You Should Carry Your Handgun the Same Way Every Time

As good guys and gals, we don’t get to choose the time or place we may be forced to protect ourselves or someone else. That’s the bad guy’s prerogative. He gets a head start and usually has at least a hasty plan of attack. By carrying a concealed handgun consistently, you can mitigate the bad guy’s advantage and tilt the odds of winning in your favor.

Of course, the defensive use of a handgun is predicated on the fact that you have one with you. Since bad guys aren’t confined to the bad side of town, you should carry whenever it’s legal to do so. But having a gun is only one aspect of concealed carry consistency. To the extent possible, you should carry the same gun in the same holster, worn in the same location, with the same type of cover garment.

If you own only one handgun, that’s obviously what you’ll be carrying. If you own more than one gun, resist the urge to develop a concealed-carry rotation. That’s not to say you can’t wear a smaller gun in warm weather and a larger one in cold weather.

That makes sense. A bigger gun tends to be easier to shoot and have a higher capacity, but it’s harder to conceal. Conversely, a smaller gun is likely harder to shoot and holds fewer rounds but will be easier to conceal and more comfortable to wear.

Consistency

Also, when you’re switching carry guns only a couple times a year, you should be familiar enough with both guns to get by. Maybe you opt for the snub-nosed revolver during warm weather, when your cover garment is only a T-shirt. Then, when the weather cools, heavier clothing will allow you to easily conceal a bigger gun.

The real problem arises when you’re one of those people who carries a different gun every day of the week. You may be tempted to carry a double-action snubbie one day and a 1911 the next, but swapping between handguns with dramatically different functionality, ergonomics and calibers is ill-advised. In a defensive situation, the last thing you need to be thinking about is how to disengage the safety of your pistol, the nuances of the trigger, or whether you’re expecting to see a red dot or align iron sights when you drive the gun to the target.

Even if you always carry the same gun, you could run into trouble if you frequently swap holsters. Imagine trying to draw your gun in response to an imminent threat only to realize the holster you put on this morning has a retention device. As you’re tugging frantically on your gun, what do you think the bad guy’s doing?

There’s also a big difference between carrying outside the waistband (OWB) and inside the waistband (IWB). OWB is more comfortable for most people to wear because it keeps the grip of your gun away from your body. For the same reason, a gun worn OWB is easier to draw. Of course, with the gun worn farther from the body, an OWB carried handgun is harder to conceal than one worn IWB.

Inside the Waistband

IWB carry keeps your gun close to your body for better concealment. Since the bottom portion of the holster is tucked into your pants, IWB also enables you to wear a shorter cover garment. On the flip side, IWB tends to be less comfortable, as the gun is pressed against your body. It’s also more difficult to draw because there’s less room for your thumb to wrap around the grip.

Where you wear your holstered gun matters too. Even if you carry the same gun and holster combination, moving your rig around introduces another variable. You might think you’re too smart to forget where your gun is worn, but under duress you’ll likely revert to reaching for where your gun is usually carried rather than where it’s currently positioned.

As a cop, I remember having switched to an external ballistic vest carrier, which enabled me to store more of my equipment across my torso as opposed to on my duty belt. The first few times I reached for an item on my duty belt that was now carried on my vest carrier were nearly panic inducing.

Even though I’d practiced drawing handcuffs, a Taser, pepper spray and magazines from my vest carrier prior to hitting the streets, there was still a period where, under a little stress, my hand reached for where an item used to be worn instead of where it was at the time.

Three O'Clock

My sidearm was always worn in the three o’clock position on my duty belt, but imagine reaching for your gun on your hip and it not being there. This may be something you’re able to recover from, but it may also give the threat a head start you can’t overcome. Carrying on your hip one day and in the appendix position the next is asking for trouble.

Even something as seemingly innocuous as the type of garment you wear to conceal your gun matters. What you carry and where it’s worn are key factors in determining the best garment to conceal it.

If you opt for appendix carry, your holster and garment selection is a no-brainer. You’ll be carrying IWB with a closed-front garment like a T-shirt or a buttoned or zipped shirt or jacket. Here your off hand normally lifts the garment to draw your gun. For OWB carry on or behind the hip, an open-front garment like an unbuttoned shirt or unzipped jacket is easier to draw from because your dominant hand merely sweeps the garment back before gripping the gun.

You can easily see where consistency would come into play here. Not only are the positions not the same, clearing the cover garment and the draw process are entirely different.

It’s fine to experiment with different guns, holsters and concealment methods, but once you decide on a combination you like, stick to it. Should you need to draw your gun in a defensive situation, that familiarity will serve you well.

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