Smith & Wesson Forum - View Single Post - It's winter, you're carrying concealed, and...

Naphtali · 01-15-2017, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISCS Yoda

So, my question is inspired by the current cold snap, since I wear a coat VERY infrequently, and because my many years of routinely carrying a handgun holstered in my pants pocket was altered about a year ago (but not in the winter cold, obviously) when I decided to daily carry a larger .38 revolver IWB or OWB under a vest or light jacket. Not a problem. The problem is on a morning like today, when I bundled up with my usual vest, then a heavy coat and scarf, hat, gloves, etc. Okay, I shed the gloves and hat in the truck but not the coat so it's still part of the equation.

I'm sitting there thinking to myself, "Self, there is no way you can reach that revolver if you need it while you are bundled up like that".

Walking with gloves on and a buttoned up coat is even worse.

What do you folks in cold-weather-land do under these circumstances? It's weird to realize I never think about it because I so rarely have a coat on. Now I'm thinking about it so I am asking.

Thanks.

I discovered the solution to the "zipped up coat" problem when I bought my absurdly expensive Steinbock wool hunting coat - with its two-directional zipper. Until I upgraded my leather jackets and sheepskin coats, all of my frequently worn jackets had their zippers replaced with two-directional zippers. Wearing cross-draw or appendix holster, with zipper unzipped from the bottom until convenient, solves your problem. Zipping "down" takes all of 20 seconds before or just after leaving the car, but not bothering to do it translates to your jacket/coat falling back nearly to its zipped position anyway.

Replacing zippers on non-leather jackets/coats is not difficult for a tailor to do. Leather, on the other hand, is a high-cost specialty job. For example, in Missoula, Montana, I believe only Stan Logan's shop does the work. REI-Missoula does not.

Hope this helps.