Carrying at a Construction Site

[awoken2life]

First off, please don't start the conversations about where we should or shouldn't carry. I have worked in some VERY shady areas and feel a need to carry.

Just wanted to share with fellow construction workers how I carry. As a flooring contractor, I am often on my knees, so IWB is out of the question due to heavy printing. After lots of thought, I purchased a Galco Ankle Glove for my Glock 27. I carry it on my left ankle under my baggy camouflage or cargo pants. I've been doing so for a month now and absolutely no one notices. As you will read about all ankle carry, it is not as convenient, or easy. It is uncomfortable at first, but after a few days, you don't notice it. I also got the calf strap for it, which helps keep it up and feels great.

Hope this bit is helpful for those that are looking to carry at work, and maybe someone might share how they manage to carry in an inconvenient environment.

 

[Almost_Blameless]

Wow, I would never have thought I'd find someone stating that it's comfortable (after a while) to carry ANY glock on the ankle... Glocks just seem too thick and chunky....hell, that's how I feel about them IWB... but that's just me I guess... Actually, I had given great thought to ankle carry for a J frame at one time, but it too seemed to 'bulgy' and I never got used to it....

I do understand your reasoning & hope it continues to work out well for ya...

 

[NavyLCDR]

First off, please don't start the conversations about where we should or shouldn't carry.

I'm sorry, I can't resist. My personal opinion is that you should carry however you choose to carry your gun wherever you choose to carry your gun. To me it's a simple done deal. There are no "No Criminals" zones in this country.

 

[dogshawred]

Navy you really need to see someone about your inability to resist posting like this, really. LOL

 

[snatale42]

First off, please don't start the conversations about where we should or shouldn't carry. I have worked in some VERY shady areas and feel a need to carry.

Just wanted to share with fellow construction workers how I carry. As a flooring contractor, I am often on my knees, so IWB is out of the question due to heavy printing. After lots of thought, I purchased a Galco Ankle Glove for my Glock 27. I carry it on my left ankle under my baggy camouflage or cargo pants. I've been doing so for a month now and absolutely no one notices. As you will read about all ankle carry, it is not as convenient, or easy. It is uncomfortable at first, but after a few days, you don't notice it. I also got the calf strap for it, which helps keep it up and feels great.

Hope this bit is helpful for those that are looking to carry at work, and maybe someone might share how they manage to carry in an inconvenient environment.

I doubt anybody here would lecture you on your reasons for carry! Aside from that SmartCarry was the only holster that ever worked for me while I was at work. I originally got it with my G26, being identical to your 27, I can say it's most likely the best option you've got. Stand, Sit, Bend, Twist, Crawl doesn't matter. Extremely comfortable, and the only carry method I have where I can actually forget about it. It's also my primary carry method during the hot months due to wearing shorts and thin T-Shirts. I'd 100% recomend it, you wouldn't think sticking your gun in front of your junk would be comfortable but it's more comfortable than IWB, although I still carry IWB sometimes.

 

[jcreek]

First off, please don't start the conversations about where we should or shouldn't carry.

I'm sorry, I can't resist. My personal opinion is that you should carry however you choose to carry your gun wherever you choose to carry your gun. To me it's a simple done deal. There are no "No Criminals" zones in this country.

While I do agree with you to a point, as a contractor it gets a little hairy as you are going into other people's private homes.

As to the op: I worked for a general for two years doing residential remodeling. My boss knew I carried everyday but like you said IWB became a problem because of constantly having to bend over. My boss didn't care that I carried as long as the clients didn't find out. He didn't want his clients knowing he had full sleeve tattoos either so he always wore long sleeve shirts. I tried several things to get my shirt to stop from riding up over my gun but short of wearing a long sweatshirt nothing worked. I eventually relented and left my EDC in the van and just carried my BUG, which is a J-frame in a Galco ankle glove as well. It worked very well and no one ever noticed. The one problem you will find is that your gun will get very very dirty carrying on your ankle in construction.

 

[jrs]

There are a lot of options available as far as guns and holsters are concerned. You may want to consider a small, lightweight pistol like a Ruger LCP or LC9 (or equivalent). They're pretty lightweight and you can carry on the ankle, pocket carry.... whatever is comfortable. I've also seen that Beretta is coming out with the PICO, a .380 which weighs just 10 oz, unloaded. I'm not sure when they'll be available, but I'll be taking a look as my usual work attire is business casual(khakis & golf shirt), so I can't leave my shirt untucked. My occupation takes me into people's homes and in over 10 years, I've never had anybody suspect or question...including off duty LEO's. In fact, I was having a conversation about the NY Safe Act with an off duty LEO in his home and I saw him look me over, but my small pocket carry (LCP) went un-noticed.

I heard the phrase "CANT"..."Carry Always Never Tell"... probably somewhere on this site. If you could predict WHEN you'll need your weapon, then you'd only to need carry at that time. Since I've never been good at predicting anything....I'll stick with "CANT".

 

[awoken2life]

Appreciate the feedback guys.

Reason I started off with the disclaimer is because any other thread I ever found, people always had reasons why someone should not carry at a construction site. For me personally- if I have pants on, I carry. So no disagreement there.

Ultimately- your carry piece is your choice, and it's unique to everyone. I prefer Glock because I like the capacity and I'm proficient with that platform.

 

[awoken2life]

JCREECK- interestingly enough, I haven't found my pistol to be too dirty, even though I use a grinder to cut most of my tile. Perhaps my BDU style pants have plenty of slack to provide the cover.

 

[BluesStringer]

+1 for the SmartCarry as long as not much of your day is spent behind the wheel. I wore one for more than a year while I was driving for a living, and finally became too concerned with being able to get to it from inside the vehicle if I had to. I ended up going with a Crossbreed Super Tuck that I still wear often (several years later), but while it is a comfortable option as far as IWB rigs go, I still prefer more comfortable options.

I think someone recommended the 5.11 holster-shirt earlier in the thread. A much less expensive option that works just as well is the Link Removed. You still have to wear a cover garment, but during the summer you can just use the lightest V-neck or button-down work shirt you can find. If you work as hard as I did when I was in construction, you're going to sweat no matter what you wear anyway. The tee option is much easier to get to than an ankle holster, but to each his own. Good luck, whatever you decide. May you never need it no matter where/how you carry it.

Blues

 

[jcreek]

JCREECK- interestingly enough, I haven't found my pistol to be too dirty, even though I use a grinder to cut most of my tile. Perhaps my BDU style pants have plenty of slack to provide the cover.

Maybe I'll have to get some of those then because even when we were doing things like roofing that created no dust, my gun was always dirty. When cutting concrete or masonry with a grinder it killed me to see my poor S&W covered in all that abrasive dust.

 

[Seamsealer]

Got a story for everyone here. I also did floor covering for over 35 years. Finished a job and was loading my truck when I was followed in by a man with a knife and wanted my wallet. Not the middle of the night, 2 in the afternoon. Once you are isolated and alone, no one sees a thing. The outcome was assaulted, robbed and stabbed in the hand.
Now I carry in the waist band and it's almost 5 years. I did floor covering, so I had a pair of Pro Knee pads for kneeling. If you have seen them, they are rather large and cover the knee and shin from the top of your foot to the top of your knee. It would be hard to have an ankle holster.
So, carry often and carry everywhere. Good advice, don't tell anyone you are carrying, it's your secret.
Here's a good read. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1285487_Street_robberies_and_you___The_Basics.html
Keep safe.

 

[Treo]

JCREECK- interestingly enough, I haven't found my pistol to be too dirty, even though I use a grinder to cut most of my tile. Perhaps my BDU style pants have plenty of slack to provide the cover.

If you have BDU pants why not carry in the cargo pocket?

 

[jcreek]

JCREECK- interestingly enough, I haven't found my pistol to be too dirty, even though I use a grinder to cut most of my tile. Perhaps my BDU style pants have plenty of slack to provide the cover.

If you have BDU pants why not carry in the cargo pocket?

Good suggestion but if he's working on his knees all day it'll constantly be clanking around and hitting the floor. Not so discreet or safe.

 

[BluesStringer]

Good suggestion but if he's working on his knees all day it'll constantly be clanking around and hitting the floor. Not so discreet or safe.

My cargo/tactical pants have the cargo pockets between my knee and the belt loops. I carry my pocket pistol there all the time, and couldn't make the pocket hit the ground while on my knees if my life depended on it.

And no, I'm not a "tacticool" kind of guy. The pants were part of my uniform when I worked on an armored truck, and as long as I don't tear 'em, they last forever. The only real difference that I've seen between my 5.11 tac-pants and non-tactical cargo pants is that the 5.11's have the loop part of Velcro lining the inside of the pockets so you can secure holsters and mag carriers etc. in there, but the pockets are generally in the same places. I use the Velcro when carrying in one of those pockets too. It's a very secure and comfortable way to carry.

Maybe you're talking about cargo pants that I've never seen the likes of before. Disregard if so.

Blues

 

[awoken2life]

I put a lot of thought into the cargo pocket idea. There are several issues:

1. I need to keep the weapon in some kind of holster. It will rotate with movement. Which means I have to get some kind of Velcro sewn onto each pair of pants I wear to work and Velcro on the holster.
2. My choice of weapon is too bulky and too heavy to be carried around in a floppy cargo pocket. Means I would have to put something heavy in the opposing pocket to offset the look so as not to be "made"
3. As another user pointed out, it would be loose and end up rubbing against my leg. Even with small items in the cargo pocket, I have to maneuver in some rooms in a way that causes the items to be squished and end up with abrasions at the end of the day.

 

[awoken2life]

The Cargo/BDU pants I have are military type, they are very loose and baggy. Not the tight and neat ones that are "tacticool". I wear them to work because they allow much more mobility as opposed to jeans. It has nothing to do with being a gun nut.

 

[jcreek]

Good suggestion but if he's working on his knees all day it'll constantly be clanking around and hitting the floor. Not so discreet or safe.

My cargo/tactical pants have the cargo pockets between my knee and the belt loops. I carry my pocket pistol there all the time, and couldn't make the pocket hit the ground while on my knees if my life depended on it.

And no, I'm not a "tacticool" kind of guy. The pants were part of my uniform when I worked on an armored truck, and as long as I don't tear 'em, they last forever. The only real difference that I've seen between my 5.11 tac-pants and non-tactical cargo pants is that the 5.11's have the loop part of Velcro lining the inside of the pockets so you can secure holsters and mag carriers etc. in there, but the pockets are generally in the same places. I use the Velcro when carrying in one of those pockets too. It's a very secure and comfortable way to carry.

Maybe you're talking about cargo pants that I've never seen the likes of before. Disregard if so.

Blues

He said BDUs and my military uniform has the cargo pockets extremely low. I don't wear cargo pants normally so I wouldn't know about civilian pants.

 

[BluesStringer]

The Cargo/BDU pants I have are military type, they are very loose and baggy. Not the tight and neat ones that are "tacticool". I wear them to work because they allow much more mobility as opposed to jeans. It has nothing to do with being a gun nut.

I wasn't implying that you were trying to be "tacticool." Some folks around here will criticize absolutely anything you wear if it's not just a straight-forward IWB "standard" civilian garb. I was just explaining why I wore the pants I was talking about, because of a job that I had for five years that I had to wear them.

For the record, I carry two different weapons in the cargo pocket of the 5.11 pants I was talking about. One is a Kel-Tec PF9 and the other is a CZ 2075 RAMI. The PF9 is obviously the easiest and most comfortable to carry that way, but the RAMI is so close to the same size as your G27 that most leather holsters made for it will fit my RAMI. If a holster manufacturer doesn't make what I want for the RAMI, I have two holsters that were made for the G26/G27 that fit it like a glove. Only point being that I know exactly what you're talking about when you describe the "flop-factor" in a cargo pocket.

I linked to a holster shirt called "Packin' Tee" above. The holster that comes with it has the hook part of Velcro to match up with the loop in the cargo pocket of the 5.11's. A 25' tape measure on the opposite side would counter-balance pretty well, and anyone who noticed you pulling out your tape would just assume you had other tools in your other pocket. I put my wallet, a Fenix TK21 and a Bradley Alias 1 in the opposite pocket, and as old as I am, I still don't lean to one side or the other. LOL The chaffing is going to be a problem without putting something on the inside that's non-abrasive and gives a little padding. I know, if you already have an ankle holster, probably not worth the trouble, but it's also not quite as cut-and-dried of a bad idea as you first thought. Pretty minor alterations make it a viable option.

Blues