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CC holsters for women wearing dresses?

Springfield Girl

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I'm not in a OCing state, so I don'thave much choice here.

So my question is do y'all know of any CC holsters for women wearing dresses?

I'm thinking some kind of leg holster? The guns I will be using are an XD-45 serves model, and a XD-9 subcompact.

Any advise would be most appreciated!

I apologize if this topic has already been discussed.
 

MamaLiberty

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That's a tough one! I can't imagine trying to walk around with either of those guns strapped to my leg - in any way! And getting to it would be a real challenge.

I'd suggest a two piece dress or make an opening at the side seam/waist in your regular dresses. Just open the side seam, about 4 inches above the waist and 2 below, or whatever matches your holster position. Hem the edges and secure with velcro or snaps. Start with a sturdy dress of denim or something so you can practice your draw without ripping up a good dress. :)

Then wear an abdomen wrap or belt with holster under the dress. You'd need a blazer or jacket/big shirt to go over the dress, naturally.

Of course, you can always do the purse/fanny pack carry, but I would not personally carry off my body for anything. It's a matter of preference and necessity.

Thanks for posting this because I had not given this a lot of thought. Just started teaching the concealed carry class, and have a lot to learn myself.

Thank heavens I'm in Wyoming where I can - and do carry openly most of the time - and when I wear a dress, the belt goes over it. :)

You might look at this forum: Women & Guns. They have many threads on such things. http://womenandguns.servertalk.in/viewforum.php?f=1&mforum=womenandguns

Here is one recent thread: You Can Still Dress Like a Girl and Carry a Gun

Good luck, and keep posting. I'd love to know what you decide to do.
 

MamaLiberty

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Well, if she's willing to wear a skirt that short - as long as she's careful never to bend over... :p

But that looks mighty uncomfortable to me. The strap would rub the hide off the other leg in a big hurry. And I'd be afraid the whole rig would wind up around my ankle unless it was strangle tight.

No thanks. :)
 

richarcm

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Springfield Girl wrote:
Yes and the most likely to get stolen too!

I want to carry on me always!
How many purses have you had stolen from you?

I've never had a single purse stolen from me! :)
 

Doug Huffman

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Springfield Girl wrote:
Yes and the most likely to get stolen too! I want to carry on me always!
ISTR purses with 'uncuttable' straps. A purse carried diagonally presents so nicely to the gun hand that it would seem irresistible and very proper for a well dressed lady.

A purse for ccw has not been tested in court in South Carolina as has a gentleman's briefcase. Be careful.

Thanks for not anyone mentioning fanny-packs that scream armed, at best - or just weird.
 

richarcm

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FogRider wrote:
richarcm wrote:
How many purses have you had stolen from you?

I've never had a single purse stolen from me! :)
How many times have you used your carry gun?
Many times at the range. Someone could walk up to me and take my gun while open carrying. Even with retention, it's not that difficult or time consuming. Maybe we shouldn't OC out of fear that someone will see our gun and take it.
 

Gordie

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richarcm wrote:
FogRider wrote:
richarcm wrote:
How many purses have you had stolen from you?

I've never had a single purse stolen from me! :)
How many times have you used your carry gun?
Many times at the range. Someone could walk up to me and take my gun while open carrying. Even with retention, it's not that difficult or time consuming. Maybe we shouldn't OC out of fear that someone will see our gun and take it.

How often doesa purse get snatched? How many times have you heard of a gun that was OC getting snatched?

If a purse snatcher gets your purse while you have a gun in it, they will most likely have your home address (drivers licence) to find you again, access to your home (key ring,and they can get right in), your gun (you provided them a weapon), and a getaway car that can't be easily traced to them(key ring again).
 

richarcm

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Gordie wrote:
richarcm wrote:
FogRider wrote:
richarcm wrote:
How many purses have you had stolen from you?

I've never had a single purse stolen from me! :)
How many times have you used your carry gun?
Many times at the range. Someone could walk up to me and take my gun while open carrying. Even with retention, it's not that difficult or time consuming. Maybe we shouldn't OC out of fear that someone will see our gun and take it.

How often doesa purse get snatched? How many times have you heard of a gun that was OC getting snatched?

If a purse snatcher gets your purse while you have a gun in it, they will most likely have your home address (drivers licence) to find you again, access to your home (key ring,and they can get right in), your gun (you provided them a weapon), and a getaway car that can't be easily traced to them (key ring again).
How many people do you see walking around with purses? How many do you see walking around with guns? I'd say both are equally desirable by the bad guys. The difference is in the fact that there are LOTS of purses walking around and very few guns. But I'd say the chances are pretty similar. I've had a sketchy guy stare at my gun, walk by me, brushing up against me and then sat down next to where I was standing at the metro.

I dont know of any woman personally who has ever had her purse stolen. It happens but so do gun grabs...although rarer simply due to numbers.

I say if you are going to wear a dress take a purse and put your gun in it. You wouldn't be the first to carry a purse and not have it stolen. It happens everyday.
 

Gordie

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richarcm wrote:
Gordie wrote:
richarcm wrote:
FogRider wrote:
richarcm wrote:
How many purses have you had stolen from you?

I've never had a single purse stolen from me! :)
How many times have you used your carry gun?
Many times at the range. Someone could walk up to me and take my gun while open carrying. Even with retention, it's not that difficult or time consuming. Maybe we shouldn't OC out of fear that someone will see our gun and take it.

How often doesa purse get snatched? How many times have you heard of a gun that was OC getting snatched?

If a purse snatcher gets your purse while you have a gun in it, they will most likely have your home address (drivers licence) to find you again, access to your home (key ring,and they can get right in), your gun (you provided them a weapon), and a getaway car that can't be easily traced to them (key ring again).
How many people do you see walking around with purses? How many do you see walking around with guns? I'd say both are equally desirable by the bad guys. The difference is in the fact that there are LOTS of purses walking around and very few guns. But I'd say the chances are pretty similar.
I don't know if you have just never taken the time to observe women with their purses, or if you just have never been around women who carried one. If people carried their guns the way most women carry their purses, you would have a good point.

Most people carry their guns securely fastened to some part of their bodies. Most people will not ever set their guns down on a counter in a mall. Most people will never hang their guns on the back of a chair in a crowded restaurant. Most people will not ever leave their gun in their shopping cart while they compare prices on the supermarket shelves.

Most criminals are like most predators, they avoid any risk of a real fight if they can. Why woulda predator go after another animal that has the ability to fight off the attack when there is ample prey that is defenseless around? Why would a criminal go after someone who is armed, risking grievous bodily harm, when there are so many easy victims walking about?
I've had a sketchy guy stare at my gun, walk by me, brushing up against me and then sat down next to where I was standing at the metro.

It sounds like he may have been interested in something other than your gun.:uhoh:

I dont know of any woman personally who has ever had her purse stolen.

How many people do you personally know who have had to use lethal force to defend themselves against criminal attack? Yet you still see a need to be armed.

It happens but so do gun grabs...although rarer simply due to numbers.

Can you give any citation that shows the rate that gun grabsoccur in comparison to gun carrying people outside of law enforcement. If not then this is only opinion, with nothing to back it up but your personal belief.
I say if you are going to wear a dress take a purse and put your gun in it. You wouldn't be the first to carry a purse and not have it stolen. It happens everyday.

Using your logic, I would say, "Don't carry a gun for self defense. You wouldn't be the first person to walk down the street and not be assaulted, raped, robbed, or murdered. It happens every day.":shock:

Of course it also happens every day that someone does get assaulted, raped, robbed, or murdered, just walking down the street. I guess it all comes down to rather or not you are a gambling person. Are you willing to rely on the odds and the laws of probability to protect you?:banghead:

Also let's not forget the Florida grandmother who's granddaughter shot herself withthe grandmothers gun that was in her purse while waiting in line at the supermarket. If you set your purse down at any point, you relinquish control over your gun.

NEVER RELINQUISH CONTROL OF YOUR GUN IN A PUBLIC PLACE.
 

richarcm

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Gordie wrote:
I don't know if you have just never taken the time to observe women with their purses, or if you just have never been around women who carried one. If people carried their guns the way most women carry their purses, you would have a good point.

Most people carry their guns securely fastened to some part of their bodies. Most people will not ever set their guns down on a counter in a mall. Most people will never hang their guns on the back of a chair in a crowded restaurant. Most people will not ever leave their gun in their shopping cart while they compare prices on the supermarket shelves.

Most criminals are like most predators, they avoid any risk of a real fight if they can. Why woulda predator go after another animal that has the ability to fight off the attack when there is ample prey that is defenseless around? Why would a criminal go after someone who is armed, risking grievous bodily harm, when there are so many easy victims walking about?

It sounds like he may have been interested in something other than your gun.:uhoh:

How many people do you personally know who have had to use lethal force to defend themselves against criminal attack? Yet you still see a need to be armed.

Can you give any citation that shows the rate that gun grabsoccur in comparison to gun carrying people outside of law enforcement. If not then this is only opinion, with nothing to back it up but your personal belief

Using your logic, I would say, "Don't carry a gun for self defense. You wouldn't be the first person to walk down the street and not be assaulted, raped, robbed, or murdered. It happens every day.":shock:

Of course it also happens every day that someone does get assaulted, raped, robbed, or murdered, just walking down the street. I guess it all comes down to rather or not you are a gambling person. Are you willing to rely on the odds and the laws of probability to protect you?:banghead:

Also let's not forget the Florida grandmother who's granddaughter shot herself withthe grandmothers gun that was in her purse while waiting in line at the supermarket. If you set your purse down at any point, you relinquish control over your gun.

NEVER RELINQUISH CONTROL OF YOUR GUN IN A PUBLIC PLACE.
Obviously carrying a gun in your purse would require that you keep a much closer eye on it than if it just contained an ID and some eye liner. That is part of owning a gun. Right?

And don't kid yourself...just because your gun has "retention" does not mean it can not easily be taken from you. If it is THAT hard to grab then it will be THAT hard, most likely, to draw when you need it. Either way I don't see how having a gun in a purse and keeping it in a responsible fashion is much different than openly carrying the gun in public.

No, the guy that was staring at my GUN obviously was interested in the GUN. What else would he be interested in? Maybe he was staring at the gun because it enlightened him on how to take my wallet? Doubtful.

I'm not saying gun grabs are common. But I'm also not saying, considering the number of purses in existence, that purse grabbings are common....by percentages. Of course there are MORE. There are MORE purses than openly carried guns!! LOL

I'm just saying if you are THAT concerned about your safety don't wear the dress or maybe put a gun in a purse THAT YOU RETAIN RESPONSIBLY. If you don't like that option YOU don't have to use it. But hopefully you aren't going to be wearing any dresses or purses any time real soon anyways.......
 

Gordie

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richarcm wrote:
And don't kid yourself...just because your gun has "retention" does not mean it can not easily be taken from you. If it is THAT hard to grab then it will be THAT hard, most likely, to draw when you need it.
Can you cite one case of a person not in LE having their gun snatched while OCing? Depending on what type of holster you use, they can be very difficult for another person to take your gun from you, while still being very easy to draw from yourself.

No, the guy that was staring at my GUN obviously was interested in the GUN. What else would he be interested in?

Who knows? Maybe he just liked the way you accessorized.
I'm not saying gun grabs are common. But I'm also not saying, considering the number of purses in existence, that purse grabbings are common....by percentages. Of course there are MORE. There are MORE purses than openly carried guns!! LOL
That is why crime statistics are rated on a per capita basis.

If you have 10 murders in a city of 1,000,000 people you have a murder rate of 1 per 100,000. If you have 5 murders in a city of 1,000, you would havea murder rate of 500 per 100,000. Even though 5 is a lower number, it is a much worse rate.

There are thousands of purses stolen every year, how many gun grabs occur (outside of LE)?

I'm just saying if you are THAT concerned about your safety don't wear the dress or maybe put a gun in a purse THAT YOU RETAIN RESPONSIBLY.

That was the whole point of the OP, how to wear the dress and CC in a secure, safe, and comfortablemanner.

To retain the purse securely would mean keeping it slung over your head across your body the entire time the you are carrying your gun. This would include dinner in a restaurant, at the theater for the entire length of the show, andon the dance floor at the club.

This is why it is such a difficult problem, there doesn't seem to be an easy answer. I know that my wife would have a hard time concealing anything extra while wearing her favorite dress. She jokes that she conceals her gun on me. This works OK until she needs to go to the ladies room.

Develop a holster that can be comfortably worn with "that little dress" that she likes so much, without showing that she is armed or appearing to be deformed, and you will make millions.:celebrate
But hopefully you aren't going to be wearing any dresses or purses any time real soon anyways.......
Not to worry, I don't have thefigure to pull it off, and I refuse to shave my legs.:lol: Just thinking of the sight of it scares me to death.:what: I'll likely have nightmares for a week.
 

richarcm

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Gordie wrote:
richarcm wrote:
And don't kid yourself...just because your gun has "retention" does not mean it can not easily be taken from you. If it is THAT hard to grab then it will be THAT hard, most likely, to draw when you need it.
Can you cite one case of a person not in LE having their gun snatched while OCing? Depending on what type of holster you use, they can be very difficult for another person to take your gun from you, while still being very easy to draw from yourself.

No, the guy that was staring at my GUN obviously was interested in the GUN. What else would he be interested in?

Who knows? Maybe he just liked the way you accessorized.
I'm not saying gun grabs are common. But I'm also not saying, considering the number of purses in existence, that purse grabbings are common....by percentages. Of course there are MORE. There are MORE purses than openly carried guns!! LOL
That is why crime statistics are rated on a per capita basis.

If you have 10 murders in a city of 1,000,000 people you have a murder rate of 1 per 100,000. If you have 5 murders in a city of 1,000, you would havea murder rate of 500 per 100,000. Even though 5 is a lower number, it is a much worse rate.

There are thousands of purses stolen every year, how many gun grabs occur (outside of LE)?

I'm just saying if you are THAT concerned about your safety don't wear the dress or maybe put a gun in a purse THAT YOU RETAIN RESPONSIBLY.

That was the whole point of the OP, how to wear the dress and CC in a secure, safe, and comfortablemanner.

To retain the purse securely would mean keeping it slung over your head across your body the entire time the you are carrying your gun. This would include dinner in a restaurant, at the theater for the entire length of the show, andon the dance floor at the club.

This is why it is such a difficult problem, there doesn't seem to be an easy answer. I know that my wife would have a hard time concealing anything extra while wearing her favorite dress. She jokes that she conceals her gun on me. This works OK until she needs to go to the ladies room.

Develop a holster that can be comfortably worn with "that little dress" that she likes so much, without showing that she is armed or appearing to be deformed, and you will make millions.:celebrate
But hopefully you aren't going to be wearing any dresses or purses any time real soon anyways.......
Not to worry, I don't have thefigure to pull it off, and I refuse to shave my legs.:lol: Just thinking of the sight of it scares me to death.:what: I'll likely have nightmares for a week.
Dude, again, I can't cite a single woman who has had her purse snatched from her either. I can go a day and see 100 women carrying purses. Outside of gun rights meetings I can go 1 year and see a total of 10 random people OCing. There is quite a difference. But again, if you think your retention prevents people from taking your gun you are either really nieve or just feel like arguing.

Yes you do want to dress in a secure manner. Unfortunately the question was how to carry with a DRESS. My suggestion was one of the few offered, the most obvious and pretty common for women. It's not like this particular woman would be the first to carry a gun in her purse.

Please cite one person who has ever had a gun taken from her during a purse grab.

Stop arguing just to argue. I understand that purses get snatched...although I dont know of anyone who has had it happen. I also know that OC'd guns get snatched...although I dont know of anyone who has had that happen to EITHER. If you are THAT concerned about your gun.....CONCEAL IT, and use a holster that is nearly impossible to draw from.
 

Gordie

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richarcm wrote:
Dude, again, I can't cite a single woman who has had her purse snatched from her either. I can go a day and see 100 women carrying purses. Outside of gun rights meetings I can go 1 year and see a total of 10 random people OCing.
You don't have to know the victim personally, just look it up.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cvus/purse_snatching_pocket_picking.htm

Purse snatching/Pocket picking - Theft or attempted theft of property or cash directly from the victim by stealth, without force or threat of force

According the the U.S.DOJ, there were approximately 34,250 purse snatchings in 2006 (the latest year for which data is available).

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus/current/cv0626.pdf

(This doesn't include purse thefts where force or threat of force was used.)

I could find only one report of an OCer being robbed of his gun, and it was later proven false.

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/open-carry-discussion/5972-man-open-carrying-robbed-his-gun.html

But again, if you think your retention prevents people from taking your gun you are either really nieve or just feel like arguing.

Retention can only slow them down, you have to do your part too.
My suggestion was one of the few offered, the most obvious and pretty common for women. It's not like this particular woman would be the first to carry a gun in her purse.
Agreed, but it does have it's issues. Just because it has been done before, doesn't mean it should be continued, for reasons already covered.

Please cite one person who has ever had a gun taken from her during a purse grab.

Show me that they haven't. I have already looked up info for my side of the argument and some for your side in regards to OCer being robbed of a gun. It only makes sense that if there are 34,250 purse snatchings in one year, that the risk would be there. Obviously, anything in the purse would be stolen in a purse snatching. The BG won't stop and give the gun back to the woman and keep the rest of the stuff.

Also, not a purse snatching, but don't forget the 4 year old in Florida who shot herself with her grandmothers gun in a grocery store. That's right, gun in purse.

Stop arguing just to argue.

I provide stats and citations to back my argument and you provide anecdotes and opinion. I think you need to take your own advice.
I also know that OC'd guns get snatched
If this is known, then you should be able to cite. I've already looked for an example and found only one, which was discredited.

If you are THAT concerned about your gun.....CONCEAL IT, and use a holster that is nearly impossible to draw from.

Good retention holsters are easily mastered with a little practice. I know someone who even uses one in competition, it doesn't seem toslow her down at all.
 

ixtow

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for security and 'possession maintenance' I think the purse suggestion is fail. Purses aren't often made with straps you can count on. That's why snatching them is commonplace. Secondly, it places the owner in a position of fighting to hang on to it.

Come to think of it, why do women even have purses? It's clearly not a good idea to put a gun in it, why would you put anything else valuable in it: for all the same reasons? Now that I analyze the idea, wow, what a dumb thing to do...

Besides, a woman in camo BDUs is WAAAYY sexier than a mini skirt... But that's just me... ;-)
 
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