Support for purse carry not being a good idea

[SSN Vet]

I don't carry a purse, but I'm inclined to think that Purse carry is not a good idea. Especially if you don't keep the piece in a holster that shrouds the trigger, and you ever plan on setting your purse down.

Here's an article from USAA about an AD/ND that happened in a hospital in MS, where the woman inadvertently shot her own daughter in a hospital.

I guess if your going to do something stupid like this, being close to a hospital is a good idea, but now she may be charged for having a gun in a prohibited place.

Anybody up on MS law concerning posted properties?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

On-body carry is the way to go. Anything in a purse, brief case, or similar bag is a double risk -- first, it is slow to access, and second it is easy to lose or have snatched away.

 

[200Apples]

On-body carry is the way to go.

Indeed. At least in my state, California, a handgun (which is subject to the concealed gun law, unlike a long gun) carried in a purse or backpack is considered to be "on your person".

 

[orionengnr]

Not sure I am buying that business about "dropped purse, gun went off"...

 

[Skribs]

It depends on how you carry it. A purse carried on the shoulder can easily slide off or be grabbed. A purse carried on the opposite shoulder is a bit harder to get. If you are holding onto the straps, that can change it as well.

I think purse carry is similar to pocket carry. It might be slower than IWB/OWB carry, but it has the advantage that you can have your hands in your pockets or inside your purse and nobody is going to think anything of you. A woman who has her hand purposefully inside her purse (i.e. not digging trying to find something) is probably a much scarier target because they don't know what she has in her hand - keys, pepper spray, a firearm, etc.

Carrying in a purse designed for it with a proper holster and with good judgment in how to present yourself is probably not an issue. Carrying in a purse not designed for it, in an insecure manner, is a bad idea.

As with anything, it's not so much the idea that's bad - it can have good or bad implementation.

 

[joem1945]

"Not sure I am buying that business about "dropped purse, gun went off"... "

Agree, sounds fishy.

 

[SSN Vet]

if this ladies purse is as cluttered and full of crap as my wife's is, any number of things could have protruded into the trigger guard and decelerated at a lesser rate than the handgun when it hit the floor.

 

[ATLDave]

IMO, if you've loaded a gun, it's on you to remain in positive control of it. Putting it in a purse that then hits the ground is not positive control.

 

[BSA1]

There are many purses to choose from that have a separate compartment to carry a handgun in.

 

[Wisco]

I'm going to be "that guy" I usually dislike, but aren't there already many, many threads out there about purse and bag carry?

 

[DeepSouth]

It's certainly not ideal, but a gun in the purse is better than the one on the night stand. Obviously the trigger should always be covered, method of carry doesn't matter.

I think purse carry is similar to pocket carry. It might be slower than IWB/OWB carry, but it has the advantage that you can have your hands in your pockets or inside your purse and nobody is going to think anything of you. A woman who has her hand purposefully inside her purse (i.e. not digging trying to find something) is probably a much scarier target because they don't know what she has in her hand - keys, pepper spray, a firearm, etc.

Agreed, their can certainly be a method to the (perceived) madness.

 

[GRIZ22]

The big negative with purse carry is you can be separated from your firearm. The purse is also the target for many criminals who just want to part a woman with her money.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Sounds like another incident supporting the myth of Utopia.

This is very little different from the: Enough caliber/Enough rounds/Enough power debates which artificially support a Utopian scenario.

First off - I assume whenever I read something that it is AT LEAST incomplete if not outright flawed through fabrication or misrepresentation.

Secondly - I would ALWAYS rather that my wife cope with the imperfect scenario of a firearm in her purse than none at all and the simple fact of the matter is; sometimes, for her, it's purse or nothing.


Todd.

 

[RugerBob]

I guess it depends on how serious you take the carry law. I can't carry a gun at work, nor can I have one in my tool box.
My wife can't carry at work either.
We both work in a Hospital. Different hospitals.
I like my wifes carry purse. Over the shoulder of course. But what do you do if you carry and can't have it on 'the job'? Not everyone can carry 24-7.
All the RN's I know that are pro gun can't carry 'on the job'.
We have to settle and do what works.

 

[FL-NC]

I agree. A purse is easy to take away. Also, every woman I ever knew- her purse is some kind of black hole that defies every rule of science. If they can't ever find anything in it when they need it... you see where I'm going.

 

[old lady new shooter]

*IF* we had concealed carry here I would not much like the idea of a purse because it's too easily taken away, I would rather have my weapon on my person. But for someone with more CQ ability it might be ok. But de rigeur it would have to have a separate compartment for the gun with a built-in holster. These are now widely available.

 

[PowerG]

No permit is required to carry a handgun in a purse or briefcase in Mississippi, as opposed to in a pocket or holster. That may be the nexus of why the gun was in the purse. When the law was passed I had conversations with several women and/or their SO's who were going to buy a handgun and purse carry when it became legal; apparently it makes sense to some people.

As I understand it the woman who had the gun in the purse is now open to a Tresspassing charge from the hospital. I do know the local news reported that the local PD was not going to file charges.

 

[FL-NC]

Power G- if you say that's the law, I believe you. Does the Magnolia Sate define "purse"?

 

[PowerG]

"No license shall be required under this section for a loaded or unloaded pistol or revolver carried in a purse, handbag, satchel, other similar bag or briefcase or fully enclosed case."

There is an AG opinion published that IIRC states that the enclosed case can't be attached to the body, like a fanny pack. This law is relatively new.

 

[Bula]

I know of 2 purse snatching attempts in our area within a relatively short amount of time. My wife witnessed a woman who refused to let go being dragged by a vehicle in front of a very crowded Costco. She has since stopped carrying her billboard sized expensive purses. Since then I hear very little about what a waste of $ my shooting hobby is. I tell her if anything like that happens, hand it over like right now. On person carry is the only viable way to carry for women. Stuff is replaceable. A drugged up theif POS will likely be happy with the purse. A real bad guy may require a higher level of response. I'm still working on her carrying a small "fill in the blank". Maybe soon, she's a little more receptive now. Training, training and more training are next on the agenda.

 

[PowerG]

People snatch purses and run all the time, far more often than serious assaults...they grab it and run off, and you just lost whatever was in the purse anyway, plus several hundred dollars worth of gun.

 

[buckhorn_cortez]

if this ladies purse is as cluttered and full of crap as my wife's is, any number of things could have protruded into the trigger guard and decelerated at a lesser rate than the handgun when it hit the floor.

Also, every woman I ever knew- her purse is some kind of black hole that defies every rule of science. If they can't ever find anything in it when they need it... you see where I'm going.

Yeah...I see where you're going...someplace you have no idea about. My wife carries in a purse specifically designed for carrying a gun. There is a completely separate compartment, accessible from outside of the purse, in which you carry the gun in an internal holster.

It's not much more difficult for her to get the gun out of the compartment than it is for someone to pull back a coat or shirt and draw a gun carried IWB at a 4-5 o'clock position.

If she's in a situation where she feels uncomfortable - she unzips the outer compartment and simply walks with her hand on the pistol. She carries a Glock G43 +1 magazine.

Prior to the G43, she carried a S&W 636 Chiefs Special for 25 years.

She's practiced getting both guns out of the purse compartment. I think you'd be surprised at how fast that can happen.

I've timed her and she's averages 1.5 - 2 seconds from the timer beep to first shot. If she already has the compartment open with her had on the gun, she's 0.5 - 0.7 seconds to first shot on target.

Before you make stereotype assumptions about how things work, you might want to investigate the problem you've hypothesized a little more thoroughly.

 

[WardenWolf]

The main problem with purse carry is that one of the most common forms of attack on women is purse snatching. Your weapon does you no good if it's taken along with the purse. I get that on-body carry isn't "convenient" with certain apparel, but if you want to be able to effectively defend yourself you need to figure out how to work around it and / or adjust your wardrobe.

 

[Coyote3855]

Well said. Let's not stereotype all women and all women's purses. For what it's worth, my wife doesn't carry a purse and does carry her Kahr P9 on body.

Yeah...I see where you're going...someplace you have no idea about. My wife carries in a purse specifically designed for carrying a gun. There is a completely separate compartment, accessible from outside of the purse, in which you carry the gun in an internal holster.

It's not much more difficult for her to get the gun out of the compartment than it is for someone to pull back a coat or shirt and draw a gun carried IWB at a 4-5 o'clock position.

If she's in a situation where she feels uncomfortable - she unzips the outer compartment and simply walks with her hand on the pistol. She carries a Glock G43 +1 magazine.

Prior to the G43, she carried a S&W 636 Chiefs Special for 25 years.

She's practiced getting both guns out of the purse compartment. I think you'd be surprised at how fast that can happen.

I've timed her and she's averages 1.5 - 2 seconds from the timer beep to first shot. If she already has the compartment open with her had on the gun, she's 0.5 - 0.7 seconds to first shot on target.

Before you make stereotype assumptions about how things work, you might want to investigate the problem you've hypothesized a little more thoroughly.

 

[kBob]

So I had a lady friend that we joked about because she carried this enormous purse on a shoulder strap. Now she had a degree in Criminology, he dad was FBI, and she hung out with me for a bit.

Offered a better paying job in a city a couple of hours away, she moved taking her saddle pack with her.

Soon she found her new work place had been in an area of attacks on women. Some starting as purse snatches and then proceeding to nastier things. She had a CWL, but only because a buddy and I basically made her get it "just in case"

Well, here was the case.

She only had on handgun, which she kept in her night stand at home. She decided to carry that. It is amazing how few places a lady can think of to conceal a S&W Model 1917, all original Brazilian contract, on her person.

So in the purse it went.

Sure enough she was attacked from behind, knocked down and her purse snatched by a guy who said " Let's see what's in here before we get down to business" or words to that effect. She said he seemed quite pleased with himself and looked up with a half smirk as she said "GO AWAY!"

Smirk turned into look of abject horror as he looked at the front end of that .45 ACP revolver and all those Silver Tip hollow points pointed at him.

She claimed he turned and was in motion, running away, before her purse which he dropped hit the ground.

See she always carried from office to car and car to home and vice versa with her hand in the purse and gripping the 1917's grip with her thumb on the holsters thumb break.

It is going to be hard to tell someone like her not to purse carry.........


I used to on occasion carry a larger handgun, with a 6 inch barrel, in a brief case in addition to my concealed carry piece.

Recently thanks to the slow service of the state I actually went "naked" for a bit as my CWL became out of date waiting on a re-issue. My wife took to purse carry (she needs to redo her CWL this week to avoid this as I can't see my carrying a purse for her) when we were out together with the idea that she could hand me the handgun in some situations if needed. I also found the need to carry my stock cane or other heavy cane during those few weeks, darned old knee and back injuries really act up when under stress, like not having my carry piece. Imagine that.

Yes, carry in a purse or bag has "issues", but so does any carry.

-kBob