The clothing you wear is obviously going to be critical to discretion and comfort when you are carrying a concealed weapon. It’s all a little more subtle than “big coats hide more hardware easier than small coats.”
First, it’s a given that “concealed means concealed.” If only 5 percent of the gun is exposed, does that mean it’s 95 percent concealed? No, it means that if someone can see that you’re carrying a gun, even if only a small portion of the gun — or the gun’s distinctive outline — is visible, the gun is 100 percent “exposed” and 0 percent concealed.
Here are a few random tips from 47 years of carrying a concealed handgun…
Learn from LAPD. I hate to keep invoking Hollywood, but get some of the old videos of Jack Webb’s Dragnet series. You’ll note that most of the time, he’s wearing black slacks and a tweed sport coat. In the old days of poorly dyed holsters, black dye would wear off the leather and stain the trousers. It didn’t show up on black cloth. The solid “hang” of relatively heavy tweed tended not to outline a holstered handgun, and its patterned appearance tended to break up “printing” outlines of a gun beneath the fabric. We see a similar effect with untucked Hawaiian print shirts, checkered garments, etc. Unlike a typical shirt, a tweed or corduroy sport coat has enough substance to its material to often mask the strapping of a shoulder rig’s harness, too.
With more casual jackets, something like a plaid hunter’s coat works great. The black and red checks catch the eye, and divert attention from gun-shaped bulges.
You don’t need James Bond’s or Mike Hammer’s tailor to conceal your firearm.
Simply get the suitcoat or sport coat slightly larger, i.e, size 44 if you normally wear a size 42. You will get just enough more “drape” to cover a good-size fighting pistol. You will appear to have gained a few pounds through the torso, but won’t look like a little boy wearing his daddy’s clothing. This is true of any gun-concealing outer garment, not just sport jackets or suit coats.
Leave the front of the suit coat or sport coat unfastened as much as possible. This will give a natural, concealing drape to the garment, and will allow the fastest access. With the garment closed in front, you’ll have to open it (or pull it up, difficult if not impossible in a garment whose hem falls as low as a sport coat’s). If the garment is fastened, fabric is pulled tightly over the gun and tends to outline it, in addition to the slower draw.
Outside pockets of sport jackets and suit coats are a lousy choice for pocket guns. They tend to bulge and sag obviously. Inside breast pockets are a little better, but they will constantly be bumping against your chest and will probably work best in that location with pocket holsters.
Depending on your generation and locale, the term “windbreaker” can describe two different garments. The short “Eisenhower” jacket and the heavier “bomber jacket” are less than ideal choices for gun concealment because they are generally cut to stop at the waist or just below, which increases the chance of a hip holster becoming exposed. These styles also tend to have elastic bottom hems, which are contraindicated if you have a gun on or in your belt because the elastic feature pulls the fabric in on the gun and outlines it rather than hiding it.
Nylon jackets of the style known in some places as “warmup jackets” are better, because being “hip length” garments their bottom edges fall much lower, affording better gun concealment.
With any jacket that can close top to bottom, you want to make sure that the bottom portion can be unfastened while the top part remains closed. On a chilly day, when comfort (and sometimes, avoidance of pneumonia!) demands that the chest be covered, you want to be able to get the area below the stomach to clear so you can reach a gun at your strong side hip. If the coat is zipper front, you want two-way zipper design that can let you unzip the belly part beforehand so you get at that hip holster. If the garment is button front, all the better; button over the chest, but leave everything from the lower edge of the rib cage down unbuttoned.
Nylon windbreakers tend to be “straight cut” and therefore have a straight-down natural drape that conceals large handguns very well. Caution: Many such windbreakers will have a drawstring at the bottom. Remove it! The loose end of the drawstring can find its way into the trigger guard as you re-holster, setting the stage for an accidental discharge! Don’t just tie a knot in the end. Don’t just shorten it. Remove the drawstring!
Later in this chapter, we’ll discuss garments specifically designed for concealing guns. Right now, let’s touch on the common fisherman’s vest or photographer’s vest.
These hit the pistol-packer’s fashion mainstream in the 1980s. Light and comfortable depending on material and cut, they give more freedom of movement for things like fist-fighting or shooting from an Isosceles stance than any regular jacket, since they generally don’t bind at the shoulders when the arms extend.
Watch out for many of the true lightweight vests, which have mesh on the back and sides for comfort. The gun and holster can become visible through the mesh. They’re probably not ideal for shoulder holsters, either, since the harness straps can become visible at the armhole of any sleeveless vest. I only know one top gun guy who ever wears a shoulder holster with just a vest, and with a badge and ID card in one pocket, he’s not particularly concerned about concealment anyway.
There is a very popular belief in the “gun culture” that because so many of our kind wear these vests, they have become a mark of the gun carrier. Some call them “shoot me first” vests.
I dunno about that. I’ve been wearing them for more than twenty years, and never had that sort of problem. I’ve seen them worn (and sold!) in airports. The many pockets and high comfort factor make them great “traveling vests.” You’ll see them all over the place at Disney World and other “gun-free zones.”
I’ve never heard of a documented case of a “shot him first” case in which a good guy was shot by surprise by a bad guy who “made him” as such. The only such case I’ve ever seen was fictional.
Remember the first Star Wars movie? Princess Leia and her bodyguards, who are wearing a uniform that includes a vest that looks remarkably like the ones under discussion, are fighting a losing battle against the Storm Troopers of the evil Empire led by Darth Vader. When the last vest-wearing good guy is shot on sight by the Storm Troopers with ray guns, the princess is captured.
But that “happened long, long ago, on a planet far, far away…”
Vests, like other garments, should be purchased at least one size large, and side vents are to be avoided. Make sure they go down far enough to conceal a hip holstered gun: a surprising number of these, especially the cheap ones, are cut to waist length rather than hip-length.
Tucked-in shirts, such as dress shirts, should not be tightly tapered and form-fitting if you’re carrying a gun. Even if your gun is concealed by an outer garment instead of a holster, a too-tight shirt can bind the upper body and restrict your range of movement if you’re fighting for your life … and if you don’t see yourself ever fighting for your life, why do you carry a gun in the first place?
If the tucked-in shirt is going to conceal a handgun in a Kramer undershirt, a belly-band, or a “tuckable” holster, it needs to be loose fitting and kind of “blousy” at the appropriate areas, i.e., the shoulder/armpit region if the gun is there, or at the waist if the gun is at belt level. You want an opaque shirt, such as an Oxford fabric. Pinstripes will help break up the outline.
If you carry in a belly-band or tuckable, one of the fastest locations is front cross-draw. Without pulling the shirt loose, you can knife the hand right in there with the movement martial artists call a “spear hand.” This generally means leaving the second button above the belt unfastened. A necktie will generally cover this minor breach of style etiquette and let you off with only a warning from the Fashion Police. If you’re serious about it, sew that button to the outside and secure that part of the shirtfront opening with a bit of Velcro. However, be advised that the ripping sound will alert people, and may prevent a surreptitious draw or low-profile hand-on-gun state of readiness.
If you decide to carry under an un- tucked shirt, concealed carry life just got a whole lot easier for you. Again, whether the shirt is tee or polo or button-front style, get it about one size larger than normal. This is partly to give you more concealing “drape” at the beltline, and partly to give the hem of the garment more range of movement to come up when you have to clear it out of the way to make the draw. A fabric with some stretch to it is a bonus; you want to be able to pull it up high enough to clear the gun. Not just above the butt of the holstered pistol, but high enough for the gun to come up and out and on target without being impeded.
Floral print sport shirts, if they aren’t too loud for your taste, are great for concealing guns. Their patterns break up the underlying outlines. Mike Venturino and Roy Huntington at American Handgunner magazine have, almost jokingly, raised the profile of this sort of garment among serious CCW folks.
If the untucked shirt has a button front, you want the area of the lowest button to be unfastened. Some such shirts come that way: the Woolrich Elite line offers one. The ancient but still popular guyebarra shirt comes that way, perhaps a heritage from a culture where it was common for men to carry pistols in their waistbands. Old style American bowling shirts can still be had that are cut in the same way, with a straight bottom and a generous drape, and sometimes without the lower button and buttonhole in the usual place. Intended to allow range of bending and arm movement for bowling, they turn out to be great for pistol-packing.
If you’re carrying inside the waistband, get the trousers two inches larger in the waistband than your actual waist measurement. As discussed elsewhere in this book, doing this adds greatly to your comfort. It also “keeps you honest” by encouraging you to always wear your gun, if only to keep your pants from feeling as if they’re about to fall down.
When buying any sort of pants, make sure the belt loops are “gun compatible.”
The loops need to be large enough to allow a substantial gun belt, and in appropriate positions to allow the holster to ride exactly where you want it. You’ll want the dress gun belt to be a minimum of an inch and a half wide, and loops that will take an inch and three-quarter belt are a plus.
With any sort of belt holster, make sure the belt is wide enough, and fastened snugly enough. Otherwise, the holster will sag downward and the gun butt will tilt outward, severely compromising discreet concealment.
If you’re going to carry inside the waistband, make sure there’s room for you and the gun and holster, and perhaps a spare magazine pouch, too. As a rule of thumb, you want the pants two inches wider in the waist than you would normally wear them without a gun in your waistband.
No matter what the men’s fashion magazines may say, side vent suit coats and sport coats are permanently “out of style” for those who carry in hip holsters. The gun butt will work its way through the vent and expose itself. A middle of the back holster will do the same with a center vent.
Black pants stain less. Again, flash back to those Dragnet reruns and notice how often Jack Webb’s “Sergeant Friday” is wearing black pants. In the old days, poorly dyed leather “bled” its coloring onto clothing, especially when people got hot and sweaty. Gun oil can drain out from the muzzle end and stain the garment. Black shows it less.
Today’s holsters may not “bleed” (the good ones, anyway), but they can still seep gun oil. A big concern is the skeletal Yaqui Slide design. If you’ve been shooting, each time the gun goes into the holster, carbon on the barrel or slide can transfer onto the trouser fabric. Since that stuff is black, it’ll show up less on black pants.
If you might be wearing an ankle holster, you want straight leg cuffs at the very least, and no tapered leg or pegged bottom styles. In jeans or cords, “boot cut” is the minimum that will give you access, and “flared cuffs” are better. Standard American cut men’s suit pants and police uniform pants will have the proper cut, and BDU/”cargo” pants also generally have cuffs of sufficiently generous size and shape to work well with an ankle holster.
The pockets of the trousers want to be deep, and made of strong material. A seamstress or clothing store can access replacement pockets made of a heavy fabric called “cotton drill,” designed for uniform and work pants. Good quality BDUs (cargo pants) will have these already. You don’t need to sew in the canvas and leather pockets that were “custom gun wear” for the gunfighters of long ago. When you are looking at the pants at the clothing store, insert your hand into the front pants pocket with the fingers extended, until the fingertips hit bottom on the pocket. The opening of the pocket should now be up just a little past your wrist. If they pass this test, they’re deep enough to properly conceal a snub-nose revolver or a small autoloader in a pocket holster without any of the gun showing.
Pleated casual dress pants of the style popularized by Dockers are “in” at this writing. They drape enough in the thighs that they’re ideal for pocket carry, and the cuffs seem to be amenable to ankle holsters as well.
In conventional brands, Carharrt and Wrangler have very strong adherents. The latter company makes “work casual” pants with leather-reinforced pockets that work beautifully with tactical folding knives designed like Sal Glesser’s pioneering Spyderco Clipit. Some gun owners prefer not to purchase Dockers or Levis on the grounds that the manufacturers are anti-gun. If that’s the case, any designs they have that you like are almost certainly replicated in someone else’s product line.
On the October day in 1881 when the Earp faction met the Clantons near the OK Corral, Wyatt Earp put his long-barrel Colt revolver in his coat pocket with his hand on it. It helped him to be among the first to get his weapon into action at the historic “Gunfight at the OK Corral.” The mackinaw-style denim coat had just arrived, on special order. Earp had specified an extra-deep, heavy pocket that could discreetly contain a large revolver.
John Wesley Hardin, believed by some to have been the deadliest gunfighter of the Old Frontier, liked to wear a vest he had designed (and possibly made) himself. It had leather gun pockets rib-cage-high on either side, with revolver butts facing forward. It was not a concealment vest; rather, he concealed the vest and the twin revolvers under a coat.
Yes, clothing expressly designed for gun concealment goes back a long way. Today, it’s a small but fascinating cottage industry…and, apparently, a growing one.
Concealed Carry Clothiers has an excellent line that includes models with pockets lined with a semi-stiff synthetic, to hold a small handgun. My favorite in the line is the Tropical, which feels as close as you’re going to get to wearing no outer garment at all. This line also offers vests that aren’t festooned with pockets, which is much more to some folks tastes than the “tactical” look of a many-pocketed vest.
5.11, with their line formerly known as Royal Robbins, really kicked off the tactical vest market. Their vests are expressly designed for carrying heavy equipment such as radios, guns, and spare ammunition. (For ordinary folks, the elasticized vertical pouches at the rear are perfect for holding water bottles.) The only flaw I can find with them (since they offered a lighter one than their original, which was too heavy for warm weather wear) is that the snap-flap on the inside, designed to hold a gun-carrying system, can catch on the butt of a handgun carried in a belt holster, and slow the draw. If that’s a problem, just cut it away and you’re good to go. They pioneered the front thigh level pockets that are great for spare magazines and cell phones, and they’re no longer on the wrong side. I’m not sold on the band over the rear pocket that’s supposed to help stabilize a holster, but they popularized the brilliant concept of deep hip pockets with a diagonal slash that lets the hand get past the holster and into that pocket for one’s handkerchief or whatever.
EoTac is captained by firearms/ammo industry veteran Fernando Coelho, who brought in a top beta-testing team of real world professionals to help with design. The result is a superb line of pants, shirts, and trousers for those who go armed. The pants can be had in BDU style (one version of which has tiny outer pockets at ankle level, which Velcro shut and can more or less comfortably carry a Kel-Tec 32), or in a Docker’s style casual dress pant. Elastic judiciously applied at the waist helps allow for IWB holsters, and the belt loops are well placed. I’ve found Coelho’s weatherproofing superior, with rainwater beading up on the outer surface of the fabric, but with no discomfort that we normally associate with “non-breathing” waterproof clothing. The shirts are comfortable, heavy duty, and sport useful hidden pockets. The casual dress shirt, mentioned above, has a Velcro attachment at the bottom of its buttoned front and just the right amount of clearance for drawing from a hip holster.
If jeans are more to your taste, Blackie Collins designed a neat pair. They’re called Toters. Each front pocket is actually two pockets, and reinforced for carrying guns therein. The waist is generously cut for IWB holsters, and the cuffs are just right for ankle rigs. I’ve worn out two pair, not because they aren’t sturdy, but because I found myself wearing them that much. They come with knife pockets, too; Blackie Collins is first and foremost a knife designer.
SIG-Tac has a very good series of “designer gun wear,” too. If you carry a long barrel pistol on the hip, the SIG-Tac vest is a great way to go: it’s longer than most, and therefore gives such a combination the best possible “coverage.”
Scott-E-Vest makes a high-speed, low-drag, way-cool series of garments that he designed originally for “techies.” There are pockets for the PDA, the iPod, the cell phone, you name it…tubes for electronics and hidden radios and BlueTooths…and even a fold-out solar back panel that gathers energy for your batteries. While not designed expressly for pistol packers, this line has ingenious hidden pockets that folks in the CCW lifestyle can make use of. Inventor Scott Jordan has some high quality chino-style dress slacks with double hidden pockets similar to the Toters, but in higher style. Magnetic closures hold the “secret pocket” shut, while the parallel pocket beneath it is conventionally open. Material is excellent, and the pocket lining works fine with small handguns in pocket holsters. One of his jackets even comes with a hidden sleeve pouch that’s just the right size for an NAA mini-revolver.
Blackhawk also has a new line of tactical wear. I haven’t had a chance to work with it much, but it’s promising, and the company certainly has both the financial and the human resources to run with the best in the business on this kind of stuff.
Dang…we’ve got our own boutique wear for pistol packers. The CCW culture has come a long way!
Founded in 1996, the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) was created so those who carried conventional, concealed handguns would have a venue for testing their skills in deploying them. Its founders were all distinguished alumni of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) and members in good standing of that organization’s arm in the United States, the U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA).
Forgive all of that alphabet soup, but it helps to know the background. The late, great Jeff Cooper laid the groundwork for IPSC with the open gunfight simulation competition he and his colleagues pioneered in California in the mid-1950s, and Jeff was the prime mover in the creation of IPSC some twenty years later. IPSC started with “street guns” in “street holsters,” but because rules were left open to encourage innovation, competitive enthusiasm took over. Soon the gun it took to win a match was a huge pistol with a widened magazine chute big enough to be a flower-pot, an optical sight on top, exotic recoil compensation devices that might blind the shooter if fired from a retention position in real world self-defense, and a pure speed holster so huge it would take Count Dracula’s Cape to conceal it.
USPSA eventually caught onto that, and now has competition categories that allow ordinary stock firearms to compete effectively, though concealment is still not required. However, IDPA struck a responsive chord when founded by Bill Wilson and a board that included street-smart Walt Rauch, renowned combat handgun expert Ken Hackathorn, and some other knowledgeable authorities. It remains one of the most popular and fastest-growing handgun games in the country today.
IDPA’s founders and directors are clear on their purpose. IDPA is a sport and a skill test, not a training course! Certainly, you can learn from it. But, really, any skill test should be a learning experience.
Understand that you are not necessarily there to be the next national champion. Those titles have been held by some of the greatest combat handgunners in history: Ernest Langdon, Rob Leatham, Jerry Miculek, Dave Sevigny, Scott Warren, and more. As in most competitions, the majority of entrants are going for a personal goal. Perhaps a personal best, perhaps a trophy in their particular class.
Shooting classifications start at Unclassified and go through Novice, Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert, all the way up to Master. While IDPA’s shooting classifications are performance-driven, the organization’s shooting categories are determined by the type of gun used. It was understood at the beginning that it would not be a level playing field if Competitor A used a 6-shot revolver against Competitor B with an 18-shot Glock 17 on an 18-shot course of fire, even if both contestants were identical in skill. Because IDPA was created during the period of the onerous Clinton Crime Bill that banned manufacture and sale to civilians of magazines of greater than ten-round capacity, this was established as the uppermost limit for auto pistols. That rule remains in force, not to endorse the Clinton concept by any means, but simply to maintain the level playing field that is essential in any sport.
There were once four handgun categories, and for the last few years IDPA has had five, and arguably a sixth. Those categories are as follows, and they pretty much cover anything you’re likely to be using in self-defense in the real world.
Stock Service Pistol (SSP). This is the most popular category in the game by far, and has been since IDPA’s inception. It encompasses double action semiautomatics of the traditional style, double action only autos, and the Safe Action Glock, which is the single most popular brand in the category. Calibers may be 9mm Parabellum and up.
Custom Defense Pistol (CDP). This is the home of the classic Cooper gun, the single action, cocked and locked 45 auto. Maximum magazine capacity allowed is eight rounds. A minimum power floor of performance is required that is roughly equivalent to 45 ACP hardball. Shooters with single stack, double-action 45 autos often compete against the single actions in CDP because in SSP, an eleven-shot stage may require them to reload but not the contestant with an 11-shot pistol.
Enhanced Service Pistol (ESP). This category is for single action auto pistols, caliber 9mm and larger. Originally intended for the classic Browning Hi-Power, it tends to be dominated by 9mm, 38 Super, and 40 S&W guns in the 1911 format. It is also the home of the popular Springfield Armory XD, determined by BATF to be a single-action semiautomatic. No more than 10 rounds per magazine, and no more than 11 rounds in the gun to start.
Stock Service Revolver (SSR). Minimum 38 Special caliber, maximum four-inch barrel length, and firing a rimmed cartridge inserted with speedloaders instead of moon clips. A review of such electronic gun boards as www.smith-wessonforum.com show that an amazing number of people carry four-inch service revolvers concealed daily for self-defense, and more keep them as home defense guns. This is the place to test skill with them. It generally takes a +P 38 load to make the power factor, a minimum figure of 125,000 when velocity is multiplied by bullet weight, the same power floor as in SSP and ESP. The revolver cannot be loaded with more than six rounds at any time.
Enhanced Service Revolver (ESR). When SSR encompassed any six-gun 38-caliber and up, the Smith & Wesson Model 625 revolver kicked butt. That was because it could fire round nose 45 ACP ammo in moon clips, which went into the gun faster than any speedloader could insert rimmed cartridges. Once again, the goal was to level the playing field: these moon clip guns were moved into their own category, ESR. The 625 is still the gun to beat there.
Earlier, I said there was arguably a sixth category. That arguable category is Back-Up Gun (BUG). There are side matches for these guns, most notably at the National Championships where last year Smith & Wesson provided the Model 640-1 snub-nosed J-frame revolvers that were used in the competition. I shoot IDPA in a lot of places, though, and only one venue has regular BUG stages, and those are usually factored out of the main competition.
A pity, because the two-inch 38 revolver and the small pocket-size auto pistol, the guns that the BUG concept were built around, are perhaps the most popular carry guns out there, yet are not truly represented in mainstream IDPA competition. I for one would like to see it come into its own as a full-fledged gun competition category awarded the same respect as the big autos and revolvers are in IDPA.
There’s a modest entry fee to join IDPA, and for your first match you don’t have to even be a member. After that, a typical local match fee with go about $15 or $20 at this writing. For that, you get to shoot four or six or so live-fire “scenarios” that have been set up elaborately with props. The targets often are “clothed” in tee shirts or similar garb, just as your opponent would likely be in real life. There are cover points that range from automobiles (sometimes fake, sometimes actual cars) to barricades that represent vertical building corners, doors you have to maneuver through, and the whole nine yards. Let your imagination run free: the match designers do. At the last national championship, there was one stage in which an automobile was turned over on its side as part of the scenario.
You might have dummies you have to drag out of the line of fire, and large dolls representing babies you are required to not only carry to safety, but shield with your own body as you do so. You may start pushing a lawn mower, serving food at a barbecue, or burping a “baby” you have to carefully set down before you engage the threat. (If you “spike” the baby like a football, you get the dreaded twenty-second Failure To Do Right penalty added to your time. When I was match director one year for the Mid-Winter Regional IDPA Championship at Smith & Wesson Academy’s fine facility in Massachusetts, I had to uphold a range officer’s penalty on a contestant who used the “baby” as a human shield between him and the bad guy targets. Sorry, fella, that just ain’t the spirit of the defensive handgun game…)
There are moving targets. Pop-up targets. “Gravity turners” that may only expose themselves for a fraction of a second. Steel knockdowns and cardboard silhouettes alike. Because having to shoot vicious animals is a very real scenario for both armed citizens and cops, the cardboard silhouette targets will occasionally be turned over on their sides to represent vicious dogs, or a wolf pack. A friend of mine won the Wisconsin IDPA Championship shooting matches like that, and when he was on patrol one day and had to shoot a wolf that was menacing a group of little girls, he was able to achieve 100-percent hit potential with his department-issue Beretta 92 and kill the beast before fangs reached flesh. He got a commendation out of the deal. He’ll tell you that, yes, IDPA is “job-related.”
It would cost you a fortune in time and money to set all those scenarios up for yourself. Fifteen or twenty bucks to have someone set it up for you, and time you and score you as you go through? That, brothers and sisters, is a helluva deal. Look at some of the props we had to work with at the 2007 Pennsylvania State Championship hosted by the Ontelaunee Sportsmen’s Club, where some of the photos illustrating this article were taken.
Most IDPA stages will start with the gun concealed. This is one of its most important benefits to the CCW shooter. Where is your gun likely to be when a deadly fight starts if you’re not a cop, soldier, or security professional? Why, under a concealing garment. IDPA, and IDPA alone among the major, established handgun sports, requires you to begin with your hands away from your body, and actually get the clothing out of the way and draw the damn thing from concealment!
Now, this doesn’t happen 100 percent of the time, but it’s good for maybe 90 percent. In the Classifier shoot (about which more later) that IDPA rules require every member to shoot once a year, no concealment is worn. This is because the range safety officers are assessing pure skill, and they know they’ll have a lot of new shooters, and for safety reasons they want to see what the hands are doing when the draw of a loaded handgun is underway. In matches, there will also be stages where the shooter starts (as is often the case in real life) with the gun in a drawer, an attaché case, a backpack, or lying on the ground. In one memorable match, there was a stage where the gun was in a lock box, and the shooter was given the punch-in combination just before the start signal sounded.
I’ve also been at some matches where brutally hot weather caused the match sponsors to forego the concealment requirement in the name of shooter safety: their concern was heatstroke. That was the case in a match I recently shot at the Central Florida Rifle & Pistol Club in Orlando, FL, where the thermometer was at 97 degrees, the humidity was close to max, and the “heat index” was well over a hundred.
One other exception is that those who carry openly at work (uniformed cops and soldiers, for instance) are allowed to forego the concealment requirement. However, the holster must be suitable for uniform wear and worn with all safety/security devices fastened, and if it’s on a police duty belt, there better be handcuffs in the belt pouches. Having shot this way with my department issue double action .45 and Safariland level II security holster, I can tell you that it gives one no competitive advantage over an open-top speed holster concealed under a photographer’s vest.
History shows us that when bad tactics get good guys killed in gunfights, the failure to use available cover is usually the single biggest of the fatal errors. In IDPA, you are required to have at least half of your upper body behind “cover” if such replicated cover is available on that stage, and your whole lower body behind it as well.
One direction in which competitive shooting went wrong insofar as being a positive learning experience for those who took handguns into harm’s way, was in emphasizing speed of shot placement over use of cover. In the real world, as any firefight survivor can tell you, the bullets are going in both directions. The goal is not to shoot the bad guy; the goal is not to get shot. Shooting the bad guy is merely one of your options in achieving the goal of survival.
The emphasis on use of cover in IDPA is, to this reviewer’s mind, one of the strongest aspects of the game as far as its value to the person who carries a gun “for real.” I was certified as an IDPA Safety Officer several years ago under Mike Briggs, and recently audited another such class by Florida’s IDPA go-to guy, Lance Biddle. Both emphasized the importance of staying true to the core concepts of IDPA by assessing penalties on shooters who exposed themselves to what in real life would be incoming fire, unnecessarily. It was good to see. It shows me that, then and now, IDPA is about Defensive Shooting more than it’s about Defensive Shooting.
The timer is digitally ticking away the seconds. A bunch of people are watching you. Is there stress? Oh, yeah! Not necessarily the full-blown fight or flight response that occurs in the true near death experience of the kind you carry a gun to ward off, but yes, there can be big-time stress.
At another fast-paced match of another nature (the first Bianchi Cup in 1979), I found myself on the same relay with a famous big city cop who had survived a number of deadly shootouts. As we walked side-by-side from one stage to another, he said, “(Expletive deleted), I’ve never felt stress like this in any of my (expletive deleted) gunfights!”
I asked him, “Why do you think that is?”
He replied, rapidly (and, I think, from the heart) “Because there wasn’t all this (expletive deleted) time to build up to it, and there weren’t all these (expletive deleted) people watching you!”
No, it’s not the same as getting shot at and knowing that life can end for you in the next instant. But, ya know what? It does condition you to ignore extraneous things and focus on the tasks you need to accomplish right now. History tells us that men and women who focus on such tasks in such terribly dangerous moments are the ones who are most likely to accomplish those tasks, and to survive the threat to their life.
At about fifteen or twenty bucks a dose at local IDPA matches, that’s awfully cheap for “preventive medicine” that conditions you to function when your hands are shaking, your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth, and you’re so deep in alligators that you can’t remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp, and there is a loaded gun in your hand that you must fire safely, swiftly, and accurately!
One thing I appreciate about IDPA is that it recognizes that while we all love to shoot from our strongest position so we perform well and look good, the real world has an unfortunate way of catching us off guard in awkward positions. IDPA course designers like to start you and me off in such awkward positions. “It’s a good thing.”
In just the last few months of IDPA shooting, I’ve had to do the following.
“Shoot through a window from the front seat of the car.” I remember the falling glass coming into my field of view as the Ruger 45 came back on target for the next shot. That would be pretty expensive to replicate in my back yard. At the Pennsylvania State IDPA Championships, it came with a moderate entry fee for ten separate stages.
“Draw the gun from this or that odd place.” It could happen. My review of the gunfights of Lance Thomas, perhaps the most accomplished Armed Citizen Gunfighter of the 20th Century, didn’t show any that started with him making a classic draw from a holster “on Main Street in Dodge City at high noon.” In every case, he grabbed one of the several guns he had secreted in tactical locations in his watch shop, to shoot the many armed robbers he put down.
“Grab the gun and shoot while on your back/on your belly/on your knees.” Been there, done that in IDPA. It’s a real good idea for your brain to be able to say “Been there, done that” when you find yourself in such a position and about to die if you don’t get a gun into action and shoot back, right now.
“Expose only what needs to be exposed to aim and fire.” The great combat pistol champ Ray Chapman pioneered the concept of coming up on the ball of the opposite foot just enough to get you to where “you can shoot him with impunity, but he’ll have a tough time shooting you.” This works on the street, and it works — not altogether coincidentally — in IDPA.
“How much do I need the rest of that ammo?” Several shots have been fired. Like most people in actual gunfights, you lost count when it went past three or four. Do you speedload your pistol and leave the few live rounds in the magazine on the ground, or do you take a little extra time to retain that partial magazine before you snap in a fresh one, in case you need those last few rounds as the fight goes on?
“Speed reload” versus “tactical reload” versus “reload with retention” is an argument that can go all night between trained professionals looking at the issue from different, but equally relevant, sides. After having to debate this issue more than any other with its members, IDPA has gone to “any IDPA-approved reload technique” for most matches, and this has cut the Gordian knot. However, the 90-shot Classifier course covers both “tac loads” and “emergency (slide-lock) reloads,” as well as shooting while moving forward and back, multiple targets, head-shot failure-drills, shooting from both tall vertical and low horizontal cover, and left-hand-only, right-hand-only, and two-handed shooting. It is one of the most challenging and comprehensive skill tests you will find.
IDPA has categories for high individuals of certain categories: high female, high cop, high soldier, high geezer, etc. These are determined from among all five gun categories combined, so you would be wise if you are shooting to win one of these particular awards to use a gun that holds 11 rounds, which puts you in SSP or ESP. There are enough occasional 10- and 11-round stages that guns which have to be reloaded before that many shots are fired will put you at the “have to climb uphill” end of the playing field. Several years ago, I managed to win the Senior Championship at the Mid-Winter Nationals at Smith & Wesson Academy, which were directed by Ken Hackathorn at the time. I did it with an Al Greco-tuned S&W Model 625 45 ACP revolver. But the lesson to learn is, that in all these years, that’s the only time I’ve been able to do that with a 6-shot revolver against 9- and 11-shot autos against a highly skilled field. I just had one of those perfect days when everything seemed to go right for me. That is never guaranteed. Not at the range, and not on the street.
Don’t let anyone else be the role model as to what you’ll shoot. Determine your goals, and shoot with the best gun for the job. Personally, I’m a full-time use of force instructor and a part-time cop, and since my students come in with all the different gun types, I shoot with them all. My personal favorite is Stock Service Revolver category. I like the challenge: it’s kind of like shooting a single shot or a muzzle-loader during regular deer season. Of course, it also makes it more likely that I’ll win the particular gun category, since way more folks shoot autos than revolvers, so there are fewer competitors to beat.
If I was a full-time cop, I would shoot mostly with my duty gun and duty holster, and one time out of every three or four, with my off-duty gun and leather. And if you’re an armed citizen getting into this to fine-tune the skills you’ll use once the potentially deadly encounter truly comes down to shooting, your smartest course of action is to use the guns you actually carry on the street, the guns you actually keep at home to ward off home invaders.
“You pays your money, and you takes your choice.” If you are there to test your skill with the handgun you are most likely to be using when you have to fire to defend your life or the lives of other innocent people, then you decide what you will compete with.
Personally, I’m geared more to training than to competition, and I’ve found IDPA to be the most useful competitive venue available to me for testing and analyzing the relevant skills. To see if it will be the same for you, check out the organization at www.idpa.com, where you will find references to IDPA-affiliated groups reasonably near you.
Good luck. Keep it all in perspective. And, stay safe!
Whether I’m finishing a book or finishing a class, there’s a voice in the back of my mind yelling, “Dammit, there wasn’t time to cover it all!” I suppose I’ll be thinking the same thing on my deathbed. Hell, I suppose we’ll all be thinking that on our deathbeds.
This is a life study. I’ve written several books and literally thousands of articles on this, and still haven’t covered it all. For instance, this book touched little on defensive shooting techniques and skills. For that I’d recommend The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery, 6th Edition, from Krause. In the book you’re holding, there wasn’t space to go into the different gun platforms in detail, but The Gun Digest Book of … series covers that nicely. My old friend, colleague, and fellow shooting competitor Patrick Sweeney did a great job covering the 1911, the Glock, and the Smith & Wesson line to name three, and I did the Beretta and SIG books. If you own the given brand or are thinking of acquiring it, you’ll find the appropriate book from that series useful.
Almost half a century of carrying a loaded, concealed handgun has taught me a few things. Let me say adieu with a final sharing of discoveries.
Never take safety for granted. You and yours will constantly be in the presence of a loaded, lethal weapon. Kinda like driving a car. Familiarity absolutely does breed contempt. Never lower your guard or your level of care, and think like an engineer: put multiple safety procedures in place, and follow them religiously.
Live in a state of relaxed alertness. The late, great Col. Jeff Cooper called this Condition Yellow. At any given moment, you know what’s going on around you, who’s near you, and where you are. He said that a well-adjusted man or woman should be able to spend their entire waking life in Yellow with no adverse psychological effects. I’ve found it’s even better than that. It makes you a people-watcher. You see the good, life-affirming things around you that you were missing before.
Stay current with the topic. Read the periodicals, particularly American Handgunner and Combat Handguns. Take classes. There are more good firearms/self-defense training programs available today than ever. We’re talking about skills that degrade easily if not refreshed. Don’t limit those classes to guns and combat. Adult ed courses in body language, deviant human behavior, and criminology can be rich mines of useful self-defense knowledge.
Commit to always carrying. If we knew when we were going to need a gun, we’d change our plans and go somewhere safer. Danger comes from out of nowhere and doesn’t limit itself to “bad areas.” Mass murders take place at good schools, upscale malls, and family restaurants in nice neighborhoods. The only way to make sure the gun will always be there when you need it is to always carry it. Go online to www.handgunlaw.us and commit to getting all the permits you can. The more places you can legally carry, the safer you’ll be.
Be prepared, in your heart and mind, to use deadly force if necessary. It’s a long search of the soul, but a critically important one. If you don’t know for certain that you can kill a violent attacker if you have to, you’re likely to hesitate at the worst possible time, and he’ll kill you and yours instead. Ironically, because predators have a finely tuned sense of what is and is not prey, that commitment seems to transmit. Thus, an irony: the person prepared to kill is less likely to have to do so. The great majority of situations in which armed citizens drew down on criminal suspects have ended with no bloodshed, because the predators sensed they were about to die and either surrendered or fled. They won’t surrender or flee if they sense hesitation on the part of their opponent. In LFI classes, I explain the worst of the aftermath and how to deal with it, so the student can get that out of the way and be prepared to act instantly if the moment ever comes. If you haven’t sorted it out beforehand, the fight will happen too fast for you to come to terms with the cosmic act of ending another human life.
Fight to keep your rights and privileges. There are those in this society who work in a tireless, well-funded, concerted effort to deprive you and your children of the right to self-protection. You have a genuine duty to “you and yours” to fight that. Whether or not you appreciate the National Rifle Association, join and support the NRA: they literally coined the term “armed citizen,” and they are the strongest voice for those citizens’ rights in Washington. Personally, I have served for many years on the board of trustees of the Second Amendment Foundation, and do what I can to support the highly effective grassroots gun-owners’ groups at the state level. This is about civil rights. It’s about human rights. The great authority on the common law, Lord Blackstone, said “Self-defense is the highest of all human rights.” Work hard to keep it, because powerful forces don’t want you and your descendants to have it.
Maintain a logical perspective. I don’t know if you in particular are going to need what’s in these pages. I do know that some of you are. My paternal grandfather came to these shores in the year 1896, and in every generation since, at least one member of my linear family has been saved from death or great bodily harm by the ability to produce a loaded handgun when attacked on the street. And even if that never happens to you, your commitment to concealed carry will have bought you a lifetime of peace of mind, and there’s no dollar price to put on something that precious.
I’m out of time. You’re not. Continue your learning in this life study. Share it with others. Fight to keep your rights and privileges.
Good luck. Stay safe, and keep your loved ones safe.
-- Massad Ayoob, December 2007
It is wise for the individual who lawfully carries a concealed handgun in public to keep a few things foremost in mind.
Know the laws governing concealed carry where you are at any given time, and follow them religiously. “Gun crimes” committed by those licensed to carry are extremely rare, but of those that occur, a huge percentage involve people who simply “forgot they were armed” when they entered an area where the practice was legally forbidden.
Concealed means concealed. Yes, I know it’s a trite and hackneyed phrase, but it carries a lot of truth. Our society is such, like it or not, that the presence of an obviously lethal weapon in the hands of someone not readily identifiable as an “official protector” frighten people. Someday, if you haven’t already, you’ll buy a newspaper or a candy bar from a convenience store clerk who was terrorized by an armed robber who menacingly drew his coat back to reveal a weapon. If you accidentally do the same, can you blame her for her predictable reaction? The results won’t be good for either of you.
Keep it quiet. The fewer people who know you carry a gun, the better. You don’t want to be caught up in the middle of an armed robbery where the multiple offenders with drawn guns hold all the cards, and have a terrified victim look at you and scream, “My God, you’ve got a gun, do something!”
The potential for false accusations is endless. You don’t want an employee you fired for incompetence to vengefully go to the police and swear out a complaint saying, “And then my boss pulled out a snub-nose .38 from inside his shirt and pointed it between my eyes!” When the police come and find you carrying that kind of gun in just that place, you’re behind the eight-ball. I’ve seen a false accusation of aggravated assault leveled at a man solely because another motorist, in a state of road rage, spotted the NRA decal on his car, correctly assumed he would have a gun with him, and told the police falsely that the good guy had pointed a gun at him without provocation. It took that good man about fifty grand in non-refundable legal fees and costs to win an acquittal on the felony charges.
Don’t carry a “CCW” badge. Sold in great numbers to well-meaning CCW permit-holders, these are seen by police and prosecutors (and the general public and the jury pool) as “fake badges.” At best you look like a wanna-be trying to play cop. At worst, you fit the profile of criminals from home invaders to child molesters who impersonate a police officer in the course of heinous offenses. That’s not a profile you ever want to fit.
Avoid trouble more than ever. Under the “higher standard of care” principle, the armed private citizen is seen as having a particular duty to avoid conflicts — shouting matches, upraised middle fingers, curses — and is expected to de-escalate rather than “keep the ball rolling,” let alone offering provocation.
Gain familiarity and competence with your weapon and carry system. A life or death situation is no time for fumbling. Practice with empty or dummy guns to gain smooth speed of draw from concealment. Some supervised live fire speed work (training, or an IDPA competition) will boost both confidence and competence with your concealed handgun. Train and practice as frequently as you can, to make the mechanics of drawing (and, if necessary, firing) as much second nature as possible.
Prepare for the totality of the circumstances. Make sure that those most likely to be with you if an armed encounter takes place know what to do. Always have a plan in case you have to remove your weapon and secure it, which can arise from anything from an unexpected trip to the Courthouse for routine paperwork, to an auto accident in which you had to be transported to a hospital by ambulance.
Be vigilant about gun safety. Familiarity breeds contempt. Put layer after layer of safety into your daily handling and carrying practices. Remember Jeff Cooper’s Four Rules. (1) All guns are always (considered) loaded. (2) Never point the gun at anything you are not prepared to see destroyed. (3) Never touch the trigger until the gun is on target and you are in the act of intentionally firing. (4) Always be certain of your target and what is behind it. Remember that the responsibility to keep your weapon out of incompetent and/or unauthorized hands falls solely upon you.
Remember why you carry. The gun is there to protect your loved ones, and to keep you alive to return to them. Just as its presence is a constant reminder of your responsibilities, let the presence of that deadly weapon also be a constant reminder of the importance of the loved ones in your life. Consciously or subconsciously, this recognition is one reason that those who carry guns seem to be among not only the most responsible people in this society, but the most caring and compassionate.
I’ve been carrying concealed firearms since 1968, which was my first year as a sworn law enforcement officer. I was finishing the last year of my Criminology Degree at Florida State University and joined the Tallahassee Police Department as a Reserve Officer. Since then, I’ve learned a few lessons about concealed carry by trial and error, but my knowledge about firearms has been improved immensely by reading what the experts were saying. In the early 1970s, besides reading articles by people with names like Cooper, Gaylord, Askins, Skelton, etc., I started reading articles from a guy by the name of Massad Ayoob. I began to wonder, who was this Ayoob guy and, more importantly, why did what he wrote actually make sense, based on my own experience? My relationship with Mas’ writing was strictly one-sided (he wrote and I read) from then until 1999, when I finally had the chance to take my first LFI course. Since then we have become good friends and I have become an instructor with him for his Lethal Force Institute. That has given me a precious opportunity to see how he acquires and uses the knowledge that he shares with others in his training classes, his writing and his case work as an expert witness. So when he said he was writing a book about concealed carry, I thought: “This has got to be good!”
Well, it is. I have been poring over the manuscript for the past week and I am happy to report that Mas has put together a winner. And a timely winner, at that. Concealed carry has been a hot topic in the world of gun ownership for the past two decades or so. More and more opportunities for decent, law abiding citizens to protect themselves by legally carrying concealed firearms have emerged as State after State has adopted more realistic concealed carry laws. Even so, only about two percent of the people eligible for a concealed carry permit actually apply for one. That is starting to change, however. Of course, September 11, 2001 started folks thinking more seriously about the subject. And most recently, the mass murder of students at Virginia Tech, the shootings in malls in Omaha and Salt Lake City and the armed attacks on religious centers in Arvada and Colorado Springs are causing people to reassess their vulnerability as they go about their daily lives. As more and more people come to the conclusion that they need to take realistic precautions against violent attack, the need for sensible concealed carry advice will continue to expand.
One of the things that has always impressed me about the way Mas works is that he is not just a teacher and not just a writer. He is a true student of firearms, their history and their use. This book reflects his serious research of the subject, as well as his ability to communicate with his audience. The references to many of the legendary names in the firearms world and many of the real-world case studies are not just academic. Mas has known most of the greats. And anyone who knows Mas also knows that he is always asking questions, always analyzing other people’s views and always seeking more and more knowledge. It’s not just the “names” either. I have been with him when he asked the ordinary man or woman what their impressions were on a particular gun or piece of gear. “How do you like that Beretta,” he asked a young highway patrolman we were sharing a gas pump with during a fuel stop on a trip across the Great Plains. “How’s that holster workin’ for ya,” to a Sheriff’s Deputy we met at a convenience store. “What do you think they should do to improve that” is a common question we hear when he calls on us to help evaluate some gun or other gear that has been sent to him to “T & E.” Beyond the equipment, Mas gathers real-life information about the use of firearms for self defense. Certainly his case work as an expert has given him unique access to incidents from the streets. Some of them are high profile, some rather ordinary. Except to the people involved. Every case has its lessons. And, very often, his students have their stories. Stories that can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, or bring a tear to your eye. Like the female student who had been the victim of two violent sexual assaults. The first time her attacker succeeded in raping her. The second attacker did not. The difference? The second time she was armed and prepared to defend herself. Or the Roman Catholic priest, who grew up in a foreign country known for its civil strife. He has been shot five times and stabbed once, all in separate incidents. He now lives in the United States, carries every day, and when he quietly relates his story, he simply says: “Never again.”
These are the sort of people Mas spends time with as both a teacher and as a student of the human experience. And that experience is what he willingly and skillfully shares with his students and his readers. In this book, he has compiled decades of experience in not just the carrying of firearms, but the shooting of firearms. Mas has been a competitive shooter since the old PPC days. He was a “regular” at the Bianchi Cup and other national matches. He still competes regularly in law enforcement competitions and International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) matches. In fact, Mas was one of the first IDPA Four Gun Masters and became the first Five Gun Master, when an additional revolver category was established by IDPA a couple of years ago. He is also an avid researcher of the history of carrying firearms and their use by police and ordinary private citizens alike. As such, he was a guest lecturer at a conference of writers and historians in Tombstone, Arizona, assembled to discuss probably the most famous gunfight ever, the shootout at the OK Corral. And, on a more contemporary note, he was requested to represent the “expert witness” point of view on a panel of American Bar Association legal experts who were making a Continuing Legal Education training tape for attorneys. The tape specifically addresses the investigation, prosecution and effective defense of people who have had to use deadly force to protect themselves or others.
In this book, Mas discusses both WHY we carry and HOW to carry. Mas explains the concepts behind the two styles of holsters he has designed, the LFI Rig and the Ayoob Rear Guard, and why holster selection is such an important part of your carry “system.” He also explains the need to practice drawing from concealment, in order to quickly respond to any threat. He explains the rationale behind two drawing methods that he developed: using the StressFire “Cover Crouch” to draw from an ankle rig and the Fingertip Sweep (he calls it “reach out and touch yourself”) used to positively clear an open front garment for a smooth same-side draw. Mas began developing his “StressFire” shooting techniques back in the 1970’s. By late 1981, at the suggestion of world champion shooter Ray Chapman, he established the Lethal Force Institute and has been instructing “certified card carrying good guys” there ever since. The Chief of Police of the department where Mas serves as a Captain, Russell Lary, has entrusted his son to Mas’ tutelage to the extent that he has attended all of the LFI classes, LFI-I, II & III, and he just recently completed the most advanced class, LFI-IV. Yes, Mas really is a Captain in the Grantham, NH Police Department. I know the Chief, and he is delighted to have such a true “human resource” available to the residents of his community.
A lot has changed in the nearly 40 years since I started in this field. A lot happened before that, of course, but I see the next major steps coming in the immediate future. People are tired of being victimized by people who use guns and other weapons illegally. And people are tired of being victimized by anti-gun advocates and the laws and rules for which they are responsible. They have been shown to be worse than ineffective. They have put decent people unnecessarily at risk in “Gun-Free Zones,” that are only gun-free to the law abiding. They continue to attempt to thwart efforts to make concealed carry by law abiding people a nation-wide reality. They have made people vulnerable at a time when they should be seriously thinking about, and preparing for, their own self protection. Not to become “vigilantes,” but to be able to hold the line against violence, until the professionals can respond. And, make no mistake, you are your own “First Responder.” Just as you would have a fire extinguisher in your home or car, or take a course in first aid and CPR, you need to consider how well you are prepared for the other kind of deadly threat that may suddenly present itself: a violent, criminal attack on you or those who depend on you. In this book, Massad Ayoob has brought together all the essential elements that you need to know if you are currently carrying concealed firearms or if you are considering doing so. This is your opportunity to take advantage of all of the research, knowledge and experience that Mas has accumulated over more than four decades. I can’t think of a better teacher.
This eShort is an excerpt from the Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry. To learn more about guns, gear and tactics for concealed carry, visit gundigest.com.