Carrying While Wearing Business Attire - US Concealed Carry

The suit coat itself is a wonderful piece of natural camouflage.It is expected to be worn with the suit and can cover big pistolsand revolvers on the belt, inside the waistband and even shoulderholster rigs. The coat still looks normal in public whether it is ahot summer day or blustery winter morning. It is expected to beseen on the person wearing a suit. The problem occurs at officeswhere all of the guys take off their suit coats when at their desksor in meetings. If that is the case, then the odd man out who is stillwearing his coat will be scrutinized. He will be in stark contrast tohis current environment.Another subtle form of natural camouflage for “tuckable” holstersis wearing a shirt that is not tailor fit to the body. Guys in topphysical condition do not need to wear a tight fitting dress shirtto look good. Put away the narcissism and wear a shirt that isjust slightly roomy at the waist. These types of dress shirts areperfect for concealing a firearm in a tuckable IWB holster whichcan allow a jacket to be removed in some work environments.(See the section titled Drawing From an IWB Holster.)The issue of quick access versus deep concealment is a concerndue to how most civilian lethal threat encounters play out. Threatsusually manifest and are over within seconds. A situation candevelop and be over literally before some civilians can draw andfire a weapon on target due to their chosen mode of carry. If it isat all possible to carry in a manner that offers quick access overdeep concealment, always choose quick access. However, if deepconcealment is the top priority, then it is better to be armed with agun that takes longer to get to rather than having no gun at all.An IWB holster offers deeper concealment over a belt holster butstill allows for a quick and smooth draw when the grip of the gunrides above the belt line. It is a tradeoff of possibly getting tangledup in a shirt or other cover garment while making the draw butis still a great option for deploying a concealed firearm on targetquickly. When the shirt is worn over a holster such as a GalcoKing Tuk IWB holster, it slows the draw due to the need to firstraise the shirt to reveal the grip of the gun.Quick Access Versus DeepConcealmentIn all things carrying concealed, there are tradeoffs. It is whythere are so many pistols and revolvers filling up the gun storecases. It is why there are whole catalogs filled with holsters andother carry gear and garments. Ideally we would all just have a nicebattle rifle with us every day. That is not practical even on a ranchor farm let alone in an office. Practicality for use and operationalenvironment is why we have so many choices. However, a noviceneeds to carefully consider each of the tradeoffs because theyvery well could have a direct effect on his lifespan during a lethalthreat encounter.Large calibers are simply better suited to stopping a threat.However, we have smaller calibers that are easier to carry andconceal. It is a tradeoff. How far are you personally willing togo? We have the belt holster without any straps, levers or otherretaining options for the gun. It is the fastest holster to drawfrom, but it is also the easiest holster to lose a gun from. An ankleholster is one of the slowest to draw from (except when seated).How far are you willing to go to sacrifice the retention capabilityof your holster? How far are you willing to go in sacrificing speedof response during a lethal threat encounter? There are lowerabdomen holsters that carry a gun concealed below the bellybutton inside the pants. They are slower to draw from than a beltholster but can offer an incredible deep concealment advantage.Drawing From an IWB HolsterDrawing from either a belt holster or IWB holster is prettymuch the same—get the cover garment out of the way anddraw the gun. Most of the time it is easier to quickly get abetter grip on a gun that is in a belt holster rather than one that is inan IWB holster. Consistent practice with the carry method makesall the difference.In the accompanying photos, our model is showing both a pancakestyle holster worn on a belt and a tuckable holster. The suit coat canbe quickly cleared away from the gun to facilitate the drawstrokefrom a belt holster. It would be the same for an IWB holster that isnot covered with a shirt. For the tuckable holsters that have a shirtover the gun, it requires pulling the shirt up and out of the pants toclear the gun so it can be drawn.It is easy to get a good grip and draw from most any belt holster.8© 2003-2011 U.S. Concealed Carry Association & Delta Media LLC - All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without permission prohibited.