Concealed Carry

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters – How To Carry A Gun In Your Underwear And More!

March 4, 2013 By Tom 4 Comments

At long last, we’ve just published The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters! You can keep up to date with our forthcoming series of Insanely Practical Guides at InsanelyPracticalGuides.com.

Here’s the scoop on The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters:

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters – Now available at Amazon.com

Let’s face it. Choosing the best way to carry a gun can be a daunting task. Whether you’re new to guns or have been shooting since you were a wee tot, this book can help you understand concealed carry methods, how to carry a gun safely, and the relative pros and cons of over 120 specific gun holster models. We’ll even teach you several ways to carry a gun in your underwear.

This book will help you make the right gun holster choice – saving you time and money – while offering a dose of humor while you learn.

“Leather sixgun holsters became popular when a series of low budget spaghetti western films are produced like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Early design ideas are scrapped when it is determined that spaghetti does not ride well in leather holsters. And it makes many holsters soggy.”

Why do you need a book to choose and buy a gun holster? A few reasons really.

At last count, there are 4,187,237 different holsters on the market. Well, that might be an estimate, but there are a lot. If you had a dollar for each of those holsters, you could almost cover the Kardashians’ weekly clothing budget. So how do you choose the right holster with all those choices?
Hardly any stores carry a wide selection of holsters. Sure they might carry a couple of brands, but will they have a brand right for you and the model specific to your gun? It’s kind of like trying to find just the right shade of Morning Tropical Ocean Breeze Sunrise interior house paint at your local convenience store. It’s just not likely to happen. And that leaves you the option of having to search and buy from… the internet. And we all know that you can’t always believe everything you read on the internet. Well, except Youtube comments. Those are almost always true and thoughtful.
You can’t really try holsters out before you buy. Especially those underwear holsters. Gun store sales staff tend to get a little cranky when you start shedding clothes next to the ammunition aisle.
There are many different styles of concealed carry. Every day, innovative gun folks are inventing new ways to safely and discreetly carry guns. The variety of options is great, but how do you know which style of carry is right for you?

The editors at MyGunCulture.com have painstakingly documented all the holsters we’ve tried over the years and provided helpful commentary about pros and cons of different holster styles. In other words, we’ve tried just about everything. We’ve had great successes. We’ve experienced colossal failures. We’ve listened to so many gun show huckster sales pitches that the late Billy Mays would be impressed. And the result? The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters.

“Hugging Aunt Martha can be really weird if you’re not careful. If you carry the gun on one side of your body or the other, you can adjust your hugging style to be more angular. If you carry a gun on one side, and spare magazines on the other, then you have to quickly develop a serious case of Aphenphosmphobia. That’s fear of being touched, which should cover the bases for most hugging encounters.”

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters topics Include:

A brief, entertaining and not entirely true history of holsters
Weighing concealment versus accessibility
Open or concealed carry? How to start a good bar fight.
Ladies only gun holster solutions
Belt carry gun holsters – inside, outside and underneath?
Body carry solutions. Undershirts, belly bands and harnesses.
Ankle holsters. You think your ankles were swollen before?
Pocket gun holsters. Don’t worry, we keep things PG rated.
You too can carry a gun in your underwear!
Stashing guns in your clothing. Pants, shirts and jackets.
Off premises parking. Ways to carry a gun not attached to your body.
Home, office and car holster options.
Magazine carriers and pouches. Ways to easily carry spares.

Loaded with pictures and the occasional comedic illustration, The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters will tell you just about everything you need to know regarding styles of carry and the pros and cons of dozens and dozens of gun holsters from numerous manufacturers.

“As famed concealed carry and armed combat instructor Mayor Michael Bloomberg likes to say, “beware the person who only has one gun, for they likely know how to use it.” Hang on a sec, we may have attributed that quote incorrectly. On second thought, Mayor Bloomberg might have said “beware the person who has a gun, for they scare me to death as I am a panty-waisted, elitist, wimp who relies on others to provide security for me while depriving you little people of your basic rights.” We’ll get that quote straight and report back later.”

Holsters are expensive. And important! The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters will help you make the right choice for your needs and lifestyle without breaking the bank.

Enjoy!

Remember to keep you with new guides at insanelypracticalguides.com!

Shooting Tip of the Day: Is That A Laser In Your Pocket?

February 18, 2013 By Tom 1 Comment

Are you a neon pants packer? Have you ever seen one in public?

If you do happen to see someone cruising around with a steady or intermittent glow emanating from their pants pocket area, it means one of two things:

They have a really, really, really serious urinary tract infection.
The laser on their concealed pistol is going on by accident.

Sound farfetched?

Nope, this has happened to us. The right pistol, laser, activation button placement and holster combination can in fact do this. In our incident, it was a combination of side-activated laser grip buttons and a common inside-the-waistband holster. Overall pressure from love handles and the gun resulted in a glowing crotch. While not continuous, certain body movements would cause the laser to activate on and off throughout the day.

In addition to looking really strange, it’s hard on the laser batteries.

Do you have a laser on your carry gun? If so, be sure to check it out to make sure it’s not lasering things inside your pants!

Filed Under: Concealed Carry, Shooting Tips Tagged With: A Laser, ccw, concealed carry, crimson trace, laser, Laser Batteries, Laser Grip, laser grips, shooting 101, shooting tips

Going (Contract) Postal Because ACE Is The Place

December 22, 2012 By Tom 3 Comments

Do Contract Post Office facilities have magical gun free zones?

I almost went postal today.

I think.

But it was a contract deal, so I’m not sure.

You see, I stopped by an ACE Hardware store near my home. ACE is the place. Ours sells everything from designer spackle to multi-color Post-It Notes to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I know this because the Reese’s are right in the checkout line display, where I will be sure to buy some every time I visit.

This particular ACE Hardware store has a United States Post Office CONTRACT facility in it. Right between shelves of office supplies and advent calendars, there is a large grey floor mat where you stand in line to mail packages, buy stamps, and tell the clerk you are not shipping anything fragile, explosive, or perishable. While I did notice the floor mat, I was not able to detect a gun free zone force field. Didn’t even feel any electrostatic buzz in the area. Nor did I get brain cancer while I was there, as far as I know. So really I’m only guessing that the floor mat designates a gun free area of the store.

So here’s the problem. If you carry a concealed firearm, you do not, under any circumstance, take it into an official, designated United States Post Office. You do not have it in your car in the parking lot of a United States Post Office. You do not wear a “Body Piercing by Smith & Wesson” t-shirt. You do not even think about next weekends gun show. Right, wrong, indifferent, or completely insane, every armed citizen should know this. Yeah, I think it’s nuts too, so write your congress critters like I do.

But this isn’t a United States Post Office. It’s an ACE Hardware store that sells Buck Knives, Carhartt Union Suits, and nifty deep fryers for turkeys (or road kill if you’re on a tight budget.) These things are all clearly consistent with gun totin’ right? On the other hand, there are stacks of Flat Rate shipping boxes scattered all over that one aisle between the stapler refills and front porch flags. Clearly Post Office type stuff.

So I’m perplexed.

Are certain areas of my ACE Hardware Store federal gun free zones?

If someone wants to commit armed robbery this particular ACE Hardware, do they get more prison time if they step on the grey floor mat area?

What if, in process of committing the armed robbery, they knock over a stack of flat rate shipping boxes? Is that now first degree littering?

Will Snookie have a boy or a girl? In either case, will the child come out of the womb spray tanned?

Were federal stimulus dollars used to buy up the square footage under that particular floor mat, thereby making part of ACE Hardware federal property?

If someone just wants to rob the Buck Knife display, and steps around the contract post office area, is that OK? Or do they have to leave their gun in the car?

Can legislators exercise any less common sense while legislating common sense legislation?

If a legally armed citizen is out shopping, on a tight time schedule, and has to buy a PVC to garden hose fitting and mail a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes entry, do they have to make two separate trips?

ACE is the place where you can legally carry a gun in this state, but is the contract post office also the place?

What say you? Is it legal? Will you end up in Club Gitmo if you carry into this particular ACE?

Filed Under: Concealed Carry, Shooting Tips Tagged With: Ace Hardware, Ace Hardware Stores, Ace Is The Place, ccw, concealed carry, concealed permits, Contract, Go Postal, gun bans, Gun Laws, laws, politics, Postal, Store, stupidity, United States Postal Service

A Gun Holster Story. Gone Bad.

November 13, 2012 By Tom 6 Comments

We hope you enjoy the following preview from our soon-to-be released book, The Insanely Practical Guide To Gun Holsters.

Let me tell you a holster story. Gone bad.

I started carrying a gun on a daily basis about 10 years ago. And when I decide to do something, I obsess. Big time. For example, after season 1 of The Walking Dead, when it became clear that Zombies, along with personal injury attorneys, would one day rule the earth, I got serious about post-apocalypse survival tips. And I proceeded to learn to grow alfalfa in the bathtub, obtain drinking water with used Snuggies and milk the neighbors cat – which can be used to make a fine and aromatic Emmental cheese.

Back to holsters. When I got the shooting bug, I subscribed to every gun magazine known to man. American Handgunner. Guns Magazine. Guns and Ammo. Combat Handguns. Shooting Times. American Rifleman. American Cop. Concealed Carry Magazine. Redbook. Ok, so Redbook was for that great holiday cookie recipe, but all the others were for legitimate “gun learning” purposes. Anyway, I subscribed to hundreds, or maybe it was more like tens, of magazines per month. I bought books. And read them. Even ones with hardly any pictures.

In short, I thought I was learning everything I needed to know about concealed carry methods and proper holster selection. And so far, I had not been mugged, carjacked or teased about my sideburns, so I figured I had achieved concealed carry expertise. My strategy was sound and proven by several days of success on the street.

For a variety of reasons, I settled on a t-shirt carry method as my default. The brand is not important. Let’s just say it was a spandexy model of shirt with holster pockets sewn into the shirt itself.

From my studies of many important books and magazines, I knew that torso carry on a t-shirt was not the ideal way to carry a gun. Access is significantly more difficult than from a belt mounted holster. Although on the plus side, you do get to give yourself a cheap feel during the draw. However, at that time of my life, absolute deep concealment was more important than immediate access. Or so I thought. And shirt holsters offer outstanding concealment. As an added benefit, those stretchy shirts can make you look for more buff than you actually are. In your own mind anyway.

To make a long story short, one day I was volunteering at a charity event and doing a fair bit of manual labor like setting up tents and chairs. As I bent over to grab a tent peg, I had the disturbing sensation that all was not right in the world. But at that instant, I couldn’t quite put my finger on specifically how The Force was out of harmony. At first I thought my spider sense was telling me that Justin Bieber had suddenly hit puberty, forcing a sudden end to his singing and hair mousse modeling career. Fortunately that was not the case.

However, I did hear a small sonic boom resulting from my Glock 32 launching out of my shirt collar. I won’t go into details, but lets just say the black Tenifer finish on a Glock creates an exothermic reaction when combined with sexy spandex, and the resulting forces are capable of launching a small object, like, oh, say a Glock, at the velocity of Pi times 10 to the 4th power. This is just shy of warp factor 3.

Being quick on my feet when it comes to avoiding major embarrassment, I immediately feigned a terrible case of irritable bunion syndrome and fell to the ground – conveniently covering up my now very exposed ground-dwelling pistol. Pointing towards the infirmary tent and yelling for Dr. Scholl’s bunion pads, I was able to draw attention away from myself long enough to re-holster my Glock in my now untrustworthy shirt holster.

Did you catch that? Yes, it is in fact possible for a gun to launch out of an undershirt holster, through your regular shirt collar. At high-speed. Complicated physics aside, the important thing is that it is in fact possible. Prior to the event, this is not a scenario I would have dreamed possible.

Thanks to a genetic disposition to sudden bunion attacks and a little sleight of hand, I was able to avoid detection. This was somewhat of a miracle, as people tend to notice things like flying Glocks launching from beneath one’s chin folds.

The morals of the story?

1. Do do lots of homework before settling on your personal carry strategy.

2. Keep reading. Even books without pictures.

3. When you choose a holster, think about practical matters. Like bending over.

4. Always be prepared with a ready-to-go medical emergency in the event you need to create a quick diversion. I’ve already claimed spontaneous irritable bunion syndrome attacks, so you have to find your own.

Filed Under: Concealed Carry, Shooting Tips Tagged With: Concealed Carry In The United States, glock, Gun Holster, guns, handgun, holsters, Shirt Holster

8 Ways To Spot Someone Carrying A Concealed Gun

August 28, 2012 By Tom 54 Comments

The Hunchback of the Mall – Small of Back holster user

Do you make these concealed carry holster mistakes?

It’s not particularly hard to spot someone carrying a concealed carry gun – even if you can’t see it directly. While out and about on my daily life routine, I like to see if I can spot people who are carrying concealed. So I can sneak up behind them and yell BANG! Just kidding. Don’t do that.

The concealed carrier spotting exercise does help to keep me on my toes and alleviate some of the boredom while daughter is checking out the latest Lily Pulitzer flip flops at the mall. It’s also a helpful exercise to keep your powers of observation tuned up – and to learn from others mistakes. If you spot someone carrying, you can adapt your strategies to avoid that problem with your own personal routine. Or you can walk up to them and say “nice gun!” Actually, on second thought, don’t do that either.

We offer this list to help you think about how to minimize the chance that other people know that you’re carrying a gun. Here’s a few things we see out there in the land of malls and 7-11′s…

The Hip Checker. Humans aren’t designed with a natural hand rest bolted on to the side of our midsection. Even those of us who are working hard to develop a bit of a spare tire have more of a hip curve rather than a flat shelf capable of supporting lazy hands. If you see someone constantly resting their hand on something just a tad above the beltline, odds are good that they’re checking the position of their gun in either an inside the waistband, or outside the waistband, holster. Either that or they’re catching themselves just before scratching their backside in public.

The Pocket Pool Player. If you notice small children running frightened from someone walking around with their hand in their front pocket, their intentions may not be as inappropriate as you think. If you’re using a front pocket holster for a small revolver or pocket-sized semi-auto pistol, it sure is tempting to reach in there once and a while and play with it. The pistol, not the gun.

The Combat Fanny Pack Ninja. While one would expect to see lots of ever-so-slightly portly folks wearing fanny packs at someplace like Disney World, it’s not something you see quite as frequently in everyday life. I rarely see folks sporting a Princess Jasmine fanny pack at places like Lowe’s, Home Depot or the Nascar National Museum. When I do, I’ll betcha they’re packing a fanny pack cannon.

The Phake Photographer. There are plenty of jokes about people who wear those big photographers vests to cover up a belt-mounted gun. All kidding aside, those vests do make a pretty good carry garment. Lots of pockets for gear and extra magazines. Plus, the weight of the pockets-o-plenty garment helps to keep things covered up while you’re moving around. In reality, most non-gun people won’t think twice about someone wearing that type of clothing. Other than mumbling “geek” beneath their breath. Moral of the story? Look for the camera and press badge to see if they are shootin’ photos or guns.

Modest Ankles Man. This type of concealed carrier is much, much easier to spot if the ankle holster user is wearing shorts. If Bermuda shorts aren’t in play, look for that person who’s nervous about crossing their legs while sitting down. Or the one who’s constantly adjusting the crease of their trousers on just one leg. Pants have a nasty tendency to ride up and show those ankles when sitting.

The Non-Committal Hugger. Ever had anyone give you that typical social hug with only one arm? Did they hug you from the side? No cheap thrills from a full torso grab even if your hugger had a crush on you in 6th grade? That person might have been carrying a gun. Or perhaps they have a rare case of aphephobia. Or perhaps haphephobia.

The Lead Purse Shuffler. If you see a lady constantly shifting her purse from left to right and back, while furiously popping Advils from a Wonder Woman Pez Dispenser, she might have some extra weight in there. Perhaps a Springfield Armory TRP 1911 with a couple of extra magazines?

The Hunchback of the Mall. The namesake for the hunchback really had more of a shoulder bump. Ours has their lump right above the waistline because they’re carrying a small of back holster. It’s a tough one to spot – until they bend over forwards and expose their carry, carry hump.

Who do you see out there?

Find holster options in our new book, The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters - available at Amazon.com! Learn more about our Insanely Practical Guides!

Filed Under: Concealed Carry, Shooting Tips Tagged With: ccw, concealed carry, cwp, holsters

Top 5 Ways To Teach A Successful Concealed Carry Class

March 26, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment

Having acquired concealed carry permits from two different states over the past so many years, and forgetting to renew a license in one of them, we’ve been subjected to three different state-mandated concealed carry classes. Actually, ‘sentenced’ is probably a more accurate descriptor than ‘subjected.’

State mandated classes are always high-quality because legislators have arbitrarily selected a number of hours that students must sit attentively in the classroom. Well at least sit. While continuing to breathe of course. Students in states like South Carolina, where certified politicians have determined that eight hours of classroom study is appropriate, get extra training benefits. Because with eight hours to kill, certified instructors get to come up with all sorts of interesting and informative things to talk about.

We’ve taken these classes at three different gun ranges, with three different instructors, over a period of 10 years. Fortunately, one of the classes, not coincidentally the shortest one, was somewhat professional and more educational than a slow motion play-by-play of the Jersey Shore’s last night of the summer at the Karma nightclub.

As for the other two? We would have learned a lot more by smearing the sticky sludge in the bottom of Snookie’s tenth Kamikaze glass all over our heads while hoping to learn by osmosis.

So we thought it prudent to offer some valuable advice to some of the more teaching-challenged concealed carry class instructors out there.

Here are our top five suggestions – all based on honest-to-God experiences in our classes:

1. Be sure to cover your classroom walls with posters of scantily clad women.

After all, nothing attracts more women and families to the shooting sports than lots of photos of half-naked women.

2. Brag about how you can beat anyone in the class in a gunfight.

The respect and admiration that your class has for you almost always increases when you tell them you could beat any of them in a gunfight, because you’ve been there before. You wouldn’t panic as the bullets flew your way and you would carefully aim and take them out. Because you’re a professional instructor. And fearless.

3. Tell about that wild and crazy time when you almost committed murder.

Give a detailed account of that time you came home from work and found your ex-wife in bed with your best friend. And how you got a gun and went to murder them. But be sure to close the story with an explanation of how you came to your senses at the very last minute. You wouldn’t want students in the class to get the wrong impression of right and wrong ways to use a gun in their day to day lives. Your students will learn much from your sense of judgment and restraint.

4. Share amusing anecdotes about your shooting skills.

Try telling the class about that time when you were a bit younger, and a lot drunker, when you had one of your friends shoot an apple off your head with a .22 rifle. Nothing sets a good example for new gun owners like real-life exhibition shooting case studies. How else are your students going to get good ideas of things to try with their new guns?

5. Offer to do toe-prints of the female students.

A great way to build rapport with new lady shooters during the fingerprint process is to give your very best partially toothless smile and offer to do a set of toe-prints for free. Because you have a foot fetish. This always makes the ladies feel right at home. Your referral business is sure to grow as they’ll be more than happy to tell their friends.

This has been a public service announcement to the Fudd Firearms Trainers of America. You don’t know who you are.

Filed Under: Concealed Carry, Life, Life, Shooting Tips Tagged With: certified politicians, concealed carry, Self-Defense, training

Concealed Carry Clothing for Women | Shooting Illustrated

May 13, 2011 By Tom 1 Comment

Shelley Rae has a great article on the state of concealed carry for women at Shooting Illustrated. And her recommendations do not include tactical pants with untucked button down shirts…

Concealed Carry Clothing for Women | Shooting Illustrated

Filed Under: Concealed Carry, Crap Shoot, Life, Shooting Tips Tagged With: ccw, women

Defensive Decolletage

May 3, 2011 By Tom 11 Comments

The Looper Flash Bang Bra Holster

One of my more embarrassing moments at the NRA Annual Meeting was interviewing Lisa Looper of Looper Brand, makers of the new Flash Bang line of ‘naughty holsters.’ By the way, ‘naughty holsters’ is my description, not hers!

I’m a happily married guy, and here I am talking to Lisa, closely examining a mannequin of a woman’s breasts, complete with a pink brassiere. With hundreds of tough lookin’ NRA dudes staring at me. It got a lot more interesting when Lisa had to ask a group of women examining the new Flash Bang Bra Holster to step back so I could take some close up photos.

Things completely broke down for me when Lisa, who is very pregnant, asked me to see if I could spot the gun she was carrying. Ummm. Nope! I think that was the right answer, because I was not about to stare inappropriately trying to spot it! Lisa’s husband was working in the booth by the way. And he was probably carrying. I’m not entirely stupid you know.

The things I do for loyal My Gun Culture readers… I’m such a giver.

Split-Bottom Kydex Secures the Gun

Anyway, the basic idea, as shown by the included photos, is that an open-bottomed kydex mold is made for specific gun models like snubbie revolvers, Kel-Tec‘s, Ruger LCP‘s, Sig P238‘s and similar guns. The leather strap with a metal snap attaches the kydex assembly to your (or her) existing bra, and the whole mess kind of tucks up underneath the, umm, chest area. When the gun needs to be accessed, the user simply pulls downward on the grip and the gun snaps out of the kydex holster. Nifty. And quick. And sexy.

Those of you who are quick on the uptake will now understand the product line name: Flash… Bang! For those of you that scored less that 600 on the SAT’s, you lift up your blouse, flash your attacker, create a moment of shock and awe, then… bang!

If I had seen this before we published our Mothers Day Gift Guide, it certainly would have been included!

We’ll try one out soon and post a full review here. Actually ‘she’ will test it out. Although I am rapidly gaining weight, I do not yet have adequate man boobs to conceal my Glock 32 under the Flash Bang setup. Maybe after a few more pizzas.

Read about more carry styles and over 120 different gun holsters in The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters - available at Amazon.com! Learn more about our Insanely Practical Guides!