Yes, you have to move a concealing garment out of the way to draw a hidden gun.baldeagle wrote:The biggest problem I have is having to be concealed. I carry a Sig P239 in .357 Sig in an IWB holster. In warm weather I wear it tucked or with the shirt untucked. In cold weather my coat covers it. In either case, I can't just draw and fire like I do at IDPA matches. If it's tucked, I have to rip the shirt out with my left hand and draw the weapon with my right. If it's under a coat, even if it's unzipped, I have to move the coat out of the way to draw. If it's zipped (which is usually the case), I have to unzip the coat to get to the weapon.
Mind you, I'm glad I live in a state where carrying a weapon is not a (unconstitutional) crime. But I would sure prefer open carry. I'd still carry in a IWB holster, and I seriously doubt one out of ten would even notice that I was armed. I once walked around for hours in a place with 30.06 signs (hospital) with an empty holster, and not even the security guards questioned me about it. (I locked the pistol in the safe in the vehicle, along with the extra mag, but was too lazy to remove the holster.)
The reality is, for most of us speed isn't much of a possibility. We have to offset that with a high level of awareness (I'm unzipping my coat because I smell trouble) or, if "surprised", use subterfuge (misdirection, seeming meekness or fear, toss the wallet several yards away, etc.) to lull the attacker into giving us the extra time we need to draw and get the weapon on target or studiously avoid places that trouble frequents (my first line of defense.) On long trips, my pistol is between my legs, holstered in the seat holster, so I can draw quickly and unobtrusively. On "regular" days, I'm armed, but I'm not going to be winning any quick draw contests.
There's a reason LEO's open carry OWB, but even the practiced ones will be hard pressed to get under 2 seconds to draw and fire. That's why they usually already have their retention strap unbuttoned and their hand on the grip before they even approach a potential problem. I don't delude myself into thinking that will ever be the case with me.
I don't see that as a big deal. Off duty LEO's do it all the time.
A fast draw becomes increasingly important as distance from the threat decreases. Situational awareness before a threat gets close is much more important than draw speed. If the threat is so close that only a lightning draw will bail you out, you're almost certainly in a position to get seriously hurt or killed anyway, even if you succeed in drawing and firing in the blink of an eye. Many people don't immediately go down when shot, and lots of them totally lose their sense of humor about the situation. They'll do anything they can to hurt or kill you before they bleed out. Getting shot or stabbed by someone who's already fatally wounded doesn't hurt any less, and ties are a bad thing in a gunfight.
How quickly you can execute the draw is a function of clothing selection, technique, and practice. I find drawing from an unzipped jacket is very close to as fast as drawing from open carry, provided the jacket selection and technique are matched.
A tucked shirt is another matter. It's comparatively very slow to draw from. Undershirt carry on the side of the chest falls into the same category. These methods are generally used when deep concealment is the top priority and the expected threat level is low. They have their place and I use them myself on occasion, but they're not what I would use in a dicey neighborhood.
Even if Texas allowed open carry, I would probably still carry concealed almost all the time. Surprise is a major tactical plus that I wouldn't want to give away, even though open carry is more comfortable and just a bit faster. It's also a temptation to have some nut or thug try to wrestle your gun away because it's there. And walking around with a Level III holster isn't my idea of something I'm fond of doing unless I'm being paid to do it.
