Drawing Attention Away From Your Concealed Carry Gun (Written by: Greg Ellifritz)

[blues]

The beauty of living in an area where "the outdoors" are the focal point of tourism, industry, and the residents, is that everyone dresses in garb that looks somewhat tactical in appearance (due to technical fabrics and design etc etc).

One can wear 5.11's, hiking shoes, an "instructor belt" and all the other gear without raising a single eyebrow. You'd have to try to look like you're a badass and draw attention to yourself to stand out in this environment. And then folks would avoid you for being too loud and garish.

[Clusterfrack]

I was on a run yesterday and encountered two odd individuals whose appearance and behavior didn't add up.

Guy#1 was walking his large dog on a short leash, wearing jeans with tucked-in plaid shirt, and a large backpack with a safe packer-type pouch prominently attached to a shoulder strap. He said "Hello, sir!" Walking stiffly 5 yards behind him was Guy#2, also wearing jeans and tucked-in plaid shirt. He didn't respond to my "Hey, how's it going?". These dudes were completely out of place in the Portland hills, where no one except annoyed LEO's say "Hello, sir!"

My top three explanations: 1) awkward tactical gay couple looking for a picnic site? 2) 40yr old LDS missionaries walking their dog? 3) psycho killers scouting for victims?

[Wendell]

Or the "I don't carry a gun, because I'm not allowed, but I'd like to."

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I think I mentioned once that I was going the American Society of Criminology conference. I decided to wear my 5-11 pants because they carry a lot of stuff when I travel and are comfy. For no reason, I put on a black Eddie Bower polo shirt. When I was making my connection to the convention city, a very tough looking woman in a similar outfit gave me a big smile. Huh? Then I looked around and there was crowd of people with 5-11s, Black polo shirts and some Federal law enforcement logo making the same plane to the convention city.

My police officer friend said that I had inadvertently dressed like a cop. Oops.

I do have a polo shirt from the conference, that says Homicide Research Group with dead body outline under the printing. They were selling them. My wife won't let me wear it.

So many people wear cargo pants here, that they are meaningless.

[ubervic]

I decided to wear my 5-11 pants because they carry a lot of stuff when I travel and are comfy. For no reason, I put on a black Eddie Bower polo shirt. When I was making my connection to the convention city, a very tough looking woman in a similar outfit gave me a big smile. Huh? Then I looked around and there was crowd of people with 5-11s, Black polo shirts and some Federal law enforcement logo making the same plane to the convention city.

My police officer friend said that I had inadvertently dressed like a cop. Oops.

I live in an area where there are many, many 'government agency' sites, and many, many people who are clearly 'contractors' of some type or another at or associated with such sites. They are typically wearing the polo shirt and 5-11s, which I'm guessing are quite innocuous in many other areas. But around here, where such clothing is very common to these kinds of contractors---and because so many people have a family member or friend or friend of a friend in that line of work----they just about scream cop/security contractor. Yet, there are so many of them around here that few, if any, raise an eyebrow.

[NH Shooter]

IMO, a useful read that I garnered some helpful info from.

Case in point: one evening my wife and I were at our favorite local restaurant enjoying our meal. I had my Spyderco clipped in my front jeans pocket, the bright shiny clip exposed at the top outside of the pocket. The gentleman sitting at the next table kept looking at it until I made eye contact and gave him a nod and a smile. It was only afterwards I realized he was looking at the knife, and was probably wondering what else I might have been carrying.

The lesson learned is that when out in the public, EDC stuff is best "deep carried" to avoid any part of it showing.

[Guinnessman]

Hawaiian Shirt.

This is a dead giveaway in a hotel bar, and it allows me to identify my fellow airline coworkers.

[RJ]

You could just go “Florida Man” and carry an alligator. Zero peeps will spot the gun butt under your shirt.

Hey now...

Kidding.

When I started shooting a few years ago it was all about "dressing up" to go to the range. When I started carrying, I was acutely conscious of having a firearm IN CASE SOMEONE NOTICED I WAS CARRYING A GUN.

I learned that most people hardly look up from their cell phones these days. They are generally oblivious.

Having said that, from the last few years of traveling / driving / walking armed, I am very much more aware of that 1% of the population that "isn't right".

The dude who walks across the 6 lane highway to the fast food place I see out of the corner or my eye. That doesn't go into the restaurant.

The person who is hanging around the exit of the stop and go gas station. Smoking. Not doing anything in particular but oriented towards the pumps.

Anyone who is not walking to, or from, their car in a WalMart parking lot.

These are the people I pay particular attention too.

Me? These days I'm just like any other retired dude in Florida; shorts, T-shirt, maybe a cap. That's how I dress on the weekend, or getting groceries, or going to the range. Same same, every day.

[GAP]

I thought the article was pretty obvious, you can conceal basically anything under a hoodie or button-down. Did you notice how badly he printed without the cover garment in front?

As a new father, I find myself utilizing a G26 most of the time. I am very active with my children, so they are constantly pulling at me, jumping on me, and causing me to twist/bend in multiple angles. When we are at the local park, we can have 20-30 people around us at a time; they are usually not dug into their phones, as the stereotype suggests. The mothers seem particularly observant on how you interact with your kids.

In cooler weather I’ll grab a G19, but when it’s warm I fully embrace the advantages of having a shorter grip.

[Clusterfrack]

Yes, and little kids grab everything, and hang on hard. Retention skills are sometimes needed.