imported post
JB wrote:
I'm not trying to get too personal here, but I was curious how you folks go about "powdering your nose" while carrying. I thought I read a story on this forum where a guy was pointing his gun in the air and fired off a round (no pun intended) while in a stall. As I said, not trying to get into specifics, but I think the question is legitimate.
This was actually discussed quite a bit back on PDO and I actually found the discussion quite useful.
First of all, using a urinal in a public restroom is a fairly disadvantaged position. Your back is to the room, your hands are a bit busy, and your most cherished appendige is hanging out. In any kind of questionable or uncontrolled environment, then, I tend to use a stall even to urinate. It puts a door between me and the rest of world which is more than I get standing at a urinal. It also offers some privacy for those times when I am CCing and don't care to have the firearm noticed.
With that, urinating is never a problem as I leave my pants buttoned and belt fastened when carrying with a belt rig. The zipper provides adequate access for urination.
For BMs what I do depends on how and what I am carrying. I've found that my gun belt is stiff enough to hold the holster in a reasonable position even with my pants around my calves while sitting. So I often do that. If for any reason that isn't working well, or I'm concerned about how close my holster is to the side of the stall (don't want anything getting grabbed from under the stall wall, or if CCing, even noticed) I will do as others have suggested and unholster and lay the firearm into the crotch of my pants. This keeps it out of sight, and quite secure, and I'm not about to forget it as I leave.
As you get a little more comfortable carrying, the question of how best to handle the firearm will be fairly naturally resolved as you bear in mind a couple of basic rules:
1-Observe proper safety to avoid NDs;
2-Maintain proper control of the firearm to avoid having it stolen or forgotten (this pretty much precludes setting a gun on the back of the toilett, or hanging a gun belt from the ubiquitous coat hook on the stall door).
All the best.
Charles