New Here and Wanted to give my .02

[jotusery]

I have been lurking here for a while and finally decided to join and post.

There are a lot of threads asking about what size handgun you carry and where with many people worried about it printing or showing. I carry a 5in barrel XD.45 almost everywhere I go with a Minotaur holster at 4 o'clock. I am 6'1" and 170lbs, so one would think there's not much room to hide a firearm that size.

No one has ever noticed. I have been hugged by people that put their hand on it with no visible reaction what so ever and, believe me, I watched their faces.

I have made no change to my wardrobe and, as I am only 28, it usually involves some no so large shirts.

The fact of the matter is the general public does not look for a gun on you. Heck, they don't even notice when they touch it.

You can literally, to quote other wise people here, load it, wear it, and forget it.

Do not worry; No one is staring at you

[USA1]

Do not worry; No one is staring at you

It's true. When I first started carrying in public I would check myself in the mirror and
freak out if there was any hint of a bulge showing. Since then I've realized that it's no big deal.

Nowadays, sometimes I'll wear my 1911 OWB at 3oclock under a regular Tshirt.
There's a little bulge showing, but I just march on.

BTW..Welcome to the forum jotusery.

[silverbear]

Welcome! Very true about being self conscious about carrying and printing when you're new to all this, but its one of those things that you actually have to do before you say to yourself, "wow, nobody is really noticing"....

[TxDrifter]

Usually the only people who notice are those of us who already carry.

[USA1]

Usually the only people who notice are those of us who already carry.

Yep, and that's still not easy.
There's only been a couple of times that I suspected someone was packin but it was never confirmed.
For all I know it could have been a colostomy bag.

[esxmarkc]

Well for one I don't question the sexuality of any guy carrying a bag or wearing a fanny pack of any kind anymore.

I pretty much have discovered exactly what you have. I wear IWB at 3:30 - 4:00 and nobody has ever noticed - ever! I only wear untucked T-Shirts and Collared pull over shirts. Ant my shirts are not too loose fitting - just enough. I carry a Glock 27 with a spare mag both with Pearce grip extensions or sometimes a Kahr P45.

It's blistering here in Houston and simple T's and pull-overs are all I'm prepared to wear! In fact, anytime I see anybody in jeans that is sporting some sort of vest I immediately suspect they are CHL.

Last Sunday at family lunch my nephew triggered an impromptu gun "show and tell" showing off his new Walther PPK. My brother followed with his XD40 and when I reached back and produced a Glock 27 out of nowhere and cleared it my 16 year-old daughter leaned over to my wife and said "Did he just pull a gun out of his pocket? Does he always carry that around!?!?!" I have been toting religiously for 8 months now and she has NEVER noticed. That was the best Litmus test for me ever: if someone that close to me who sees me everyday has never noticed the nobody likely will.

As someone here on this board said and says "everyone walks around in their own little world" which I now understand to be completely true.

[jotusery]

As someone here on this board said and says "everyone walks around in their own little world" which I now understand to be completely true.[/quote]


Agreed. I call them the wide eyed dead.

[redlin67]

I have only been carrying a few months, but have become very "wear it and forget about it". Most of the time my wife and kids are totally unaware. My wife will sometimes ask me if I have my gun, and I always tell her "Of course". Being a typical female (no offense intended), she still has to give me a pat on my right hip just to make sure. The good news is that we will be heading to Shiloh tomorrow so she can get used to my Taurus and her Ruger. Her next step will be taking the class to get her CHL.

[Dan20703]

My 15 year old daughter would notice. She has now made it a hobby to spot people carrying.

She never says anything but I get texts from her like "middle aged guy wearing loud shirt, slight bulge on hip, pants drooping on bulge side".

[Pawpaw]

Last Sunday at family lunch my nephew triggered an impromptu gun "show and tell" showing off his new Walther PPK. My brother followed with his XD40 and when I reached back and produced a Glock 27 out of nowhere and cleared it my 16 year-old daughter leaned over to my wife and said "Did he just pull a gun out of his pocket? Does he always carry that around!?!?!" I have been toting religiously for 8 months now and she has NEVER noticed. That was the best Litmus test for me ever: if someone that close to me who sees me everyday has never noticed the nobody likely will.

Now THAT is a truly great story!

[steveincowtown]

In 10+ years of carrying I have only had one person that I thought noticed, ever. I was at Chuy's in Austin (super crowded) and a lady bumped into me and gave me a "deer in headlights" look. I turned around and sayed, "Sorry about that Maam' I almost knocked you over and my cell phone clean off my hip." I think one double take in 3,650 days of carrying is actually above average, no one ever notices...

[maximus2161]

Welcome! I have carried lots of different guns and usually OWB. I am not a small guy being 6ft and a fat boy. :) But I carry a customized Beretta 96G Vertec OWB which is not the smallest gun and I carry at the 3:30-4:00 position and works quite well. While I usually cover up with a shirt I do have a vest I sometimes wear. I have two actually and one is made for CCW and use in hot weather. It may signal CHL to some people but the point is my gun is covered up. I have never gotten a 2nd look. I have talked to police officers and if they thought I was carrying didnt say a word or act any different. In the Texas heat carrying a large gun isnt the most fun thing but Im from the school where I believe in carrying a gun that is comforting rather than comfortable. But a good belt and holster make all the difference in the world and can make even a heavy gun carry well.

[Keith]

Welcome I completely agree with you. My XD is only the 4 inch though mayby that why ive never been caught

[SecedeTX]

When I carry with my Fobus paddle holster (most comfortable and easiest to carry) there may be a little bulge. I agree, almost nobody is even looking. I was camping for 5 days with two neighborhood families, wearing nothing but shorts and an untucked tshirt. On the last night, we were having a discussion about guns in general and the subject of CHL came up (believe it or not, I did not bring it up!) Two of us were carrying all weekend and neither knew the other one was packing.

The one family that wasn't armed was in shock...not that we were carrying, but that they had no clue at all.

[drjoker]

the general public does not look for a gun on you.

Do not worry; No one is staring at you

That's correct. I thought all eyes were on me at first, but now, I realize that nobody's looking at the bulge under my clothes. Even if someone nosy asks, I'll just answer with one of the following, depending on the company;

Q1: What is that under your clothes?
A1: I'm just happy to see you.

Q1: What is that under your clothes?
A2: That's my medication/insulin pump.
Q2: May I see it?
A3: No, the line is loose. If I jack with it, the line's gonna come loose and I'll get an infection that may kill me since my immune system is compromised.

It's children that will ask Q2. Only one adult has asked Q1. Trust me when I say that if you use a Smartcarry, nobody will stare at your privates. My wife was the only adult who asked me Q1. A child asked me Q1 and Q2. Nobody else will ever stare at your privates other than your S.O. and young children who don't know that it's impolite to do so. Notice what Dan20703 said,

My 15 year old daughter would notice.

Only kids and your S.O. would notice. I bet Dan wouldn't notice that you're carrying and neither would I.

So, go ahead and buy that big gun and carry away. You can even hug people. They'll just think that big bump is a cell phone/insulin pump/etc. People who don't carry guns will not have guns on their radar screen so they won't know that you're carrying, even if they see/feel a bump. People who carry guns will not care if you're carrying, too. It's O.K. I invite you to relax and carry away.