First two days carrying

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I got my concealed carry three days ago, but waited a day to buy my first handgun because I was moving out of my student apartment. I know, terrible that I would put anything before firearms, please forgive me.

The next day I went down to my usual gun shop to decide between a glock 26 or a Ruger SR9c. The owner dug through the trailor he had just loaded for a gun show to find the SR9c. And after a "life changing" ten minutes of decision making (months of internet research) I decided on the ruger. I got it, a N82 holster, and 20 rounds of +p bonded winchester for less than the glock would of cost.

When I got home I noticed an envelope in the case with the spent round Ruger used to test fire it with. I don't know if I'm happy about that or jealous someone else got to shoot it first :scrutiny:

At first I REALLY noticed the holster on my back right side. I had to place it to where it'd be entirely flat, a little more towards the middle than I liked, due to my shirts not being baggy enough to easily conceal it. This also made sitting in the car and sitting in restaurants extremely uncomfortable. That night I bought 6 different XL shirts (my usual size is a Medium that fits a little snug or a Large that fits slightly baggy). After that I was able to slide the holster more towards my side without it sticking out and making it extremely more comfortable.

One thing I noticed right off the bat though was that the N82 holster is impossible to reholster with unless I take it out of my pants use two hands (mainly due to Ruger's loaded indicator) and then replace it IWB. So now I'm looking at getting a Down Under or Public Secret holster from Highnoonholsters.com to fix this problem. Just can't decide on if I want a 15 degree cant or not. I know reholstering isn't exactly a major problem because it should never leave the holster unless under certain circumstances, but its a lot easier IMHO that when I can't take it in certain areas that removing the handgun only is a lot easier than removing the holster and gun then having to replace it.

My friend who carries a 1911 all the time started listing off all places that it would feel awkward to carry at first. So far the only times this has been the case was when I didn't have baggy enough shirts and when I was at a really high end mall today (but I always feel awkward there due to the fact that I can't spend $200 on a pair of jeans, nor want to). My friend did tell me a time that he was carrying Mexican style and it fell out of his waistband, down the inside of his pants and hit the floor in Big Lots and everyone turned to look at him. Thus, further cementing the idea that I would never carry that way unless I had to for some totally strange reason.

After the second day carrying though my back/side feels naked without my holster. Its an extreme comfort to have my gun with me in public that I have never felt before. However, when I met my mother for lunch and told her she asked, "Is it loaded?" and was horrified when I repsonded yes. Despite this, she asked to hold it later that day and I could see a little twinkle in her eye that she had an inner urge to like it, but refused to accept it.


Do you guys have any tips for carrying? I'm rather new to this and am trying to be as responsible as I can.

Thanks.
 
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It definitely starts to feel better the more you do it.

Also, most of us have a drawer full of holsters we tried and didn't like, so don't feel bad if you go through a few before settling on one.
 
Also, most of us have a drawer full of holsters we tried and didn't like, so don't feel bad if you go through a few before settling on one.
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You just made my wallet cry.

Luckily, my friend gave me about 200 or so rounds of fmj to use during my break in period. So thats money saved I can use for said drawer.
 
Sorry to say you will have to keep trying holsters until you find the one that works right for you and the gun you are carrying. Didn't anyone tell you the first thing you do after you get your carry permit is find a good heavy box? You will need a good box to put all the holsters you are going to buy over the years!! LOL :p
 
Have you shot it yet?
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Haven't had a chance to. My old range is closed down by the wild life service and the range I have been visiting with a different friend is off limits because he can't pay his bill there right now and I can't afford the joining fee.

However, when my XCR gets here the friend who gave me the ammo said he'd talk to one of his friends about using his land for shooting. Apparantly he lives in the middle of no where.

It is also the only firearm I've ever bought that came from the factory properly lubed. However, I still cleaned it myself and relubed it.

Did the walmart walk when I bought my XL shirts =D
 
You're carrying a pistol you've never fired? Of course that's better than carrying no pistol at all, but I can imagine that's quite uncomfortable.

I had an EAA Witness compact that I did the same with as I received the holster the same day as the pistol and wanted to see how it would carry. It fed and ejected just dandy when manually cycling the slide so I figured reliability wouldn't be an issue. It wasn't until a couple days later when I actually got to the range did I find it would fail to feed at least twice each magazine (and there were two) with all FMJ and JHP.

Even two trips back to the factory didn't remedy the issue (chronicled at TFL about a decade ago). To this day I still cringe when I imagine the nightmare that would have befallen had I actually had to use it... or tried to, I should say. The chambered round would always fire, so at least I had that going for me.

My outdoor range location also recently became somewhat unavailable due to folks moving here and complaining about gunfire. I'm lucky enough to have an indoor range within a 5 minute drive though.

I guess if you can't get to a range, that's the way it goes. However, I would personally make that an urgent priority if you continue to depend on your new pistol to save your hide.
 
While you could spend much time and money figuring out cheap holsters don't work well or, you could subscribe to the buy once cry once school of thought and buy a quality holster from the start

I carry a 3" 1911 in a Milt Sparks Versa Max II on a proper 1.25" gun belt.
Super comfortable and it works from suits to shorts and a T shirt. If you don't do suits you can go with a wider belt.

My holster is 7 years old and looks better than new. About the only parts that show wear are the belt loops and they are replaceable / interchangeable.

Best money I ever spent!
 
I'd trust a Ruger to fire out of the box more than most other makes, but go break it in ASAP.

I can also recommend High Noon for cheap holsters ( some of their expensive ones aren't much better, especially for six times the price), and Fist Inc. for nice ones.

I also do recommend at least trying the 15-degree cant. At all of 128 pounds, having the grip follow the angle of my body was an unbelievable help.
 
Big mistake I made when starting to carry was dismissing the imortance of a good belt. I dare say the belt is actually MORE important than the holster in determining a comfy carry set up. Plan on spending about the same as your holster. Check out thebeltman.com, good NC based belt maker.

Reholstering IS important here in NC. We seem to have more off limit places than anywhere else. I really like the Crossbreed Supertuck for that reason.

Last... Check out carolinashootersforum.com
 
High Noon is a good company to deal with and have an excellent FAQ section that can help you with your decision making process.

If you are carrying behind your hip, the canted version is usually better. If carrying at the hip or forward, such as appendix carry, the straight drop is usually preferable.

I must admit not being familiar with the N82 holster, and I've been doing lots of holster research over the past several months as I build my personal "box of holsters".

I did a Google search for "N82 holster". The first nine hits were holsters for the Noikia 82 cell phone. At first I was trying to figure out how you were carrying that SR9c in a phone holster, then hit 10 was your holster. I'm not surprised you're having trouble reholstering.

Edit: Getting a good belt is an excellent recommendation, even with a small, light pistol like the SR9c.

If you're looking for kydex, the thin, lightweight SR9c is an excellent match for the thin, lightweight Raven Concealment Phantom.

http://www.themalabarfront.com/
 
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You're carrying a pistol you've never fired? Of course that's better than carrying no pistol at all, but I can imagine that's quite uncomfortable.
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Yes it is a little uncomfortable, but I'm trying to get to a range as soon as possible. I might have to go drive awhile to an indoor range and pay a lot of money to shoot. But it would be worth it for the assurance that my pistol works and is broken in.

I did a Google search for "N82 holster". The first nine hits were holsters for the Noikia 82 cell phone. At first I was trying to figure out how you were carrying that SR9c in a phone holster, then hit 10 was your holster. I'm not surprised you're having trouble reholstering.
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Haha. I think they're a small company. For only $40 the holster itself is rather comfortable and sweat doesn't seem to penetrate it to the gun. The only problem with it I have is the reholstering problem.

If you don't do suits you can go with a wider belt.
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Every man should have a suit! I do wear one occassionaly for church (will be doing so more when it gets colder), but I'm about to start BLET and don't need to be that dressed up regularly for awhile.
 
Do not underestimate the importance of reholstering. If you are in a situation where the gun is drawn, whether or not it was fired, you want to be able to get it back into that holster as quickly and easily as possible, without taking your eyes off the subject and/or scanning the area for other threats. You also do not want to be standing there with a gun in your hand when the cops arrive.
You have learned the first thing, dress around the gun.
Also go fire this thing. Put at least 200 rounds of ball through it then 200 rounds of your carry ammo.
Oh and congrats on a fine pistol.
 
Went from large to 6XL Please tell me that is a misprint. Shirt maybe 1 size larger and if IWB holster up 1 size . I wear Wal mart jeans and mainly t shirts I buy at wall mart . I have good belt and holsters and never a problem I carry a compact 1911 or commander size. most of the time. People who are starting out think every one sees their pistol. Most people lucky to see whats in front of them. let alone notice what your wearing.

if you haven't fired that pistol at least 200 rounds of ball and say 50 of you HP choice .Then leave it at home till you have.

If this what you bought go buy a real holster
http://www.fieldandstreamsports.com/fssstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_274&products_id=932
 
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Tips?

Always carry. Always carry loaded. Full magazine. Round in chamber. Good belt. Good holster. Practice drawing from your concealment rig with as many different cover garments as you wear, starting with the kinds of things you're most likely to wear most often. Do this first with an unloaded gun. You'll discover lots of ways to botch the draw, presentation, and reholstering, and that some cover garments are easier to work with than others. Encountering problems in dry fire practice beats unexpected perforations of haberdashery with live fire. Learn, practice what you learn, and don't stop learning.
 
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Untucked polo type shirts a size larger than you'd get them if you were unarmed are a good choice for CCW if you're carrying IWB.

95% of the time i carry an IWB pocketclipped Ruger LCP .380 in that manner. Oversized T-shirts are great too if you're more the Tee type.
 
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