There is the new-carry-phenomenon of wanting to carry the biggest gun that a person can carry. So, you strap on your .454 Casull wheelgun, or HK91, and walk around for a while. Everything is ducky – for a while. Eventually you realize that strapping on that heavy thing is somewhat cumbersome, especially if you are only going to Home Depot (“hey, I’ve never been robbed before while picking up a box of screws, so maybe I don’t need this thing for this ONE trip”). Eventually people start moving down in gun size and spare mags, and/or they stop carrying EVERY time they leave the house.
Our geographical location puts us in this mini-quandary every year. In the winter I would find myself loaded down with my main weapon, spare mags for it, a back-up weapon, and a spare mag or speed-loader for it, a big knife, a flashlight, handcuffs, and maybe even something else (whatever other new toy that I had recently developed a fondness for). Hell, I was reluctant to go near open bodies of water, for fear of falling in and drowning under the weight of all the stuff that I was carrying around. As I hate the summer, in March I would attempt to free myself from wearing a coat, but found myself still wearing it until May to cover up my wearable-ready-bag.
Somewhere along the path from got-nothin’ to got-everything-including-a-cleaning-kit-on me – is where you have to draw the line. I’ve carried from a .22 to a .44, and worn ankle, IWB, OWB, small of the back, behind the hip bone, pelvic, pocket, and shoulder holsters. I’ve also carried off-person (in a baggie thing). So, it really is a trial and error deal. The main thing is to find something that you are comfortable with, both in size and caliber. And something that you know that you will religiously carry, but also that will give you a fighting chance of getting out of the situation alive.
You never want to find yourself facing an attacker, saying “At home I have a belt-fed .50 BMG cut down for concealed carry,” with his response being “I have a knife that’s with me.”
