Awkward Concealed Carry Moments

Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

With practice, your concealed carry weapon becomes as comfortable to carry as your underwear. But that doesn’t happen overnight. And, it definitely doesn’t occur without concerted practice. When I first started to concealed carry I looked like I was toting a bomb under my jacket. I moved like a robot and lived in fear that my gun would discharge or clatter to the floor. I had nightmares about being a laughing stock or killing someone.

I was at my Aunt Margie’s one night and, as was her custom, she zoomed in for a big hug only to be poked by my weapon. Needless to say, it put a damper on the visit and curtailed my aunt’s hugs ever after. I’ve since learned to put my right arm over my weapon when exchanging hugs.

If you don’t get the right fit between gun and holster and holster and your body your gun could  indeed clatter to the floor. I’ve seen it happen although never personally, thank goodness. I’ve also watched others printing obsessively and I yearned to say, “Stop patting yourself. It’s a dead giveaway!”

In the early days, I was a master of printing. I touched my weapon so much you could see sweat marks on my clothing on  top of my concealed carry. My obsessive-compulsive actions were a red flag to anyone who paid any attention to me. “Hey! I am carrying a concealed weapon,” they screamed.

Equally noticeable is the awkward walk of those who are novices to concealed carry. It’s not unlike the waddle of a toddler with a fully loaded diaper. This will solve itself if you practice walking about your house wearing your concealed carry weapon.

Another faux pas I managed not to do is carrying a firearm without a holster. Hearing a car in my driveway, my neighbor leaped out of bed and grabbed his gun, intent upon scaring away the male who was attempting to break into my unoccupied house. However, he was wearing sleep pants with a drawstring at the waistband where he had shoved his gun. He  yelled for the would-be robber to stop and reached for his gun. Well, the drawstring had loosened on his sprint across the lawn. When he tried to grasp the gun at the back of his pants, the gun slipped down the sleep pants and clattered onto the driveway. The bemused thief took off at a run toward the getaway car. We learned from this incident the importance of a snug fitting holster. 

Another rookie mistake is one I like to call a wardrobe malfunction. There are so many  things that can go wrong in this department. Your over shirt should be long enough and full enough to conceal your weapon. If it isn’t, go shopping for one that is. If you’re concealed carrying while wearing formal attire you may have to think about where you are going to put that holster so it doesn’t show but you can get at your weapon easily and draw smooth and fast. Again, practice makes perfect. 

There are a million awkward moment anecdotes out there. The trick is to learn from others’ mistakes and never make the same mistake twice!