If you visit any “gun” webpage you’ll find entries about every day carry (EDC)… and I’m going to add one more. Yesterday as I unloaded my pockets at the end of the day – after having been out running errands with my wife – I realized that the stuff I’m unloading out of my pockets is different than just a month or two ago and a far cry different from what my dad used to take out of his pockets. Of course, he was a lawyer who became a judge and his idea of the ultimate in self-defense preparation was the boxing skills he’d learned in college. Having been a police officer essentially since I got out of high school (thanks to Uncle Sam’s Army and the Military Police Corps), my idea of self-defense preparedness and the items I carry for simple utility are a bit different.
Just over a month ago, as I look back, I wrote an article about how “every day” MEANS EVERY DAY. My conundrum was with the folks who post pictures on social media of their “every day” handgun and it’s a full size (or over size) handgun equipped with a mag well, +5 floorplates on the magazines, a reflex optic, light, laser range finder, suppressor… Okay, I might be exaggerating A BIT. The laser range finder and suppressor aren’t on some of them. But seriously, this is the handgun – what the military refers to as a “weapon system” – that some claim they carry every day, day in and day out and in a properly concealed fashion. I tip my hat to them because I certainly couldn’t hide that handgun properly, especially not in ALL circumstances and modes of dress.
So, as I often do, I found myself pondering the variations that can exist and what impacts the items we carry. How far back do I actually want to consider? Well… like some of my contemporary writing compatriots, I started my law enforcement career in the 1980s and the options that exist today simply weren’t available then. Off-duty carry back then, if you wanted concealment, meant a J-frame Smith & Wesson revolver or a comparably sized Colt. The “cowboys” carried their full size duty weapon – usually a four inch barreled revolver – and two extra speed loaders in a pocket. In the mid-‘80s there were some downsized semi-autos from Smith & Wesson available in 9mm but I remember being criticized for carrying one. “Just how many bullets do you need off-duty, boy? You think you’re gonna have to take on a team of bad guys?” One thing was for certain: no one was carrying a tourniquet, hemostatic agent, flashlight… or a phone for that matter.
Glock debuted in 1985 (for the most part) and dragged with it – as the Army considered replacing the venerable 1911 .45ACP workhorse – a plethora of other double-stack “high capacity” 9mm handguns such as the Beretta 92F and the Sig P226. Those handguns had both been around for a while but neither was in the limelight, so to speak. By 1988 my agency was carrying the Sig P226 and all around us agencies were changing over to the Beretta or the Glock. Not long after the release of the Glock Model 17 followed the Model 19 and that mid-sized 9mm became the dream of many plainclothes officers: a 9mm semi-auto that held 15+1 rounds, was reasonably concealable and you could use 17 round magazines for backup if you wanted. BUT… what were you carrying in the summer, off-duty, in shorts and a t-shirt? (Consider the guys mentioned above with their everyday carry offensive handgun weapon system and how they conceal it in summer heat.)
My favorite seasons are fall and spring simply because concealing a decent handgun is so easy. Hooded sweatshirts, jackets and sweaters make hiding a handgun simple. Winter is equally as good for hiding a gun, but often you have to wear SO many layers that getting to the gun when you need it presents its own challenges. Then I realized that it wasn’t JUST getting to my gun; it was getting to spare magazines, my utility tool, my phone, my ID, etc. Geez… how much crap did I carry every day? I take you back to that moment referenced above when I was emptying out my pockets… “unloading” at the end of the day.
Yep, there was my wallet and my ID (badge) wallet; my handgun (a Glock Model 43 9mm most days now) and two spare magazines; my multi-tool; flashlight; belt badge; knife (front right pocket), knife (front left pocket), smaller knife (left front pocket), lighter (front right pocket), challenge coin (thank you Coast Guard MSRT) and keys (hooked on a belt loop usually). Reading glasses! (Getting old sucks.) My cell phone isn’t pictured because I forgot to grab it for the photo – but yeah… it’s in my pocket every day as well. Wait… No tourniquet? Nope. No hemostatic gauze? Nope.
No… I wasn’t carrying first aid / trauma care items. If I’m working an assignment, yes I’ll have them. They require me to wear pants with cargo pockets OR carry a pack of some kind. For my average every day out and about mode of dress I simply don’t have a method for carrying a small trauma kit. There’s one in my Jeep (tear away pouch on the passenger headrest - I know it may be out of reach when I need it) and another inside my emergency pack (usually in the back of my Jeep but I take it into work with me so it’s nearby).
If we’re not careful, we can get pretty ridiculous pretty fast with what we carry. I know people who already think I carry too much “crap.” Since I can cite a purpose for all of it, and since I’m comfortable with all of it on my person, I listen to their opinion, consider it and give it all of the weight I think it’s worth – which is usually not much. And I’m not being critical of those out there who leave their house each day as if they’re going on patrol in Mosul. If you’re comfortable carrying that weapon system, a full trauma kit and everything else we all need to get through life (these days) day to day, more power to you. All I’m saying is: Don’t kid yourself or think you’re fooling anyone else. SOME of you actually do. MANY post pictures of all the tacticool stuff they carry (to go along with their tacticool beard and mandatory eye pro) and claim it’s their “every day carry.” You know what I find funny, though? In every photo of these domestic warriors, I never see all that stuff. I see shorts or cargo pants, hiking boots, a t-shirt (with appropriate logo and WAY cool, right?), the high speed low drag eye pro and that massive handgun. Sometimes they’re even wearing a holster – but it may or may not fit the handgun. It may be a holster made by whatever company they’re repping at the time the photo was taken.
All I’m saying is that we need to be realistic – first and foremost with ourselves. What are you REALLY going to carry every day no matter the season and no matter where you’re going? Unless I’m going to the beach or pool, that stuff listed above is what I carry every day when I leave my house. I CAN carry (and sometimes do) my Glock 17 or my Springfield Armory 1911… but both are bigger than I can comfortably and easily conceal so I’m usually not going to strap them on. NEITHER of them has a light affixed, mag well, extended magazines, etc. I don’t PLAN to walk into the gunfight at OK Corral; I PLAN on being aware and avoiding it. If I HAVE to pull a handgun, that Glock Model 43 should suit me just fine and yeah… I HOPE I don’t need more than 19 rounds of ammo. I get lectured about that by some. Then again, if the situation is that ugly, how much is enough?
Stay tuned… I’m sure I’ll rant about this again next month.
