Carrying in a public restroom

My gun typically stays in my holster, on my waistband. If it's a heavier gun, I try to keep pressure using my ankles so that it stays pressed up against my shin. I also try to find a stall that has a wall to my pistol side.
 
23 years as a cop, and there's no "good way" around this. The best I've found is lay it in the crotch of my pulled down pants.........
 
There were some good ideas and experiences shared in this thread. I feel that my potty training is now complete.
 
The first and most important safety in all situations is your brain. In that respect, this situation isn't totally different from being conscious about printing or muzzle-sweeping. Simply keeping your mind on your gun will go a long way towards preventing everything from letting your carry gun smash into a hard tile floor to the extreme tragedy of the gun left in a stall mentioned earlier.

As per methods, shoulder carry seems the least problematic for this and some other situations. Of course, this method has some of the steepest wardrobe requirements for concealment and might not work in warmer climates or social/professional environments that discourage regular jacket wear.
 
I try and use a family restroom. More private and no law says you can not.


I am among the many who flop the gun in the center of my pulled down pants.

The bigger issue for me is re-assbly to covered if in a tiny stall with no toilet lid
 
As suggested to me many years ago:

Only drop your pants to just below your knees (upper shin) and re-buckle the belt in the first or second hole. A little outward leg pressure keeps the pants/belt/holster at bent knee level while you do your business. Pistol ready to draw, if necessary, while seated. Reverse process when finished.

It's bad practice to lay the pistol down anywhere. Eventually you'll forget to pick it back up.
 
Another vote for putting it in the crotch of your pants......it's worked for me for over 25 years.....gosh I'm getting old...........
 
Many police departments train officers to form a hammock or pocket in the crotch of their pants and put the gun into the pocket that's formed.

Some things NOT to do:
Don't lay the gun on the floor.
Thieves often patrol public restrooms and look under the partitions for anything of value lying on the floor. They reach under and grab it and are long gone by the time you can get your pants back on.

Don't hang the gun on the coat hook inside the stall.
The same thieves will walk down the line of stalls and reach over to grab whatever is hanging there.

Don't put it on the tank.
Tanks are slick and guns slide off onto the hard floor. Guns get broken, accidentally discharge, or go sliding across the restroom floor where someone can simply pick it up and walk. Or worse, not thinking it's a real gun, pull the trigger.
Guns also can fall INTO the toilet and you have to go "pearl diving" for it.

DON'T HOLD THE GUN IN YOUR HANDS.
Probably most "accidental" discharges in rest rooms are actually cases of the gun owner absently mindedly handling the gun they were holding and just negligently pulling the trigger.

In one famous case I heard of a Detective was sitting in the rest room in the last stall more or less playing with his gun and had an "AD".
The bullet passed down the entire row of stalls and embedded in the far wall.
One victim who was in one of the stalls told the investigators from Internal Affairs that "If I was constipated before I sure wasn't then".

The best method of dealing with a gun in a restroom is the one taught by police academies of forming a pocket in the crotch of the pants and putting the gun in the pocket.
The gun is out of your hands but protected from any grab attempt or falling to the floor.

If you carry a gun regularly you do tend to become complacent.
When using a restroom is when you have to keep your mind on business and in this case the "business" is safely dealing with a loaded and unholstered gun.
 
The best method of dealing with a gun in a restroom is the one taught by police academies of forming a pocket in the crotch of the pants and putting the gun in the pocket.
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You can add an extra layer of security by removing the entire holster & gun together before placing the combination in the pants. Keeping the gun in the holster will go a long way toward virtually eliminating the chance of an unintentional discharge.
 
ChuckS said:
Only drop your pants to just below your knees (upper shin) and re-buckle the belt in the first or second hole. A little outward leg pressure keeps the pants/belt/holster at bent knee level while you do your business. Pistol ready to draw, if necessary, while seated. Reverse process when finished.
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Very well described. This is the technique that I use, as I have no choice but to use public restrooms throughout the course of doing my job.
 
Not much to add, but my $ .02...

One reads news items periodically about officers who leave their duty weapons behind in the stall...really!...so it is a valid topic.

+1 for cradling it in the crotch of one's pants, but when wearing a Sam Browne belt, I've heard of slinging it around one's neck.
 
I started shopping for a belt-attached holster after answering a call of nature in a public restroom while carrying with a Remora holster. Fortunately, I dropped trou slowly enough that the unattached Remora didn't hit the floor.

I ended up almost exclusively carrying with a UGB Regulator, OWB attached to the belt with snapped loops. It comes off very easily when necessary, which is typically before leaving my car if I have to enter a building where carry is prohibited or of dubious wisdom.
 
I've thought about posting this before, but seemed, well, sort of too personal.

But I'm a man who "unbuckles, unzips, and unbuttons" for either event, if you catch my meaning. Standing thus my pants certainly droop too far from the weight.

As my solution, I've used the coat hook, the top of the toilet tank (if there is one, often not) the toilet paper dispenser, the baby changing station (in a one person room) or some other flat surface.

Carrying a Single Action Blackhawk causes me no concern when its hung from the coat hook.

Note too, that I always use the stall. At times I've even used the rail in handicapped stalls. Make sure whatever is used is secure.

Bob Wright
 
Use a belly band. You can have it ride low like an IWB holster, but it won't drop when your pants drop.

Belly bands are also very versatile. I can fit a dozen of my handguns in there.
 
Don't lower your pants so far.
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LOL!!

Luckily, I don't have this problem as my carry is in my pants pocket.

I live in relatively small town and crime is generally very low. Of course, this is no guarantee that something won't happen, but the odds are lower than a lot of other places.
 
I had to do a sit down twice today in a public toilet. I was IWB with my Star today. I just went into the stall and removed my holstered gun from IWB to my left front pants pocket. Worked just fine. after I washed my hands I returned my holstered Star back to my IWB right hand cross draw position.
 
I often wondered how those LEOs with two guns, three flashlights, a taser and 6 reloads strapped to their belt dropped their drawers. Still, I never had much of a problem myself with my 637.

For those of you with problems, you can always go this route and not have to lower your pants till you get home.

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In a grocery store, you can usually snag a bag at check out and then put the gun in it while standing and then put it on the floor.

Family or disabled stalls work well for extra room.
 
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