I'm also guilty of the Uncle Mike's crappy holster newbie club. That lasted until I sat down and coughed out my revolver. Small of the back carry for awhile. Then the vest-for-concealment club. I didn't quite go to the photographer's vest, although I did consider it.
Empty chamber for a very very short time. And that was with a Bulgarian Makarov in a cheap uncle mikes holster my dad had given me. That has since been remedied by a new gun(s), and some kydex. Things are much better! I wonder how many people on this forum have a cheap uncle mikes, or similar holster? Maybe a burn pile sometime? . I am still guilty of not having a great belt, but that's on the short list! Good thread!
We've all been there. Something compelled us to buy a gun, and then we decided to carry it. And along the way we made some silly mistakes.
This was a tangent from another thread ( https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/319224-what-your-thoughts.html ) that I thought would be interesting on its own.
So what were some of the lessons you learned the hard way? Anything lurking in your gun-carrying past that you'd like to share with the rest of the class? Perhaps we can help those new to carrying avoid some of the common mistakes that first-time gun toters often make. And while there is lots of good advice to give, let's stick with the stuff you did first-hand.
Here are some gems from the other thread to get things started:
Empty chamber for a very very short time. And that was with a Bulgarian Makarov in a cheap uncle mikes holster my dad had given me. That has since been remedied by a new gun(s), and some kydex. Things are much better! I wonder how many people on this forum have a cheap uncle mikes, or similar holster? Maybe a burn pile sometime? . I am still guilty of not having a great belt, but that's on the short list! Good thread!
While in college I crashed my bike on the way to class. On campus. In front of probably 50-75 students.
My gun came out of my $11 fabric holster, flew over my back and landed in the grass about 10 feet away.
Even though I was bleeding fairly badly from my elbow and leg I had to hobble over and stuff it and all my books in my backpack and push my now unrideable bike out of there as quickly as I could.
Buy good gear.
I am also guilty of the Uncle Mike's IWB floppy fabric holster like most of us. I carried a Glock 19 for a while using it. It is now my bedside gun. Now I carry a Beretta Nano with a 5.11 belt and the factory Beretta IWB holster, I'm sure that there are better holsters, but haven't taked the time to try them out yet.