Concealed Carry Corner: Best Carry Spots For Daily Tasks

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week I talked about some of the rules people choose to break when they concealed carry for one reason or another. If you happened to miss that, be sure to check out the link here to give it a read. This week, I wanted to go over some of the questions I get from people about the best way to carry in certain situations. It can be hard to know exactly what the best route is for various situations, so I decided to make a list of the most common questions to go over. Let’s take a look at the best carry spots for daily tasks.

Concealed Carry Corner @ TFB:

• Concealed Carry Corner: Carry Rules To Break
• Concealed Carry Corner: Best To Worst Carry Positions
• Concealed Carry Corner: Biggest Carry Mistakes – Part 2
• Concealed Carry Corner: Biggest Carry Mistakes

With colder weather approaching in the north, I often will get a handful of people asking what the best route is for carrying when you start adding layers to the mix. Most individuals carrying in the colder months look forward to it since the extra layers mean more concealment for larger firearms. Having a heavy winter jacket or laying up a zip-up sweatshirt with a medium-weight coat allows you to carry outside the waistband and have a full-size firearm with accessories comfortably concealed on your belt.

Outside The Waistband (OWB) is one of the best ways to carry in the wintertime because you get the support of a good gun belt while not having the gun inside your waistband all day creating friction against your body. You have all the support as an IWB holster without the fatigue later in the day. OWB holsters allow you to have the familiar draw stroke as an IWB holster and it doesn’t take much to transition from IWB carry to OWB carry. Personally, it’s one of my favorite ways to carry, but I know a ton of people who continue to carry inside the waistband during the winter months since that’s what they are used to throughout the year.

One of the best routes to carry comfortably as well as have easy access to your firearms has to be carrying in a shoulder holster. Shoulder holsters may not be everyone’s first choice and typically if I’m having a regular day, I wouldn’t pick carrying in a shoulder holster every day but using one during a long road trip is by far the most comfortable way to carry while still having fast access to the firearm. It may be an interesting choice to some but it really does work on those long hauls across the country. An honorable mention has to be a cross-draw setup but it can be a pain and rather hard to conceal once out of your vehicle.

Not everyone in the country has to deal with cold weather and changing how they carry since it’s warm all year in their location. States like Florida, Georgia, and other states oftentimes don’t get cold weather like the northern states get. The positive thing about carrying in warmer areas of the country is the fact you never really have to change out carry guns and can constantly carry the same setup every month of the year. Of course, you can do this in the colder area but the addition of layers means you can carry larger firearms if that’s what you desire.

Small carry guns with added layers can be tricky to draw from if you don’t practice. In warmer areas of the country, I will typically carry something like my Glock 48 in an IWB holster or even the original Glock 43 in a pocket holster. Keeping things simple is the name of the game when carrying in a hot climate. Keeping your gun as basic as possible will help avoid fatigue or having it become uncomfortable throughout the day. Things like weapon-mounted lights and optics are great accessories but tend to add bulk as well as weight to your carry handgun. Having a smaller framed handgun that is comfortable either in an IWB holster or pocket will be the best route to go for most individuals. Others may want a different option and that’s completely acceptable but for most these two options are a good start.

Working out while carrying a handgun can be a tricky subject to tackle. Depending on your activity, there are a few different options. If you prefer running, having something that will snugly conceal your gun is going to be the best bet. Having a small handgun in your pocket will bounce and having an IWB holster will rub your skin raw. By far the best method for running would be either using a belly band to keep it securely against your body or something like a fanny pack. Both can be strapped down fairly tight to keep it against your body so there’s not a ton of movement while running.

For weight lifting, it can be tricky if you’re bench pressing or doing squats on a particular day. Something like an IWB holster can work depending on your shorts or sweatpants but a belly band isn’t a great choice if you’re bench pressing because it will print on your shirt and let others know you’re carrying a firearm. Depending on your attire, you may be able to pocket carry but if you wear the more modern type of workout shorts, the pocket may not be deep enough to carry a small pistol comfortably. Carrying while running isn’t a big deal but weightlifting and having a concealed handgun can be more challenging but not impossible. Wearing the right attire and planning ahead are the biggest determining factors to having an effective carry plan.

These situations aren’t crazy situations but rather people who carry a concealed firearm have to deal with on a daily basis. Whether it’s changing up your carry style depending on what you do that day may be the trick, or if you want to carry the same way every time then it’s just practicing certain draw strokes before leaving so you know what to do. No matter the situation, planning ahead and thinking through what you want to do is the best bet for success.

What do you guys think are other situations where you had to plan ahead with a firearm to make the situation work? Let me know in the comments below. If you have questions about concealed carry 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.