If I knew then what I know now about EDC

[mbeard1]

Looking for advice from those that have carried for a while. I'm brand new to carrying and don't want to recreate the wheel.

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[jhc77]

What do you need information on?  Get a good belt and don't save a buck on a holster. 

I carry both iwb and owb a FN FNS9 without worrying about being "made". I'm 5'9" and "fit" for 39 years. There are a million combinations of belts and different holsters. 

It feels like everyone is staring at you but they aren't. The smart phones have taken everyone's awareness and flushed it. 

[mikegideon]

Untucked can be your best friend. Ditto on the no cheap holsters

[ehull20000]

Sweat = rust.

Lint builds up fast.

 I don't clean my gun because I've shot it, I clean it because I need to get the salt and lint out of it.  While I'm at it I'll make sure the barrel is clean and the shiny parts are still shiny and lubed.  

 Dry fire practice is worth it's weight in gold.  

[gjohnsoniv]

A good belt is a must. Followed by a good holster (I'm biased, obviously but it still applies).  If you want to see what not to do check my thread "Which one of you was in the Co-Op."

Carry method wise I either carry OWB or pocket carry.  Only time I carry IWB is when I'm in gym shorts because I don't normally leave my shirt un-tucked.  Best advice from me would be try a couple things and just see what's the most comfortable to you.

[shotgunshooter]

Reliable firearm is 1st, good belt 2nd, steel sights 3rd, good holster 4th, and ammo that penetrates more than 12 inches in ballistic gelatin.

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[gjohnsoniv]

55 minutes ago, shotgunshooter said:

Reliable firearm is 1st, good belt 2nd, steel sights 3rd, good holster 4th, and ammo that penetrates more than 12 inches in ballistic gelatin.

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Or carry a .22 and zipper someone.

 

Point is carry what works for you.

Edited August 30, 2016 by gjohnsoniv

[cch2a]

Working plain clothes I've carried everything from Springfield 1911 MC Operator w/Surefire x300 down to a Glock 19 w/XC1 light concealed. I find I can reasonably conceal just about any standard size firearm with my shirt untucked. I'm 5'10" 175 and athletic build. I run either Raven Concealment or Bravo Concealment holsters with an Ares Ranger Belt Enhanced. The belt makes all the difference for the heavier guns. I ended up running my Glock 19 the most because I also conceal handcuffs and extra mag and it all gets pretty heavy working all week. Just remember just because it's comfortable for 10 minutes around the house doesn't mean it will be comfortable all week.

[monkeylizard]

This ^^^^^

Weight makes all the difference and the only thing that will tame that is a really good belt and holster. The lighter the gun, the easier it is to fudge on that. For me, anything Glock G26 and larger/heavier requires a gun belt. Even with a gun belt and good holster, I personally find anything heavier than that uncomfortable. The G26 is borderline for me and I rarely carry it. I'm sold on the single-stacks like Glock G43, M&P Shield, Kahr PM9, and Ruger LC9. I can wear pretty much any belt with those and they work fine. A gun belt just adds some extra which is nice but not necessary. Anything bigger than those and you'll need a gun belt.

 

[hipower]

Read all these suggestions. Think them over. Decide on your primary carry choice...iwb or owb. Then buy a cheap holster first. Probably a ballistic nylon to try your method of choice with for a while. Don't sweat the cost of trying one or more out. Make your pick then on a really good holster.

I guarantee you will be like the vast majority of us and have a box full of holsters before you settle on one.

Then you will buy another gun and find that what you have previously chosen won't work with the new pistol.

Welcome to the world of carry.

[Chris]

Good belt and good holster are key. Don't skimp on these.

I've never been able to make iwb work for me so I carry my G26 owb w/ an untucked shirt. Never had anyone say a word. No one notices as near as I can tell.

I also carry a ruger lcp in my pocket if I'm in a  non-permissive environment (you can interpret that however you like). It absolutely disappears. Otoh, it is a bear to shoot accurately. Short sight radius, tiny grips, short barrel and a really long trigger make on target hits difficult. Practice is essential!

Regardless of what you decide on, practice is critical. Not just shooting but clearing any concealing clothing and drawing the weapon... to me that's critical. My drills revealed several shirts that fit too tightly for owb carry... makes it too difficult to clear the weapon w/o snagging it on the shirt. Practice til the movements are firmly embedded in muscle memory.

[peejman]

Lots of good advice here....  Good belt, good holster, and RELAX.  

It's like a women constantly fidgeting with a strapless dress. All it does is draw attention. 

[NotYetGecko45]

You will more than likely go through multiple holsters and belts before you settle on one - don't feel bad about it, its always good to have extras and you can start with some "cheaper" ones to get the style you like (AIWB, OWB, SERPA, leather, clipped, etc) but definitely do not skimp out on the final choice of belt and holster.

Belts are essential for weight - dependent on what gun you carry it can get heavy adding a giant phone and case, spare mags if you carry any and tear your lower back up. Some are more sensitive to weight, you end up not noticing but for work I carried a bunch of heftier stuff on my belt.

Lint and sweat (especially if your swest is super briny because all you eat is salted pork and pretzels) will get into your gun - so keep it clean and lubed. Most guns are coated with something nice but constant contact will start surface rust and discoloration.

Practice realistically. Dont be a mall ninja either - practice drawing and dry firing at home. At the range practice in plains clothes - tucked, untucked, jackets, suits, sweaters, offhanded, moving, etc - crawl/walk/run that out but be highly trained and discriminately lethal.

Hardly anyone will notice unless you like carrying a 50rd drum magazine hanging out your gun. Dont fidget or worry - even if someone does notice for some reason its legal and they can FOAD. Tell them youre thinking of their mom/sister/grandma/wife. 

As far as ammo train with it - people love citing coolguy tests like how many fat chicks/phonebooks/gelatin tubs it can penetrate...first off I hope you never have to shoot someone it sucks...second you probably wont have to...third: shot placement is more important than carrying some +P+P nitro teflon coated race gun high caliber 23mm rounds. .22 will kill you just as bad as .450 BM - but whatever you choose make sure to practice.

Too many times people want to carry some HST/GDs or whatever the "larry vickers said dis is kewl ma ninja" flavor of the month is and never train with it - so get comfortable as part of you never ending firearms and humility training.

You can also look into shoulder holsters or even belly bands if that works for you - dont buy into hypes do what is the best for you. 

And as always keep yourself legally informed - where you can carry, what states honor your CCW, if the state had a law for declaring to LEOs, and applicable self defense laws

Have fun. Buy smart. Train smarter.

[mikegideon]

3 hours ago, cch2a said:

Working plain clothes I've carried everything from Springfield 1911 MC Operator w/Surefire x300 down to a Glock 19 w/XC1 light concealed. I find I can reasonably conceal just about any standard size firearm with my shirt untucked. I'm 5'10" 175 and athletic build. I run either Raven Concealment or Bravo Concealment holsters with an Ares Ranger Belt Enhanced. The belt makes all the difference for the heavier guns. I ended up running my Glock 19 the most because I also conceal handcuffs and extra mag and it all gets pretty heavy working all week. Just remember just because it's comfortable for 10 minutes around the house doesn't mean it will be comfortable all week.

I don't carry a gun for a living. But mostly carry a G19 in a Raven these days. 

[E4 No More]

Advice above is sound, but what is comfortable to YOU will vary. For instance, I'm a big guy, (6'4" 300lbs), and I can comfortably carry a full size P320 OWB whereas others are intolerant of carrying something that big. I also like throwing my single stack 9mm into a pocket holster when I'm not too worried about where I'm going that day.The two things that bear repeating are do not scrimp on a good gun belt and a good holster. 

[DWARREN123]

Good belt and holster, lots of practice with your carry firearm. Know the laws and follow them, safety is always number 1.

Find the firearm you can utilize properly and works well for you.

[A.J. Holst]

All I can add is with a good belt, holster and appropriate clothing, a little guy like me, 5'9" 165#, has carried a CZ75B, P01, SP101 and MK9 fully concealed with relative ease.

I've even carried 2 of the above at the same time while attending a class.

[runco]

I echo the good belt and holster.  I carried for years without a good belt, didn't know what I didn't know.  The belt is a must. 

As for me, I am 100% Crossbreed, both belt and holsters.  I have many edc pistols which is fun, but I have a Crossbreed holster for each gun.  Maybe 5 or 7 can't remember.  That is how much I love my holsters.  Its really the Ford vs. Chevy debate, just find what works for you, and go.  BTW, many here will recommend the Belt man for belts, heard he was very good.

[Patton]

Everyone agrees on the requirement of a good belt. The holster thing I want to tell my experience. Like everyone else I have tried dozens of holsters of just about every type and have determined OWB really works the best for me. If it is a situation where OWB is not going to work I resort to a smaller gun in the pocket.

When it comes to carrying a Glock I found my absolute favorite holster is about the cheapest holster you can buy. The Glock Sport Combat holster runs about $12 and holds the weapon closer to your body than any others I have tried.   

[dcloudy777]

Lots of good stuff here I won't bother to echo.

For at least a few weeks, you're going to feel like everyone you meet can tell you're carrying a gun.  They can't. 

[gregintenn]

I make conceal carry products, and can succsessfully conceal a 6" N frame Smith and Wesson, but prefer to carry a Ruger LCP in a pocket holster for comfort and convenience.

[jgradyc]

This is all good advice. Let me add these tips.

1. An LCP/P3-AT in the pocket is way better than a $1,500 handgun in a drawer at home. 
2. As life-saving devices go, handguns are inexpensive because their resale value is so high. If your current gun doesn't quite fit your needs, buy another one and sell the first one here. You won't lose that much. Personally, I have several different guns for different needs. I have the P3AT for pocket carry in dress pants, a Kahr PM9 for pocket carry in heavier pants, an IWB gun for winter carry, and a few bigger guns that I can wear OWB under a coat or when I'm out on the farm.
3. If you're new to handguns, don't buy a gun with a very light, short trigger as your first gun. Yes, they're fun to shoot, but it is really, really, really easy to allow a finger to slip onto a trigger when reholstering or picking up a weapon until you have done it a thousand times. 

[Ron Padilla]

to reiterate what others have said, do your due diligence on what you want to buy, look at several options and not just the ones that jump out as being cheap, or claiming to be the best.  There is always someone, somewhere, that makes as good, if not better than the next person who claims theirs is the best, and will do it for less recognition or dollars, but enjoyment and satisfaction of a product well done. 

[btq96r]

Think about how you're going to be spending the time you'll be carrying.  Sitting, standing, moving around a lot...that's going to help you pick the gun, holster, and belt you need.

[deafdogdief]

Read all these suggestions. Think them over. Decide on your primary carry choice...iwb or owb. Then buy a cheap holster first. Probably a ballistic nylon to try your method of choice with for a while. Don't sweat the cost of trying one or more out. Make your pick then on a really good holster.

I guarantee you will be like the vast majority of us and have a box full of holsters before you settle on one.

Then you will buy another gun and find that what you have previously chosen won't work with the new pistol.

Welcome to the world of carry.

This is what I was told years ago. I would end up with a closet full. Prophesy fulfilled.
Eating chili the night before you carry changes the way your carry feels than if you ate a salad. You'll need a different holster some days.


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