Welcome to the third installment of this series on concealed carry considerations. In this article we will discuss one of the most overlooked considerations; your choice of clothes.
Just as a reminder, this series covers the following topics. If you didn’t get any previous articles, email me at wakefirearmstraining@mindspring.com, let me know which one you are missing and I will forward it to you.
- Choosing the right tool for the mission. What type of engagement am I training for?
- How much ammo is enough?
- Clothing considerations and concealment. It’s hot in NC in the summer.
- Caliber size. Is bigger always better?
- Reliability; if it doesn’t go bang it’s a club.
When we start to look at clothing, it breaks down into several categories:
- Clothes that fully conceal and don’t “print”.
- Clothes for different seasons.
- Clothes that allow quick access or hinder access to the gun.
- The special challenge presented to women.
Let’s first look at some basic guidelines when considering clothes that don’t “print”. For those not familiar with the term “print”, it is the ability to fully conceal a pistol on the body from view of another person. If the carry position or clothing is such that the gun impacts the natural fall of the garment, the budge that is apparent is what we term “printing”. This is not desirable for two reasons. First, there are many people in our society that are not “gun friendly” and telegraphing that you have a pistol may lead to a discussion with law enforcement that at the least will disrupt your day and at worst get you cited for going armed to the terror of the public. Second, if we find ourselves in a situation that may turn lethal, like a bank robbery, displaying the gun could make you an immediate target. Tactically, we do not want to wave the gun flag but want to work toward setting up an ambush of the threat.
Now for the guidelines; thinner, lighter weigh clothing prints more than heavier, darker clothing. Consider a t-shirt vs a flannel shirt. The t-shirt will be likely to print more easily. Next, tighter fitting clothing will print more than looser fitting clothing. Consider a form fitting dress shirt vs a conventional cut shirt.
Before going on, I want to quickly discuss carry positions and gun size. These are pretty self-explanatory but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it. The larger the gun, the more it is likely to print. The closer the gun is to the body, the less the gun will print. Also, a person’s body size impacts the ability to conceal. A larger individual will be able to conceal a larger pistol than a smaller individual. Inside the waist band appendix carry will typically allow for deep concealment but some people cannot carry appendix due to their physical structure. You are going to have to find what works for you.
Here in NC we have four seasons and our clothing changes with the seasons. In the summer, we will often wear a t-shirt and shorts. In the winter, we may wear a heavy coat or multiple layers. This may mean that the gun you can carry fully concealed in the winter prints badly in the summer. In my case, I carry and Walter PPK inside the waist band in the summer and a CZ-P10C outside the waist band in the winter. Heavy clothing also impacts the time it takes to draw the gun. Clearing a t-shirt is fairly simple and quick but clearing a heavy sweater and heavy coat that is zipped up is going to be slow and may not be possible. I have a winter parker that when zipped cannot be cleared. Knowing this I can take other steps to work around the problem.
A quick comment on belts. Please spend the money and get a good, stiff gun belt. It makes carrying so much more enjoyable. I have had many and especially like the Blade-Tech Ultimate ratchet belt. It allows for quick adjustments in ¼” increments.
Ladies, you are special. Unfortunately, carrying concealed often is a problem for women due to the clothing they typically wear, especially work or more formal attire. Dresses present a special problem as typical holsters require a belt to attach to. As I don’t have a lot of experience with this type of clothing, I recommend checking out www.thewellarmedwoman.com. Ladies, you will find a ton of resources specifically for concealed carry.
For everyone, men and women, however you decide to carry and whatever you decide to buy, test the equipment and the carry method. Remember, the draw standard is 1.5 seconds draw to first shot, center mass, at 7 yards. If you cannot accomplish that, start to look at ways to get a faster draw and make space to buy time (I teach techniques in the Defense Pistol classes).
That’s all for now. If you have questions, email me at wakefirearmstraining@mindspring.com
Train Hard! Stay Frosty! Never Give Up!
John