Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Dreaded "Man Purse"

I admit it: I have a collection of messenger bags. Yes, some like to call this a "man purse". Really, that's what it is. You may know them by their other names such as "man bag", "shoulder bag", "jack pack" with reference to one carried by Jack Bauer on 24.

From a practical standpoint, it is hard to argue against the utility of carrying a messenger bag for guys. Let's face it, these days we carry a lot of junk with us. It used to be just a wallet, keys, maybe a pocket knife. None of these items would crack or break if flexed wrong or banged on a table as you walk by. Now we have a cell phone, iPod, sometimes a PDA in addition to the cell phone, digital camera, maybe some other things we'd like to always have with us like a pen, note pad, a pack of gum, etc. Just add some makeup and you have the contents of a typical purse!

Some of us also carry a laptop, which fits easily in most messenger bags.

Once you can get over the stigma of carrying a bag that some rednecks call a "man purse", then you may find them very useful. Right now, I have the following things in my bag: my keys, a Bible, a notepad, couple of pens, iPod, two pairs of earphones, business cards, two multi-tools, a pocket knife, a flashlight... and depending on where I am going I might also have a portable 4-track digital recorder in there, my laptop, maps, or whatever else I might need.

Normally, I carry a nice leather messenger bag that I got from Wilson's Leather Outlet. This bag looks good with nearly any casual clothing up to a sport coat and jeans. I also have a messenger bag I carry when I commute on my bicycle; a nylon/polyester Eastsport bag that is bigger, carries my laptop, sometimes clothing, my lunch, spare tubes and CO2 cartridges, etc. I have a variety of other messenger bags that I use for other purposes like hiking or if I need to keep things dry, etc.

Now the use of "off-body carry" for a concealed handgun is a very controversial topic. A messenger bag lends itself to this mode of carry quite well, better than a typical woman's purse and better than a fanny pack in many respects.

First of all, a fanny pack is not a normal, fashionable accessory. I am sorry if you are older or have outdated fashion sense, but for Gen-X guys, a fanny pack is also known as a "fag bag" or a "dork pack". Some say a fanny pack "screams gun", which means, anyone will guess you have a gun in there. I don't agree. It may "scream gun" to a bunch of other CHL holders or cops but it "screams" dork to everyone else. Furthermore, if the rest of your clothes do not say dork then a fanny pack looks out of place. This is why it "screams gun", because most of us CHL holders would see this out of place fashion accessory and figure, why would that guy be carrying that, other than to carry a gun?

A messenger bag, on the other hand, looks much more normal for a fashion-conscious Gen-X guy to be carrying. Maybe some folks are going to make fun of you for carrying a "man purse" but they are not going to immediately associate it with a gun. In fact they are more likely to immediately associate it with carrying a laptop computer.

Messenger bags have a lot going for them for concealed carry. One of these things is positioning. I carry my messenger bag over my shoulder, with the strap over my left shoulder and the bag on my right side. The strap is adjusted so the bag sits right where my strong side hand can get into it easily. Another thing it has going for it is misdirection. Since a gun is not the only thing in your bag, most people will not figure you are getting a gun out of the bag. If you suspect trouble, you can reach in the bag and get a grip on your gun, even draw it, while still keeping it concealed. You may not even expose the gun in case the threat is resolved without drawing, but you will have actually drawn the gun under the flap of the messenger bag.

Now, there is not a lot of information out there about using a messenger bag for concealed carry. There is a lot of information for women about using a purse for carry (which is not the greatest idea, IMHO), but not much of it applies to messenger bags. There are a number of dedicated messenger bags or shoulder bags out there made especially for concealed carry, which include a hoslter inside the bag. The Maxpedition packs of this variety are not only expensive, but they are overly tacticool looking for most normal use. Maybe if you are really a bigtime geek, they will look natural. The maker of Crossbreed holsters offers a nice looking leather messenger bag for CCW but it is very expensive. You don't need this type of dedicated bag. Almost any normal messenger bag can be made to work. It helps to know what to look for when shopping for a CCW-compatible messenger bag.

Most messenger bags have some features in common. Normally they are constructed with a large main compartment and a large flap that completely covers the front of the bag. Under the flap, the outside of the bag usually has a variety of shaped pockets to hold things like pens, an iPod, cell phone, etc. Usually inside the main compartment, they will have one or more pockets, often times one on the body-side with a zipper to hold change or things like that, and sometimes other pockets inside the main compartment. Many messenger bags also have a body-side pocket that is closed with velcro or no closure, that is flat and thin but runs the whole length of the exterior of the bag that rests against your body when you carry it. And most messenger bags also have some kind of large pocket on the flap that folds over the front of the bag. These pockets are the key to the usefulness for CHL.

Thinking about how you would draw from the pack, opening the flap does not seem like the best way. So getting a bag with a body-side pocket can be a very good thing for the storage of your CCW. However, keeping the gun in position in this type of pocket may not be simple. The easiest way is to fit a holster (such as a cheap Uncle Mike's or other pocket holster) into this pocket, and perhaps secure it in there somehow so it doesn't move around. You might use safety pins or something to hold it in place. In one of my bags, I made a panel that is the size of the interior of the pocket with velcro that allows me to stick a holster in there. The problem with this approach is that if you use a very big gun in there, it tends to hold that pocket open and interferes with good concealment. With the right thin, light pistol such as my Kahr CW9 or a Kel-Tec PF9, this solution is about the best way of using a messenger bag for concealed carry.

The next option is to put the gun in the main compartment somewhere. A bag with a zipper or other pocket that lays flat with the inside surface that is nearest the body side is the best choice for this. The zipper pocket should be large enough to fit a pocket holster in it, and to fit the pistol in there. Then you can just put a pocket holster in it and put whatever gun you want in there. To change the angle or get the grip to stick up out of the pocket, use safety pins to change the depth or shape of the inside of the pocket.

The outside zip pocket that you typically find on the flap of a messenger bag might be a good place to keep a gun but it will knock around a whole lot when you do have to get to anything other than the gun in the bag. I wouldn't suggest it for this reason. Those outside-flap pockets are great for subway maps or business cards.

With a little creativity and a pocket holster, you can adapt most bags to work. It would probably be best to get the right pocket holster first, and then take it shopping with you for the bag. Test-fit the holster in the pocket you intend to use and see how it's going to work. Getting a bag that has a strap that can be adjusted so that you can carry it on your strong side and get the correct grip on the gun is important.

Now, one last note about using a messenger bag for off-body carry. Just like any other mode of carry, practice makes perfect. If you are going to use a messenger bag to carry a weapon, then you should probably get in the habit of carrying the bag most of the time. When you have a gun in there, you absolutely have to carry the bag 100% of the time, don't set it down, don't leave it anywhere. If you don't always carry in the messenger bag and don't want to get made by friends or acquaintances who don't know you carry, then you should make a habit of carrying the bag all the time even if you are not carrying a pistol in it.

For example, I carry my messenger bag all the time. Most of the time I carry my Kahr IWB with a FIST K3. Sometimes I have the pistol in the bag. Everyone knows I have this bag with me all the time. Often friends will ask for gum or to borrow a pen and they see me going in and getting it from the bag. Sometimes I leave the bag (with no gun in it) unattended and direct my friends to help themselves to gum or paper or whatever they might need out of there. So when I am carrying a gun in the bag, they would never suspect it.

I really like messenger bags, not just for CCW but for general use. Don't let the rednecks calling it a purse dissuade you from trying it.

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