Unstrapped
As a rule, I don’t take my gun off and on. It gets put there in the morning and comes off when I get home. Handling a gun less is, as a rule, the better play. When I do take it off, I remove the whole holster. You know, stop touching it and all that. But today, I had a doctor’s appointment that would have resulted in getting made had I worn it. So, I removed the entire holster in the car. Kinda weird sitting in a parking lot and taking off a gun.
March 27th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Even weirder is trying to put it back on while at a stop light.
March 27th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
That’s how I go about it, taking the whole holster out. I figure the less time a loaded gun’s trigger is uncovered, the better.
March 27th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
It’s really weird. My clients are all the sort of entity that in the state where I reside are by law “pistol free zones.” So I do the same drill when taking on-site appointments- remove holstered pistol, lock in small steel lock box mounted under seat. I’ve been wondering if anyone else has a better way…
March 27th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Been there, done that: that’s why I really like the Rosen USD II (just unsnap it). When I know I’m going to the doctor’s office, I carry a pocket pistol, either exclusively or as a backup that I can take in with me. Of course I always have a blade and a Comtech Stinger.
Oh yeah: when a doctor asks on his new patient form whether you have any guns in the home, resist the temptation to say something pithy and just leave it blank; the one time I encountered this they didn’t ask about my non-answer, and if they had I would have simply said that I prefer not to list my personal property in order to get medical care.
March 27th, 2012 at 1:52 pm
Me too. Take the whole Fist K2 holster off and on. Goes in my desk drawer at work or in the lock box in the car.
Yes must look a bit strange to parking lot crowd.
March 27th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
It’s quite a squirm in the Zed Drei, let me tell you…
March 27th, 2012 at 2:40 pm
This is what I live through every time I go to a restaurant that serves alcohol here in Massachusetts of Dixie. I just unsnap the holster and put the whole assembly in the trunk. Screw what others think. If I get a police response, I’m going to ask them if they’d prefer that I just committed a felony and carried it inside.
We need to pass HB111 Restaurant Carry.
March 27th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Have to go through this same drill every time I go to my kids school. Washington law says I can be on grounds with a CPL but not in building.
Personally, I think it’s safer to keep it with me and not handle it than to flail around in my Jeep getting it on and off and then leaving it unattended (but secured and locked up in a steel box) in my Jeep.
Logic will get me nowhere in this town (Seattle) though….
March 27th, 2012 at 2:52 pm
My solution to this is if I know that I’ll be going to JUST locations that are off-limits is just carry something within easy in reach in my car, with a secondary holster for that gun if plans change and I need to go somewhere that doesn’t ban armed self-defense.
Not optimal, but it works.
March 27th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Yeah try doing it weighing 300 lbs 6’5 in a Honda.I thought the whole damn car was gonna flip over at one moment.
March 27th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Yeah, with all the “Signs” up here and Spring coming, I’m going back to a Paddle Holster. They look at you Funny when you wear a Parka in May, you know.
March 27th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
I’m afraid to take it out of the closet since I can’t carry anywhere, open or concealed. We used to have open un-loaded carry until the hoplotards got a big wig-out on. Sucks to be me.
March 27th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
My doc is a shooter and the nurses aren’t bothered when I remove my shirt and they see the Kimber.
One nurse thought it was “pretty”. [buff horn grips]
To go in to the jury room three days a week I just put it and the mags in the box in the morning but still wear Dennis’s Fugly all day.
March 27th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
My High Noon Bare Asset IWB goes on and off pretty easy but, yeah, I always feel a little conspicuous fussing around with it in the bank parking lot.
March 27th, 2012 at 4:54 pm
I do it all the time, particularly if I have to go into the airport to pick up my wife.
March 27th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
The best part of getting your IWB back in place at a stop light or a parking lot is squirming around with your belt undone when a big truck/suv pulls up right next to you. Not weird at all.
March 27th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Definitely a downside to being tall and driving a little coupe with bucket seats, especially with a jacket and overcoat on in winter.
March 27th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
I prefer to time my removals/installations better — I don’t touch it if I’m in a situation where I won’t touch my cell phone either. I add and remove it “wholester” while parked, and I check around to make sure there aren’t any potential hoplophobes in line-of-sight.
Fortunately, Nevada has few off-limits places, nearly all of them government-owned buildings of one form or another, so I don’t need to do this often.
March 27th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
I have a secure lock box in my truck if the need arises. I do, however, leave the holster on. This situation applies to doctor’s offices, hospitals, government buildings and my credit union. Otherwise, if they don’t want my legal handgun, they don’t want my dollars.
Also, when asked for photo ID, I present my CHL. Usually, then they ask for my driver’s license. I smile and comply. To me, there’s a difference between photo ID and a driver’s license.
March 27th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
So what did the doc say? Did they ‘figger out the GI stuff?
March 27th, 2012 at 9:54 pm
I usually carry inside the medical office, and if I have to do anything that would expose the pistol, I just tell them ahead of time that I am licensed and armed.
The last place I went, the nurse brightened up and wanted to know what I carried because hers was in her purse since they couldn’t carry that easily in scrubs.
March 27th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Unless I’m going into a courthouse, airport, or similarly secured area, mine stays on. I don’t plan on showing it to anyone, so they can put up all the “gun free zone” signs they want. In my mind, my right to be prepared to survive a violent encounter trumps their attempt to render me defenseless.
March 27th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
I hate, HATE having to handle it in public. I have to go into a building on occasion that is posted and I really despise the on and off in the car. It also increases the likelihood of someone seeing you doing it.
March 28th, 2012 at 7:37 am
I pocket carry, and leave it in my pants when I take them off. My Wallet is also in my pants so my pants are always with me and under my direct control.
March 28th, 2012 at 8:03 am
I agree that the less you mess with your gun the better. Mine stays loaded 24/7. When I get home I draw it from the holster (pointed in a safe direction), remove the holster, replace the pistol in the holster and stow the whole thing away as a unit.
I avoid drawing the holster + gun as a combo as I find that I have less control over the pistol that way. I consider REPLACING the holster + gun as a unit an especially bad idea. My procedure is to put the holster back on, make sure it’s positioned correctly, and then reholster the gun as normal.
I try to avoid loading/unloading in the car as much as possible as I figure the tight space and awkward positioning creates a higher chance of an accident and injury. When I can’t avoid it I simply draw the pistol, leave the holster on my body, and stow the pistol in the car. If I do have to remove the holster for some reason I’ll take it off after I remove the pistol.
March 28th, 2012 at 11:03 am
I go to the gym during lunch hour, so I have to change clothes when I go there. Somehow it just isn’t comfortable to have the rig bouncing around while I’m doing cardio. Then when I am weight training, I would have to move the position of the rig while I’m doing different things.
All a long winded way of saying that I leave the rig in the car when I go to the gym. I remove hoster and gun together then place the rig in a lock box. I also do this in a parking lot – not while driving. However, since I carry IWB appendix style, it fairly easy to quickly convert without any gyrations.
Do have to look around and make sure no one is in the car next to me or walking between cars. Wouldn’t want to give anyone a reason to be nervous.
March 28th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
Rob Reed,
“I consider REPLACING the holster + gun as a unit an especially bad idea.”
Why? Is there something about your particular holsters that warrants this? (Mine go onto the belt/into the pocket with the greatest of ease, and the gun stays firmly in place the whole time with the trigger covered, so i see no problem at all for me.)
March 28th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Kirk,
I believe I have more control of the firearm in general. and the muzzle direction in particular, by replacing the holster first and then reholstering the gun than if I reinserted them as a united.
That, and I usually need to “fuss” with the holster just a bit after putting it back on and it’s easier to do that without the gun in the holster for my IWB.
When I pocket carry my S&W Model 49 though I do generally just put the whole thing in the pocket as a unit. It slips right in and no adjustment is necessary.
YMMV.
Rob
March 28th, 2012 at 11:10 pm
I like the ‘gun and holster as a unit’ method. It keeps the trigger covered, and you can, uhm, disguise it better?! I can’t seem to find the right word.