Front pocket carry the best?

Thanks for the articles Glenn, I'm a big data fan and they provided plenty.

I'm a shade past 50, and I've noticed a drop in balance ability that I'm working on with specific exercises. And I know that certain health issues can have a huge impact on balance. I spend time at work standing on alternate feet while tossing a tennis ball from hand to hand. I have a cordless headset, and I can talk with clients at the same time.

As far as hands in pockets projecting a lack of confidence... I've seen people project huge confidence with both hands deep in pockets. And I've seen others display weakness with both hands visible.
 
And yet you readily admit the reason you don't is that you don't have confidence in your balance.
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The reason? No... but it is a very good reason. No one can balance as well with his or her arms not free and not able to be moved and extended--that's very simple orthopedic physiology, and simple Newtonian physics.

That's one good reason to not walk around with one's hands in one's pockets unless there is a reason to do so.

Another reason: safety in the event of a fall.

Another: already covered in Post #22,

Even in a real close quarters violent encounter, you will likely not want to be keeping one hand out of action.

See this. Pincus shows the use of two hands in the close quarters defensive encounter. He also uses an OWB holster. I'm not sure how front pocket carry would serve in such a situation.
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And since my proverbial white hat is as invisible as is everyone else's, I would really prefer that a stranger whom I am approaching not be more worried by the fact that he cannot see my hands.

There is the confidence issue, too. That's one of the things that one is taught in executive communications classes and training in public speaking and advanced negotiation techniques...not to mention body language analysis training.
 
I have just one thing to say ---
Air Force Gloves.

In warm weather - deal with pocket carry or deal with tucked shirt or untucked shirt.

Your choice.

All have advantages.
 
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I find that I can draw my LCP from my front pocket faster than anything off my hip if I have my hand in my pocket already.

That is a huge advantage to pocket carry to me; you can discreetly place your hand on your firearm and be prepared to draw very fast. At least that's how it works for me.
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Agreed.
 
In an ideal world, all the people who carry guns would be thin, young and athletic, have hips and butts to hold a gun belt and a heavy gun in the proper position. However, many of us are not so endowed and drift further from the ideal as we age. Therefore, it is a matter of compromises. I am not thin, young, nor athletic. I have never had hips or butt (to properly hold a gun belt), and have taken to wearing suspenders. Also, for six months of the year, I wear cargo shorts (cargo pants in the colder months), and a T shirt...no place to secret a gun. Therefore although it may not be viewed as the best or even a good way of concealed carry, my gun is carried in my right front pocket. I have no good way to carry other than in my pocket. Because it is about compromises after all.
 
Does it really matter how or where a weapon is carried, as long as you are practiced and confident with it?
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Of course!

Considerations include

  • How quickly one can draw
  • How quickly, or how readily, one can access the weapon from different positions--sitting, on the ground with someone on top, forced against a wall, with someone holding your arm, and so on
  • What, or who, it is that one "sweeps" with the gun when drawing
  • Issues arising from falling on the gun--small of the back carry is particularly risky in a fall
  • Concealment and printing issues

And then there are the issues addressed in the links provided by Glenn E. Meyer.
 
Considerations include
How quickly one can draw
How quickly, or how redily, one can access the weapon from different positions--sitting, on the ground with someone on top, forced against a wall, with someone holding your arm, and so on
What, or who, it is that one "sweeps" when drawing
Issues arising from falling on the gun--small of the back carry is particularly risky in a fall
Concealment issues
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As I said, there are always compromises that enter into consideration. It is going to be up to the carrier just what and how many their prefered method of carry, how many they are going to have to make.
 
Of course!
Considerations include
How quickly one can draw
How quickly, or how readily, one can access the weapon from different positions--sitting, on the ground with someone on top, forced against a wall, with someone holding your arm, and so on
What, or who, it is that one "sweeps" with the gun when drawing
Issues arising from falling on the gun--small of the back carry is particularly risky in a fall
Concealment and printing issues
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Aren't those considerations to be included in one's practice?
Isn't practice about a lot more than just shooting?
 
Aren't those considerations to be included in one's practice?
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I have no idea what you are trying to say. Those are factors that enter into the decisions about what to carry and how and where.

Isn't practice about a lot more than just shooting?
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Yes--it's about moving, drawing, shooting, reloading, addressing malfunctions.....

But one should not try practicing until one has trained.

People who have the idea that this or that firearm, carried in this or that place on the body in this or that kind of rig, is the best for them really need to go to a really good high-performance defensive pistol shooting class and find out what they can do with it--how quickly they can draw, present, and fire, while moving; how quickly they can get how many shots into the target area at different distances.

A two-day course will give a student a lot of information which to evaluate the validity of his choices, and then he or she can practice what he or she has learned.
 
I pocket carry 99% of the time. If you use a kydex trigger guard holster like the MIC or Aegis Armory Guardian it frees up a lot of room in your pocket for less printing or a bigger gun.
 
No, it's not the "best" as there is no "best" in anything. It is merely one method that may be better depending on the circumstance.

The "best" carry method is to carry in the method you choose and dress to conceal.
 
People who have the idea that this or that firearm, carried in this or that place on the body in this or that kind of rig, is the best for them really need to go to a really good high-performance defensive pistol shooting class and find out what they can do with it--how quickly they can draw, present, and fire, while moving; how quickly they can get how many shots into the target area at different distances.

A two-day course will give a student a lot of information which to evaluate the validity of his choices, and then he or she can practice what he or she has learned.
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I would surmise that this kind of training is really only valid for LEOs, or people that live in Detroit.

99.99% of us are never going to draw a weapon in defense.
 
I would surmise that this kind of training is really only valid for LEOs, or people that live in Detroit.
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Au contraire.

It is valid for anyone who wants to be prepared to defend against the carjacker, the muggers at the pump, the rapist in the parking garage, or the attackers outside the restaurant or the big box store.

99.99% of us are never going to draw a weapon in defense.
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I don't know about the number, but the event will be uncommon.

But it is very good idea to know what to do when it happens.

Otherwise, why carry?
 
I would surmise that this kind of training is really only valid for LEOs, or people that live in Detroit.
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Gee, folks like me are just special. I decided when I chose to carry an instrument of lethal force, I would know how to use it. YMMV.
 
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I would surmise that this kind of training is really only valid for LEOs, or people that live in Detroit.

Au contraire.

It is valid for anyone who wants to be prepared to defend against the carjacker, the muggers at the pump, the rapist in the parking garage, or the attackers outside the restaurant or the big box store.


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99.99% of us are never going to draw a weapon in defense.

I don't know about the number, but the event will be uncommon.

But it is very good idea to know what to do when it happens.

Otherwise, why carry?
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VERY uncommon, and, yes, I agree that you should know what you are doing with a lethal weapon, but too many of these cowboys are suggesting that you need to be trained for total urban warfare. I know how to draw my weapon, I know how it functions and I know how to shoot it very well, in spite of its relatively small size. I also know how to size up any public situation, and I am always aware of who's around me. That came from living in south Florida for almost 40 years. I've been gone from there for almost 30 years now in a small community, and although I carry, I have never had to confront anyone here.

What I think is silly are the bozos who think bare minimum training is "quick draw" and loading three magazines to put 27 holes in the attacker. That, to me, is a bit overboard.

I've drawn my weapon three times in 44 years; Each time the situation was defused. But, like I said, I'm not LEO and I don't live in Detroit.
 
Gee, folks like me are just special. I decided when I chose to carry an instrument of lethal force, I would know how to use it.
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Gosh. What a revolutionary concept: "Know how to use your weapon."

Of course you must know how to use your weapon. But the type of training one of the previous posters listed just sounds to me like training for an LEO or someone who has dealings in the ghetto.

You must always be aware of your surroundings and who's around you; That's only common sense. But training for an all-out gun battle is something I say (again) is NOT going to happen to 99.99% of us.

Quite frankly, after seeing some of the people who have purchased guns over the years, I think the ones that take the "Qwiks draw" shootem-up classes are looking for an excuse to have a confrontation and kill someone so they can be the big hero.
 
I've been pocket carrying Six days a week for Six years now.
The biggest reason I do is because when I started carrying I was super paranoid about printing and figured that even though it prints the same in the pocket that no one would assume it's a gun, especially the square print of my G26 with a LaserGuard in a soft holster.
The reason I continue to do so is that is so much easier to slip it in and out of my pocket on work days. I slip it in, in the morning. When I get in my truck I place it in the passenger seat under a hat. Unless I have to get out before I get to work or after it stays there until I arrive home at the end of the day. That's way easier than threading/unthreading a holster through my belt several times a day.
I have practiced drawing from the pocket and at Seven yards shooting at a plate on a plate rack I average 1.4 seconds.
Also it is a nice to be able to have a full grip on your gun and no one is the wiser if in a sticky situation.
Then
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Now
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gyvel said:
Gosh. I think the ones that take the "Qwiks draw" shootem-up classes are looking for an excuse to have a confrontation and kill someone so they can be the big hero.
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Really? Ive been practicing the draw for years and have never shot somebody and don't want to. So I guess everyone who participates in IDPA, USPSA etc... are just blood thirsty?
 
Of course you must know how to use your weapon. But the type of training one of the previous posters listed just sounds to me like training for an LEO or someone who has dealings in the ghetto.
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Not at all.

Should you ever have to use your gun outside the confines of your home, you will face a surprise, rapidly developing, and very violent attack, probably from within five or ten feet and from a direction that you did not expect. An ambush, frankly.

You will have to recognize the situation, draw quickly ( while moving off line if possible), and shoot effectively, also very quickly, at a moving target.

Forget practice at the square range. You will not be standing with your gun already out, facing a stationary target in front of you that you have already been planning to shoot, and shooting at a range of 21 feet.

But training for an all-out gun battle is something I say (again) is NOT going to happen to 99.99% of us.
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Training to stop or dissuade a car-jacker timely before sticks you with something pointy does not require training for an "all out gun battle."

And even the likelihood of occurrence is far less than remote, on any given day, and remote, in the time we have remaining here. But the consequences are extremely severe.

And should it happen, the probability that it was going to happen becomes moot. We have to think in terms of conditional probability, not cumulative probability.

The time to learn how to react is before the need presents itself.

I think the ones that take the "Qwiks draw" shootem-up classes are looking for an excuse to have a confrontation and kill someone so they can be the big hero.
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Your thinking reflects a lack of knowledge.

Anyone who has taken a good training class in defensive pistol shooting will leave with the stark realization that, if he or she ever does have to rely on the skills learned, the chance of getting out of the situation unharmed will be a lot lower than one would like.
 
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