[chaim]

I live in MD so I don't carry often, thus if I learn from my own mistakes it will take a long time. I have a UT non-res carry permit, and I am in WV, VA or PA where I can carry fairly often. I do often carry around my apartment, so I have learned from trial-and-error which gun sizes and holster styles I prefer (I do have the required box of holsters that didn't work). However, I love to ride my motorcycle, and not living in a carry state I haven't figured that part out through trial-and-error. I often find myself choosing between carrying and taking the car, or not carrying and riding my bike when going out of state, and I'd like to be more easily able to do both. So, I figured I'd put it out there to the TFL community to see how you guys who carry regularly and ride handle the combination.

Here are some of the considerations for me:
-I normally do like pocket carry. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it on the bike. Usually, everything stays in my pocket when I sit, but we have all had the situation where we sit in a chair or our car seat and we have something fall out of our pocket. Should that happen with my gun while in my car, I will still have my gun. If I had the gun in my pants pocket on the bike I'd hate to have it fall out on the road and lose it. While that isn't much of a possibility, it also wouldn't be accessible should I need it while actually riding. If I put it in one of the zippered pockets of my riding jacket, it still wouldn't be very accessible (it would be behind a zipper) and it would be far less accessible when off the bike than normal pocket carry. So, I'm not sure I'd be happy with pocket carry on the motorcycle.

-Because MD is not a carry state (technically we are, but not in any practical terms), and due to our strict transport laws, I usually use a holster which is relatively easily removable so I can have the gun and holster in the trunk while still in MD. I have a paddle holster, though I'm not crazy about it, most are IWB holsters with clips, and I'm considering some IWB and belt holsters which use loops with snaps. None of these would be acceptable to me on the motorcycle. IWB or high ride belt/pancake holsters would be fine, but they have to attach more securely to my belt.

-I usually use an open top holster, but similar to a holster which is easily removable, I want retention of some kind on the motorcycle. I'm not sure I want a thumb break though since keeping it as close to the same draw process as my other IWB and belt holsters would be preferable.

I am thinking about the possibility of cross draw on the motorcycle. If I did that, I'd probably switch to cross draw full-time (again, to keep my draw as consistent as possible for training purposes).

I'm also thinking about just carrying in my normal location (strong-side IWB, pocket, or belt), but with a more secure holster so as to minimize the chance of losing the gun, and not worrying about accessibility while on the motorcycle. Then, so I could have a gun I could get to while on the bike, I might add an ankle holster. I've thought about this anyway in order to have a gun I could more easily get to when driving as well, and a primary and backup is never a bad idea.


So, those of you who regularly ride and carry, what do you do? Do you carry any differently when riding than when driving? Am I worrying too much about losing the gun (I'm sure I am) and I should just use the same holsters I normally would? What suggestions do you have for me?