Winter is here. Time for wearing a heavy parka when leaving the house, whether for a walk or going somewhere in my car. Carrying a concealed gun in a holster on my belt, or in a pocket holster is not a very practical way to stay ready and able to defend myself. One option could be to place the gun in the pocket of the jacket or parka, then when I get to where I am going (where I would normally remove my parka) going to a safe place like a stall in a restroom and transferring the gun back to my pocket or belt holster. But another option which would work would be to carry a discrete "murse" of some type. Many, many years ago I bought what they called a "cross carry bag" from Coronado Leather (I don't believe that they make this product anymore), which is a flat leather "murse" type bag that is designed to be worn across the body so that there is no concern about the bag slipping off your shoulder.
Before I could legally carry concealed I bought this bag, and at first wondered how likely it would be to trigger LEO interest in me. So I wore it a number of times, both in warm and cold weather, using this bag for my sunglasses, cell phone, wallet, keys but no gun. Never once, even at places such as a state capitol building with uniformed officers at the entrances, did anyone ever stop me or seem interested in what I might have in the bag. I became convinced that should I have chosen to do so, I could carry a gun confidently in that manner. The biggest or only negative is that since the bag is not attached to one's body as a holster on a belt is, it could be inadvertently left somewhere like on the back of a chair in a restaurant, or on the coat hook in a toilet stall.
Now that winter is here, I dragged that cross carry bag out of my huge bin of holsters and related gear, and am considering using it instead of a regular holster. It still has the problem of being accessible if wearing heavy gloves, but no more so than if I had the gun in a holster. Its just a matter of whether or not its a better solution than using the pocket of the coat instead. I'm still undecided on that issue, and would welcome comments.
Before I could legally carry concealed I bought this bag, and at first wondered how likely it would be to trigger LEO interest in me. So I wore it a number of times, both in warm and cold weather, using this bag for my sunglasses, cell phone, wallet, keys but no gun. Never once, even at places such as a state capitol building with uniformed officers at the entrances, did anyone ever stop me or seem interested in what I might have in the bag. I became convinced that should I have chosen to do so, I could carry a gun confidently in that manner. The biggest or only negative is that since the bag is not attached to one's body as a holster on a belt is, it could be inadvertently left somewhere like on the back of a chair in a restaurant, or on the coat hook in a toilet stall.
Now that winter is here, I dragged that cross carry bag out of my huge bin of holsters and related gear, and am considering using it instead of a regular holster. It still has the problem of being accessible if wearing heavy gloves, but no more so than if I had the gun in a holster. Its just a matter of whether or not its a better solution than using the pocket of the coat instead. I'm still undecided on that issue, and would welcome comments.