Carry without a holster

[kraigwy]

I carry without a holster. I carry a 642 in my pants pocket. Works real well.

[highvel]

No, carry without a holster doesn't give me a warm fuzzy. Getting shot hurts like hell!

[Doc Intrepid]

Ever notice how sometimes real life doesn't work out exactly like you planned?

Or how your gunfights don't go down the way you rehearsed them at the range?

Maybe you guys are less clumsy than I am, but as a guy who has gone down on a motorcycle, been knocked down a flight of stairs, and fallen off an elevated surface or two, I don't assume that if I ever need a firearm I'll be standing in my Weaver or Isoceles stance with my arms raised just so.

For me the chief benefit of a holster is retension - the fact that it holds the pistol/revolver in one exact place and keeps it there whether I'm stationary or falling down, etc.

Every time I've landed hard, I've lost things that were in my hands, pockets (including a folding knife clipped in my pocket during the motorcycle crash that I never did find afterwards) or carried about my person, and I"m pretty sure that if I had a pistol shoved in my waistband and went down during some altercation, that would be skittering off across the parking lot too.

I used to train cops for a living, and even though the gunfights I've experienced were training gunfights, its amazing how many times weird things happened and guys tripped or fell while moving to or from cover, across obstacles, etc. You fall down often enough and you learn that things don't always work out like you planned. Sometimes when you go down your firearm slides somewhere and you either can't find it or can't get there and you learn that having a 2nd firearm is not a bad idea.

It's probably just me, but I carry handguns in holsters that keep them where I want them, regardless of what else happens to me prior to the draw. I've spent too much time picking up crap that went all over after I hit the deck.

Your mileage may vary.

[Deja vu]

I have pocket carried my J-frame S&W 640 for 13 years now with out a holster.

[orionengnr]

Just to clarify, I don't believe the OP is saying that carrying without a holster is the optimum....and neither am I.

However, it can be done, safely, if you choose an appropriate firearm and have a reasonable degree of attention and common sense.

[lawnboy]

I used to carry a beretta 21a in a pocket sometimes. Did it when concealing a full size gun wasn't practical. I don't think I'd do it today. I'm old and cautious now.

An old girlfriend used to carry a glock 19 loose in her purse with one in the pipe. One day she blew a hole in the bag while looking for her keys. No one hurt. She went to Israeli style after that.

[45Gunner]

Any one here ever hear of Murphy's Law?

For the mathematicians amongst us, we know how to run a probability and statistics permeation about pocket carry without a holster..... for the correct answer, see the first sentence.

[AK103K]

An old girlfriend used to carry a glock 19 loose in her purse with one in the pipe.

This is where a little common sense comes in.

Carry any of them in something that has other objects in there with it, and youre just asking for trouble. Carry it alone, without anything else, and things are likely to be totally different.

No matter what, Murphy is always around, even when you use a holster, and holsters arent a guarantee the gun wont go off with use.

[OLD LOADER]

In ga. It is required or you'll lose your permit. Women can carry on purse ( no holster )

[Tactical Jackalope]

That being said, if I have to mexican carry a 1911 for very long at a time, I'll carry it condition 2.

Technically, safer in condition 1. If in condition 2 it falls on it's hammer...bang bang.






Well....just bang.

[38superhero]

I mexican carry israeli style my glock19 crossdraw...

[Tactical Jackalope]

I mexican carry israeli style my glock19 crossdraw...

OK dad....lol ^^^^

[Deja vu]

I have pocket carried for 13 years, most of which was with out a holster

What I do is put my wallet in my front pocket then put y J-frame between my leg and the wallet. It makes the wallet print (makes it look fat) but you cant see the revolver and it keeps the grips facing up. It works well in Slacks and in baggier Blue Jeans.

I do now have a Pocket Holster fro it, but to be honest I don't like it that well.

[Bill DeShivs]

"That being said, if I have to mexican carry a 1911 for very long at a time, I'll carry it condition 2.


Technically, safer in condition 1. If in condition 2 it falls on it's hammer...bang bang."

1911s are safe with the hammer in condition 2. The firing pin is inertial.

[Edward429451]

unloaded" Glocks, just thrust into my waistband or pockets, I have yet to find the trigger dropped,

Murphy don't work like that. He wont drop the trigger on an empty chamber, he'll wait until you put a live round in it.

[DasGuy]

Anyone have a link to the "Plaxico incident"? Search came back with nothing on his name.

[AK103K]

Murphy don't work like that. He wont drop the trigger on an empty chamber, he'll wait until you put a live round in it.

He must not have found out yet.

Ive been pretty abusive in my handling of the "empty" holsterless Glocks for the specific reason of trying to get the trigger to trip. So far, anything Ive done, short of actually pulling the trigger, has not been able to do so.

Even picking the gun up by the trigger, by hooking my finger around it and lifting has yet to trip it. If you dont get the trigger safety depressed fully, even with heavy pressure on the trigger itself, the trigger will not drop.

Im not saying that it "cant" happen, just like any gun "cant" go off while being holstered, just that I havent found it to be the big, bad, scary thing that you always hear in threads like these. Then again, Ive actually taken the time to try and prove it, and to the extreme, where I have a pretty good idea that most of those who tell you otherwise, probably dont even have a Glock, let alone even have bothered to try it out.

If youre reasonable in your handling and use some common sense (Plaxico wasnt/didnt) then I doubt youre going to have a problem. 99.5% of the time, I do use a holster with mine, but I do on occasion go without the holster as I feel the need.

[AK103K]

Anyone have a link to the "Plaxico incident"?

Just put "Plaxico incident" in Google, and you'll get a bunch of hits.

[Kreyzhorse]

Do yourself a favor, get a holster, even a cheap IWB holster that covers the trigger. Jamming a semi auto pistol down your pants without the trigger covered is asking for trouble.

[AK103K]

If youre going to get a holster, dont get a cheap one. There was a thread going around recently showing why you need a "proper" holster, as opposed to just any old holster. With some of them, its probably safer without the holster than trying to use the wrong one.

[Single Six]

This is by no means a stealth insult, so don't take it that way, but it just occurred to me: Every criminal I ever arrested that was carrying was not using a holster. Strictly pockets and waistbands for those guys. Me? Well, to each his own, and if it works for you, have at it, but....I'll stick with my IWB, thanks.

[lawnboy]

Do yourself a favor, get a holster, even a cheap IWB holster that covers the trigger. Jamming a semi auto pistol down your pants without the trigger covered is asking for trouble.

+1
Uncle Mikes. Cheapo holster for any model for less than $20. Most smaller carry guns Uncle Mike will holster for you for less than $15.

If youre going to get a holster, dont get a cheap one. There was a thread going around recently showing why you need a "proper" holster, as opposed to just any old holster. With some of them, its probably safer without the holster than trying to use the wrong one.

+1 on this too, BUT, a cheapo is better than none. Don't let the price of a quality holster hold you back. Fork out for a cheap one while you're saving for that Bianchi

[AK103K]

Some of the cheaper holsters really arent any better than nothing at all, and in some cases worse, especially when it comes to reholstering, and even carrying with them.

A false sense of security can be just as dangerous as being over confidant. Knowing when your approaching either end of that scale, and staying towards center is the trick.

[kenno]

I carried a IWB 1911A1 for years, no problemo!
Dropping a duce was no more of a hassle than with a holster probably easier as I had no holster to deal with(BTW it's a perfect reason to go with a shoulder rig!).
I also carry ITP with no regrets.

[rburch]

I've carried my CZ-75b like that a few times. My IWB holster wasn't here yet. But it was while I was waiting on the new mag release for my Kel Tec PF9 so it was either carry the broken gun that wouldn't hold a mag or the cz without a holster.

I was actually surprised at how well it stayed in place. I had it sitting at about 3-4 oclock on my waist and pulled my galco gunbelt tight over it. Carried it loaded with the hammer cocked and safety on. Carried it for about a week and it never shifted any more than it does in my iwb holsters.

and I have a hard time imagining an event that could flip off the safety while its in place.

Still don't think I'd carry something without a manual safety that way.