Welcome back to another week in the Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about my top five carry guns if I could only have five for the rest of my life. If you missed out on last week’s article, be sure to check it out here. This week, I decided to talk about my experiences over the last few months with trying out more ways to carry off-body. I’ve talked about off-body carry in the past, but haven’t really given it a shot. I decided to give it another chance and over the last few years, I’ve actually come to realize that off-body carry does have a few great benefits depending on the situation. Let’s talk about how I started to take a new look at off-body carry,

Why You Should Reconsider Off-Body Carry

In the past, I have talked about off-body carry when it comes to carrying a PCC, but always prefer to carry a firearm on your body over carrying in a bag. Over the last few months, I’ve started playing with different ways of carrying firearms in a computer bag or sling bag instead of carrying them on my body. With certain firearms like the Glock 48 and SIG P365, you can have a decent amount of capacity in a very small package. I will often times carry a smaller handgun on my body with something larger in a bag. The biggest benefit of carrying inside a bag is the fact your options drastically go up with an addition of a small bag.

Whether it’s a classy man satchel or sling bag, having a dedicated gun bag will allow you to conceal handguns you may otherwise never be able to carry on your body. Carrying something like a Glock 17 with a red dot and weapon light is possible with the right holster and time of year, but it’s certainly not practical for carrying on your body every single day. This is where off-body carry really starts to shine. You have the ability to carry not only a full-size pistol with all the accessories you need on it but can also easily use a magazine extension allowing you to have a full-size firearm with extended capacity in arms reach at all times.

Body Types

Carrying a concealed weapon can be drastically different for someone who’s capable of playing in the NFL versus an elderly woman who needs protection walking to her car at night. These are incredibly different body types and various firearms will be a better fit for each body type. Traditionally, stockier or larger builds can carry a larger firearm without layering or struggling to conceal the firearm. Smaller body types may be able to shoot something like a midsize Glock 19 but their body type doesn’t support that large of a firearm on their body.

My close friend Marcee is a great example where she prefers to shoot a full-size or midsize over something like her SIG P365 but the main issue is the fact she can’t comfortably conceal something larger like a Glock 19. Her solution is to carry her firearm in a small VIktos sling bag with a built-in holster. This allows her to carry a firearm she’s confident in without struggling to conceal it in the summertime. There are many people just like Marcee out there who feel more confident with a midsize or full-size firearm but can’t physically carry it with their body type. Add in the fact you can carry a much larger firearm with a longer sight radius, larger capacity and more accessories, and it really starts to add up to give you more options when you would otherwise be stuck with a small micro-style carry gun.

Natural Disadvantages

Although I have certainly started to see some of the advantages of carrying off body, there are still a few big issues with carrying in a bag over carrying the handgun on your body. The biggest issue is the fact the bag can be taken or separated from you where it’s much harder to take a firearm off your body. Whether it’s a purse snatcher or someone who sees a bag on your body and views It as a quick way to make cash, these things happen all the time and the last thing you want is to have someone snag your bag with a loaded handgun in it.

The other big disadvantage when it comes to off-body carry is the inability to draw quickly. Now I know some of you will be arguing with me in your head saying you can draw quickly from a bag with practice and that’s a really fair point, but for the vast majority of people, it’s a much slower process to draw from a bag than it is to draw from your body. This extra time it takes to draw from a bag could be the difference between safely stopping the threat and becoming a victim so it’s important to think about the extra time when choosing to off-body carry.

Overall Thoughts

I still advocate for people to carry on their actual bodies when possible but sometimes in certain situations, it’s just not possible. Sometimes people can physically carry a mid or full-size firearm and this is a fantastic way to supplement that firearm with an off-body carry option. I still think it’s a slower option than carrying it on your person but it’s certainly an option regardless.

What do you guys think about carrying in a computer bag or messeger-style sling bag? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. if you have questions about carrying off body or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.

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