CCW in laptop backpack?

Status
Not open for further replies.

joejoeshooter

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2008
Messages
160
Location
Music City USA
Does any one carry in their laptop case or backpack?

I bought a new backpack today. All that I carry in it is a padfolio and a laptop and power cable.

It has a very spacious and easily accessible pocket on the front that would hold one of my pistols.

Thoughts?

jjs
 
Think about how quick you could access it. If you
are carrying for self defense, then that is a most
important consideration. If you can't put your pistol
into action fast then it is cargo, just like you laptop.
 
As I see it, there are two basic potential problems with off body carry:

[1] Can you get the gun quickly if you need it in an emergency?

[2] How often will it be out of your immediate and direct control?
 
I used to carry off the body in an "Anytimer" type of item. I have a couple acquaintances who do the same. fiddletown's two points are quite valid. Every range trip, I practiced opening it up and drawing, and it was slow, but that wasn't the major issue of the two. The second one is the kicker. If you ever had to race back across town to Walmart because you think you might have left it sitting in the grocery basket that you unloaded next to your truck, you would immediately stop carrying that way and get a holster.
 
I have carried in my laptop case and in my "day planner" case. If you are wearing clothes that are not easy to conceal with something is better than nothing.
 
A backpack? No. Too hard to get to the firearm when you need it.

A regular laptop case? If the situation demanded it. I have a small laptop case which I use to carry my 6" S&W Model 14 or 6" S&W Model 25-2 when I shoot in our club's double-action revolver league. What would probably work very well (as well as off-body can work) would be to attach a cheap synthetic holster to the inside of the Velcro closed pocket which most laptop bags seem to have on the side. I could carry my 6" Model 29-2 that way with little difficulty.

Other than in the glove box of my car, I never carry off-body. As pointed out by others (and Mas Ayoob in the Gun Digest book on concealed carry), it's far too easy to misplace something not attached to your body.
 
I guess you would have to wear your backpack in the front then?

A frontpack? ;)

I have a Uncle Mikes soft briefcase that has a gun pocket on the back of it. Seemed like a good idea at the time...

I have never really carried anything there because it is a pain to angle your hand into position to draw from it and I do not like the idea of having it unsecure in a handy portable carrying case. I mounted a safe in my truck instead.
 
Here's my issue with this particular case of off-body carry (in order).

  1. If it's legal to carry wear you are and the owners allow ccw, you can just as easily (and legally) carry IWB.
  2. A 1911 or glock 19 conceals easily with a nice, tuckable holster when wearing business casual (polos and khakis). Same with slacks , dress shirt and tie. A coat makes it even easier. I've carried my 1911 like this many times. I work in IT, so I'm constantly bending, kneeling and stretching without issue. The only pain is if you stretch to far and mess up the tuck by your holster. The draw is still awkward, but you can practice...and it still beats unzipping a big that you put...oh wait, where'd I put that?!. :uhoh:
  3. It's just too easy to lose that laptop bag. It's a target for theft to begin with. Factor in that I throw my laptop-less bag around and often it is out of arms-reach...well, it sounds like a recipe for disaster.
  4. Impossible to draw fast.
  5. I just don't like off body carry unless it's just me and I'm off in the wilderness.

My laptop backpack goes everywhere with me. My weapon has never once seen the interior. If I carried in my laptop backpack, I would be so paranoid I'd wear it constantly and have it secured to my belt somehow. YMMV
 
No.

For the same reason a woman's purse is a bad choice - it's the target of thieves. Your gun isn't accessible if it's in a container that's being snatched away from you.
 
I've never carried in one but a Kel-Tec Sub 2000 when folded will fit inside mine with lots of room for magazines. Just saying.
 
in the 90's We all had our fanny packs...

late night downtown Portland, got to watch a mugger unclip a CCW fanny pack, and the fistfight that ensued over the bag.

MANY people (it ended up being a convoy of people driving around looking for him after) rushed the mugging and the attacker ran like a scalded bunny.

The guy with the Fanny drew his gun, held it against his head while he caught his breath and waited for the police while he nursed his bruises.

That was the last night I ever used a fanny pack, and that was years before CCW was even a thought to me. IWB only for me
 
I used to periodically carry in my laptop bag, then I had two incidents alarming enough to make me stop.
The first one was when I pulled into a parking lot and, as I turned off the car, had a very sketchy guy knock on the window without my previously realizing he was even there. I had the bag next to me on the seat. Fortunately, it was just a beggar, but the realization that I would have had to struggle to get to it if I needed it was alarming enough.
Secondly, I used to work as a consultant. At one point, one of the employees of a client had their two daughters at work with them. I was carrying on my person and not in the bag that day, but was rather alarmed at the thoughts that arose when one of the little girls picked up my bag and curiously started to open it.
No more laptop bag carry for me.
 
Secondly, I used to work as a consultant. At one point, one of the employees of a client had their two daughters at work with them. I was carrying on my person and not in the bag that day, but was rather alarmed at the thoughts that arose when one of the little girls picked up my bag and curiously started to open it.
No more laptop bag carry for me.

This. I'm an IT consultant. I see this many times over. Curious techies will even peek in your bag if you aren't paying attention just to oogle your gear.
 
I'm a full-time student and a part-time worker, and I came across this conundrum too.

I decided that instead of carrying my pistol in a seperate article (like my backpack I took to classes) that I would just rather carry something smaller that's ALWAYS on me, and is easy to EDC.

So, I bought a smaller pistol and it rides on me all the time.

This is absolutely not any endorsement that you should carry a concealed pistol in places where it is "forbidden."

By the way, my work allows concealed carry.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top