WalMart is now selling a jacket specifically designed for concealed carry. While clothing designed for concealed carry has been available commercially for decades, WalMart’s move into the CCW clothing market indicates the ongoing “mainstreaming” of American gun ownership.

From WalMart.com:

Rothco’s Lightweight Concealed Carry Jacket has 2 inner pockets for concealed carry, one on each side, as well as 2 inner mag pockets on each side for ammo. The mirroring pockets on both the left and right, give the jacket a unique ambidextrous feature.

The jacket is a product of Rothco. It comes in Coyote Brown and black and sells for for $60 to $78. I haven’t examined onn, but its existence in WalMart’s inventory is a powerful statement about the normalization of the exercise of Second Amendment rights.

There are 200 million registered voters in the United States. The nation’s 16.2 million carry permit holders represent eight percent of all voters. Virtually all permit holders are eligible to vote, and virtually all of them are registered.

If we remove California’s 19.4 million registered voters (only 92,000 permits in the state) and New York’s 12.5 million (88,000 permits there), that means there are 16 million permit holders for 168 million registered voters in the rest of the country.

Outside of highly restrictive California and New York, permit holders account for 9.5 percent of registered voters. That’s a powerful and committed voting block.

President Trump appealed directly to these voters with his call to “end gun free zones on day one” and create national reciprocity. Meanwhile, it’s increasingly clear that permit holders are a force to be reckoned with in the economy, as well as the voting booth.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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57 COMMENTS

  2. Anybody put their hands on one of these yet in Walmart and if so how does a lightweight jacket like that carry a small sub compact pistol? Such as a Glock 42 Glock 43 or Kimber micro?

    • I have this jacket in the brown color. I like if. It sags a little when carrying my G19. Less so with my G27.
      It’s a great lighter weight coat that is pretty water resistant.

      • Is it unique enough looking that you would easily recognize it on someone while out-n-about?

        The point I’m trying to make is that it seems a smarter way to do that would be for a company to modify an already very popular jacket model so that it would easily just blend in with all the others out there.

        Like a Columbia jacket would out in the northwest…

        • It just looks like a nondescript casual jacket with no obvious military or police styling beyond the color, so I’m not sure why it’s even described as “tactical” in the product heading. If somebody on the street can tell you’re packing from the style of this jacket alone, then you’ve met Rain Man; take him to Vegas with you and you’ll make a mint.

      • Is this any better than a single clip IWB holster? I just can’t see how it would not bang around when you move after you unzip the jacket. Have you actually tried to draw from the jacket. The mag holders might be interesting though.

  3. Not news in Missouri. I bought a concealed carry tee shirt last Christmas at Walmart. It was uncomfortable and I took it back.

    • YA, but move your carry 1/4″ further off your body AND VOILA , bliss.

      Gotta do shoulder holster carry man, you was so close.

  4. Cool! And a helluva’ lot cheaper than a Scotty Vest I see. Does anyone “make” you Tom? And do they make it XXL? I’m a pretty big guy(alas not enough muscle now)…

  5. For statistical purposes, go ahead and eliminate HI as well. They haven’t issued a single permit in this century. That might get us over 10% plus they have no need for that type of jacket anyway!

    • And eliminate New Jersey which has only issued, what, about 3,000 concealed carry licenses? That means there are about 16 million concealed carriers in about 163 million registered voters. In other words about 10% of registered voters are concealed carriers.

      And it gets even more interesting: if you figure that about half of those concealed carriers have spouses that, while not concealed carriers themselves are still committed to concealed carry in their voting, about 15% of the registered voters in our nation are concealed carriers or vote in lock-step with concealed carriers.

  7. In 2013 Walmart was selling SOG branded CCW jackets with holster type inner and outer pockets for .380 type mouse guns and have zippers on both sides that unzip toward the armpit from the bottom to facilitate drawing of a pistol from concealment. They were right next to the SOG backbacks,daypacks, rangepacks and packpacks…and hats. Also, they had blackhawk concealment holsters and drop in quad rails….this is nothing new.

    • Yep. This is nothing new. A few years back,our local Walmart was way overstocked with this stuff. Most of the locals didn’t buy much. Living in a state with Constitutional Carry negated the need to dress low rent tactical 24/7.

      • Same here, seems to be mostly there for the newbies and tacticool kids. But, its better that them NOT carrying that stuff.

  8. This isn’t an item that’s stocked by WalMart, it doesn’t have a WalMart stock number. Walmart.com does allow 3rd parties to sell on its site just like Amazon does. This item is also available on Amazon too.

  9. They gave into pressure and quit selling AR’s and gave a b.s. excuse that they weren’t selling. Now they are ok with this? Kiss off!!!

  11. I just looked at the Walmart website and they list many, perhaps 20 or 30, different concealed carry jackets, coats, and vests; all made by Rothco. I’ve never seen them in a Walmart store, but then I’ve never looked for any of them there either. Over the years I have purchased numerous items off of the Walmart website, and since I live only a few hundred yards from my nearest Walmart, I always select their free ship-to-store service. I’ve been using pocket holsters for decades, but if I ever need a CCW equipped coat or jacket, I’ll probably check out these garments made by Rothco.

  12. If for no other reason I’m gladdened to see that the jacket has provisions for ambidextrous carry. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen something interesting for the carriage of a firearm only to be disappointed that is available for right-handed people only. One of these fine days some smart entrepreneur is going to open a website called “Lefty’s Gun and Gear Shop” catering to the 10% of the population who are “sinister” and make a bundle. If something like that already exists, please and kindly let me know about it.

    • I’m OK with that just as long as they don’t open a “Lefties’ Gun & Gear Shop.” I don’t want the Lefties armed with anything more lethal than the teddy bears they carry around now to console themselves after Trump’s victory.

  13. I have 2 Cabelas jackets that look just like that. One is shearling lined and one isn’t. Can’t see that pistol pocket working to well. With or without a holster unless there are some velcro straps or something in there, the gun is going to move around and that’s not good. AFAIAC, any article of clothing they sell is suitable for concealed carry provided it is big enough and long enough.

  14. The mirroring pockets on both the left and right, give the jacket a unique ambidextrous New York reload feature.

    There, fixed that!

  16. Bet when the Brady bunnys find out they will protest, can’t have that concelled carry cloths
    , what is it saying to the children? It may go off. Its for the children.

  17. Well I got a Carhart that has pockets in the right places inside that will hold magazines, revolver loads and handguns.
    Fact is any Jacket that has an inside pocket can carry a small pocket pistol quite well.

  18. I don’t think I’d purchase a Rothco product. Cheap Chi-com crap.

    Brownell’s used to sell a CCW jacket. It didn’t have any internal gun/mag pockets but it did have side zippers at the bottom hem. To me that’s a much better design.

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