As I happily mentioned a few days ago, I now live in Iowa, and have a concealed carry permit. One of the holsters that I ordered arrived, and I’ve been carrying. Some of my preliminary observations are below:
Carrying
So far, I’ve been using the SmartCarry holster, with good results. I’ll save my in-depth thoughts on this and other holsters until I’ve carried longer and had an opportunity to compare several different holsters. However I will say that concealment has not been a problem at all, regardless of the clothing that I wear. It is quite nice to be armed for self defense, although I hope to never have occasion to use my subcompact XD-40 for anything but target practice.
Lack of shootouts
On Saturday, I lawfully carried all day while running a bunch of errands, and enjoying a beautifully sunny day with my fiancée. During the course of the day, I had an idiot recklessly or perhaps intentionally cut me off in traffic, very nearly causing a collision that would have damaged the car I just bought. Contrary to the beliefs of people like Coach Randy Shannon, I never had the urge to draw my pistol and open fire on that driver. Instead, I went about my day, just as I’ve done a thousand time before when cut off by idiot drivers. Later that day, I arrived home just as the postman was coming by with the mail. Contrary to the assertions of people like Chicago’s Mayor Daley, I did not open fire on the postman. Instead, I waved back at the postman after he waved “hi” to me, and then went about my business. Later on, I saw my neighbor and her child in the yard next door. Although Mayor Daley would also be alarmed in this situation, I’m happy to report that not once did I shoot that neighbor, her small child, or her cute-but-yippy dogs. Instead, I said hello, did some yard work, and then went inside for dinner. As the statistics show, concealed carry permit holders (including me) are many times more law abiding than your average citizen, and virtually never misuse firearms. Instead, we lawfully protect ourselves and society as a whole from violent criminals who will carry a gun – even when a half dozen laws tell them not to do so.
4 Responses to “Preliminary Concealed Carry Observations”
Welcome to the ranks of toters.
You do a nice job of holding the blood-will-run-in-the-streeters up to some well-deserved ridicule.
I’ve held CW permits for well over 50 years now and have yet to have the urge to open fire on… anybody, Mayor Daley and his preposterous ilk to the contrary. On a couple of occasions the presence of the weapon has defused a potential ’situation’ but I am thankful that I have not had to fire a shot in self defense in all those years.
I wish the same for you.
Thanks so much for your website. I’ve truly learned a great deal about the issue of laws governing firearms.
I especially appreciate the article entitled “The ‘Made in Montana’ Gun Law” which discussed intrastate commerce. As an ordinary but common sense layperson whose only connection to lawyers was working for one a short while in my 30-year film industry career, it greatly puzzles me as to how attorneys & judges can come to the conclusions they have re certain aspects of intrastate commerce law. Their reasoning baffles me. Thanks for shedding some light. Keep it up.
The Smart Carry Holster is a bad idea. Here’s why:
1. It’s a rule 2 violation – “Never point your gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy.”
2. Presenting your weapon from that location takes more time than you have in a gunfight.
3. It’s not as invisible as you think – especially to people who know how to spot a concealed weapon.
Other than that little “nay-say” it’s good to see that you’re among the ranks of gun-toters. It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to read your blog, and I’m glad I have caught up with you. Good luck on the new job.
Bill
Bill,
I disagree.
First of all, just about any concealed carry holster will cause the muzzle of the gun to point at the wearer’s body, either when being carried or being drawn. That is certainly true of the in-waist-band holsters and shoulder holsters that I considered instead of the smartcarry. I’ve also found that in both a sitting and standing position, the smartcarry often points the muzzle of my pistol slightly away from my body, while the in-waist-band holsters never do this. I also don’t keep a round chambered, and my XD has a grip safety, so I’m not too worried.
Secondly, while it might take longer to draw from this holster than an in-waist-band holster, it is still quite fast with practice. More importantly, the level of concealment is far better than I achieved with any of the other holsters I tried, and I’m frankly more concerned about my gun being noticed than the extra .7 seconds it takes to draw.
Finally, I’m not sure if you’re really in a position to tell me how visible this holster is on my body, while carrying my gun, since you’ve never seen that combination of gun and holster on my body. I’ve found this to be the most concealable holster, and while no holster is truly invisible, this is the best I’ve had thus far.