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LOL! Took wife and stepson to see Megamind yesterday afternoon, then out for dinner. When we got home, I reached behind my back and un-velcroed my Galco belly band that held my Glock 23 (Gen4) and 2 extra magazines and took it out. My wife's eyes got wife and said, "You were carrying that?!" I looked at her puzzled, "Yes, of course." She just smiled and said, "I didn't even notice, even then I had my arms around you and hugged you earlier." I think she was impressed that everything packed away so neatly and was unobtrusive. I love her

You know you're doing it right when you can pass the "wife test".

Sometimes my wife still gets surprised when she hugs me
and her hand rests directly on my sidearm. She usually just says "oh".

I have a belly band and i may used it once. Let me ask you do you carry in a cross draw like shoulder holsrer?

No, I have a shoulder rig that I keep for an "emergency situation" where it's impossible to carry at my waist. It's only happened once when I was in Washington in the winter, and there was no power for 5 days. It was too cold to carry at the waist and draw with any ease, so I went to shoulder. I'm very uncomfortable with shoulder carry, because it requires a dangerous "muzzle sweep", arcing the muzzle from the back to the front. With clothing in the way and likely enduring a "scared stimulus response", your chances of shooting yourself (or ones you intended to protect) go up considerably with a shoulder draw. I only shoulder carry as a final resort.

lkd wrote:LOL! Took wife and stepson to see Megamind yesterday afternoon, then out for dinner. When we got home, I reached behind my back and un-velcroed my Galco belly band that held my Glock 23 (Gen4) and 2 extra magazines and took it out. My wife's eyes got wife and said, "You were carrying that?!" I looked at her puzzled, "Yes, of course." She just smiled and said, "I didn't even notice, even then I had my arms around you and hugged you earlier." I think she was impressed that everything packed away so neatly and was unobtrusive. I love her

My next wife better do this.

USA1 wrote:You know you're doing it right when you can pass the "wife test".

Sometimes my wife still gets surprised when she hugs me
and her hand rests directly on my sidearm. She usually just says "oh".

This is perhaps the ultimate test of how well you can conceal carry. If your own wife couldn't tell you were carrying, it's a good chance that no one else noticed. Other CHLers I know worry too much about whether or not their concealment is good enough, but I always tell them not to worry about it so much because no one is looking for it.

lkd wrote:No, I have a shoulder rig that I keep for an "emergency situation" where it's impossible to carry at my waist. It's only happened once when I was in Washington in the winter, and there was no power for 5 days. It was too cold to carry at the waist and draw with any ease, so I went to shoulder. I'm very uncomfortable with shoulder carry, because it requires a dangerous "muzzle sweep", arcing the muzzle from the back to the front. With clothing in the way and likely enduring a "scared stimulus response", your chances of shooting yourself (or ones you intended to protect) go up considerably with a shoulder draw. I only shoulder carry as a final resort.

Not so. READ THIS THREAD. There is a demonstration of the proper technique for drawing from a shoulder holster without sweeping anything.

Belly bands are good...they build sympathy for the women in your life.

USA1 wrote:Sometimes my wife still gets surprised when she hugs me
and her hand rests directly on my sidearm. She usually just says "oh".

If I don't see him put it on, I do the same thing. I often don't say anything, but make a point to not draw attention to it by jerking away or getting wide-eyed if we're in public.

I carried on the belt today (instead of my fanny pack!) and I forgot I was carrying. My hand hit the hammer HARD and I was like, "....oh. Well, that's nice."

Oops.

I was watching Sons of Anarchy at the house with the fiancé and she had her hand on my leg. I crossed my legs and she put her hand on my ankle and then looked at me with the "ah hah" look.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

lkd wrote:No, I have a shoulder rig that I keep for an "emergency situation" where it's impossible to carry at my waist. It's only happened once when I was in Washington in the winter, and there was no power for 5 days. It was too cold to carry at the waist and draw with any ease, so I went to shoulder. I'm very uncomfortable with shoulder carry, because it requires a dangerous "muzzle sweep", arcing the muzzle from the back to the front. With clothing in the way and likely enduring a "scared stimulus response", your chances of shooting yourself (or ones you intended to protect) go up considerably with a shoulder draw. I only shoulder carry as a final resort.

Not so. READ THIS THREAD. There is a demonstration of the proper technique for drawing from a shoulder holster without sweeping anything.

Thank you TAM, saved me from having to look it up.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

lkd wrote:No, I have a shoulder rig that I keep for an "emergency situation" where it's impossible to carry at my waist. It's only happened once when I was in Washington in the winter, and there was no power for 5 days. It was too cold to carry at the waist and draw with any ease, so I went to shoulder. I'm very uncomfortable with shoulder carry, because it requires a dangerous "muzzle sweep", arcing the muzzle from the back to the front. With clothing in the way and likely enduring a "scared stimulus response", your chances of shooting yourself (or ones you intended to protect) go up considerably with a shoulder draw. I only shoulder carry as a final resort.

Not so. READ THIS THREAD. There is a demonstration of the proper technique for drawing from a shoulder holster without sweeping anything.

That's an awesome thread and an excellent visual aid, definitely "a keeper". I think my continuing concern is that, without a conscious training regimen like you've cited, the shoulder draw is more dangerous than a more natural hip draw. You could find similar concerns with SOB holsters.

I'd like to point out that _any_ type of carry necessitates practicing drawing, and that such practicing should be done with no ammo/snap caps until you're VERY certain that you can do it instinctively, and that you should maintain a conscious effort to note how the muzzle sweeps as you draw and bring your sights into alignment. A misdirected discharge in a firefight is the last thing you want to happen, especially if you have loved ones behind or beside you.

I was pointing out to somebody in a PM that a belly band has it's own set of issues. Trigger guard concerns aside, there's a natural tendency in an adrenaline-charged situation to really press down on the gun as you form a drawing grip. With a belly band, you don't have clips/belt that keep your gun in an ideal vertical alignment, so the gun grip bows outward slightly as the band stretches, causing the muzzle to point inward on a draw.

Just sayin

longtooth wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

lkd wrote:No, I have a shoulder rig that I keep for an "emergency situation" where it's impossible to carry at my waist. It's only happened once when I was in Washington in the winter, and there was no power for 5 days. It was too cold to carry at the waist and draw with any ease, so I went to shoulder. I'm very uncomfortable with shoulder carry, because it requires a dangerous "muzzle sweep", arcing the muzzle from the back to the front. With clothing in the way and likely enduring a "scared stimulus response", your chances of shooting yourself (or ones you intended to protect) go up considerably with a shoulder draw. I only shoulder carry as a final resort.

Not so. READ THIS THREAD. There is a demonstration of the proper technique for drawing from a shoulder holster without sweeping anything.

Thank you TAM, saved me from having to look it up.

Yes, Thank you TAM. Hopefully someone will read it (and glean something from it), because it appears the "myths" will NEVER die.

Too, I would argue that the chances of shooting someone (yourself or others) "go up considerably" with this mode of carry is simply incorrect. As for a "startle response" your finger should NEVER be on the trigger until you are ready to fire the weapon.

Flint.

Many have been taught wrong. That is all they know.
Proper instruction changes many minds. Not all but most.