I’ve mentioned once or twice that I habitually pocket carry. See: DeSantis Super Fly, J-frame holsters, and NAA mini-revolver.
The J-frame in the Barsony holster is in my pocket as I’m writing this. I’m
currently in gym shorts at home, but when I go out later I’ll have it in
the left front pocket of the shorts I’ll review in a future article.
There are some important points to consider when talking about pocket carry that I’ll go over later.
- Gun should be on the small side.
- A good holster.
- There are several criteria for the shorts or pants that I’ll cover later.
Table of Contents
Upsides to pocket carry.
It’s really very discreet, if done properly. I used to work in a non-permissive environment. It wasn’t illegal, but getting caught meant getting fired. It was also a delivery job for someone you’ve heard of. Very physical, a lot of moving, bending, and twisting. Pocket carry was one of the two ways I had to effectively carry.
You can tuck your shirt in. I normally do IWB. Some of those are tuckable, but I still end up with clips on the outside of my belt. Not a fan. Pocket carry doesn’t care about your shirt, with one caveat I discuss below.
It’s very simple. The picture below is my NAA mini-revolver. This is how the gun is stored at home. I simply drop it into the appropriate pocket and go about my business.
Downsides.
It’s not fast. If you’re standing up and have set it up correctly with a good holster, a loose pocket, and nothing else in the pocket, it’s not bad.
If you’re sitting, it gets a lot worse very quickly. If you’re in a car with a seat belt across your pocket, forget it. Hope your situational awareness is up to snuff that day so you have time to see trouble coming.
With one exception that I’ve found so far. The bird’s head on the NAA can hang out of my pocket with the seat belt providing retention. It is just right there and easily accessible. There may be others that this will work for, but this is the only one I can prove.
Let’s start with the points I mentioned above.
The gun should be on the small side
I have three guns I typically pocket carry. My 360 PD, the Pico, and my NAA mini-revolver. They’re all small.
When I first bought my M&P Shield I did so with the intention of pocket carrying. It didn’t work out too well and I abandoned that idea pretty quickly. It was too heavy. It printed, even with a good holster. Just a terrible idea.
Now, there may be people out there who can carry larger, heavier guns in a pocket than I can. If you’re one of those, that’s fine. Let me know in the comments how you manage to pull that off. For me, the 360 PD and Pico are about the max I can do.
I do have a Springfield 911 in 9mm that’s only slightly bigger than the Pico. I like the gun and I’ve pocket carried it; it actually came with a pocket holster that’s OK.
There’s an issue with the gun right now so I won’t review it or start carrying it again until I get it back from Springfield. It’s also a single action. I go back and forth on the advisability of cocked and locked in a pocket; I think holster selection is key with this one.
A good holster
I came across this article the other day. If you don’t want to go over there, short version: guy puts a loaded, unholstered gun in the same pocket as his keys. Bad things happened.
Now, one of the lines in that article is that you should only pocket carry with a Kydex holster. Can’t really go along with that. I have two DeSantis holsters and a Barsony. None are firearm specific and all do an excellent job of protecting the trigger and staying in the pocket when pulling the gun.
Criteria for a pocket holster is pretty much the same as any other kind: protect the trigger and stay still when the gun is drawn. While Kydex will work, it’s not absolutely essential.
The clothes.
I have a favorite brand of shorts that I wear. As with most things, I bought all kinds of different ones to test out and think I’ve finally found a winner. I’ll write a review of them later.
For now, let’s go into what I look for.
They should be loose, or “relaxed.” I’m going to be putting a solid hunk of metal or plastic in my pocket. It will print if I do it wrong. Even if I meet the good holster criteria.
The pocket itself needs to be deep enough. I have some shorts and pants that will not completely cover the top of the 360 PD. The grip shows. A long shirt covers it, but it’s still sub-optimal. Often when I pocket carry, I’m wearing my shirt tucked in.
Speaking of pockets, the more the merrier. In the previous example, not having a pocket holster was only one of the guy’s mistakes. The other was to put something else in the pocket. I don’t want something else in that pocket, with one exception.
In the picture below you’ll see the Pico with its spare magazine. That is exactly how it fits into my pocket so I just go with it.
Other than that one exception, that’s all I want in that pocket. Less change of accidental discharge, and less chance of me trying to pull a gun and getting my phone or keys instead.
In my EDC article, I mentioned that, when I’m out for the day, I end up carrying a lot of stuff. The more of it that has its own place, the better.
Conclusion.
Pocket carry is by far my most common method. I work from home. I always have a gun in my pocket. Normally the J-frame, but sometimes the Pico or the NAA.
When I’m out and about, the J-frame is normally my back-up/left-hand/snake gun. That is, it’s in my left front pocket. And the first two chambers will be snake shot in case I find a rattlesnake I can’t avoid.
Only you can decide what works for you, but with the right equipment it’s perfectly safe and viable.
