(Today’s article was written by my wife Trudee.)
I have been discouraged by the gun holster options available to women. The purse idea works best for me but if Mr. Dirtbag steals my purse, he gets my gun too. Not to mention the awkward drawing from a purse. It’s something we have to train for should that be where we decide to carry our firearms, ladies.
All that being said, I decided that a cross-body purse would be my best option for retention. Yes, the straps can still be cut but I’m likely to feel that fairly quickly, since my situational awareness is engaged and I’m alert. Much more of the strap comes into contact with the body in a cross-body purse as well, creating a more secure option.
I had been carrying concealed in a regular purse, purchased at JCPenney. I had been using an inside pocket for concealment. After repeated drawing drills, I realized that this was just not practical. There was NO way I was getting my gun out quietly or quickly if I needed it.
Sears. That’s where I was. I stopped there to pick up a new grill cover since ours didn’t do so well over the winter. While I was there, I decided to browse their cross-body purse options. I found one. I had my regular purse with me. And my gun was in it. I don’t know about your state but here in Minnesota, there isn’t ANY way I’d have gotten away with taking my gun out of one purse and putting it into one I hadn’t paid for yet. I had to use my imagination to decide if I thought one of this purses’ outer pockets would conceal my Glock 19 well enough. I decided it was worth a shot.
I paid for the grill cover and this new “gun holster” and headed home, excited about what I might be able to accomplish with this purse that I hadn’t been able to with any of the others.
I’m no seamstress. I can fix a button and have recently learned to darn wool socks. I cross stitch and crochet, sometimes latch hook. That’s the extent of my “yarn and thread” experience. I was nervous about how I’d get my purse holster attached. It has hook and loop (Velcro) on either side of the holster itself, so I knew that it would involve somehow attaching more hook and loop to the inner lining of the purse. I was prepared to 1earn how to sew the hook and loop into the purse, regardless of the work it might be for such a novice. It turns out that 3M makes an adhesive hook and loop “tape” that actually sticks to cloth!! Imagine my amazement and excitement!!
I experimented a little bit, hoping not to waste very much. It worked!!! My holster now sits in an open pocket of my new cross-body purse! One of the two front pockets holds my pepper spray and my tactical flashlight. The pepper spray is attached to the purse via the paracord keychain I made. These things are designed to distract while I draw. Chris tells me he’s impressed with my “tactical purse”. That’s a big deal to me, since he’s the preparedness guy around here.
available at Amazon in multiple colors, much to Chris’ chagrin.
The flashlight is a 5.11 Atac Plx Pen Light Blk
