TexasCHLforum.com

TrackinPat wrote:

nyj wrote:The thing with fanny packs in the 21st century is that anyone wearing one is obviously carrying a gun

Or they're an extreme couponer!
Or they have a pager!

I agree with TAM though, they ARE sound ways to carry, maybe not the BEST, but under circumstances they might be.

nyj, my point is that to you, that's someone you think is carrying a gun. You might be right, but until you actually see the gun, it isn't anything more than an educated guess, so you can't know. . . . . .and you're a gun guy. "Educated guess" ≠ "know."

We are somewhat over half a million CHLers in a state of 26 million people. That is a tick under 2% of the total population. And then consider that most CHLs don't carry 24/7. Most of us that do are probably inclined to be observant that way, but even that isn't a guarantee. A small percentage of the population are predators, and of them, most are focused on the sheep, and a few are looking for sheepdogs. Those that are looking for sheepdogs might notice the fanny pack and what it means, but even they can't know until they see the gun. They can only suspect. An even tinier minority are going to be LEOs.

Of the remaining 96-97% of the people out there, they are oblivious. They are not thinking about guns. They are not thinking about armed people around them. They are living in the "all is well and safe" zone. They are utterly unprepared for the possibility, however slim, of violence erupting around them, and they certainly aren't looking for signs of someone around them with a concealed firearm.

I only continue to point these things out because whatever applies to fanny packs also applies to the "Sneaky Pete" holster in the title of this thread. But at the end of the day, I truly don't care what somebody else thinks they know.

nyj wrote:Might as well carry a fanny pack.

TrackinPat wrote:This looks more appealing than a fanny pack.
I want one but drawing from it concerns me. Most of the time I read stories about CHL close encounters with a bad guy they mention resting their hand on their handgun or reaching under their shirt preemptively when danger is imminent... Couldn't do that with this without exposing to the world you have a firearm.

Hey, y'all stop knockin' the mighty fanny pack! It's not my primary carry method, but when I'm out for a walk (or headed to Weight Watchers for my weigh in) wearing workout clothes, or riding my bicycle, or something like that, I carry one of my smaller guns in a fanny pack. I forgot who made it (label is long gone), but it is extremely well made, and I've had it for a lot more years than I've had a CHL. Sure, it's obvious to someone who knows what to look for, but truly, nobody really notices or cares, and it meets the legal requirements for concealment. It is yanked open very quickly to access the gun by means of a lanyard hanging out of one corner of it. You yank on that, and it "speed-opens" the zipper, exposing the gun very quickly. It's probably not as fast as the regular OWB holsters I use, but it is still fairly accessible.

I am old enough and grumpy enough that I don't give a rat's patootie what anyone thinks about the way I dress or wear my whiskers. They can think whatever they want; but they don't know anything, and they won't know anything until I open the fanny pack. . . . .and I'm not opening it as long as everyone is on their best behavior.

I once saw an older guy, about my age or maybe a few years older, at the local Lowes near my house a couple of years ago. He and his wife were looking at the same gas grills my wife and I were looking at. He was wearing sandals, black socks, denim shorts, and a yellow t-shirt, tucked in. Over those items, he had on both a matching denim "shoot me first" vest and a fanny pack. I just smiled at him and though, "you go boy!" He obviously didn't care what anybody thought about his sartorial choices. And the truth is, as a CHLer myself, I didn't know what he had in that fanny pack or under his vest. He could have had a Glock 36 in the fanny pack and a Glock 21 in a shoulder-holster under his vest, for all I know. OR. . . . . .he could have had some Lowes coupons in the fanny pack, and nothing under the vest. All three ways of trying to find out that I can think of would have been extremely rude: ask him, pat him down, pull a gun on him. . . . .none of which would have been a wise choice against a person who obviously doesn't care about what people think about him anymore than I care about what people think about me.

Unlike others here on this forum, I think fanny packs rock. They are NOT the best primary carry choice. A belt holster is always going to trump anything else. But given circumstances and clothing, and the activities involved, a fanny pack is a perfectly legitimate way to carry.

Given that the Sneaky Pete fulfills essentially the same function but in a more "upscale" way, I'd have no problem with it, if that's what floats your boat. But just like with a fanny pack, the Sneaky Pete is not going to be as sound of a method of carrying as a decent IWB/OWB holster.