All posts tagged Concealed Carry Options

Backup options, less lethal methods

In Philadelphia there have been numerous instances of minors using weapons in crimes, but by Law these individuals are Children and are not considered to be adults.   With the level of violence that is occuring in some areas of the Country, carrying a firearm is very important but just because you have a gun doesn’t mean that the trigger always needs to be pulled when dealing with a threat.  There are deeply misguided individuals that pickup a gun and know nothing about morality or have any idea of what the consequences of their actions are.

As an adult, I am aware that the youth can display bad judgement especially when there is group think.   ASP pepper sprays are a good option even if you are packing a firearm because having good situational awareness and knowing that you can stay ahead of a threat and possible completely diffuse a problem before things get out of  hand with pepper spray or mace may save you the problem of dealing with lawyers and a not so friendly news media.  The Kimber Pepper Blaster II is probable the best thing to carry because it is shaped like a gun and lasts 3x’s longer than most bottle pepper sprays.

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Bitter cold, but wet weather CCW

Up here in the Northeast we are getting wacked with an early December.   I’ve been juggling between heavy winter coats and an Eotac 501 half zip sweat shirt.    I have found that wearing a good base layer, T-shirt and a sweat shirt of some sort, usually is good enough to get me through the day.   If I have to worry about covering my head and it’s below 30F I always take my Han Solo Hoth winter jacket.    It works for it’s intended purpose, but I personally don’t like wearing heavy jackets in the winter and carrying a firearm.   The heavy winter jackets don’t breath very well and there have been multiple times I have done my Christmas shopping in this configuration and was dying from the heat once I was in a shopping mall for more than an hour.

I have notice there has been some turmoil with Woolrich Elite products but they came out with several new products this past year that impressed me.  The most impressive item I saw was the Woolrich Elite Parka.   This was one of our number one selling Christmas items and they did a good job designing it.   This Parka is a Waterproof layer you can wear over your clothing and it will breath better than a heavy winter jacket that is water proof.   I don’t like the idea of carrying firearms in out wear, but I can carry my flashlight and spare magazines when I’m wearing this.   In Fall or Spring weather this jacket can be folded up into a glove compartment and be used for those Fall or Spring showers that come out of no where.

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The New Kimber Guardian

The new Kimber Guardian Angel pepper spray is no longer called the Life-Act or Guardian Angel.   We’re now on the 3rd installment of the device and I agree with all of the modifications.   My initial response to the device was that it was expensive, but then I realized that it actually lasts longer than any of the bottle sprays I own and it points easier, and has a trigger.   The original design fit my hands fine, but for anyone with smaller hands, it was a little too big and it had a slippery plastic feel to it.   I have several friends that have taken grip tape that skateboarders use on theirs and it worked well, but why didn’t Kimber do something like this?

The new Kimber device is called the Kimber Pepper Blaster II.   This is a radically new pepper spray design that is still a 2 shot device but it will look at feel like a small firearm and this actually comes with sights.   The previous design was used with a funky hand hold that was very goofy and somewhat unrealistically deployed.   Why not just put sights on the gun?  Well, now they did, and the only thing I can think of that would be a drawback would be that it might snag where the previous design fit very well into a pocket.   My Eotac Style 205 jeans and the Style 204 canvas designs had a side pocket that I could keep the guns in and they always pointed down and never would snag.

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The FN 5.7 as a defensive weapon

I first saw the 5.7  in all it’s glory with what I would consider to be AP ammo.   I heard a few people mention that they thought that this gun should be illegal, but ballistically it couldn’t do anything that the much more common M855 or SS109 could do.   Yeah I know that a criminal might prefer a handgun to defeat a police officers armor, but the last Police Officer killed here in Pennsylvania was killed with an SKS with standard ammo and a 30rd magazine that actually jammed.   The SKS can take detachable magazines, but I have never seen them hold up as well as the AK family of guns with these mags.   The 5.7 has the ballistics of something close to the 22 magnum, and even though that is not a very powerful stopping round it is as effective as the person carrying it.

I don’t know of any reliable 22 magnum semi auto guns, I know a few pocket revolvers that were fun to shoot, but if you want a small and light semi auto with similar 22 magnum ballistics and has a much  higher capacity, there’s nothing wrong with packing the 5.7 FN.  I think there are better calibers for duty officers, but there are a number of gun holsters like the Blackhawk Serpa that can be had for this gun.  Unfortunately the piece of crap that killed our soldiers at Fort Hood used this firearm arm very effectively, but hopefully anyone reading this will know that every firearm used in the hands of a good and law abiding citizen is an asset to society.

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Alternatives to carrying firearms

I’ve been watching the growing trend towards pocket guns and CCW weapons that I would defanitely consider to be minimal.    Years ago the debates were about which was better, 9mm or 45acp for stopping threats.   Now that so many first time CCW carriers are getting into the fold, but they seem to think that a .380 is good enough for them.   We have to balance between our skills as a CCW carrier and what is practical and what can be concealed.   Confronting a nut on PCP at close range may require an FAL in 7.62 NATO, but we may not be fortunate to have one.   In all honesty, there are just some situations where retreating and running full speed away is the best option.

Now that we have been becoming more and more aware of what actually “stops” a threat, we have to get into the realm of less-lethal weapons.   Tasers have been known to kill people, but they are more effective in stopping threats than firearms.   After seeing and reading about some pretty pathetic robberies and hold ups in the Trenton and Philadelphia area, I was wondering if someone just had a can of mace that the drug addict could have been taken down without putting several holes in the ceiling and walls of the stores.  The Kimber Pepper Blaster  is my favorite less lethal weapon  because it has a trigger and its easy to tell which direction it is pointing unlike bottle sprays.  2nd choice is followed by the ASP pepper sprays. I have nothing against people that just want to carry one gun, but I think a firearm, knife and less lethal weapon are my suggestions for CCW 7 days a week.

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Backup weapons

Kimber Guardian AngelAs we grow in our skills, we are more than likely to think about changing the firearms we carry.   I can’t tell you the number of times I hung out with a gun owner that looked like they could carry a full size 1911 in there front pocket, but choose to carry a J-frame instead.   Well, now that I’ve been carrying a firearm for close to 20yrs, I’ve really started to feel the weight especially when I was working overtime and carrying 10 and 12hrs days.   You really start to feel it at some point, the difference between 1lb and 3lbs of gun.    I guess there is almost a predictable learning curve when it comes to carrying guns.

I also know that many people choose to carry a secondary weapon.   Walking in and out of Police buildings,  I see guys that do investigations carrying 2 or 3 guns.   Sometimes certain environments are prone to very restrictive movements and sometimes having a gun in an ankle holster or shoulder holster along with your primary sidearm can mean the difference if there is a close quarters struggle.  That’s more common in the LEO world than in the civillian, but carrying a knife or mace is really my choose for CCW backup.  Take the Kimber Guardian Angel, this handy weapon lasts twice as long as bottle pepper spray, is easier to aim, and easy to put in a pocket.   The Elite Operator Tactical shorts in style 301 or style 302 can easily fit one of these in the front pockets that are outside of the hand pockets, this is a great thing to have when considering using non-lethal or less-lethal options when deadly force is not called for.

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Is a fanny pack a joke?

Blackhawk gun casesI would have to put the fanny pack in the same category as a CCW Vest.   People think wearing a vest is a dead giveaway that you are carrying a gun, and the same goes for a fanny pack.   One question I’d have to ask you, though, is do you think wearing camoflauge pants means you are also carrying a gun?  I did a mental tally of how many times I saw a leftist liberal College student wearing camo, and I thought, naw, there’s no chance he’s got a CCW.    There seems to be an age group that wear vests and just because you see an old guy wearing a vest, doesn’t mean he’s got a 1911 under it.   There are also plenty of people that can get away with wearing a fanny pack is the situation and environment will allow it.

One good suggestion for those that are travelling on a bike, be it a motorcyle or a regular bike.   A fanny pack won’t get as uncomfortable on you like an IWB holster if you are bike riding and it also may allow you to get your keys and wallet out of your pockets.   Ankle carry is not a very practical way of carrying so I’d have to say that would be my last option for CCW as opposed to fanny packs.   A purse for women can be a great weapon to beat down an attacker so always being aware of your environment and knowing what your liabilities are in carrying in that fashion is important.   Blackhawk gun cases makes a inexpensive option for various sized firearms.

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The suit and tie

Galco HolstersThere are always multiple ways of carrying a concealed firearm.  If you can really carry a full size auto all day and feel comfortable that good for you, but there are environments that many of us will get in where concealing a firearm is difficult.   Keep in mind that not everyone of us is carrying a gun in an environment where we’re dealing with friendlies.   There are plenty of places we can carry where a woman may bump into us and know she hit a Sig Sauer 9mm, but in other places you’ll get, “what is that, are you carrying a gun?”

The Galco Holster Miami Vice style may look cool on TV, but that is going to be easy to spot if we have to move around a lot and take off a jacket.  Weddings are usually the harder environments to carry when concealment is of the utmost importance.   You will be in a room that will get hotter and the jacket you are wearing is going to become very uncomfortable at some point.   IWB is going to be ruled out if you have a tucked in shirt and you’re mostly out of options.   Galco holsters in the ankle configuration are a very good option for wedding environments.  Pocket carry is always a good suit and tie option, but an ankle holster with a light frame revolver is something worth considering.

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