Lillian M. and her husband regularly shop at a Publix grocery store in Land O’ Lakes, Florida.
She is a concealed carry permit holder and often carries a two-shot pistol inside her purse.
One day, while standing in the checkout line at Publix, Lillian’s purse accidentally fell from the counter and hit the ground.
When the purse hit the ground, the pistol inside Lillian’s purse fired.
According to police, her husband was shot in the shin when the pistol was fired. He was taken to a local hospital where he recovered.
Police said no criminal charges were expected to be filed.
One shopper said people ran for the exits. He added, “There was mass confusion and just trying to get the word out.”
A retired deputy said, “Hopefully she’ll be okay because she is going to go through as much trauma as her husband because she shot somebody she cared about. Even though it was an accident. It could have been a lot worse.”
While I’m not a big fan of carrying a weapon off-body, I realize there are situations when carrying off-body makes the most sense.
For example, maybe your attire makes it impossible to wear a holster. Or maybe you are doing a strenuous activity and don’t want the holster to move around.
This is when a blast from the past might make sense: wearing a fanny pack.
The benefits of wearing a fanny pack for concealed carry:
Convenient:
Carrying a concealed weapon in a fanny pack is convenient. You don’t have to mess with a holster or put it on your pants belt.
You can just put the gun in your fanny pack and go.
Plus, if you are sitting, walking, or standing the fanny pack should be relatively comfortable.
If you keep the pistol in a holster inside your fanny pack, you can add other things like your wallet, cash, a knife, etc.
Of course, you want to keep safety in mind and make sure the trigger is not exposed.
And there are plenty of different size options that will fit your favorite pistol.
Comfort:
There are many different positions and ways to carry a concealed weapon on your body, but the truth is, it’s not always comfortable.
My point is, a fanny pack is an easy way to solve any issues with physical comfort.
You don’t have to worry about what you wear or if your shirt bulks up.
Also, depending on your body type it might be hard to prevent your weapon from imprinting and being seen by others, providing peace of mind.
Versatility:
The biggest benefit of carrying concealed in a fanny pack is that you can wear it in any position you want.
The range of styles and possibilities is endless.
Plus, you can shift the position of the fanny pack depending on the task you are doing.
For instance, you can move the fanny pack to your side if you need to make room for a seatbelt.
Finally, these days, there are so many different styles of fanny packs, you can find the best option for you.
Drawbacks to carrying concealed in a fanny pack:
Training:
If you’ve carried concealed for a long time, you have hopefully trained to draw your gun from your holster, whether on your hip, appendix, etc.
But anytime you change the way or position you carry your gun, you need to adjust your training accordingly.
So, there will be an adjustment, and you will need to train and practice drawing your pistol from your fanny pack instead of your holster.
Speed:
No question, drawing from a fanny pack will be slower compared to drawing from your hip.
It takes more time to open the fanny pack, grab the gun, and remove it from the pack.
Practice will increase your speed, but it will still be slower due to the manipulation required to open the pack.
Two hands:
A fanny pack will almost always either require two hands to draw or require two different motions from the same hand.
For instance, it could take one hand to unzip or open the pack and another hand to grab the weapon.
This can be done with one hand but will likely slow down the draw a little bit.
Now, if you’re interested in using a fanny pack, options to look at are the Blackhawk Fanny Pack or the Larkoo Concealed Carry Fanny Pack.
In addition, whether you choose to use a fanny pack or not, you should have some very specific gear ready and on hand at all times.
