Pocket carry now

Like a lot of guys, I wear dress pants to the office almost every day of the week (thank God for casual Fridays). I also carry a gun every day of the week. While I do have plenty of carry options, both IWB and OWB, for my guns, I often find myself utilizing pocket carry when I’m at work.

The cut of the pocket opening on dress pants makes it much easier to draw my firearm than the cut of the pocket opening on a pair of jeans. Unfortunately, that’s where the benefits seem to end for me.

Dress pants are generally thinner and lighter than other pants types and tac-pants just wouldn’t look right for me personally at work. I’ve tried a variety of pocket carry holsters and even different styles and weights of dress pants, but I just can’t seem to find the right pant-and-pocket-holster combo.

Do you pocket carry in dress pants? If so, what setup have you found to be most beneficial for you?

Logan Metesh is a firearms historian and consultant who runs High Caliber History LLC. Click here for a free 3-page download with tips about caring for your antique and collectible firearms.

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67 COMMENTS

    • Let you carry a gun? Well I don’t remember asking permission. When I worked for someone else I assumed my rights we’re still in effect and I always carried. Now that I’m an owner of a different business I carry and expect my employees do as well. I don’t know for sure since I never asked them but I assume they do. I don’t care what you do at work as long as you do your job. I don’t care what you do after work because your private life is yours to live as you see fit.
      As for how I carry at work it’s pocket carry. Nobody knows it’s there.

    • I suppose if I delved deeply enough into my employee handbook I could find something prohibiting my from having my mouse gun in my pocket as well as the SP101 backup in the backpack under my desk…
      Dunno if “hey, I didn’t see that part in there” would keep me from getting fired but since concealed means concealed I just don’t worry about it.
      🤠

      • Ours prohibits “weapons” which is ironic since we have xacto knives and scissors everywhere…. but the open door resides with the last bit that states “unless otherwise allows by state law”.

        I consider my CHL a State right as well as a natural right.

        • Ours allows customers to open/concealed, but employees on or off the clock, in or out of uniform, is a termination.

          LCP in a cargo pocket has worked well. Also tossed a G26 in a pocket holster in there, but the weight smacks my knee and rips it up.

    • There are employers that let you carry a gun? =P

      I’m more shocked that there are employers who institute dress codes. Our CEO shows up to company meetings in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. And in the warmer seasons, I do as well.

    • Logan, what TYPE of gun do you carry?

      I’ve pocket carried almost exclusively. I didn’t like any holster option I tried, so I made my own out of ‘tooling leather’ from a local hobby store.

      LCR-Jframe, is as big as I’ve been able to get away with. Pocket 380’s are better. I carry a Black Widow most of the time now. In my experience, weight matters more than size. 15oz is pushing the limits of comfortable pocket carry for me.

      Others have said this, but no one notices. I could put a brick in my pocket and not get asked about it…

    • My last job was in the worst area of Philadelphia. When my boss closed up for the night, he had a gun on the hip. So I carried for a few years no worries. When a new employee book came out- it mentioned that you could carry if authorized by management. I never asked. Funny- when they laid me off during a slow period- they called me on a Sunday. I wonder if they knew I carried and thought a call would be better than escorting me out.

      My current job is in New Jersey- few can get CCW there- I’m debating carrying some mace.

  2. Sig P238, Pinky Extension, Buffalo Bore 100gr Hardcast
    One of black arches single clip holster, with tuckable loops
    Appendix position.

    for when I’m feeling pretty.

  3. I do not pocket carry in dress pants because it is too obvious to me, especially when sitting and the fabric pulls tight. Instead I carry a BG 380 in a Kusiak IWB tuckable holster at 3:30-4:30 position. With a black belt the holster clip is inconspicuous. If that is not good enough, you can clip it on the pants inside the belt. I’ve got a Pistolwear Trump Card holster I can wear for deep concealment but haven’t used it in a long time.

  5. Slacks, tucked in shirt, XDS in stealthgear holster. Clothes fit. Nothing baggy or sloppy.

  6. I just got a both an Andrew’s Custom Leather double Spring Break and a single Monarch with 4 speed loader pouches on the other side a week ago. I was very surprised to find that the Monarch sufficiently conceals my 5.25″ .357 that I have been wearing it under puffy loose shirts. The carry policy was never discussed at my new job so I just assumed that I was supposed to. I find the shoulder holster much more comfortable for heavy guns than my old OWBs.

      • That fellow does look plucked right from the ’70s. Maybe coulda been a gung-ho officer on Barney Miller. The double Spring Break with two different guns feels could result in disastrous indecision even though one does feel well and comfortably armed. For sitting and driving I sure like the Monarch, as it makes a large revolver feel almost forgettable.

    • It’s not like you’d be the only one doing it. I know someone (not me!) that carries at his office, a federal building with no armed security.

  9. I work in a “gun free zone” (Higher Ed) and can’t carry at work.

    As soon as I get home, I get my S&W 649 out of the quick-access safe and put it in my pocket in a Mika pocket holster.

    Mika makes pocket holsters with a choice of curved or straight bottoms for use with dress pants.

  10. I carry my Taurus TCP .380 in a back pocket holster. The outside profile is firm leather and presents an impression like a wallet. My G26 is larger, so I usually leave that in the car center console when at work.

    Many people here do carry, including the president of the division, it’s officially prohibited. So if I come back from lunch and have forgotten to replace my G26 in the console, I’ll slip it into my briefcase when I get back to my office. It would be noticeable in my slacks pocket to someone who knows what they’re looking at, and I don’t want any trouble with these people.

    • +1 for the TCP in back pocket in a holster that prints like a wallet. I also switched to a money clip so that anyone observant enough to see me handling my wallet or prox card wouldn’t wonder why I carry 2 wallets.

  11. Carry almost everyday for the past 5 years in dress pant pockets. I use a Ruger LCR 357 in a DeSantis Nemesis or Super Fly pocket holster. I get normal dress pants and look for deep pockets. The deeper the pocket the better it hides even when the pocket is tight. The way the holster makes the gun sit in the pocket it does not print at all. Even my coworkers at work who have been trained to look for signs of CCW can never tell when I am carrying or in which pocket when I test them. The deep pockets are the key to hide the print from the grip. I also find it much easier to draw from them fast then shallow pockets.

  12. Springfield MC Operator with Inforce APL in a JM Custom Kydex IWB.
    Untucked button up shirt and a pair of black jeans. I love living in the UP.

  13. it will be a NAA .22 mini, with the folding grip, I’m also at a place the forbids carry, always have the xds9 in the dash holster….

  14. I pocket carry a Kahr PM9 in khaki dress pants every day.
    Does it print? Yes.
    Does anyone notice? Never.
    People are pretty oblivious.

  15. “How Do You Dress at the Office for Concealed Carry?”

    I don’t dress at the office. I dress at home.

    • One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know.

      – Groucho Marx

  16. I sold insurance for Prudential 25 years ago. Last “office” job. Would I ask permission now?!? Nope…

  17. I opted for ankle carry on those days requiring dress up. Crossbreed holster, Shield 9mm.
    It’s not comfortable, but sure is comforting!

  18. When I dress nicely, I wear a suit or sport jacket which easily conceals a full-size semi-automatic pistol on my hip (inside waistband) at the 3:00 position.

    If I could not wear a suit or sport jacket, I would carry a Ruger LCP or Taurus TCP in a pocket holster in my front pocket and keep a full size semi-auto pistol in a backpack, briefcase, lunch carrier, notebook computer bag, document satchel, or similar back at my desk/workstation. If an attacker strikes in your immediate vicinity, you do the best you can with your LCP or TCP. If the attacker strikes such that you can get to your full size semi-auto pistol, all the better.

    Another option if you cannot wear a suit or sport jacket is to wear a SmartCarry “holster” which enables you to keep a full-size handgun in your groin area — basically between the centerline of the front of your body and your front pockets. Pretty much all pants have pleats in that area which hides the handgun quite nicely. The only down sides: bending over can be uncomfortable and it traps heat/moisture in your groin area. It sure does conceal though.

  19. I usually still rock a IWB with dress pants. I just get nice ones and have them altered by a decent tailor. Brooks Brothers usually does the alterations for free if you buy the pants from them.

    Failing that it’s a shoulder holster.

  20. Back when I used to work in an office I carried in my back pocket in a wallet looking holster. I kept my actual billfold in my front pocket.

  21. Officially: work forbids employees. But customers can carry (no signs on our doors)

    Unofficially: when I’m “not at work” I wear pretty relaxed clothes, untucked polos and jeans with an XDS in a Concealment Express iwb at 3 oclock.

  22. Detroit Holster “Johnny R” carrying a Walther PPS in the front pocket of Jos. A. Bank chinos. Works best with pleated pants.

  23. Sig 238 in a sticky holster, all in the back right pocket. Just in case anyone decided to check out my backside, it looks exactly like a wallet. Previously a Sig 938 in an Aliengear tuckable iwb with a dress shirt tucked over it.

  25. I have to wear slacks and a dress shirt in an office.
    If I have to wear a jacket (rarely) it is Stealth Gear Ventcore Mini
    I love that holster.
    But I can’t get a shirt to stay tucked all day long.
    So most always it is Kangaroo Carry.
    Is it fast? No
    But no one can tell, at all.
    Wear it pretty much Mon – Fri. 8 – 5.

  27. Button Down Shirt untucked with jeans LC9s using a plain Galco IWB holster. Casual here and our employee handbook was changed to only talk about open carry, so we are good to go concealed.

  29. I’ve never tried it but I’ve been told that if you go naked, your coworkers will likely never even see the weapon! 😉

    • Depends on where you live. In some states, where the signs have the force of law, carrying past them is illegal. In others, the sign is no more than a request. All the owner or manager can do is order you to leave (or fire you). As long as you comply, you haven’t violated any law.

  32. Last office gig, The gun stayed in the car till clock out time 75% of the time. The other 25% I chose The Miami Vice approach. Kel Tec PF-9 in a Uncle Mike shoulder holster. Summer weight Sports jacket or Buttoned sweater. For a small pocket sized gun, try also the EAA ADBO holster. It is a fake cell phone belt carry thing. http://eaacorp.com/gun_accessories/index.php/abdo.html

  33. XDS 9 in a DeSantis Superfly. Disappears in my wool slacks at work and is passable in my Dockers khakis.

  35. I wear wrangler Riggs pants for work, which have large cargo pockets on the side. In my strong side pocket resides a sig p938 in a papa customs holster, with a custom piece of foam covered in epoxy i made attached to the front of the holster to keep it from tipping in the pocket. The holster has a hook that snags the pocket on the way out, which pops it off the gun during the draw. Practice lots, and it works great. Have worn it for almost 3 years at work and no one has ever known.

  36. Taurus TCP in a hard leather wallet type holster in right rear pocket or in an Uncle Mike’s pocket holster in the inner left breast pocket of a suit or sport jacket. A couple of times I have tried a Sig P238 and even a Ruger SR9c IWB at 5 pm with a jacket but the printing is a problem.

  37. Bugbite Neoprene ankle Sleeve/Holster with dress pants. Works well with my LCPII and recently switched to a Kimber Micro nightfall. Barely noticeable in dress pants

  38. I work from home and wear PJs most of the morning and change to workout clothes later.

    No problem with concealed carry with my wife who also works from home and carries.

  39. I wear dress pants to work also. During the fall/winter I started to wear a sweater over a dress shirt and carry IWB with the sweater concealing. Moderate temps ( early spring, early fall) I wear a sweater vest so I can carry IWB. Warmer weather I pocket or ankle carry.

    • Man. Rockin’ a sweater vest is pretty baller. Im not sure I could pull it off. I was thinking of picking up some blazers for this sort of strategy. I used to avoid tucking my shirt out of rebellion, but now I feel like I have to soon.

  40. Standard Glock 43 in a Galco elastic belly band. Gun sits about 4 o’clock, IWB, no one has a clue. Tug the shirt w/left, draw with right, smooth, even when coming from beneath a suit/sport jacket. Dress clothes or casual, most of the summer I’m in t-shirt and swim trunks, the rest of the time a suit ot tux. I have it on 15 hours per day most of the time, don’t even feel it. Don’t carry extra mag yet but may work on that at some point.

  41. Ankle carry. It’s less than ideal, but better than printing and getting in trouble with the boss. I’ve tried to discreetely carry a handful of other ways but I’m just not built the right way to pull it off without it being really obvious that I’m carrying. But an ankle holster and a half break pants cuff gets the job done.

  42. Companies like 5.11 make “dress” versions of their Tac pants without the cargo pockets and other miscellaneous attachments, but many still have extra deep pockets and are of heavier material and have bigger belt loops than regular dress pants. Try those for pocket carry.

  43. I pretend to be an attorney in real life, so I wear suits. Mine are made by hand to my specific measurements in Hong Kong (I’m a free trade globalist, what can I say?).

    I either carry a Smith & Wesson Performance Center 642 with Altamont combat grips and a carbon fiber trigger guard in my left breast suit pocket, or I carry a P238 with the 7-round extension IWB with a custom leather holster.

    On the weekends I like to carry bigger guns and dress around them. Usually skinny jeans and a t-shirt (all black, all the time, naturally) with a belly band low on the waist and a P220 or 1911 stuffed down there at 5 o’clock.

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