Any advice for a first time conceal carrier?

I won't suggest you get a smaller, lighter, more concealable gun ....... you'll do that of your own accord soon enough......
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Unless I can find a reasonably priced Colt Magnum Carry or P7 I don't think I'll quit my current setup.

Well I finally got around to carry my HK45CT Tuesday. I wore it during my trips to Home Depot and Target under a thin black t - shirt and slacks. Other than the 10 round extended mag making me carry at 1 O'clock position everything went fine. The weight didn't bother me at all and after a while I quit occasionally pulling down on my shirt. I've already ordered an 8 round mag w/ a flat baseplate to take care of excess printing. All and all everything's working out great and I want to thank everyone that's responded, your advice has been immensely appreciated. Thank you TFL!
 
My rules of carry.

Contrary to my ID I am now 85, carrying the last 20 years.
my rules;
1-Always carry
2-The same gun.
3-The same way.
4-The same place
5-Move
The event will more often than not be sudden and close.
your reaction should be instinctive you have no time to;
Did I carry, What am I carrying, is it in my pocket, is it in my belt or under my arm.
Since you are reacting to him, You must make him react to you by moving as you drew.
And lastly Practice, Practice,...................!
 
My rules of carry.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contrary to my ID I am now 85, carrying the last 20 years.
my rules;
1-Always carry
2-The same gun.
3-The same way.
4-The same place
5-Move
The event will more often than not be sudden and close.
your reaction should be instinctive you have no time to;
Did I carry, What am I carrying, is it in my pocket, is it in my belt or under my arm.
Since you are reacting to him, You must make him react to you by moving as you drew.
And lastly Practice, Practice,...................!
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Alex 78,

I am only a young Chap of 78, but you have nailed it, above!

Reference Instinctive, I spent 5 years as a Bouncer (part time) in Liverpool UK.

I don't have a flat nose! But broke a few, I am 5'9" now, used to be 5'11", a bit heavier, but only a couple of pounds, very quick hands (never lost any hand speed) and I can state, right now, if you have to think! You are done, like dinner.
 
I just recently obtained my CHL as well, and I can attest to so many of the things that folks have previously talked about. I also live in Texas, so the heat is such a factor in how you carry.

The "fidgiting with the shirt", the constant feeling that someone knows, the weird feeling that you are doing something wrong, etc... goes away with consistent carry. My trick was to force myself to "forget" I was carrying. It worked...would make me feel more comfortable.

What works for me...

I occasionally pocket carry. The holster has to be good, BUT the pocket has to be big enough or the gun will print like crazy. I've looked in the mirror and just laughed when wearing certain shorts.

I bought a few cheap holsters to try out where I would like to carry IWB. After much experimentation, it became apparent that for me the 10 o'clock cross draw with a "Sticky" holster ended up working the best. My primary carry is a Kahr CM9, and it absolutely disappears, is very light and comfortable, I can sit in the car, and it is pretty damn fast to present. Even when hugging someone they don't know it is there unless you are full body pressing them. :eek: What is also cool about the Sticky (or Remora/Stays-Put) type holster is that you can adjust it easily for the situation, and it stays right where you want it.

Closer to your carry gun needs, I also carry my SIG P245 45auto which is a little closer in size to your HK. I was very surprised that it disappeared with a Sticky almost as easily as the little Kahr did. I actually walked in the living room one night after the holster arrived and asked my wife to tell me where it was. She thought I was trying to trick her by not having one at all, and was doubly surprised when I showed her that not only was I carrying, but it was the bigger SIG.

The Sticky-type holsters are not that expensive either, so they are easy to try out. Anyway, good luck, and let us know what you end up sticking with.
 
Got my CHL back in February. I now mostly carry my Taurus 85. Why? It is the one with the best holster. It also fits in a pocket.

It isn't my lightest, that's the BT380.
It isn't my favorite, that's the Witness .45 4.5" (Yes I can carry this easily)
I haven't yet bought a real belt - which makes my Firestorm .40 too heavy - though I shoot best with this one (point and shoot), Can't touch the Witness using sights.
It isn't the most concealable - wooden grips and shiny nickel.
It isn't the highest capacity, 5 with speedloader

It is - the most comfortable
- the fastest to draw
- the newest to me - always a factor
- the most reliable - not a jam one! Heh - revolver vs semi joke
- the best balanced when carrying - another revolver plus

So, in short, no great belt, one really good holster and a gun that fits most outfits, this is determines what and how I carry now. Cold weather will likely get me back to the .40 or .45 with one of the other two as a BUG. Better holsters will expand this. Looking at swaprigholsters for the cheapest all around option for all.
 
When wearing/carrying a firearm, for the first time, it seems like a full sized brick! In weight, and shape! At one time, I thought about printing, Florida does not have that worry, law.

If carrying for self defense, we all do, yes? Forget the .45 on Monday, .380 in the pocket on Saturday, 9mm in a shoulder holster going to the movies, on Wednesday!

My advice, same gun, same place, spare magazine (more for malfunction reasons, than an extra 17 rounds!) 20 plus ounces of pistol, needs a good belt!

Wilderness, frequent flier belt, weighs nothing, no metal, 1.5" wide. My Choice, Glock 19 in 9mm, same pistol in IDPA completion, as carry.

IDPA competition once a month, 150 rounds, 8 stages, and again, same gun, same place.

Bid advantage, being retired!
 
my rules of carry.

Brit,
I omitted perhaps the most important rule, AWARENESS. Be aware of your surrounding and people around you. After a while this becomes second nature.
 
Stay aware of your surroundings. Most people are caught by surprise because they were not paying attention to those around them.

As a test, think back to a couple of hours ago. Were you in a room with strangers in it? About how many were there? Where there more men than women, more younger than older? If you don't have a clue, you were probably not in a good position to deal with an unexpected problem if it had happened.
 
Danny,

Friday evening, picked up two friend's, Man and Wife, they have lived were they live now for 20 years, destination, an Italian Restaurant.

Met two friends of theirs.

Now 3 couples, the place was full, when our table was ready, the best place at the table, in my estimation, was facing the entrance, I selected that seat at the booth, 3 and 3. My Wife along my left side.

The only chance of defending against any threat, was one from the street!

The owner, a Sicilian! A friend of our friends, joined us at the end of the table, close to me! For around 15 minutes, we chatted. I got the impression we had no worries here!

Reference total view of the room? Not so much.
 
Alex 78,

I omitted awareness, I had that in spades, long before I carried a pistol!

Still there, gun or no gun.
 
So many people seem to have issues with concealment, it's truly mind boggling to me. I am 6'1 200lbs (I guess kind of large) but I carry a p30 in a crossbreed super tuck holster and it works with literally anything I wear which is mostly jeans and a t-shirt. I even wear it to the dog beach in my board shorts with no belt. I'm in central florida and I sweat more than the average man. The horse hide holster seems to help with that a lot btw
 
Looking back at what I said, I don't believe us concealed carriers have a problem with concealment.

I believe we THINK that we have an issue when there isn't one.

But worrying about things like this before they happen, shows that you will probably be a responsible ccw'er
 
When I started carrying, I thought I was the only guy in a big store who was armed. Then I started looking for guns on others. I was truly amazed at how many people carry concealed that I had never noticed before because I was not looking for them.

I have since concluded that even if you do a poor job of concealing your weapon, few peopel will even notice unless they are actually looking for it on you.

I'll add one thing about practicing. Very important to practice from an in the holster concealed draw, and to find your acceptable accuracy rate of rapid fire. The first time I was practicing quick draw on my rig, (clip onto belt) the holster came off my belt with the gun inside it. Worked fine when drawing unrushed. The gun was sticking to the holster padding material inside. A few shots of silicon spray fixed it.
 
Everyone likes the idea of being able to save someone else. This is not your responsibility. When I took my CCW class, the instructor gave the following scenario. You are shopping in a mall and hear gun fire. You are near an exit, what do you do?
The answer is leave if you can. Everyone being shot at had the opportunity to get their own CCW for self protection, but they chose to have the Police protect them instead. What if a bullet from your gun bounces around and strikes an innocent person? The law does not hold you harmless for what your bullet does. The victim or their family may sue you stating that you caused them harm. Maybe the person you shoot turns out to be a plain clothes cop who is shooting at the bad guy that you do not see. The responding Officers are not going to see you as the good guy, only someone who is shooting at people. Is your family going to be better off with you dead?

Here in Las Vegas, a crazy guy killed two officers while they ate lunch. The bad guy ran into a store across the street. When the bad guy shot his gun into the air and told everybody to leave, a man with a CCW confronted him. The bad guy had a girlfriend who shot and killed the man with a CCW.
The news portrayed the killed Officers as heroes, and the man with a CCW as someone who should have minded their own business. The family of the Officers are covered for life with benefits. Where is the family of the CCW guy going to get help?
 
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