printing

[eric]

Personnaly I have have never had an issue with printing by a leo but onetime I was stared at pretty heavily by 2 women in a restaurant when I was leaving in summer. No problems but has anyone had a problem?

[The Annoyed Man]

Personnaly I have have never had an issue with printing by a leo but onetime I was stared at pretty heavily by 2 women in a restaurant when I was leaving in summer. No problems but has anyone had a problem?

You call that a problem? I should be so lucky!

I think that what I finally realized one day is that everybody who carries in an either an OWB or IWB holster occasionally prints, even if only a little bit. The real question is more about whether or not it is so obvious that anybody will even notice. I don't think most people will, unless a plainly pistol butt shaped object is poking 6" out from your side from under your shirt - and even then, I'm not sure they would notice.

Before I applied for a CHL, I never used to check others to see if I thought they might be carrying. I think that is probably typical for most people who don't carry concealed. Now that I have a CHL, I habitually scan others, most particularly guys who are wearing untucked shirts. Only 2 or 3 times have I ever spotted something that might be a pistol, and even then I couldn't be sure. I finally quit worrying about it too much.

[longhorn_92]

Personnaly I have have never had an issue with printing by a leo but onetime I was stared at pretty heavily by 2 women in a restaurant when I was leaving in summer. No problems but has anyone had a problem?

You call that a problem? I should be so lucky!

[bdickens]

I have that "problem" all the time!

Must be my dashing good looks; I'm still waiting on Austin.

[eric]

I thought that also, and am sure you are 100% right, lol.

[TDDude]

See point #4.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... =7&t=14435

If you wear a dark pattern plaid shirt, you could carry a full size Desert Eagle with a red dot scope and no one would notice. Actually, I may be overstating things a bit but not by much.

Try this for a "Wally Walk".

Be an assistant coach for your son's little league baseball. Go out and warm up the pitcher between innings while waiting for the catcher to gear up. If you can get through that without worrying about printing then you have passed your "Wally Walk".

I'm in that position quite often and no one has ever asked. I carry a full size Beretta Cougar.

[Skiprr]

Also, from about a year ago:

And fabric choice (all items just MHO):

• Thin fabric tends to print more; thick fabric tends to print less. (In the wintertime, lined flannel is virtually "printless".)
• Fitted shirts tend to print more; loose shirts tend to print less.
• Rayon, nylon, and silk blends cling as they drape and tend to print more (can you imagine if we were back in the disco era trying to conceal under tight, chiana shirts?); absorbent fibers like cotton and wool tend to print less (a caveat is that some rayon/polyester blends are woven thick, for winter wear and don't print easily).
• Simple, geometric patterns like vertical lines tend to print more; complex patterns tend to print less.
• Light colors tend to print more; dark colors tend to print less (contrast between light and shadow isn't as evident).

And welcome aboard!

[Doug]

Don't worry about it. No one will notice.

Last weekend I carried my full size 1911 to a carnival wearing shorts and a tee shirt. Had wind blowing my shirt around, and game prizes from the kid in my arms. I'm sure I was printing, but not even the sheriffs patrolling the grounds came up to me.

[cedjunior]

Don't worry about it. I went to one of those do it yourself car washes with my sw1911/VMII under nothing but a dark blue tank top, no one noticed, including the guy who was standing right next to me who discussed the out of service change machine with me.

The more you're acting like you're trying to hide something, the more attention you'll draw to yourself.

[BigBlueDodge]

Question. I've read a bunch of posts where people appear to be mortified at the thought of printing. While I'm sure we all want to keep our concealment hidden, how much leniency does the law give up? As I read the law it says

A license holder commits an offense if the license
holder carries a handgun on or about the license holder's person
under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code,
and intentionally fails to conceal the handgun

I understand that wearing a shirt, such as the Underarmour spandex type shirts, that CLEARLY shows the outline of the gun and holster is not concealing. However, the way the law reads is that you must "intentionally" fail to conceal, meaning you knew that the gun was showing. The way my CHL instructor explained, that if you twist in a way that shows the bulge from your guns grip, or wind blows your untucked shirt and exposes your gun momentarily, and you did not know, then you are not intentionally failing to conceal.

So, with the proliferation of cell phones on the market, it would appear that people are used to seeing bulges on peoples waist bands caused by cell phones on a belt. So I ask, are we just being too paranoid, or do you think it is a legitimate concern that you have a small bump in your shirt showing above your thigh?

[flb_78]

So I ask, are we just being too paranoid?

Yep, way too concerned. The sheep are sleeping.

[HerbM]

So I ask, are we just being too paranoid?

Yep, way too concerned. The sheep are sleeping.

Printing means seeing an outline sufficiently clearly to identify it as a firearm - it does not mean a bulge nor just the butt unidentifiably poking a little.

I look at it this way: If no one could honestly testify in court, under oath, and cross examination, that they saw a gun it isn't printing.

As to clothes riding up rarely (not with every breath or every step, bend, twist, etc) and showing it then this isn't intentionally even if I can read the serial number.

However, ideally it will not show; and no one will even notice any bulge. If you do it right, you can hide a .45 in front of a room full of people, all day, on stage, wearing a polo shirt tucked into your pants.

And if someone ever asks, "What's that bulge?" or "Is that a gun you're wearing?" then you program yourself to SHOW your cell phone holster and without missing a beat say, "No, just my cellphone." You don't startled; you don't hesitate; you say it as if you are absolutely SURE they mean THAT bulge, not the other thing over there.

The law says that I must conceal -- common sense says that if I conceal, then it will not show nor will anyone even guess.