Practicing drawing from cover
There are multiple ways of carrying a firearm concealed. Each of them may be good for a certain environment, but one way may not work for all situations. Sometimes people get too caught up in one manor of concealment and the reality is that we should probable consider atleast 2 or 3 ways of concealing the same firearm. When I was at a Defensive Pistol course a few years ago, we were asked to bring a concealment garment to practice drawing our firearm. The majority of us didn’t show up with pocket pistols for the Class and having something that would work for a full size auto was difficult.
Some jackets will work fine for winter work, but summer concealed carry is a different animal. Wearing a vest in the summer can make you stand out, but it can also help you fit in depending on the enviroment. Just like the debates about which gun is better a Glock or a 1911, you have to be smart about what your carrying and understand how it functions and if it works for you. A CCW vest like the Elite Operator Tactical Style 102 vest has a generous cut and will hang well over your belt line to conceal a full size auto like a Glock 17, Beretta 92FS or Sig 226. A lot of the students that took the class with me all used these and they worked well.
I’ve heard that line asked about 5 times a month. You have to realize the number of people that carry guns in our society vs. the number that don’t. I’d say that in most cases, 98% of people in our society aren’t looking to spot a CCW holder and won’t suspect that are unless that are sloppy at concealing it. I highly recommend that most gun carries consider atleast 3 ways of carrying a firearm concealed. In most parts of the Country people have to consider a warm weather and cold weather method, then there is always a reason to consider what method one could carry a full size auto.
When a CCW carrier is carrying a firearm in the winter, we can understand why they may want a firearm in a pocket outside of their body, but I recommend putting some thought into how you wear your clothing and how a firearm can be reached in when wearing heavy clothing. Jackets that hold firearms will have to come off if you’re in a house or building that gets hot, so then what do you do with your gun? The Eotac Style 102 CCW Vest is cut very long and is great for concealing in warm weather, but not a firearm retention vest.
A few years ago Woolrich Elite launched their line of tactical apparel with the help of Backyard Outfitter, but after an internal squabble Fernando Coelho split off from the company and launched his own tactical apparel line named Eotac. I noticed a few people mention that most of the Eotac apparel looks like Phase II of the Woolrich Elite line, but there have been some major innovations. We’ve seen some of the new products coming out in 2010 and there seems to be some pretty aggressive steps in the tactical apparel and concealed carry market with the new Eotac line.
Two zippered dump pouches are positioned strategically above the bellowed cargo pockets. Two smaller zippered patch pockets are perfect for securing smaller gear or even a set of keys. Two open-top pockets with hook & loop closure (one with two pen slots) round out the front of the vest.