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Warhammer wrote:The very idea of being made by a thief who will then confront you to take you gun is ludicrous. If a thief thinks you are aremed, he will simply avoid you. Guns are WAY to easy to get for a BG to risk a drrect confrontation just to get another gun. Predators attack the defenseless, they don't go looking for the target that is most likely to fight back.

I agree that the CHL Instructor who gave the treatise on the evils "indirect" carry was expressing opinion and overlooked the many situtation when it is actually the best solution available. Also, he seemed to assume that you would have absolutely no way to stop the confrontation from actually getting to the point that you're handing over your fanny pack. Apparently, he doesn't talk about situational awareness in his classes.

I read the instructor's opinion of "indirect carry" as disfavoring such off body carry methods as a day timer, purse, or other container that is not actually worn on the body. If that's what he meant, I agree with him that these carry methods have very strong downsides and should be avoided whenever better methods are available. I don't consider a fanny pack that is worn on the body to be in this category.

I use a fanny pack (which was custom made to my discreet specs and doesn't resemble any of the mass produced gun pouches) anytime it would be difficult to otherwise conceal a gun big enough to have confidence in if I need to use it. That being said, I also am not dating or looking for a career as a fashion model, and I really don't care if somebody thinks it looks goofy. It works for me.

I don't ever use off body carry, but I also won't say it never has a valid use for anyone. Some women's dress requirements and preferences don't leave a lot of other viable options open in some situations. (This disclaimer gives me at least a small chance of getting away with a survivable number of scorch and scratch marks from our distaff members after all the smoke clears. )

I will say that if purse carry is practiced, the situational awareness radar has to be kept constantly on high because in any confrontation, separation of the woman and the purse usually happens by surprise in the first second or two. This leaves an armed attacker and a disarmed victim - a less than ideal situation in tactical terms.

2crazy2carry wrote:My CHL instructor was very wise when he said never carry indirectly and alwasy have the gun carried out of sight and choose a carry method that is out of sight as well.

If you carry in glove box and a car jacker comes up and sticks a gun in your face and kindly asks you to test drive you fine automobile, its highly unlikely he is then going to turn his attention for 5-10secs to allow you to get into you glove box. So carry the gun on you.

I asked him about fanny packs. He said he carried that way for a while til he realized the weakness of the carry strategy.

Carrying in a fanny pack leaves you open to two vulnerabilities:


1) Educated criminals that know you might be carrying in your fanny pack. They will still try to rob you as they still have the element of surprise, and your element that you might be carrying is now more obvious. They will make seperating you from your fanny pack and priority and they will relish in the idea of a free gun.
2) If you have an uneducated robber, still, do you think he is not going to want the fanny pack? If you are being robbed he will demand your belongings and I do not see how he would not want the fanny pack. Basically you leaving a slimmer chance to actually get to use and deploy your weapon in a robbery situation.

Carry concealed and keep you chosen method concealed. if you are seperated from you valuables like watch, wallet, and fanny pack, you have a window to regain control if you toss everything on the ground in a mock compliance and back up telling the guy you dont want trouble he can have it all. When he goes to pick it up you can then side step and quickly withdraw your HIDDEN weapon.

Having a gun in a fanny pack makes your gun unvisible, but its not hidden, the object that contains your gun is in clear view and in the immediate attention of potential criminals making it harder to access the weapon without being noticed.

Good luck with the fanny pack, but i dont think its a realistic way to carry if your serious about not being caught off guard.

When CHL instructors teach stuff like this, the adoring newbies in the class look at this godlike figure who actually carries a gun almost worshipfully and swallow almost anything he can come up with. Very seldom does anyone ask, "How many encounters with violent street criminals have you successfully managed or investigated?" The answer in many cases would likely be revealing and would provide useful insight into how much credibility to give to the instructor's musings on subjects outside of the CHL curriculum.

I sure hope nobody in the class takes your instructor's advice to dump all the goodies on the ground when the bad guy demands them. These guys are on a hair trigger and a power trip. Defying them that way has an excellent chance of resulting in the victim being shot - repeatedly.

Virtually everyone is aware that some fanny packs contain guns, and some don't, just like some bulges under shirts are 1911's and some are cell phones and medical devices. LEO's who actually do have experience with bad guys often choose this carry method, especially in warm weather, because it solves the problem of how to effectively conceal a gun large enough to be of some comfort if things go south. They know that some good guys and some bad guys will suspect they're carrying a gun, and they could care less because they're legal, reasonably discreet, and it doesn't matter. The same is true for knowledgeable and licensed non-LEO's.

It's true that bad guys will recognize a fanny pack as a possible repository for a weapon. This is particularly true when the sag of the pouch and the apparent strain on the wide strap make it clear that there are either gold bars or a big gun in there.

It is also true that bandits' occupational choice requires they be astute at choosing victims who aren't carrying. The guys who fail this test end up with abbreviated careers and in the news as a warning to others.

I've literally seen the pre-approach "danger scan" work in real time on more than one occasion when a bad guy's target scanning glance locked on the fanny pack and he decided he didn't need to ask me for the time after all.

Anyone who has a defensive strategy that depends on getting to his gun after he's let a bad guy select, approach, interview, position, and confront him and has actually been robbed doesn't have a fanny pack problem - he's got a crime dynamics knowledge issue and a situational awareness problem.

zaroffhunts wrote:

CC Italian wrote:I got one from Galco and it is awesome! I took it with me when I went on a camping trip across Texas and it was great with those long rides. I don't care what it looks like when I am backpacking and camping in Texas. Gives me quick access to my Glock 20 when out in the woods and it is comfortable.

Wearing one afield is much different than in the city. Sew on an outdoorsy patch and the tree huggers don't look twice.

If you select the outdoorsy patch carefully, the tree huggers in the city don't look twice either.

Don't ask me how I know this.