Concealed Carry...ALL the time?

[dart368]

My buddy says that carrying concealed EVERYTIME he goes out the door is a pain in the buttocks so he sometimes doesn't carry if he is going up to the local store. But he says that with his luck, that will be the time he will need it. Course, statistically, the odds of having to use your firearm in a public venue is probably slim (Until it happens).

He has small children and two teenagers as well. He doesn't want to have a holster on his hip while around the house or working in the yard, going next door to the neighbor's house, etc. And then putting it on when he goes on a run to the store for the wife. His best solution is the fanny pack but he gets an earload from others about how only cops and old men from Florida use fanny packs. I can see his delemma. What do YOU guys do about carrying while on your days off?

[1911su16b870]

This is personal decision.

IMO everyone who can legally carry should do so all the time.

[dart368]

I agree, so what do you do? Do you carry a holster on your belt at all times in case you go out? Or do you put on the holster and gun everytime your wife asks you to go to the store up the block for some milk, bread or butter?

[Miller Time]

It is very much a pain in the...hip. It gets old after you want to wear shorts, or a tshirt and are afraid of reaching for something then your exposing your firearm. But it seems like everyday you hear of some wacko/gangbanger shooting up something. I never want to be somewhere, not have my weapon, and god forbid my family or the public get hurt and I didn't have my weapon on me.

You always hear that attage in LE, "you always want to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it".

So in short, yes. I carry 99.9% of the time off duty.

[yzErnie]

I agree, so what do you do? Do you carry a holster on your belt at all times in case you go out? Or do you put on the holster and gun everytime your wife asks you to go to the store up the block for some milk, bread or butter?

I carry all the time, no matter when or where I go. The old saying above is perfect as well as Murphy's Rule would also come into play. Where I carry on my person will never be revealed on a public message board.

[dart368]

So do you guys put on a holster each time, keep the holster on your belt with the gun out when at home, use a fanny pack for conveneince....what do you do?

I guess I should have stated the question in this way instead of "Do you carry ALL the time." Sorry for the confusion.

[CriticallyStressed]

I'm not an LEO but my holster (w/gun) are on me at all times unless I'm undressing to get in bed or I have to leave it in my vehicle due to a NPE. The way to make this happen is to choose a gun/holster/belt combo that conceals well with most types of your attire and doesn't get left behind or taken off because it's not comfortable. Keep in mind though, there are compromises with every method, choose what works for you.

[BoJackUSMC]

My buddy is a cop and only time he does not carry his weapon is when he works out at the gym.

[psango]

+1000 personal choice

This is personal decision.

IMO everyone who can legally carry should do so all the time.

I also believe it is a personal decision. I have colleagues who never carry OD. I do.

I decided 28 years ago to always be armed outside the house. I have carried a firearm extra ammunition, cuffs, mace, an impact weapon and a communication device everyday for 28 years.

It's a lot easier now with a PM9 in my pocket, a cell phone instead of a radio, and a kubaton on my key ring, light weight aluminum cuffs and a small pepper spay canister.
It can be a pain in the *** but I wanted to be able to handle any situation that came up without regrets. In 28 years I've only made 2 arrests off duty.

This has worked for me. It's a personal choice each LEO must make and I don't believe one decision is more correct than the other. What ever you decide I would try and be consistent.

[dart368]

Okay, so do you guys keep a holster on your belt when you are in the house, doing chores around the house, washing the car, socializing with your next door neighbor, etc.?

[TRICKSTER]

I don't usually carry in the house, but I have firearms accessible if I need one.
I always carry if I go out and have several weapons sizes to choose from, but they are all 45acp. The weapon and means of carry vary depending on the situation and clothing that I am wearing.

[bigred1]

In the winter, my 1911 stays in its little Galco. I have a lock box in our china hutch and simply slip it in as I walk out the door (every time). Summer is different, I carry a XD in a crossbreed. So every morning, I strap the crossbreed on and holster my weapon. I have a lock box cabled to my drivers seat, so if I'm going to gym, post office, working in yard or garage.

If your gonna carry concealed, then you need to do it all the time. You should feel like something is missing when your not.

[BigDogatPlay]

This is personal decision.

+1... like others I have known guys who couldn't be bothered carrying off duty. I always thought that was short sighted. I'd be concerned about running into someone with whom I had an adverse contact while on duty. And in this day and age, it's really not hard to come up with anyone's address, no matter how closely guarded a secret you think it might be.

[retired]

I have a lock box cabled to my drivers seat, so if I'm going to gym, post office, working in yard or garage.

If your gonna carry concealed, then you need to do it all the time. You should feel like something is missing when your not.

I carried off duty all the time with a few exceptions and I do the same now that I'm retired. The gym, the beach and a venue that doesn't permit it. Even with a lock box, I'd be afraid to leave it in my vehicle. With my luck, they'd take the vehicle and the gun would be gone anyway. As was said tho; it is a personal decision.

It does feel like something is missing tho when I'm not carrying.

[sendithit]

I carry all the time. My 342PD in a pocket-holster makes it easy for me. Cargo shorts, loose jeans, a jacket...all these conceal my kit without imprinting. I used to do the fannypack route, but now its my kit and a cellphone. Ive used my cellphone lots to dial 911. And my 342 kit? Never in the 18yrs I've carried it....but its reassuring to know its there.