CHL and the house call..

andywhite.net · #1

My day job requires me to call on my customers in their homes.

As a new CHL holder, I'm still wrestling with carrying in the customers' homes.

Any input?

Thanks.

#2

No 30.06 Sign. I carry. Just me! I make a lot of visits in homes; nursing homes; retirement centers, hospitals, etc. . . I carry!

longtooth · #3

2nd preacher in this line.
I carry into homes also.
I do not "get my gun & put it on to go there." I just do not take it off when I arrive. 6:00am & it is on now. When I get dressed I put my billfold in my pocket, change, keys, & the "rest of my stuff." ie Gun, extra mag, pepper.
If you are travelling to & from the different homes you should be armed in those travels. When you arrive at a house, to disarm & then re-arm after you get back in your car is unnecessary handling & leaves your gun unattended in a vehicle.
You are not getting a gun to go into their house.
You are armed & not taking it off just to enter.
What is the difference?
What you are preparing for & which is incidental to being armed.

A few suggestions.
Be comfortable w/ your rig before you make your calls armed.
Have a quality belt & holster that is comfortable to you.
A good pair of all elastic suspenders will be your best friend. I likeem. If you gun is covered so are your suspenders. (unless you wear a shirt tucker & no vest, jacket, or coat.)
When you get out of your vehicle stretch, wiggle, & adjust pants & belt if necessary. This is a natural time. After that leave it alone & dont "fixit."
Practice sitting at your house a lot in different types of furniture.
Learn to leave it alone. Dont "fixit"
For comfort sitting, avoid deep, fluffy, low sofas. Greater tendancy for these to cause poking & gouging from gun butt & especially if you carry a medium size to large frame IWB in a kydex holster.
While you are there, remember, it is covered & no one sees it. You are not printing, dont worry about that so leave it alone & dont "fixit."
Avoid chairs w/ wooden arms if you are a big person & carrying OWB. If you would brush the arms w/o an OWB gun on, you will be in a real bind w/ it on.
If you shoulder carry, you can cover a pretty large gun w/ far less than most folks think. I cover my Kimber Pro w/ a light vest. Yes "No sleeves too."
The biggest fear of folks new to carry is that some one will see, know, find our while you are there,....
That is why I continually remind folks of 2 things.
1. Good quality gun belt & holster that is comfortable to you.
2. put it on, Cover It Up, & LEAVE IT ALONE. Dont fixit.

The more you carry at home even after you get your plastic the more comfortable you will become.
Now,
all of the above is what I have learned from several yrs of carry. Take what you like, trash what you dont, try anything you want to.
It takes a little time to learn but you can do it if you decide.

One more thought.
If you job is a service job, tight places, behind appliances, in the attic, ...I will encourage you to try things at home w/ the carry weapon of your choice. I dont have any experience there.
Good learning.
LT

phddan · #4

I also work at other peoples places. Just make sure you stay concealed. Most of the time I just have an ankle holster, because working on the tractor and slinging barbed wire in the heat and humidity isn't conducive to any other concealment method.

Dan

LedJedi · #5

longtooth says it all

Carry 24-7 or guess right.

if it's well concealed and you're comfortable with it what difference does it make?

westernamerican · #6

Are you opening yourself up wideopen to getting your butt shot by entering another persons home without announcing you are armed? If they saw your weapon, how would they know you were not there to do them harm?

pbandjelly · #7

only if you go to that one guy's house, but he doesn't come here anymore...

srsly, no. just having a gun means nothing.
sorta like having a back pack

besides, if you conceal it correctly, you shouldn't worry about exposing yerself.

the simple action of going into a stranger's home opens one up to getting shot. so does going to the Mobil station down the road. or the Albertson's.

seamusTX · #8

Maybe I'm too trusting. I don't pat down people who visit our house. We have had open house events where we had 20 or 30 people, most of whom I didn't know by name. I never thought about whether they were armed.

- Jim

LedJedi · #9

welcome to our home pastor Carlson,

please drop trou, turn your head and cough.

Right2Carry · #10

pbandjelly wrote:only if you go to that one guy's house, but he doesn't come here anymore...

srsly, no. just having a gun means nothing.
sorta like having a back pack
besides, if you conceal it correctly, you shouldn't worry about exposing yerself.

the simple action of going into a stranger's home opens one up to getting shot. so does going to the Mobil station down the road. or the Albertson's.

If you were referring to me, I am still here and I still believe people shouldn't be entering homes armed while making service calls. This topic has been discussed in another thread. I am entitled to my opinion just because you don't agree with it is no reason to drudge up the past. If you weren't referring to me than I apologize.

BrassMonkey · #11

I still would prefer people I do not know entering my home with a firearm. Especially with a 4 year old here.

Liberty · #12

BrassMonkey wrote:I still would prefer people I do not know entering my home with a firearm. Especially with a 4 year old here.

You could always post a 30.06. or you can take comfort in that you will never know if a visitor is armed. I am always a little taken aback when a CHLer shows fear of legally armed peoples.

What is your fear? that the gun will go off while its holstered? That the Child will unholster the gun and pull the trigger? or that the CHL will flip out and start shooting? Would you ask an LEO to leave his gun in his car?

BrassMonkey · #13

How do I know he/she is legal?

Liberty · #14

BrassMonkey wrote:How do I know he/she is legal?

How would you know if he/she is packing? If someone flashes, I would ask them if they are legal. If it was some visiting proffessionally I would ask to see the CHL. I don't invite people to mi casa socially unless I trust them anyway. If someone flashed because they were carrying unproffessionally, or unsafely, I would ask them to leave the gun in the car.

BrassMonkey · #15

I think we are talking specifically about a service person. If I see it, I would take that as a sign of non professionalism or perhaps even a safety issue. I instruct him to leave and request a new service person at that point. The very next steps are his out the door.n I think the official passing of Castle Doctrine reaffirms the sacredness of a man's home..

My $.02