testtest

The Secret to Concealing Any Gun…

I had the wardrobe discussion with all my students in my concealed weapons courses. If you choose to carry a concealed firearm you have to understand it is a lifestyle change and you have to dress around the gun, because you cannot mold the gun to your outfit. You can go smaller gun size but that has limitations, not the least of which is accuracy. This was a foreign concept for most of the ladies and they looked at me as if I am from another planet. Most ladies opted for concealed carry purses if they bothered at all.
 
Nice article but I have no interest in wearing an article of clothing including a hat that says anything about guns. Years ago I went shooting with a friend from high school who at the time worked for the sheriffs department. He laughed at my black gym bag I was using to carry my guns. Interesting look on his face when I explained that I didnt want to draw any attention to the fact I was carrying guns whether it be from the house to the car or any place else.
 
dad said:
Nice article but I have no interest in wearing an article of clothing including a hat that says anything about guns. Years ago I went shooting with a friend from high school who at the time worked for the sheriffs department. He laughed at my black gym bag I was using to carry my guns. Interesting look on his face when I explained that I didnt want to draw any attention to the fact I was carrying guns whether it be from the house to the car or any place else.
Click to expand...
National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor Assn has an instructor course on covert carry. There are some creative ideas.
 
I've seen this discussion on every gun forum on the internet multiple times. There is a similar discussion on Glocktalk that's been active for 12 years. Clearly, this is something that interests us as concealed carriers.

I've formed my own ideas. I  love Hawaiian shirts. I don't wear them because they're not common here and they draw attention. I try to avoid things that cause people to take a second look at me.

I avoid the overtly "Tactical" brands, especially 5.11. I've said this before but two security companies have issued me 5.11s as uniforms. CSPD wears them and the El Paso County Sheriff's detective unit wears them. There's a line in the discussion on Glocktalk that I think is really true.

"Cops and criminals notice people that dress like cops."

A criminal might not be able to tell you those are "5.11 Stryke pants." but I bet they can tell you that cops wear those.

Every time people start talking about the Tactical clothes or the 5.11s somebody says nobody notices it and every time I hear that I point out that some people do notice it and usually the people that do notice it are the very people that you do not want to draw the attention of.

I also try not to make any major style changes in my wardrobe. If you start carrying a concealed handgun and you all of a sudden change your whole wardrobe someone is going to notice and they're going to want to know why.
Screenshot_20220923-093007_Samsung Internet.jpg


I try to blend into the crowd around me. I live in Colorado Springs and around here a lot of people dress like they do most of their shopping at REI

I went to church a few weeks back.wearing my old Vasque hiking boots, tan Wrangler cargo pants and an olive green Columbia hiking shirt.

I got out of my car and ran right into a guy who was wearing Salomon trail runners, tan cargo pants and the same color Columbia hiking shirt. His was short sleeved though.

Most of the time I look like a bean in a pile of beans.
 
Last edited:
As a retired gentleman its not a real chore anymore. T-shirts, Hawaiians, polo shirts, guyabara, all fit loosely, jeans and cargos. Pick one shirt one pants, add Hanks Amish belt and I am dressed for carry.

If it's somewhere I am real paranoid about being spotted or if i just wanna be uber comfy a snubby in the hip pocket and a sped strip in the watch pocket is invisible.
 
There's another aspect to concealment that people don't really talk about. OPSEC.

There really isn't anyone outside of my family (and not even all of them) who needs to know that I'm usually armed.

When I first got my permit I made the mistake of telling a (I thought) close friend at church that I had a permit only to find out later that he told half the church because he “Felt like they should know” I also had the wonderful experience of having another friend turn to a person who wasn’t in my circle and say "Chuck's" carrying a gun right now.” in the middle of a random conversation.

I learned my lesson.

After we left that church I made a point of not letting anyone in that church know that I had a concealed handgun permit until I joined the church security team and I was required to give the team lead a copy of my Permit and attend training classes with the rest of the team.

Even then one of the team members told my extremely anti gun sister in law that I and the rest of the team were armed even though the church board had specifically asked team members not to share that information with anyone. The approved response was always "Some members of the team may be armed."

That went over like a fart in church.

I don't tell people who don't need to know I'm armed that I'm armed.
 
Last edited:
I’ve mentioned before that at certain times I open carry, very rarely!!
That being said nobody knows I’m carrying and if I’m out with my lady she helps with that.
She’s always on my right side and close to me when walking together.
She also knows when we go out to eat I get the chair or bench so my back is not to the door but my right side is to the inside not the isles.
It also doesn’t hurt she’s stunningly beautiful and takes all the attention off of me. 🤭😵‍💫😂😂😂
 
Keystone19250 said:
A Hawaiian shirt with pictures of guns on it? Not very “tactical cool” in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I think he wore it as a goof. In AZ, Hawaiian shirts are common when it's hot. It's kinda cold now (60) and I wear pants, long sleeve shirts and a vest. i fit in well with the other geezers around here. I never tell anyone I'm carrying, no stickers on my vehicle or God forbid, "tactical" anything.
 
Last edited:
I like colorful Hawaiian shirts, although I don’t see many of them around my adopted North Texas ranching community homestead. And, I’m not too proud to wear one either…if it was good enough for Tom Selleck (my peer in age) after all, why not me? I’m also thinking I could cut down significantly on ammo and reloading component costs by ordering one of the Armory shirts that scream, “I’m carrying a gun…step aside!” Doing this might enable me to intimidate criminals and would be miscreants without even having to carry a firearm 🤔…what do you think? This could really boost the availability of discretionary funds I’m thinking… Kidding aside, I enjoyed the video and article regarding the advantages of employing printed cover garments. Now if you’ll excuse me please, I need to go shopping…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top