Carrying concealed: some thoughts on clothing selection and other matters

Guns Magazine, June, 2009 by Clint Smith

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Handguns are tools of convenience. We do not carry them because they are the "all effective fight stoppers." We carry handguns because they will work defensively if they are shot with precision by competent shooters who place projectiles well on target. Also, the wise handgun shooter will do this always understanding his handgun might not end the current problem unless it is applied with great resolve and skill.

I have handguns I carry everyday and I like them for both defense and sport shooting, but I also clearly (and I think correctly) believe handguns might not solve my problem in a fight. The concealed handgun carrier needs to understand that--at best--they have to perform at a mediocre level of skill. Yeah, I know we're all going to be magnificent, except, why are so many rounds fired in fights yet the percentage of hits so low? If you train up to magnificence and actually put out mediocre in a fight, chances are you'll win. Better yet, if you apply the fundamentals of marksmanship and basic tactics, you'll have an even stronger probability of winning.

Concealed Carry

All of this skill and handgun stuff in a concealed carry sense is based on the premise you might have an element of surprise on your side in the fight, or at best the fact your threat doesn't know you have a gun until you deploy it. Much of what your threat knows about you is a perception based on looking at you, how you are physically carrying yourself, how you're dressed, etc. In fact, if they knew you had a gun, they probably wouldn't attack you except in the case of a whack job.

I like having the element of surprise and dress down to keep it, I avoid photographer-type vests and butt packs and NRA hats and the like. Bluntly, bad guys may be stupid, but I often doubt they are dumb and they--like us as gun people--have a pretty good clue about who might have a gun. There is no reason to think they don't know how guns are carried and read gun magazines or surf the information highways to find the best ways to use a gun.

I am not much of a clothes rack, but I do in fact always look for something that hides and conceals well and still allows clean, uncluttered access to the handgun. EOTAC is relatively new to the clothing marketplace, but has experienced staff and rock-solid designs for clothing to help conceal firearms without the wearer looking like a bag of day-old used diapers.

The EOTAC field jacket is a bit of a misnomer as it works and looks much better than normal field jackets. The 502 is sort of a reincarnated 1950s jacket, yet the design is really helpful and functional for concealed carry. The front top half zips to close and hold the jacket shut and the lower half, sans zippers, hangs well to not only protect the handgun, but also to conceal it well.

In a strong-side belt carry or inside the waistband mode, the bottom half sweeps clear on the drawing stroke to allow access and deployment correctly. Like all clothes today it has more pockets than I can fill up and if I did fill 'em I couldn't carry the thing, but joking aside, it has lots of places to carry stuff like cell phones or spare ammo. The field jacket comes in three color options, with the dark and light brown being the lower profile colors in my opinion.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This is probably my favorite of the EOTAC line as it is a very low profile piece of gear. Regardless of what people say, I think field jackets and vests can draw attention to the wearer or at least they do in my world.

I like the 501 because it wears well for concealment yet with practice allows for a very smooth and slick drawing stroke. The bottom of the heavy and well-made shirt has side vents making access to the handgun or spare ammunition pretty easy. In the pocket mode, it has a left sleeve pocket for smaller items you can securely zip in place. The shirt is available in four low-profile muted colors.

Steel

Since we are on the subject of concealed carry, I have two other suggestions. First off, I acquired a new pistol from Luke Volkmann (yes it's a 1911). The craftsmanship is excellent and the pistol does exactly what a concealed carry pistol is supposed to--always works. Volkmann builds several versions and will even do custom work, but what I like most of all is his guns work and they are not overblown marketing mass-made-desert-warrior-operator-digital-gigabyte things, they are truly just fighting handguns.

Ms. Alicia Hunt of Benchmade Knives helped me choose the Benchmade Black Class 9051AFOII knife (all Benchmade stuff is color coded and numbered), which has been extensively evaluated by the Army Evaluation Task Force. The Army can test the 9051 better than me, but for my money the 9051 passed the Clint evaluation pretty well. I am not a knife fighting guy but the auto release is a functional favorite of mine for those interested in concealed carry of personal defense weapons because it can be operated and opened with one hand or either hand as need be. Knives may or may not be as good as guns, then again knives never run out of amino ... just a thought.