Marty Picillo from Tallahassee, FL sends his “A Little Bit of Everything” ensemble for our Everyday Carry pocket dump.

He builds from the HK USP 9mm pistol.  That’s a lot of pistol, but Marty doesn’t share the rig in which he carries it.

No reloads, but he does carry a 5.11 Tactical penlight, and a pair of Microtech auto blades.

The Vargo flask is worrisome if he carries spirits in it.  Drinking and carrying generally don’t go together well.  Certainly beyond a single drink and even that isn’t recommended.  Carrying a whole flask?  That seems like a problem just waiting to happen.  To say nothing of the illegal transportation issues while driving.

Marty does send his own notes on this submission:

No, I don’t have a good reason for carrying 2 Microtechs other than that I can but they are both good at different tasks. I barely smoke nowadays but the Zippo is a lucky charm more than anything. The Tac-Light is cheap and built like a tank. I’ve carried a decent handful of guns of different sizes from an LCP to a full size 1911 and the USP is just the right fit for me. It’s accurate, light enough and like all HKs very well made. I added a bit of color to the slide because I was bored one night.

So, do you drink while packing?   Thoughts on that?  Am I all wet pooh-poohing it?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

32 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. I don’t do tobacco. I got more important things to waste my resources on.

    • I never smoked, not anything. I saw what it did to my father, and his eventual awful hideous death. Enough’s enough on that one.

      All forms of alcohol in moderation are just fine. Been drunk a few times, seriously polluted really. But that was in my youth, so, ’nuff said there too.

      Drugs as prescribed or not at all. I like my brain the way it has always worked best, unimpeded by damned fool chemical abuses.

      If you really need a vice, try sex. Certainly beats burning out brain cells with harsh chemicals.

  2. I know people who drink and carry. I also know people who drink and drive or get high and drive. Honestly i think youare a bad person if you drink and drive or high and drive. Its the same as pointing a loaded gun at strangers. I hope he does not drink and carry.

    Then again a lot of these everyday carries are either jokes or to show off something valuble

  3. Hrmm… the perennial argument about booze and guns.

    Meh. My position hasn’t changed. If you’re a responsible person then it doesn’t matter any more than having car keys in your pocket after a few drinks matters, which is to say it doesn’t matter at all.

    Now, to engage in drinking and shooting simultaneously, a activity I actually recommend if you drink since it changes things a bit and you should know how it affects your weapon handling, that’s a different kettle of fish that demands a higher level of care and attention.

    IMHO if you feel you can’t carry a gun in a holster after a drink or two then you either need to get rid of your guns or stop drinking. I’d recommend a cessation of drinking because getting rid of the gun doesn’t make all the bad people on the planet suddenly disappear.

    • I recall over a year ago your stance on this topic. Yes there are some folks that know when to stop, but most don’t. IMO, gun and alcohol don’t mix. On a side note, the sherrif for my county said he’s fine with licenced carriers having one drink for the night while out in public. The folks in my CCW renewal class had the biggest smiles when they heard that.

      • This is one of my problems with some of the arguments you see against marijuana legalization (I don’t partake in either alcohol or marijuana for the record)… and hypocrisy in general.

        People say you can drink without getting drunk but not use pot without getting high. The problem with that is most of those same people say if the drinks are out it’s time to put the guns up which is prima facie evidence that they are not “drinking to remain sober” but rather out to get hammered while shittalking the people who get high as if being a drunk is some moral high ground. Even if they’re not ‘out to get hammered’ they recognize that there’s a high probability that they themselves will become impaired to the point that they cannot safely, in their own mind, possess a firearm which strongly suggests that either they drink more than they’d like to admit, they can’t hold their booze and they know it or the whole point of drinking booze is some level intoxication (which is probably why there’s no non-alcoholic hard liquor and NA beer sells like shit) and they understand this.

        Further, it’s rather damning evidence that those same people claiming to be responsible for their own safety are not actually anywhere near as personally responsible as they’d like to claim. If they were as responsible as they like to say they are then they wouldn’t be getting drunk in the first place because by their own argument, even if being drunk responsibly is possible, they’re still irresponsible for getting drunk and responsibly putting up their gun because now they’re disarmed which is part of how they define being personally responsible for their own safety.

        Either alcohol and guns simply don’t mix and therefore responsible people refrain from consuming alcohol or guns and booze are acceptable provided you don’t ACT in ways that are unsafe. To say otherwise while preaching personal responsibility and also imbibe makes you an asshole of the highest order IMHO. To do this while complaining about potheads makes you a hypocritical asshole of the highest order, again IMHO.

        It’s also interesting to note how many gun owners drink, act this way, AND support DUI for someone who breaks no other laws and harms no one.

        Obviously this doesn’t apply to everyone but there are quite a few who fit all these categories.

  4. Guns and alcohol don’t mix has long been the rallying cry of anti gunners. It had kept us from carrying at local restaurants that might have beer on tap for many years in Virginia, any similar phrase makes me cringe. It is a reminder of the many years of having my rights denied every time I hear it. That said slamming back booze while carrying is a poor choice and in many places illegal.

  5. Drinking and carrying is not a great idea although I’ve done it when camping (not much of the former). But maybe he has friends that appreciate that he is prepared to offer defense or a stiff drink should they need it?

  6. Nevermind every comment so far by the fudds…
    That’s a cool copper microtech….. And of course the USP being THE greatest pistol design….. EVER!!!
    THIS GUY KNOWS WHAT REAL WEAPONS ARE….. GOOD JOB!!!!!

    • Although, It’s obvious he’s a drunkard….
      I would advise trying some smoking pleasure instead of that rot gut alcohol….
      Oh well…. Just my opinion…. If being a drunkard is your thing, then I say LET FREEDOM RING!

        • Nobody turns into someone completely different when they’re drunk.

          *Nobody*.

          Alcohol is a magical chemical drug that strips away all pretense in human personality. It exposes the true, core, personality.

          It’s simple. ‘g. washington’ is simply an asshole. When he’s sober, he puts on an act to cover it up.

          (The voice of experience. I’m a mean, petty, vindictive guy who hasn’t had a drink in about 17 years. Get me drunk, I’m an ‘Instant Asshole’…) 😉

    • Brown or clear? Are you some kind of an alcohol bigot?

      ETOH is ETOH, no matter the color or flavor. The proof is the only measure.

      Hard apple cider or an old single-malt, Chef don’t judge… 😉

      • This is shown by science to be untrue. Different liquors affect the body in very different ways.

        Scotch for instance has an entire laboratory apparatus attached to trying to find out how it works simply to try to get rid of the need for blending. 40 years of bench chemistry yields few answers which is why a distillery has a professional who does the blending to get the desired product for sale.

        Chemically speaking Scotch and other brown liquors are full of higher esters and alcohols, some toxic to the point that if Scotch or Bourbon were invented today it’s almost a sure thing that the sale of such a *dangerous* concoction would be illegal the same as if aspirin were invented today. These tasty additives are thought to be why cheap brown liquor gives one a more significant hangover as compared to their more expensive (and multiply distilled) cousins. Much of their initial content is removed via proper distillery. That theory is currently being tested.

        Tequila OTOH is observed to have very different physiological effects on people including inducing mild hypoglycemia in normal people and potentially dangerous hypoglycemia in diabetics who drink it without eating. No rise and drop like beer or other liquors, just a drop. Why? No one has the first fucking clue at this point. This is currently a matter of significant inquiry in the scientific community to see what’s behind it and if it can be isolated for medical purposes including the treatment of certain parasitic infections.

        • Inneresting.

          The esters you speak of are known collectively by distillers as ‘Fusel oils’.

          It’s pretty much the stuff below and above the boiling point of the ETOH. Distillers can ‘tweak’ their distillate by deliberately allowing those contaminates to be carried through and into the final product by watching the temperature of the steam.

          Fun, toxic stuff like methanol (in fermented fruits) and isopropanol. One of the reason fruits have a harder hangover than grains.

          Plants are naturally extremely prolific organic chemical factories.

          In my ‘drinking daze’ I geeked out on the technology of drinking alcohol…

        • Plants are also exceedingly good at producing some very interesting isomers due to the fact that biologic systems are actually pretty poor at producing exactly what they need the way we do in a lab.

          I’ve never really looked at how that works in relation to booze but it’s a known issue for some people with caffeine. They can drink Coke or take NoDoze all day, give them a cup of coffee though, particularly one from a breed known to produce caffeine isomers in greater than a certain percentage abundance and it’s like you injected the person with meth because they’re SUPER sensitive to that exact compound/shape.

  9. I like USPs but the controls remind me of those senior phones with the giant buttons.

    You can’t drink and carry in TN or you lose your permit. Blood alcohol level doesn’t matter like driving. You take one sip, you lose your permit if caught.

  10. A glass of wine or a beer with dinner? No problem. Hammered anywhere except home or hunting camp is a problem. Even then, leave the firearms alone.

  13. All he needs is a bottle cap opener and he’s ready to party any way you want. Lucky zippo, yeah it probably lit up some stuff that made you feel lucky. This isn’t the old days, carrying a flask and gun is a no no. Although, I like your style. More than getting pulled over carrying a gun and alcohol I’d be more worried about having to use that gun and getting caught with the flask on me. Not a good look for the defense team if you know what I mean. Serious question though, why don’t any of these everyday carry pocket dumps of the day ever have a man throwing out a Trojan or Magnum? STI Trojan and 44 mag of course, get your mind out of the gutter

  14. I have often wondered how many firearm deaths ALSO involved the use of alcohol/drugs. I have never seen any statistics or studies on that issue.

  15. I don’t drink anymore either. Not because of any anti alcohol (for whatever reason) mantra, but simply because I had an artificial heart valve installed 10 years ago, and because it’s artificial, I have to remain on rat poison (warfarin) for the rest of my life. Warfarin or Coumadin and alcohol are a bad mix, because alcohol potentiates the anti clotting actions of the drug, and I’ve no desire to bleed out through my eyeballs. Another reason I carry the SWAT-T kit around with me. One definite advantage to quitting drinking, is I’ve a hundred or more dollars to spend on guns and ammo.
    Legislation concerning alcohol consumption and Concealed Carry varies from State to State, but the general point behind it is to prevent impairment while carrying a weapon. Suffice it to say, I’d rather err on the side of caution and avoid it.
    Ditch the Zippo. Ever had one leak in your pocket? The chemical 2nd degree burn isn’t pleasant. Carry a Bic or a Plasma Arc instead.

  16. I’m a snob, admittedly. I only drink the quality drinks, like good Irish Whiskey, good Scotch, & good Polish Vodka. I also carry top quality firearms. And, like “Ole Blue Eyes” said ” I feel sorry for someone who doesn’t drink. When he gets out of bed in the morning, that’s as good as he’s going to feel all day. ” And, as Deano said “I don’t drink alcohol, I drink distilled spirits. Therefore, I’m a spiritualist.” Also, if one is going to loose control because he drank the contents of that little bitty flask, then he has a serious drinking problem. Seriously, it’s the individual, not the gun & not the drink.

  17. He would be better prepared with an extra mag instead of an extra knife, flask and “lucky lighter”. Fooling yourself doesn’t degrade opposition.

Comments are closed.