"When I first started carrying, I . . . . ."

[MikeDVB]

Hmmmm...

I started with a quality holster and a sub-par belt but the belt could be tightened down enough to keep the firearm stable and enable a good draw, although I wasn't super comfortable.

I eventually moved to an actual gun belt with reinforcement and now it's my 24/7/365 belt [while wearing pants, that is haha].

I can't really think of anything I've done wrong or that I should have done differently... Perhaps maybe that I carried in the dark [night] without a flash light for a few months?

 

[rugertoter]

Does carrying an AMT "Hardballer" count as a mistake? Lol.

 

[stephen87]

If it was good enough for Hitman...

 

[Rookie]

I don't carry yet, but this looks to be a good learning thread.

If it fits in the intent of this thread, how about telling us what gun you carry along with the other comments. And how many different guns did you try before you settled on one in particular? And why?

I have heard about carrying what you are most familiar and shoot the best, etc. But I am not sure what I want to carry and whatever I decide, I will become proficient with it. So I would rather decide on the gun first, then learn how to shoot it well.

Otherwise I would have to carry my autoloader shotgun since that is the gun I shoot the best right now since I use it for Trap shooting.

I started with a Glock 19, then went to Hk P7M8, then a USP 40, back to P7M8, and finally M&P 9. Why? You can't put an RMR on an Hk. I carry it in either a Serpa or a Raven holster.

 

[Slawburger]

Cheap handguns and even cheaper Uncle Mike's IWB floppy fabric holsters.

Holsters with no means of securing the firearm other than gravity and a little belt pressure.

 

[Mark 1911]

Most of the threads I've read in this thread are about holster types, pistol types, but here's another sort of lesson learned from my younger days. This is a story about the police, but for the LEOs out there, this one will be critical of my own mistake, and sympathetic toward the officer who could have reacted much differently.

Rewind to about 1992, over 20 years ago. I went deer hunting one morning and changed into my hunting clothes in the parking lot at Winamac, and left my handgun and wallet in a small cardboard box in the trunk of my car (wanna guess where this is going yet?).

I was stopped for speeding on my way home on US 30 either in LaPorte or Porter County.
Officer: May I see your driver's license and registration please.
Me (after fumbling around in my empty pockets for a few seconds): I went hunting today and my wallet is in the trunk.
Officer: Alright, I'll need to see them.

So I get out of the car and walk back to the trunk. I was tired and had actually forgotten about my handgun being in the trunk. It's dark outside and officer is behind me with his flashlight shining it into the trunk so both of us can see what I am doing. I reached my hand into the box, and feeling the holster, remembered about the handgun. At that point I should have stepped back and told him the wallet was under the handgun. But I thought to myself, I will just pick up the edge of the holster with my thumb and index finger as to be non-threatening and set it off to the side here where he can see it. Oops!! Wrong!!! Just after moving the handgun from the box, I see the hand of the officer swoop up the handgun, and in a very surprised voice he says, "step away from the car!" and "do you have any more weapons?" Realizing my mistake I apologized to him and said no. He asked for my LTCH and asked me to sit back in the car, then he gave me a warning ticket and my (now unloaded) handgun and told me the magazine and chambered round were in the trunk and that I could retrieve them after he left. He started to walk back to his car then paused in his tracks and came back to the window.

Officer: May I give you a little friendly advice?
Me: Please do (with nervous grin, knowing the well-deserved lecture was coming).
Officer: Some of my fellow officers would have shot first, and then asked questions, do you understand me. Don't ever touch a firearm in that situation. Never take an officer by surprise. Just step back and say something.
Me: I am really sorry about that, it will never happen again.

Every time I think about that episode I have to cringe at my mistake. The officer was really a nice guy, didn't even ticket me for the speeding, and I'm really glad it was him instead of a more heavy-handed type. Believe me, I learned a valuable lesson that night about guns and police.

 

[gregkl]

I started with a Glock 19, then went to Hk P7M8, then a USP 40, back to P7M8, and finally M&P 9. Why? You can't put an RMR on an Hk. I carry it in either a Serpa or a Raven holster.

Thanks. I have a M&P 9. I am thinking about making that one my carry gun.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I don't carry yet, but this looks to be a good learning thread.

If it fits in the intent of this thread, how about telling us what gun you carry along with the other comments. And how many different guns did you try before you settled on one in particular? And why?

I have heard about carrying what you are most familiar and shoot the best, etc. But I am not sure what I want to carry and whatever I decide, I will become proficient with it. So I would rather decide on the gun first, then learn how to shoot it well.

Otherwise I would have to carry my autoloader shotgun since that is the gun I shoot the best right now since I use it for Trap shooting.

So, my first carry gun was a compact 1911 in a crappy uncle mike's IWB holster and crappier wal mart belt.

I didn't really carry that gun very often because it was really uncomfortable and did not conceal worth a darn.

Finally I got an lcp not long after they came out and a cheapish leather pocket holster and have carried it almost every day since.

I liked the convenience of carrying the lcp, but it's a little bitty gun and is hard to shoot accurately and I wanted a more potent round than the .380.

Wanting to go back to the kimber, I bought a crossbreed IWB holster, still with a crappy belt. It wasn't too comfortable and I didn't like the way it concealed. Next I ordered a "NRA Gunbelt" from on of their mailers. It was better than the Wal-mart belt, but still didn't seem right.

Next I bought an XD Subcompact from a fellow Ingoer and a Kydex reinforced belt and IWB holster from MTAC. This setup conceals well and is fairly comfortable and I often carry this, especially when I do not have to deeply conceal.

The gun is a good gun. I can shoot it and it carries 13+1 rounds of 9mm and can use the 16 round mags from my full sized xd.

The MTAC IWB is a pretty decent holster, but I do not care for the clips. They do not seem to grip the belt aggressively enough and if I do not really snatch the gun out of the holster and my belt is not tight enough, the holster comes with the gun when I draw.

The belt is awesome. It's stiff and is a great belt. I am thinking about trying a different holster (maybe a good appendix carry holster) and am going to try a Glock 19 at some point (not because I have an issue with the xd, I just like guns and do not have a Glock yet). I am not looking for a new belt.

 

[cbhausen]

My first carry gun was a Colt Combat Cobra in a shoulder rig. On campus at Indiana State. I got into an altercation at a bar (T's Lounge was straight back then) and told the guy I was arguing with I had a gun. He jabbed his finger into my stomach from under his overcoat and scared the **** out of me. He told me he could have killed me right then and there. Yeah, I learned a few things that night. Thank you, whoever you were.

 

[gungirl65]

Tried for months to IWB conceal carry a 357 before finally accepting I am just too petite to hide a big gun in my pants. I now comfortably OWB carry. I still have to occasionally reposition it when I am driving but am now more comfortable and confident carrying it.

 

[derrickgoins]

Initially started out carrying with a Fobus holster and a webbed belt that came with a pair of cargo shorts I'd bought. Took me about 3 months of pulling that belt as tight as possible to hold the gun up before I got in the "real gun belt" crowd. Took a slightly longer to relegate the Fobus to the holster drawer though - it seemed to work fine right up until the day I drew from it during dry fire practice and the gun came up with the holster still on it.

 

[Shay]

Took a slightly longer to relegate the Fobus to the holster drawer though - it seemed to work fine right up until the day I drew from it during dry fire practice and the gun came up with the holster still on it.

At least you learned that lesson when nobody was trying to kill you.

 

[LtScott14]

The serious gun-belt is a real issue! I used a lot of 1 3/4 leather "Garrison" belts which do a decent job. I switched to a 511 double nylon, operators belt w/ Velcro and steel slide thru buckle. Now that is a gun-belt. Holds heavy steel frames, or Glocks in a holster, no flex, no droop, and in a trip to the washroom, doesn't allow your CCW to take a floor tile drop. I think I paid around $40.00 for it, best investment made in a long while. Forget the cloth, cheapies, WallyMart specials. Junk.
I've also tried the single nylon "BDU Belt" with a slider and it works, in the 1 1/2 version. Not the same as the 511, but close. Has a little flex, not bad for summer cargo shorts.
Read on this has been a great thread.

 

[gungirl65]

I resisted buying a real gun belt for a few months. I had always hated wearing belts but have found my gun belt to be very comfortable. I wear it even when I can't wear my gun.

 

[Tranquil]

My first carry was an XD .45 haha. I had a cloth holster that it fell out of when I was getting out of my car. I'll never wear anything but a belt again!

 

[usafmora]

I was 23 years old and wore a crappy green outfit eveyday except weekends. sometimes even then. I also always had some one younger then me telling me to tak my cap off indoors. It was priceliss to show them My weapon! Ha the good ole days of the 80s.

 

[Lex Concord]

I didn't follow the advice to "try it before you trust it". While I had initially gotten this advice at a hardware store when getting a duplicate house key cut, it applies to a carry gun more than anything I could imagine.

I bought a used compact semi-auto from another INGO-er several years back...one with a keyed "trigger lock"...I would occasionally carry it, but I had never taken it to the range.

First time with it at the range, chambered a round, sights on target...squeeze...click...did this several times.

I took it home, took it apart and found a tiny broken part. I'm 99.9% sure it was due to something I did while "testing" the trigger lock not long after getting it...apparently a broken trigger lock is a permanent trigger lock.

Luckily, the particular manufacturer has a lifetime warranty, and it has since been repaired (i.e. my stupidity only cost me $90 to Fed Ex, and not my life or that of a loved one)...fired (quite nicely, I might add) at the range...now a fully-trusted part of my EDC kit.

No, I have never engaged the trigger lock since; never will.

 

[Destro]

Hi Point 9mm in a Fobus Holster....OC FTW......today, im embarrassed about it

 

[pamchuck]

I am also guilty of the Uncle Mike's IWB floppy fabric holster like most of us. I carried a Glock 19 for a while using it. It is now my bedside gun. Now I carry a Beretta Nano with a 5.11 belt and the factory Beretta IWB holster, I'm sure that there are better holsters, but haven't taked the time to try them out yet.

 

[MisterChester]

I used to carry my G19 in a cheap Uncle mikes belt on a flimsy leather belt. Boy did I step up since then... Currently have a bio-belt with a Remora holster.