round of .45 ACP and .357 magnum before stopping. 

I strongly suggest you find a performance ammo that will feed reliably and function all the time. I'm not a believer in home reloads. Yes, you may have a world-beater combination bullet and powder charge, but I believe that will come back to bite you at trial.

The key to bullet performance always seems to come down to shot placement. The hidden context is practice: practice while moving, practice with a moving target, practice sitting, practice standing…  Okay, you got it.

Last, make sure you understand your gun's reloading preference. Several of my Glocks are difficult to reload with a closed slide and full magazine. If forced to shoot, you should be shooting, not thinking about tactical reloads.

The initial administrative load could involve a round in the chamber and replacing the now partial magazine with a full one. Take the time to make sure the magazine clicks in place, and give it a little tug to confirm that it is seated. You might be surprised by the results.

Pocket carry works with long pants too.

Going forward:  concealed carry is not simple. There are multiple modes and requirements. Your task is to select the best options available to you. Good luck.