So here I am watching this video by Hickock45, wearing shorts, t-shirt, cover shirt and my 1911.
Great video, watch the whole thing, Hickock knows his shit, and is just a wizard with a pistol.
As you know I’m a strong subscriber of the “Carry all the time” philosophy. If I knew when I’d encounter trouble, I simply would avoid trouble and go about my time care-free filled with bliss.
I have been in situations where suddenly I was VERY glad to have a gun on my person, and never expected that time and place to be a place where things might get a little scary.
Now the old adage goes “Nobody wishes they had a smaller gun or less ammo in a gunfight”. So it goes without saying that not only should you carry your gun at all time, you should carry the BIGGEST gun, and as many reloads as are practical as often as you can.
There are some times where it just isn’t practical or convenient to carry the big gun. And at times I mean simply convenient. If I’m outside in the heat for the better part of the day the straps of my shoulder holster collect sweat and heat, and the cover garment doesn’t help anything. There are times when I may have been perfectly dressed for concealment, but decided to take off the gun (Like when I change into my workout clothes and exercise), and then decide I need to run in town for an errand, or to pick up a pizza to negate said workout. I may not want to throw on my whole heavy rig for a 5 min outing.
Don’t make yourself miserable trying to be the ultimate ninja. Just note that if you CAN carry more gun, maybe you should.
So this summer I’ve tried to carry my 1911 every day I could. You may remember this post where I discussed my summer carry method for my 1911.
I first had some apprehension, say at carrying at work. I thought that maybe the shirt would look a little strange, or maybe the gun would print JUST ENOUGH to tip somebody off.
Still I pushed that comfort a bit. I’ve been carrying in this method for several years now, and with a properly sized and cut shirt is isn’t an issue so I took a chance.
Not only do I have the added comfort of knowing I’m carrying my trusty .45 with me, as well as two easily accessed reloads, but now I have a nice pocket for my phone as I listen to podcasts while I work!
So if you’re only carrying a smaller, weaker gun, see if you can carry a bit larger a gun, and see if you can work a reload or two into your outfit.
Also if you don’t live in a hostile carry environment like I do, maybe you should give open carry a try.
Push your comfort zone a little, and you’ll be surprised at how much territory you can claim as “Comfortable”.
Not only will you be prepared to protect your lives and other, but you’ll be happier while you do it.
And of course if you push your limit and find you don’t much like it, you also learned something about yourself. Certainly comfort and convenience are a MUST for every-day-carry.
Be Safe!
Great video. I’m saving that for when I find people that are interested in getting their CCW and are thinking about carry guns. I myself find that rather than size, its weight that limits my choices. Even if I were a bit lighter in the gut, I’d still have no ass. That means only so much weight can be kept up by my pants without having to tighten my rigger’s belt to deadly anaconda levels of constriction. I’m all for sub 20oz single stack poly frame guns. The Kahr TP9 has long interested me. But I think a Ruger LC9 would do rather nicely.
The TP9 (and the whole TP line in general) strikes me as a VERY good “Primary Weapon” as they’re extremely thin, light, and have simple controls, but they have a decent amount of firepower. The LC9 is a really cool gun too, once you remove the magazine disconnect. That being said I’m a bit bummed that Ruger hasn’t seen fit to include larger magazines for reloading, like an 8-round magazine that’s the same size as the 7 rounder with the finger extension. There’s also the Walther PPS which uses some odd controls, but is a serviceable gun in your constraints. Magazines are a bit hard to find, but they come in sizes up to 8 rounds in 9×19.
Hickock’s a good guy. And you’re right. He’s forgotten more about guns than I’ll ever learn.
I’ve been doing a lot of open carry this summer, and I’ve yet to get the hairy eyeball or a mention of it from anyone. I’ve also done quite a bit of pocket carry.
Spot on Weerd! I am wearing a new pair of shorts and decided to go light with a taurus 22. Within 3 minutes of walking out the door I had need to lay my hand on my glock – and holy crap did I regret the choice to run a 22.
Sadly I can only OC in the desert. To many trigger happy cops and tourists who don’t know our laws calling on everyone.
Hickok and his both are excellent shots and truly nice folks (and BIG too)! Both of them are about 6’8″!!!
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