So I recently picked up a shoulder holster for my 1911. Granted, it's primarily a concealed rig, but I found myself unintentionally carrying openly at a restaurant.
It's cooooold cold cold here in Minnesota (the low tonight will be -11 F) so I walked into the restaurant bundled up with a winter coat, scarf, gloves, a sport coat under that, then the shoulder holster and t-shirt. We got to our table and I removed my layers - As I got my winter coat 3/4s of the way off myself, I realized my sport coat came along with it (it should have been buttoned in front, but I was driving earlier). An adjacent guest already had their eyes curiously locked on my holster, so I didn't want to suspiciously cover back up. I casually removed both coats, tossed them on the booth, and sat down.
My girlfriend gave me a little wide eyed look, followed by a smirk and we went on with normal table discussion. Thankfully I'm so used to carrying openly over the years that I was comfortable and didn't make a big deal about it. The waitress greeted us, asked for our drink orders, then asked if I had just gotten off work. I said no, I'm just taking the girl out for dinner, and smiled. I'm assuming she was asking about the holster and implying that it was for my job (which it is not). She didn't ask anything else and was a surprisingly good waitress the rest of the meal!
I learned a valuable CC lesson regarding cover garment retention, and I also feel a lot more comfortable about OC with a shoulder rig. If you act friendly and confidently, it doesn't really matter what holster you use.
It's cooooold cold cold here in Minnesota (the low tonight will be -11 F) so I walked into the restaurant bundled up with a winter coat, scarf, gloves, a sport coat under that, then the shoulder holster and t-shirt. We got to our table and I removed my layers - As I got my winter coat 3/4s of the way off myself, I realized my sport coat came along with it (it should have been buttoned in front, but I was driving earlier). An adjacent guest already had their eyes curiously locked on my holster, so I didn't want to suspiciously cover back up. I casually removed both coats, tossed them on the booth, and sat down.
My girlfriend gave me a little wide eyed look, followed by a smirk and we went on with normal table discussion. Thankfully I'm so used to carrying openly over the years that I was comfortable and didn't make a big deal about it. The waitress greeted us, asked for our drink orders, then asked if I had just gotten off work. I said no, I'm just taking the girl out for dinner, and smiled. I'm assuming she was asking about the holster and implying that it was for my job (which it is not). She didn't ask anything else and was a surprisingly good waitress the rest of the meal!
I learned a valuable CC lesson regarding cover garment retention, and I also feel a lot more comfortable about OC with a shoulder rig. If you act friendly and confidently, it doesn't really matter what holster you use.
