Network Sponsors Get You Ready for a Safer Summer
by Gila Hayes
Have you ever said, “Temperatures are really high today! I’m gonna faint if I have to wear the extra shirt to conceal my gun”?
You predict that evil won’t find you and off you go to the lake, the downtown sidewalk sale, or other summertime fun. Maybe your gift of prophecy will be accurate; maybe it will fail miserably and on the way back to the downtown parking garage a criminal decides he is willing to kill you to get your wallet, your wedding ring, or if you’ve made it to your vehicle, perhaps he finds your car of greater value to him than your life. If your skills at predicting the future aren’t 100%, wouldn’t it be nice to have some hot weather carry options? Without argument, we prefer belt holsters, but let’s not be so dictatorial that we leave folks without ways to go discreetly armed where, while legal, being seen carrying a gun would be likely result in great discomfort for others attending the event.
Two of the Network’s corporate sponsors have built small businesses (that are growing into larger enterprises) around very low profile concealed carry. With summer arriving and temperatures soaring, you may decide putting a gun in a pants pocket is your best option. How to do that safely?
If you carry a small gun, you’ll find help from the pocket holsters Tod Cole of Recluse in Gig Harbor, WA pioneered in 2006 and has been building ever since. In the beginning, pocket guns were primarily snub-nosed revolvers and .380 and .32 autos. Nowadays, a number of pocket nines are available, and Tod’s one-sided and two-sided pocket designs have kept up with holsters for the newer pistols that, if they print at all, make an outline that merely looks like a wallet. His pocket holsters provide the safety of either a covered or a secured trigger guard in a rig that prevents the gun from shifting around and keeps it accessible for a smooth draw.
Recluse includes options that slip unobtrusively into a side pocket on cargo pants or shorts while remaining securely upright in the pocket, thanks to a wider, reinforced leather tab on the bottom. Other models, shown to the left, fit in a front trouser pocket.
Recluse holsters are made of black or tan horsehide for minimal bulk with maximum durability. Each holster is custom made according to the specifications from the customer, can be configured to accommodate lasers, oversized front sights, and some have the option to hold a spare magazine. Alternatively, pocket magazine pouches can be ordered separately. Tod notes that his order queue is so full that it is taking up to five weeks plus shipping time to get your custom Recluse pocket holster. Learn more at https://recluseholster.com or call 866-960-1264.
Generally, we pocket carry short-barreled pistols – snubby revolvers, micro-compact semi-auto pistols with two- or three-inch barrels. Jay and Georgeann French changed all that in 2010 when they introduced the purpose-built CCW Breakaways carry trousers with their snap-secured extra-large slash pockets that can carry a full sized handgun below the point at which hip and thigh flex, as the “X-ray” illustration below shows. With nearly the entire front panel of their trousers or shorts hiding a deep gun pocket, Breakaways work for either right-handed shooters or lefties. Breakaway shorts come in gray, tan, gold, stone or black khaki or denim, with the same fabric choices, plus navy for long pants.
As is true for any pocket- or bag-carry, no keys, pocket change, knives or anything else should ever be jammed in with the pistol! As an additional safeguard for those of us who like to double up on our safety provisions, CCW Breakaways brought out the hard Kydex® SkinTight Holster that fully covers the trigger guard. The little pouch has a tacky neoprene exterior that keeps it in the pocket when the gun is drawn. Jay also makes Velcro® backed magazine carriers – Magsocks – that can double as pouches to make sure your flashlight, pepper spray or blade always stays in the same place, too.
There are lots more details and a lot of video about CCW Breakways at https://ccwbreakaways.com or call 717-774-2152. Jay has stayed in touch over the years, so I’ve followed the way he has overcome difficulties common to any clothing manufacturing enterprise, and to Jay and his wife’s credit, they’ve hung in there through the hard times. It is great to see their success! Standard shipping brings your order to you in 2-8 business days, but if you waited too long to order and your vacation departure is coming up fast, Breakways has a 1-3 business day premium shipping option for a little more.