My cc experiment today

Markshoots

Markshoots

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So, I've been concerned carrying for about a month and a half now religeously. At work I have to ankle carry due to our professional dress code and needing to keep it a secret. On my 2 days off a week I have been iwb carry. Today was my day off and as everyone knows it was cool this morning. I was kind of excited because I could wear a long sleeve button up shirt as a concealment garment for my owb paddle holster. The shirt was more of a fitted casual shirt. When I placed my shield 9mm in the holster and looked in the mirror...... Man did it print. So at this point I considered another shirt but instead decided to keep that one on.

Now here is where my experiment begins. I've been told and read that no-one will pay you any attention even when you are printing because they are usually to focused on their activities or have their nose in their phone. So I went to the grocery store and stood in line...... No one seem to notice. I went to the Gas Station and stood in a long line..... No one seemed to notice. Went shopping in a dollar store for an hour with lots of people in the store..... No one notices. Went to Walmart....... And you guessed it.... No one gave me a second look.

Here is where it gets interesting. As I walk out of Walmart across the parking lot I meet another gentleman going into the store. As he gets nearer to me he smiles, nods and says "carry on brother" as he taps his own hip with his ring finger tapping on what I believe to have been a revolver.... By the way it was printing. Awwww how nice, ........someone noticed me.

So this is what I learned : a lot of people really don't seem to be paying attention to others around them and maybe people who carry are the only civilians paying attention to their surroundings and other people.
 
You know that you're carrying and you're self conscious about it. That will go away in time. Sometimes I try to see if other people are carrying but, as you said, most people are too preoccupied to even notice.
 
Exile_D said:
Only time I ever noticed someone else carrying was when this guy got out of his car without his suit jacket on and it was no longer concealed. ;)

So what ankle holster are you using and what you got in there?
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I carry a Taurus tcp 380 in a Yoso holster and a galco for my Smith shield when I carry it to work
 
Typically those who donā€™t carry only figure out youā€™re carrying when they get a glimpse of your firearm ... most are clueless and have their nose stuck in their cellphone or such. We pickup on the little tells we have seen from clothing choices to movement tells. Keep calm and carry on!
 
Ill never forget my first time doin the wally walk the day I got my CHP. walking around thinking wow people are staring or every time i reached for something thinking my shirt had rode up. Did that for about 3 weeks and then finally got over that, and then came the 1 in the chamber jump. That was the biggest leap for me. First store I walked in was a publix and all i kept thinking is holy crap i have a LOADED firearm right on my 3oclock, at least before I had a gun but it wasnt able to go bang as easily. Now I put it on and dont give it a second thought, like my pocket knife if I ever need it itll be there. It is absolutely a journey though a very personal one where you find what works for you.
 
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You're going through that period where you're extremely self-conscious about carrying, because it's new to you. Perfectly OK, but it'll eventually tone down a bit.

I typically wear button up collar shirts not designed to tuck in. They provide plenty of concealment. (I carry a full size Colt 1991A1 IWB.) You'll eventually find a combination of clothing that suits your style and coverage requirements for your preferred carry method.

Almost EVERYBODY "prints" to some degree or other, whether it's a clear-cut print that shows the full outline, or the occasional light impression of the gun butt on a shirt during certain movements which might be caused by anything other than a gun as well.

Last time I got made? I was on the road to Kentucky for a reunion and stopped at a motel for the night. I was leaning WAY into my trunk to get something while the husband/wife of the SUV next to me were unloading their baby and stuff. Guy looked over and said "Good to see you carrying!"

I looked down and saw that my shirt had pulled up, completely exposing my Colt. I smiled and said "Thanks! More people ought to!" He agreed.

Not printing, certainly, but that's the only time out of all the years I've carried that anybody has ever said anything to me.

One advantage we have nowadays is the fact that more people routinely carry things on their belts...whether that be a cell phone, knife, or what. So more people are desensitized to noticing the odd bump under a shirt nowadays, if they were ever conscious of it in the first place.
 
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Majicmike said:
Thankfully with the huge bulge in my pants no one ever looks around my waste. I could open carry a 50 cal Desert Eagle and I don't think anyone would notice.
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In the front or back?
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
You're going through that period where you're extremely self-conscious about carrying, because it's new to you. Perfectly OK, but it'll eventually tone down a bit.

I typically wear button up collar shirts not designed to tuck in. They provide plenty of concealment. (I carry a full size Colt 1991A1 IWB.) You'll eventually find a combination of clothing that suits your style and coverage requirements for your preferred carry method.

Almost EVERYBODY "prints" to some degree or other, whether it's a clear-cut print that shows the full outline, or the occasional light impression of the gun but on a shirt during certain movements which might be caused by anything other than a gun as well.

Last time I got made? I was on the road to Kentucky for a reunion and stopped at a motel for the night. I was leaning WAY into my trunk to get something while the husband/wife of the SUV next to me were unloading their baby and stuff. Guy looked over and said "Good to see you carrying!"

I looked down and saw that my shirt had pulled up, completely exposing my Colt. I smiled and said "Thanks! More people ought to!" He agreed.

Not printing, certainly, but that's the only time out of all the years I've carried that anybody has ever said anything to me.

One advantage we have nowadays is the fact that more people routinely carry things on their belts...whether that be a cell phone, knife, or what. So more people are desensitized to noticing the odd bump under a shirt nowadays, if they were ever conscious of it in the first place.
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I have found it challenging to get clothes, shirts specifically, that work for me as far as adequate concealment. Most of my current shirts rise up too much when reaching or bending.
Either the Large shirts are too short and/or tight or the X-Large shirts are way too long/wide to look appropriate for work, etc. When I can find Large Talls, they are a bit better, but often still to narrow in the midsection. Of course, that could be because I am no longer narrow in the midsection these days. :D
 
Exile_D said:
I have found it challenging to get clothes, shirts specifically, that work for me as far as adequate concealment. Most of my current shirts rise up too much when reaching or bending.
Either the Large shirts are too short and/or tight or the X-Large shirts are way too long/wide to look appropriate for work, etc. When I can find Large Talls, they are a bit better, but often still to narrow in the midsection. Of course, that could be because I am no longer narrow in the midsection these days. :D
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I can definitely be a challenge, depending on a person's size, build, and shape. Not everybody does well with a particular method of carry or clothing selection.

And yeah...that midsection can sometimes use a little working on!
 
Exile_D said:
I have found it challenging to get clothes, shirts specifically, that work for me as far as adequate concealment. Most of my current shirts rise up too much when reaching or bending.
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Right, but I've told you a few times to stop wearing those little half-shirts tied in a knot up front.
 
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I daily carry a G19 appendix. I'm a fat guy with a belly. I almost always wear a button up collared shirt not tucked in. I have no problems with printing. I still a little worried that someone will c but as everyone else has said people know a days don't look at their surroundings.
 
B00ger said:
And one day you will wake up and just not care anymore.
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Yep. I got to that point when I bought a PD trade-in G21 and had Jason make me a leather OWB for it. Shorts and a t-shirt, and don't care a bit. Never had a single person say anything to me positive or negative.
 
When you go out printing but nobody notices...
witness-me.jpg
 
You will become so accustomed to it, and indifferent to what other people think, that before long on some occasions you will *gasp* consider open carry.
 
The couple of times I've open carried half the people still didn't notice. Most people are fully head in sand.
 
The OP's story is almost verbatim of a discussion I had with @Love2shoot. I was explaining that I'm too damned fat to carry IWB. Although my Shield looks to me like a microwave oven under my shirt, I'm the only one who ever notices the printing.

A very experienced gun-slinger once told me that the best way to obscure printing is by wearing Haiwaiian shirts. My personal solution is a bunch of XXL polo shirts WalMart had marked down to @$3. Bought all they had. Now I just look like your average guy wearing a mini-dress and yoga leggings. o_O
 
We probably have all fallen into the trap when you start carrying that everyone is watching you, and you're right, no one does. Most of the time my wife doesn't even know when its on me or not.

Try playing a game while your out called Spot the Concealed Carrier. That's what I do, its quite entertaining. Sometimes its tough to distinguish between a phone and firearm
 
I work at alone at night, wore my Alien Gear Cloak Tuck #3 iwb for three weeks empty to get used to it, can't carry on university grounds.
Wear polo shirts 100% of the time work or play.
 
I think we get busted more often than we realize, but most people don't say anything. Like @Butter said, I play "spot the gun" all the time, but I don't mention it. I do point it out to my wife, and now (after nearly ten years) she has come around to the idea that maybe walking around town with a gun is not so unusual.

For me, church is the place I have the hardest time concealing. You stand up to sing and the guy behind you has several minutes of your backside right in front of him. Twice I've had fellow church goers tell me they saw it.
 
Butter said:
Most of the time my wife doesn't even know when its on me or not.
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I find this the opposite for me. My wife at fist said I gained weight.

Other times she quietly asks if I'm carrying.

Now I don't care.

A long time ago, when I first started regularly carrying, we were in a checkout line in a store. She accidentally nudged me with her elbow and I saw it comming...

Almost normal voice: "Is that a gun?" o_O

-R
 
I've seen many OC'rs in Wallyworld. Nobody cares. [Up in MA it would be different, even though one can carry open or concealed with a permit there. It is so full of hopolophobes that it is safer to CC.]
XXL is the answer to all. :D
It helps that I don't have a professional dress code to deal with. Untuck and over size all the time.
ALso, I wear my phone on the same side in a horizontal phone holster. This prints on the side and makes anything I carry pretty much beyond notice. Only my FNX45 would still be obvious. But I might still try it some weekends.
 
People notice asymetry more than they notice printing. I wear my gun at 3:00 and my mag at 9:00 with an untucked polo. People think I have love handles. When I switch to pocket carry I get "have you lost weight?" So if you're going to print do it on both sides and hide in plain sight.

Carry in church is easy if you dress for the occasion. A blazer is an excellent cover garment.
 
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rdinatal said:
I find this the opposite for me. My wife at fist said I gained weight.

Other times she quietly asks if I'm carrying.

Now I don't care.

A long time ago, when I first started regularly carrying, we were in a checkout line in a store. She accidentally nudged me with her elbow and I saw it comming...

Almost normal voice: "Is that a gun?" o_O

-R
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Wife and I have a code word for gun. Tater chips. We ask each other if we have any" tater chips."

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk
 
Catfish said:
People notice asymetry more than they notice printing. I wear my gun at 3:00 and my mag at 9:00 with an untucked polo. People think I have love handles. When I switch to pocket carry I get "have you lost weight?" So if you're going to print do it on both sides and hide in plain sight.
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I'm already much too fat and have significant love handles. Therefore, in order not to appear even more "endowed", I just carry a mag holder at 3 and 9:00. No room for an actual gun. ;)
 
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Exile_D said:
I have found it challenging to get clothes, shirts specifically, that work for me as far as adequate concealment. Most of my current shirts rise up too much when reaching or bending.
Either the Large shirts are too short and/or tight or the X-Large shirts are way too long/wide to look appropriate for work, etc. When I can find Large Talls, they are a bit better, but often still to narrow in the midsection. Of course, that could be because I am no longer narrow in the midsection these days. :D
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Eddie Bauer has a big selection of Large Talls online.
 
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