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Last night I happened on a big box of photos. Looking at pics of my ex from back in the day I suddenly remembered why I got started on an odyssey that ended really, really badly. The second Mrs. F was quite the babe. No surprise there. Physical beauty is an evolutionary trait. Not to put too fine a point on it: bad genes come in nice packages.  Note to Sam: just sayin’. And the reason I’m sayin’ it: the [married] shooter above is all that and a bag of chips. But her message couldn’t be more wrong. Off-body carry is the worst of all possible carry methods, save open carrying in a Newtown Connecticut grade school. Emergency firearm extraction is practically impossible and you’re just asking to lose control of your weapon. All that said, this vid is aimed at women, so the lure of physical attraction doesn’t apply, right?

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56 COMMENTS

  1. Totally agree — never carry a purse. I don’t. Neither should you. They look totally lame.

  2. Because of your earlier posts on this I’m finally moving away from purse carry. I still don’t have it down yet. These hip huggers we’re forced to wear nowadays don’t support my IWB holster very well. The holster almost flipped out of my pants in the mall parking lot the first time I wore it. Fortunately it retains the gun really well. Wearing a belt helps too. I now have a Flashbang that I just started trying out, and it seems more secure. Anyway, still working on it, but thanks to you I’m trying. Women’s summer clothes are not conducive to carrying concealed, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.

    • It’s been six months; pretty amazing isn’t?

      Joking about what is horrendous takes away it’s power over us.

        • At this point of their “Six Month Anniversary”, any joke about their unfortunate fame is fair.

          They have let their collective tragedy and personal predispositions to gun confiscation be used and exploited by the grabbers for political leveraging without guilt or shame; in fact they are active participants in the effort.

          By publicly advocating for a political agenda they are no longer private persons but have become public figures. They chose that exposure and are fair game to all the notoriety and abuse public figures are subject to on a regular basis.

          They made their choice, now they can live with it!
          No sympathy any more. Fire away!

          You notice there are many other victims of this tragedy who don’t wear their loss on their sleeve to champion a political cause.

        • I am of course referring to those victims of the Newtown incident who have capitalized on their loss to help move the grabber agenda.

          As a rule, I would keep the jokes on target toward THEIR activities, and not the events of the tragedy itself, or the silent victims.

          Targeting those who remain silent as to their loss would be extremely tacky.

  5. Purse carry may not be optimal but it’s better than not carrying at all. A purse made for carrying is the best choice but if you want to carry in any old purse, then retention of the gun in some sort of holster with a trigger guard is a must. You shouldn’t just let the gun bounce around loosely inside the purse with the other contents.

  6. I agree that off the body carry is the least effective way to carry. However, my Wife, like most women, refuses to sacrifice her clothing style to adapt to carrying on her body. She is petite and there is no way that she could hide a gun under her clothing. Her clothing isn’t tight, it’s just the normal form fitting stuff that women wear. So, it is either in the purse or not at all, so purse it is.

  7. Different means work for different people.

    So, you note the downside. For some, there are major upsides to purse carry.

    Don’t mock what works for someone else and quit being so judgemental.

    John

  8. Agreed. I have said to my mom not to carry her XD in her purse repeatedly but female fashion is difficult to mesh with the CCW concept. I agree with Yeager, though, that while purse carry sucks, it beats no carry.

    Maybe alter tactics for a mouse gun (deal with immediate physical threats)on the strong side and then a real pistol in the purse?

    • There are choices to make with many behavioral decisions.

      If she sits the pocketbook down somewhere and it’s stolen; or a druggie does a snatch and run; now what?

      Maybe she should reevaluate her decision to carry, or reassess her fashion choices to enable holstered carry.

      If she is truly committed to carry AND safety, she’ll make the right decision.

  9. This video aggravates me on a bunch of levels. Obviously she doesn’t really know how to handle any of those weapons – her reaction to each after she fired it is just embarrassing. Can I slap her, please?

    Next, that is not a concealed carry purse. Heck, that’s not even an attractive bag.

    Yes, on body carry is the best option – without a doubt. But I agree with other comments here; concealed carry options – particularly if you’re thin and not “well-endowed” – are minimal, even if you wear a vest/jacket… which you just can’t do in 90+ heat. I carry an LCP, frankly because if I go any larger, there is NO chance of concealing my weapon. I have 4 holsters so far, of which I really only like one… and even that one is painful to wear after a while. So I carry on-body whenever I can, and I also have a purse I purchased specifically because it has a holster built in, with a dedicated pocket only for the weapon and my extra mag. And I practice with it. And I practice my situational awareness, to try to give myself the extra seconds I’ll need to get at my weapon. I know it’s not optimal, but having it with me is better than not having it at all.

    If anyone has a better solution, I’m all ears.

  10. I disagree. You do whatever works best for you. For a man, unaccustomed to carrying a purse, and thus likely to forget it, misplace it etc, this is likely very true. However, for women a handbag or purse is often an extension of them. They never go anywhere without it, and never leave it lying around. It is just about as attached to them as a belt and holster. For them, I see no problem with it. Ive noticed TTAG, which I love, is making too many absolute statements like this recently. You can’t say “purse carry is always a bad idea.” No carry method is best for everybody. For many women, purse carry would be safe, fast, and practical. Thats just my take.

    • I’ve taken enough theft reports from women who left their purse in a shopping cart and walked halfway down the aisle in a grocery store to know that not all of them care as much as that. For many women, it would work. For many, it would be a terrible idea.

    • Pocket book or hand pouch carry is a poor choice unless it is affixed to ones person and quickly accessable.

      Women (and men with man purses) who are not wearing their pocket book or pouch attached will often leave them sit unattended in familiar settings or put them down when distracted to perform another activity. Risk of loss can be high.

      It all comes down to evaluating the setting, circumstances, risk, possibility, and probability of loss, or ORM.

  12. While the perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of the good, that’s not the choice here. As the video link above indicates, women can carry on body while enjoying a wide range of attractive fashion options.

    And I’ve said it before, no gun CAN be better than spending valuable running or attacking time fumbling around for a gun. Or suddenly realizing you lost you purse. Or having it snatched with your gun inside. (http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/05/robert-farago/self-defense-tip-on-body-carry-or-nothing/)

    • That is exacly why my wife choice to carry on the ankle. I know that a lot of people hate ankle carry. My wife doesn’t even like to ankle carry, she would much rather have it in the waste band but she didn’t want to buy new pants.

      For her the ankle care works well and doen’t mess with her wardrobe too much. And it’s a lot better than purse carry. Especially with a noisy toddler running arround.

      • That’s “waist” not “waste”!

        You make it sound like she’s got a colostomy bag on. And that’s a really sorry place to carry a concealed firearm.

        They can smell you on the draw…..

      • Practice ankle carry *a lot* before relying on it.

        Comfort, security and deployment of the weapon can all be problematic issues to overcome.

  13. “all that and a bag of chips”

    Never heard that one before except from RF. Must be a New England expression. She’s a hottie ands hits her target. Her looks and cute personality is a lure to men and women for different and yet the same reasons too.

  14. TO: Farago
    RE: Heh

    You carry WHAT you can, WHERE you can, HOW you can.

    As we say in the Army….

    It all depends on the situation.

    As well as Rules of Engagement.

    For instance, you can’t open carry in public buildings where I live.

    Additionally, I doubt if the lady in the picture could effectively ‘concealed’ carry with her attire.

    What’s a lady to do?

    How about get a good CCW purse holster…..

    Regards,

    Chuck(le)
    [Be Prepared…..]

  15. If it gave her the right to conceal carry in California my wife would wear a burka. She would much rather have the security than the fashion.

  16. I dont carry in a purse. I carry in a satchel, Indiana Jones wears one.

    Nah, I carry OWB.

  17. I’m a woman, so I say this for the benefit of any other women that might be on this site (not nearly as many as there could be. I myself only read occasionally because of the blatant disrespect/objectifying for women going on here. If people are rude to me, I stop talking to them; if a website is rude to me, I stop reading.) Anyway.

    I would rather not have a gun than carry it in my purse. With a small child around, I think there would more likely be an accident than a need to defend myself, not to mention the strategic drawbacks mentioned above. The net goal is safety, after all. By the way, if you’re a man, don’t force your wife to carry. If she’s not comfortable and proficient and mindful, you’re just setting her up for an accident.

    So I ankle carry (with bootleg pants) and thigh carry (with skirts), using a Remora and a FEG SMC .380. I must say, neither option is extremely comfortable. Shorts and mini skirts are out of my wardrobe, but nothing else had to change.

    I wish I could carry in the waistband because it’s such a quick draw, but I’d need a smaller gun and a whole wardrobe of baggier, longer shirts. And baggy long shirts just aren’t very nice looking on a small woman.

  18. I would like to agree.However,I’m a 6’1″ tall man with a 32 waist.

    A 5 foot nuthin woman doesn’t share my ability to hide a 4506 Smith .45 effectively.If the options are purse carry or being sexual assault statistic,the first option is more palatable.

  19. Cute video of a girl acting like a bimbo while shooting. That bothers me but being that 98% of the men on this site will love the vid what can I say. Purse carry should be in a holster attached somehow to the inside of the purse, not, as is erronously displayed in this video, just dropped in the top of the purse to pull out as needed. I don’t purse carry because having my gun out of my direct control makes me uncomfortable. My purse sits in a grocery basket, on the floor at my feet or in an empty seat at a restaurant, hanging off my arm while shopping, etc. and those aren’t secure carry methods for a firearm for me. I wear my P238 in a flashbang holster or iwb holster. But, rather than not carry at a super dressy event I’d clutch purse carry with the purse never leaving my hand. Haven’t done so yet though.

      • I agree. Great point about securing the gun inside the purse.

        And yes, I guess I couldn’t help but like the video of the cute girl shooting, but what can I say. It’s a genetic thing.

        Women definitely have a different set of considerations with carrying, with different figures and attire, etc. It’s interesting to me as a guy to see how they address those variables and come to the decision about what works best for them, so I enjoyed this article for more than the vid.

  20. First off, I don’t even see the point of evening mentioning the above woman’s looks. But yes she is attractive. But it’s RF’s modus operandi to use any excuse to be a little creepy and talk about women.

    Anyway, as others have said, this isn’t some kind of training video, but a light hearted video made for fun. Nothing wrong with that. But I will say this.

    Women aren’t men, their clothes and body shapes are completely different. In some cases it may not be possible for a woman to wear a gun on her person at all. Purse carry comes with it’s own caveats. But if it gets a woman to carry a gun for personal defense, then I’m all for it.

  21. I guess the women that dress more modestly and avoid form fitting or form revealing clothing can carry a weapon on their person easily. I find it a little unsettling that the myth of fashion controls the behavior of many. Even to the exclusion of their own safety. I understand that this video was to be entertaining but the discussion of where to carry is a valid response to the poor off-body carry choice shown.

  23. Off body carry has one BIG advantage. In a threat aware state the gun can already be in hand without making any “draw” moves. That is a huge jump on any potential action.

  24. I don’t have any particular problem with purse carry, although larger women should wear loose fitting clothing and therefor shouldn’t have a problem with on body carry. That’s not sexist, fat men should wear loose fitting clothing as well. There are advantages and disadvantages one should be aware of though.

    One big advantage is that a woman doesn’t have to carry a puny .380 whenever the temps rise above 70F. As the video showed she could easily carry a .44 mag and no one would be the wiser. And as JAS mentioned she could be walking to her car, weapon in hand.

    The big disadvantage is purse snatching. Even that has a silver lining though, in that most purse snatchers are looking for cash or i-phones not firearms and if they are successful they now risk a class D felony charge for their troubles.

  25. I’m currently devising a home-made carry purse for my wife, since all the “concealed carry” purses available are nothing more than large ugly handbags with a big pouch that you just toss the gun in.

    My idea was something with a strap long enough to wear slung across her body, so as to not be easily “snatched” off her arm/shoulder. The actual bag portion has two compartments (one for the gun by itself), just large enough for the gun to fit in. Then, get something like a Crossbreed Ohai and mount it to the inside of that compartment. When carrying it, the purse rides at waist height, right about where you’d wear a holster at the 3:00 position.

    I know that purse carry isn’t ideal (and in most cases a bad idea when a gun is just thrown in a pouch), but it is what it is. My wife isn’t going to get a holster and start carrying on her waist and wear a cover garment everywhere. Pocket rockets are out of the question because she doesn’t like shooting tiny guns, and I can’t really argue with her there.

  26. So if you shoot someone with a 44mag, they instantly explode?? lol

    For women, do what CC method works for you. While purse carry is looked down upon by many, at least it is an option if you cannot carry on-body esp when women wear tight fitting clothes.

    Situational awareness goes a long way when purse carrying; I would not rule it out if you do it properly. Not all women like to carry on body, and I’m sure its not very comfortable at times.

  27. Although Off Body Carry isn’t the best option, I think it’s better than leaving the gun at home in the safe.

    Wilderness tactical, makes a safe packer that is an awesome off body way to still have a firearm with you, even if it’s not possible or you choose to not carry in a holster.

    There are always pro’s and con’s to everything about carrying a gun, I think the important point is to always be armed.

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