Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we took a look at normal problems people will have when it comes to carrying concealed. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to take a bit of a deeper dive into the world of cover garments. When it comes to carrying concealed, there are a number of things that can make carrying a better experience or worse depending on your carry gun and clothing choices. Having a good cover garment can make life much easier. Let’s take a closer look at getting cover garments down.

Concealed Carry Corner @ TFB:

• Concealed Carry Corner: Carrying A Concealed Gun With Layers
• Concealed Carry Corner: Iron Sights For Carry Guns
• Concealed Carry Corner: How To Conceal In An ORV
• Concealed Carry Corner: Smaller Guns Aren’t Always Better

Why Use Cover Garments?

Depending on the size of your handgun, something like a Glock 43X doesn’t exactly need a sweatshirt or light jacket over it to conceal well. Depending on where you live, you may have to deal with seasonal changes which can be e benefit when it comes to carrying a concealed handgun. With these colder temperatures, it means more layers which makes hiding larger framed handguns so much easier. Having a simple jacket over your carry gun can allow you to worry significantly less when it comes to printing or any type of brandishing.

Layers allow you to carry full or midsized handguns effortlessly since the jacket is another layer that smoothes out the angular shape of the grip under your shirt. The biggest downside to having some sort of cover garment is being able to clear the garment every single time consistently without the material getting in the way of your draw. Whether it’s a button-up shirt unbuttoned in the summer months or a zip-up sweatshirt, having a light cover garment allows you to be that much more confident when concealing a handgun. Certain tips help make carrying with cover garments easier. Once you get the hang of using a jacket or zip-up hoodie to help conceal your handgun it becomes much easier to carry confidently every single day.

The Best Uses Of Cover Garments

When it comes to carrying with a cover garment, it’s important to look at how you carry to see if a cover garment would be beneficial. If you happen to carry in an appendix holster, having a loose-fitting button shirt can make life easier for concealing but anything heavier like a sweatshirt or zipped jacket can start to cause problems with speed and how easy it is to draw your pistol out of the holster. Heavier cover garments really start to shine if you carry in the 3-4 o’clock position otherwise known as “strong side” carrying. Personally, carrying a handgun on my hip with an unzipped jacket really offers the most amount of coverage while remaining easily accessible.

If the temperatures start to drop, I will oftentimes use a zip-up hoodie as well as a fleece jacket. Having this combination allows me to keep warm without having to restrict my handgun by zipping up the jacket or sweatshirt. It’s not the end of the world if you’re the type of person who likes to zip up your coat before you head outside, but it will take more practice drawing from concealment to remain quick under pressure. The key to having good cover garments is weight and keeping the jackets as light as possible. Whether it’s a windbreaker, raincoat, or medium fleece jacket, these are some of the best as cover garments because they can be easily pushed away to clear a path to your concealed handgun.

Things To Avoid

Cover garments can be incredibly useful when used correctly, but certain jackets and how you use them can turn this useful trick into a burden really quick. Really large puffy jackets for cold temperatures can not only reduce mobility and make it harder to move, but it can make drawing from concealment almost impossible. Larger jackets like that can become so cumbersome and bulky it’s almost impossible to clear out of the way of your handgun quickly.

Personally, I would rather be slightly colder and layer up with a jacket and zip-up sweatshirt rather than a bulky coat zipped up for the benefit of easy access to my gun. I know not everyone is the same and some of you hate the cold, but it’s important to keep your draw speed in consideration when looking at what to wear for the day. With regular practice, it’s still possible to carry your gun and be able to draw efficiently without struggling. With a few practice draws, you will be able to learn tricks or the fastest way to draw from a bulky coat.

Sometimes the weather dictates what you wear and it’s easier to practice drawing from concealment than wear something that isn’t warm enough for your current weather. I know some of you down south are laughing at this article thinking there’s no need for a bulky jacket but some of us live in the great north and need the extra layers.

Overall Thoughts

I fully understand some of you have anxiety about printing and other people being able to spot your handgun in public, but cover garments can be a huge help when it comes to fully concealing your gun without much effort. It’s not always possible, especially during the hot summer months, but if you live in a place that deals with seasonal changes, having the ability to put a jacket on will certainly make life easier by concealing your firearm.

The biggest key is to practice with whatever you wear out and make sure you can confidently clear the cover garment and draw your firearm in a quick seamless motion. What do you guys enjoy wearing when the weather turns cold? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. If you have a question about concealing or firearms in general be sure 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.

TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK