Choosing Gun for Bag Carry

[mrblenderson]

FIRST OFF, I know that no one on here will recommend off-body carry and I am well aware of all the reasons and I generally agree with them. That being said,

Over the last few months I have stopped carrying on my person at work and instead keep it in my bag which is always near me in my office. I work in a very safe area in a business that is highly unlikely to have a problem and I stopped carrying for 2 reasons:

1. I am seated working on a computer all day and no matter how/what I carry it is still more comfortable without than with.
2. There have been a few occasions when I had to reach up to change a lightbulb or something and was almost made. I can legally carry, but I in a NPE and it would cause a major problem for me if I was made.

So given my situation, would you opt for:

1. Keep my carry gun in the bag, so if need be I can easily slip it on and carry out in public
2. Keep a larger, higher-capacity gun in the bag for the scenario in which I actually need it

Please don't just reply with "don't keep it in your bag, keep it on you." I know that, but for the reasons I stated above this is my current MO.

 

[Browning]

1. Keep my carry gun in the bag, so if need be I can easily slip it on and carry out in public
2. Keep a larger, higher-capacity gun in the bag for the scenario in which I actually need it.

I’d opt for a blend. A double stack high capacity polymer compact pistol with a light (TLR-1 HL or TLR7 is what I’ve gone with, I like the TLR 1 better) in a kydex holster with a single large clip that can be fastened smoothly and easily without a lot of adjustment.

Using a single large belt clip is quite a bit faster to get on in say a bathroom stall and there’s not a whole lot of adjustment needed. With multiple clips it takes longer.

Its still a fairly compact package and you can conceal it easy enough, but you have a lot of rds on tap and you can always carry slightly more extended mags in the bag which can be slipped into a pocket.

I’ve gone with either a Glock 23.4 with the TLR-1 or a CZ P10c with the TLR7, but there are a ton of other pistols in the same class.

Since you have a bag extra mags and a small trauma kit are also advisable.

 

[gunlaw]

I’m going old school Walther PPK. Very slim not much to snag. Should draw smoothly from that type of carry.

 

[jak67429]

What I did in almost the same situation, plus I have a bad back and have issues caring on a belt all day. Is kind of what browning suggested, I took my usual carry gun Kahr CW9. and a iwb clip on holster. then adapted a medium sized carry bag by sewing a strap in that I clip the holster to. That way if I want to carry on my person I just un clip the holster and pistol. Also works well in the car as I can leave the bag on the front seat for easy access.

 

[HB]

What is more likely; your firearm is stolen or accidentally taken from you or you need it to defend yourself and an attacker waits for you to retrieve it?


Pocket carry an LCP if you can’t handle a useable gun in a useable holster. Leaving a loaded gun in a public space unsecured is not a good idea at all.

 

[<*(((><]

How about pocket carry an LCP or the like and then have a full sized gun in your bag unloaded with the magazine in your other pocket. Quick to react with the LCP, full frame power at quick notice. This would leave your gun in your bag unloaded and rendered useless until you need it with the magazine in your pocket.

If you have a locking cabinet at your desk you could place your bag in it if you need to go to the restroom or step away from your desk.

 

[labnoti]

If it's in a bag, make it worthwhile: MCX Rattler Canebrake. At least a CZ Scorpion Micro or MPX Copperhead, and whatever it is, use the extra space in the bag for a suppressor.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I guess I would carry a large high capacity gun if I was going to leave it in a bag, assuming I had a private office, or if in a cubicle, I have somewhere to put that bag where others will not get nosey.

I mean if an active shooter is the concern then I see no reason to limit yourself. I would likely choose a holster with good retention, like maybe a thumb break, and I would probably sew it into a few attachment points in the bag, while keeping nothing in that pocket. I'd also keep a spare magazine with it.

A bag or backpack really opens up the door for large high capacity guns or even PDWs. But not having them on you is a real disadvantage. But you already have weighed that risk.

 

[BSA1]

When you need a gun you need a lot of gun.

Or restated another way is you can not have enough gun when the stuff hits the fans.

Since you are asking about keeping the gun with you in your workplace I assume you are worried about defense while there. It seems that in many work place shootings the attacker has a powerful gun with high capacity magazines meaning he can harm a lot of people very quickly. To save yourself and others you need a handgun the you can shoot very well and quickly. I am also going to say you may likely need to hit the attacker multiple times as he may not have read here on THR about how effective of a man stopper little pocket guns are and he should lay down after being hit once.

 

[LaneP]

Unless you "need" a lot of ammo, a 13 ounce Ruger LCR in .38 Special. If someone were to ever move your bag, a heavy SD pistol may arouse suspicion. This is from a personal experience in which my wife was separated from her fanny pack holster in a car accident one night. She was fortunately not seriously injured but transported to the hospital via ambulance with arm and shoulder injuries. When I arrived at the hospital, a co-worker of hers who had been at the accident scene handed me my wife's fanny pack with her (unbeknownst to the co-worker) fully loaded Taurus M85 .38 Special inside. The thing felt like a brick as I took it. The co-worker never made mention of the weight but they had to have noticed how much it weighed!

She went out and bought the Ruger, and it's positively a featherweight compared to the all-stainless Taurus.

 

[DustyGmt]

In a perfect world. You would always carry it on you. I myself have opted to carry my 19 in my EDC bag and a lil .380 in my pocket. I do electrical work and with all the tools I lug around in my pants and on my hip pouch the added weight and bulk of a duty/compact gun just doesnt make life easy.

On a semi related note. One of my grade school classmates father was a flooring guy. He was diagnosed with MS and he started to deteriorate rather quickly, he was a man of few words and had very strict work disciplines and wasnt a guy to trifle with in his prime. But in his weakened state, he once got screwed over by a contractor who was withholding pay and when he went by to see him to try to collect, very reasonably I would add, he wasnt the type to mince words and was usually very curt but he was really trying to be a gentleman about it, the contractor decided to beat the ever loving daylights out of this poor man while his 10 year old son(my classmate) sat in the truck watching. Awful situation. Anyway, for the rest of that mans working days he carried a .45 with him everywhere. He put it right in his tool pouch or right on his side but everywhere he went, you always saw his 1911 .45.

 

[MikeInOr]

I am seated at a computer all day... also. I carry a LCP if wearing looser pants or a P32 for jeans. With the P32 I occasionally have to tap my packet to see if I accidentally forgot to pack that morning... i.e. The P32 with a pocket holster melts away and I don't notice it.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

1. Keep my carry gun in the bag, so if need be I can easily slip it on and carry out in public
2. Keep a larger, higher-capacity gun in the bag for the scenario in which I actually need itMO

What is your carry gun?

I carry in an NPE every day is pocket carry an option?

 

[shoobe01]

Two guns. Get a true pocket gun to keep on you, just in case. At least, to defend your bag.

Think hard about the bag. You may even need a new bag. But mostly: find a place to hide the weapon. You need a dedicated pocket, or something like a false bottom. Something where you will NEVER reveal it to anyone by accident, and a casual search (let me borrow your power cord...) will not find it.

Don't forget printing, noise, weight. Make sure when you set it down on a desk it doesn't go clunk so people ask what is in there.

Figure out what the largest thing you can fit in there is. If off-body, take advantage. At least a very well equipped (light, dot...) high capacity pistol, and several spares. But think hard about something with a stock. Even just one of those stocked pistols like the B&T USW, or their stock kits for the Sig 320, etc.

Also: what do you do once it's out of the bag? Where does it go when you need to climb, help carry casualties, reload, or just put it away when the cops come? Where do you put spare mags?

Think about this, and practice a bit with whatever you have now, unloaded, to see what that's like. Maybe you need a (simple, collapsible) holster and mag pouch anyway. Maybe you need to try to fit a simple throw-over chest rig with all this in it.

Time it. If you assume that this is to counter an AS/AK bursting through the door and firing, seconds count. Watch some videos of such events, and be honest about the time it takes to retrieve. And not retrieve and return fire, but retrieve, move, take cover, etc.

Put other threat mitigation stuff in there. Gunfights are dangerous, so have an IFAK, including a TQ or two. Make sure it's accessible, and ideally also comes with you as you may get shot later, not near the bag, and be sad you left it behind. Practice with that also; I have a blue CAT and play with it occasionally, the whole family (well, not the 2 year old) knows how it works.

 

[labnoti]

She went out and bought the Ruger, and it's positively a featherweight compared to the all-stainless Taurus.

Why? I didn't know that people were unpermissive of women with firearms. I thought it was only men.

 

[LaneP]

Why? I didn't know that people were unpermissive of women with firearms. I thought it was only men.

She bought the Taurus in the 90's and carried it for years but always complained about the weight. Then when she held a Ruger LCR she was all over it. No one was unpermissive, well maybe she was unpermissive of her Taurus

 

[Trunk Monkey]

What I did in almost the same situation, plus I have a bad back and have issues caring on a belt all day. Is kind of what browning suggested, I took my usual carry gun Kahr CW9. and a iwb clip on holster. then adapted a medium sized carry bag by sewing a strap in that I clip the holster to. That way if I want to carry on my person I just un clip the holster and pistol. Also works well in the car as I can leave the bag on the front seat for easy access.

Wrap the strap of your bag around the headrest to anchor it

 

[labnoti]

.....
Think hard about the bag. You may even need a new bag. But mostly: find a place to hide the weapon. You need a dedicated pocket, or something like a false bottom. Something where you will NEVER reveal it to anyone by accident, and a casual search (let me borrow your power cord...) will not find it.

Don't forget printing, noise, weight. Make sure when you set it down on a desk it doesn't go clunk so people ask what is in there.

Figure out what the largest thing you can fit in there is. If off-body, take advantage.

I didn't know the noises or weight of people's bags were scrutinized so much. If a firearm is legal but against the trespass policy of the property owner (against employer policy) and all bags are subject to search, then I can see this becoming a concern. In that case, I would check if persons/employees are also subject to search.

If employees/trespassers retain their right to privacy, then the contents of a private bag are not subject to search.

But I agree that the bag should be chosen for the weapon and not the other way around. Choose the weapon, then fit the bag or case around it. I wouldn't expect to use the bag for most other things -- possibly just enough to lend it the appearance of another purpose. You wouldn't be going in and out of your holster for your keys, phone, laptop, papers, and pen, and that's what the bag is, it's a type of holster. You'll never inadvertently flash the gun if you just stay out of it until you need it.

I also agree it makes sense to "go big" if you're going off-body. Take advantage. I already suggested using a suppressor as well.

 

[labnoti]

Wrap the strap of your bag around the headrest to anchor it

Yes. That's what Richard Manauzzi learned.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

Also: what do you do once it's out of the bag? Where does it go when you need to climb, help carry casualties, reload, or just put it away when the cops come? Where do you put spare mags?

This is probably the most worthwhile thing mentioned so far.

I'm not a advocate of off body carry and the above is one of the main reasons why.


If you could at least commit to wearing a holster for the gun that would make some sense. And in that case I would say carry the largest pistol you're comfortable shooting.


But in the end I'll restate the often hated statement that carrying a gun is supposed to be comforting, not comfortable.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Yes. That's what Richard Manauzzi learned.

Who?

ETA: nevermind. I knew who he was just not his name. His gun should have been holstered period

 

[mrblenderson]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I carry a J-frame on a daily basis.

My bag is a 5.11 pack that has a slim almost unnoticeable pocket on the back (designed for a hydration pack) where it can live without being noticed.

I used to have an LCP but I got rid of it because it was just never reliable enough. I may consider other small pocket-size autos.

For now I think I will start keeping my VP9 with a few extra mags in the bag.

 

[bassjam]

I had a buddy who kept a handgun in his computer bag for similar reasons. He forgot it was there and TSA found it. He obviously missed his flight and claims TSA permanently confiscated his handgun. If you travel, that's a consideration.

I know you were specific about not carrying on-person, but I don't understand why pocket carry won't work. An LCP or even Keltec P32 can be very discreetly hidden with even the tightest pants.

That being said, I'd opt for a smaller gun in the bag that you can still slip on when heading out to lunch or stopping at the grocery on the way home.

 

[mrblenderson]

I had a buddy who kept a handgun in his computer bag for similar reasons. He forgot it was there and TSA found it. He obviously missed his flight and claims TSA permanently confiscated his handgun. If you travel, that's a consideration.

I know you were specific about not carrying on-person, but I don't understand why pocket carry won't work. An LCP or even Keltec P32 can be very discreetly hidden with even the tightest pants.

That being said, I'd opt for a smaller gun in the bag that you can still slip on when heading out to lunch or stopping at the grocery on the way home.

I have so many things in my daily bag that are considered weapons/not allowed on a plane that I just bring an entirely different bag that I pack for the trip when I fly to avoid any issues.

I used to have an LCP but I did not find it reliable enough to trust my life to. I am exploring other micro pocket carry options because I had kind of written that whole idea off a while ago and not considered it again until now.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I carry a J-frame on a daily basis.

How do you carry it?
Is this the gun you're worried about people noticing on your belt?

My bag is a 5.11 pack that has a slim almost unnoticeable pocket on the back (designed for a hydration pack) where it can live without being noticed.

For now I think I will start keeping my VP9 with a few extra mags in the bag.

If your concern is being able to concealed carry after work is there a reason you can't leave the VP9 in a locked container in your car?