Massad Ayoob - Gun Digests Unorthodox Concealed Carry Methods eShort

Model 640-1 S&W 357 Magnum, with Magna-Port recoil reduction treatment. Note Barami Hip-Grip, which serves revolver inside waistband without a holster.

There are certain non-traditional methods of concealed carry that are, for good or ill, in wide use. They bear discussion for that reason alone. The first point of discussion needs to be this: every single one of them is based on convenience at the expense of serious practicality.

One of these is so-called Mexican carry, the gun simply shoved into the waistband without benefit of holster. The term is not pejorative. It arose long ago among gun people, in homage to proud Mexican men of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beset by tyrants who stripped them of liberties, including the right to carry guns if they were not part of the political elite, these defiant citizens chose to carry as an expression of willful civil disobedience. They needed to be able to ditch the gun to be retrieved later if they were about to have contact with Federales, and since a holster could not be so quickly ditched and would be prima facie evidence of resistance to tyrants law, the holster was dispensed with.

This turns out to work reasonably well with a flat-sided automatic, like the 1911 38 Super that was so popular in Mexico, the 45-caliber version having been banned as a government-only caliber. However, the gun can come loose with strenuous activity, and can slip out when lying down for a siesta. There is no retention against a snatch, of course. It also tends to get gun oil all over the clothing.

Author feels its safe enough to carry XD45 Mexican style, so long as grip safety is not depressed. He still does not recommend the practice, however.

Improved Mexican carry, as it were, would be an attachment on the gun that keeps it from at least slipping down the pants leg. The Barami Hip Grip for revolvers and the Brown & Pharr belt clip for the 1911 serve this purpose. Theyll keep the gun from sliding down, but wont necessarily keep it from sliding up and out. The protruding edge of a Crimson Trace LaserGrip on an auto pistol will have this same effect to some degree.

Personally, I would go Mex only for very short periods. Getting up to answer the door at 3 AM if I didnt have a holster. Putting the gun away after drawing from a belly-band in public. A short trip to or from an airport with a borrowed gun, mine being already stowed in luggage. Its best treated as a brief expedient, not regular carry. And it should never be done with a Glock, S&W M&P auto, or other semiautomatic that needs only a short pull of the trigger to fire. The manufacturers agree. I would make an exception for the HK P7 squeeze-cocker so long as the grip lever was not depressed when putting the gun in place, and for the XD pistol if inserted with thumb on back of slide to keep the grip safety from being pressed during holsterless holstering. Otherwise, I would stay with an auto whose manual safety was engaged, or which had a long and heavy double-action trigger pull design, or a pistol carried Israeli-style with empty chamber.

Guardian Leather Portfolio looks like a lawyers briefcase, but contains a hidden bullet-resistant panel

The purse, the man-purse, the briefcase and the short-lived dayplanner portfolio that hides a gun were all designed for convenience. A slowed access to the weapon was traded for greater physical comfort and wardrobe flexibility, in return for having a gun around us somewhere. In most situations, if safety and confidence and peace of mind are the goals, this is not a fair trade.

Purses get snatched. Briefcases get stolen. Neither is always within reach when we need what they contain. And how many times have we had to go back and get a purse or attach case we left behind in anothers home or office, or some public place? One time while in South Africa, I saw a man sentenced to prison for criminal negligence because he had left his gun purse in a restaurant, and it had been stolen by the time he noticed it missing and went back for it. In Florida, where Unified Sportsmen of Florida have rigidly kept track of all offenses involving concealed carry permit holders, the miniscule number of arrests seem to mostly involve people who forgot the gun was in their attach case or purse when they went through a metal detector into a secured area such as airport or courthouse. When the gun is not on us to remind us of its presence, it is all too easy to forget that it is there. This can lead to huge and devastating consequences.

If you accept the trade-offs and still want this stuff, the best gun purses Ive personally seen are the ones from Coronado and Galco. The best carry case Ive seen is the Guardian Leather Portfolio, which resembles a fine lawyers briefcase with shoulder strap, but carries a bullet-resistant panel and hidden quick-access gun pouch. Its no trick to learn to draw the handgun to a one-hand stance as the free hand sweeps the ballistic-reinforced Portfolio up against the front of your torso. Blackhawk recently introduced a similar model in plain black nylon, though you may have to find your own ballistic insert for it. Ive found them useful for courtjust remember to take the gun out before you hit the security checkpoint!

Gail Pepin, 2-time Florida/Georgia regional IDPA woman champion, demonstrates fanny pack draw with Safe Direction product. She brings up the Kahr 40 cross-draw, free hand rises into blocking position and out of way of gun muzzle.

Ever since Gene DeSantis created the first firearms-specific fanny pack, the Gunny Sack, these things have been hugely popular. They can be carried off-body with the strap slung over the shoulder, but have the added advantage of securing on the body in their normal intended fashion. Gun folks like to sew Nike or Nikon labels to the front, and order them in bright pastel colors, to distract from any gun image. (Interestingly, joggers always ask pistol packers where to buy cool black nylon fanny packs like ours, that wont show the dirt. The grass is always greener) The fanny pack can be easily unbuckled and left in the car when going into the post office, hospital, or other gun-free zone.

Downsides? Thieves assume fanny packs contain wallets, so theyre prime targets for theft when off your body, and even for snatching when strapped on. As with purses, having your gun in the thing the assailant is likely to grab first is not a good start to the fight. Moreover, theyre slow to draw from, needing one hand to rip the thing open while the other goes for the gun, and achingly slow if that free hand is tied up warding off a knife-wielding opponent. Still, theyre better than no gun at all. Practice, practice, practice. Centerline of the body is the best place to carry, Ive found, and regular cross draw techniques are the way to draw to a fighting stance from the fanny pack. DeSantis has been making these longer than anyone else, and it shows: Ive seen none better. However, Ive become partial to the well-made Safe Direction from Steve Camp. Its back panel is bullet-resistant Kevlar, giving the lower abdomen some protection in a fight. More to the point, though, the whole Safe Direction line is designed to give you something to point at (the proverbial safe direction) when routinely loading, unloading, and dry-firing handguns. Just make sure its not strapped on your body during