What to carry in dirty conditions?

B

BrantlyJ

New member
So I just started carrying a few weeks ago. Right now my EDC is a Nano. I'm still getting used to wearing it but overall it's going well.

However in the evenings I work at my family's business. I'm alone, it's somewhat noisy and its a dirty job. I make livestock feed but mainly make a baseball field product. It uses sand, clay , glue and dye. At the end of the night I am quite dusty and when I take a shower it's a river of red.

The first week I didn't carry while working because I didn't want to get my gun filthy. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that even though the police station is only 4 blocks away I need protection more than any other situation. Mainly because I am alone and it's dark. Since I have exterior doors open I get at least one looky-loo a week wondering what I am making.

Anyways I carried once this week and at the end of the night I inspected the gun. I was filthy. Completely covered in dust. The butt was red from the dye, the night sights completely packed with dust. I did not strip it but I could tell dirt got in there.

So my thoughts are I need something a little more resistant to dirt. I'm thinking because of all the moving parts a semi-auto is not ideal. Especially if I get a grain of sand in there. So maybe a revolver? I was thinking of a LCR because its cheap and I could just toss it in my pocket and wont get in my way.

Any other suggestions?
 
Could you carry at 4o'clock with a tuckable hybrid and tuck an undershirt in over it to protect it? Or perhapse some form of off body carry, such as a 'day planner' holster just set down nearby for easy access.
 
Ok, forgive me if this idea is too out there to sound like it would work, but could you put your current choice, Nano, in a thin plastic bag (think sandwich style zipper bag but not a thick plastic, not freezer bags) - with the extra air removed and sealed? If you're putting it in your pocket, it would still be accessible, but kept clean. And, you could just grab it and fire through the plastic bag, if necessary. Just a thought!
 
I use a PJ holster currently. An undershirt probably wouldn't work. Even my underwear is red from the dye from time to time. especially when it is hot and I sweat a lot. Plus in the heat of the summer I don't want anymore clothing to heat me up. As far as placing it somewhere that won't work either. The room is about 50 feet long with two large sliding doors big enough to maneuver a forklift into on either end. Also there is a narrow path between the wall and machinery to get from one side to the others.

Good idea's though. Thanks

JacobSMcClain said:
Could you carry at 4o'clock with a tuckable hybrid and tuck an undershirt in over it to protect it? Or perhapse some form of off body carry, such as a 'day planner' holster just set down nearby for easy access.
Click to expand...
 
I do this with my iphone. Works reasonably well. I just wonder how practical it would be to use if someone surprised me. The machinery is fairly loud so it wouldn't be hard to sneak up on me.

My current idea is a LCP, Bodyguard or a Pico when it's finally released in my back pocket or get tactical pants and put in the leg pocket.

MsPnVA said:
Ok, forgive me if this idea is too out there to sound like it would work, but could you put your current choice, Nano, in a thin plastic bag (think sandwich style zipper bag but not a thick plastic, not freezer bags) - with the extra air removed and sealed? If you're putting it in your pocket, it would still be accessible, but kept clean. And, you could just grab it and fire through the plastic bag, if necessary. Just a thought!
Click to expand...
 
The plastic bag idea sounds like it might work well. Make sure the pistol is holstered, and the bag does not cause a negligent discharge going into the holster. (don't test on loaded gun)
 
Glocks have long been touted as a gun which will work in the nastiest of conditions, and they are reasonably priced.....& no, I don't currently own one.

Using a plastic flap/wrap might be a good idea, but I'd be wary of doing it until I had time to work on drawing the weapon in practice sessions....

Depending on how you dress for your dirty working conditions, you may want to consider one of the 'body t-shirt holsters'... I only know of one person who uses this, and when its on him, with his handgun, this type of rig is invisible... His is the underarm draw type, but he also uses the front draw type at times... I would think your Nano would also be undetectable with one of these.

http://www.undertechundercover.com/

Link Removed

http://members.sti.net/thebrsfamily/buildertech/

http://www.wearccw.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59#.UgJKiW3KE1I

There are several more out there if you want to google 'holster-shirts' or 'shirt-holster' and wade through the results...

Good luck...
 
MsPnVA said:
Ok, forgive me if this idea is too out there to sound like it would work, but could you put your current choice, Nano, in a thin plastic bag (think sandwich style zipper bag but not a thick plastic, not freezer bags) - with the extra air removed and sealed? If you're putting it in your pocket, it would still be accessible, but kept clean. And, you could just grab it and fire through the plastic bag, if necessary. Just a thought!
Click to expand...
Absolutely not. Guns aren't made to be carried in ziplock bags. When a gun is carried in the pocket it must be in a pocket holster and nothing else goes in that pocket. The rules are the rules are the rules... for good reason. Otherwise you might have to change your name to Wun Hung Lo.
 
There are some interesting torture tests on Youtube. The plastic bag sounds good, but I'd try it out at range first.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using USA Carry mobile app
 
i work with a sandblaster, and i also OC. what i do is i leave my carry in my truck which i am never far from but my BUG is CC and i never have to do anything with it. i am not a CC person but if you do CC then that will keep you firearm cleaner.

i carry a Ruger 95. pretty much an indestructible gun. it will always go bang when you pull the trigger
 
Consider this:

Military personnel who carry pistols are issued either Berettas or Glocks. The Beretta is the standard issue weapon, and various Special Forces members are allowed to choose to carry a Glock sidearm. They have been deploying to the worst environment for guns known to man for the last 11 years or so. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't recall hearing about a lot of dust/sand/debris types of failures being reported from Iraq or Afghanistan with either of those brands of handguns. I have heard several reports of dissatisfaction with the 9mm round from military circles, but not with failures of the type the OP is concerned with.

I would suggest a trip or three to the range before cleaning your weapon after work before replacing a weapon that you like to carry. If it malfunctions before cleaning, but runs fine after cleaning, you've answered your question, you need to figure out something to address the conditions your weapon is subjected to. But if it runs fine even when dirty, there ya go, your Beretta is as reliable in tough conditions as the Berettas issued to our military.

The dye may be another problem, depending on what chemicals it contains. If it has no corrosive or acidic chemicals in it, you may just have to live with a red tinge being on whatever weapon you carry. If it is harmful to either the steel, alloys or polymers in your gun though, you've got a problem that I don't have a good solution for. I do NOT like the idea of zip-lock-bagging your weapon. Not only could that make access to your trigger tricky, it could impair the slide from fully actuating, making follow-up shots impossible.

In short, if it's just dust/debris/discoloring that's getting on your weapon, I don't think you need to do much but clean it more than most of us have to, and you can take a handful of trips to the range after work to determine if it causes performance problems. If it's harmful to the finish and/or integrity of the materials your weapon is made of though, you're going to have to find an expert to get advice from, because the vast majority of posters here would be guessing at best to give you viable solutions.

Blues
 
BrantlyJ said:
So I just started carrying a few weeks ago. Right now my EDC is a Nano. I'm still getting used to wearing it but overall it's going well.

However in the evenings I work at my family's business. I'm alone, it's somewhat noisy and its a dirty job. I make livestock feed but mainly make a baseball field product. It uses sand, clay , glue and dye. At the end of the night I am quite dusty and when I take a shower it's a river of red.

The first week I didn't carry while working because I didn't want to get my gun filthy. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that even though the police station is only 4 blocks away I need protection more than any other situation. Mainly because I am alone and it's dark. Since I have exterior doors open I get at least one looky-loo a week wondering what I am making.

Anyways I carried once this week and at the end of the night I inspected the gun. I was filthy. Completely covered in dust. The butt was red from the dye, the night sights completely packed with dust. I did not strip it but I could tell dirt got in there.

So my thoughts are I need something a little more resistant to dirt. I'm thinking because of all the moving parts a semi-auto is not ideal. Especially if I get a grain of sand in there. So maybe a revolver? I was thinking of a LCR because its cheap and I could just toss it in my pocket and wont get in my way.

Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

I echo Blues thoughts. Try your firearm while it is dirty from work at your range. If it functions reliably after several different trials at the range, then you do not need to look for a new firearm.

If you are dead set on looking for a new firearm anyway, then I would definitely go with any Glock if you prefer a pistol. They have been referred to as the AK-47 of the handgun world. They are made to run through many horrific conditions and still function. If you prefer a revolver, they are made simply with little moving parts, so dusty is not a problem. Personally, I like anything from S&W in a revolver.
 
BrantlyJ said:
So I just started carrying a few weeks ago. Right now my EDC is a Nano. I'm still getting used to wearing it but overall it's going well.

However in the evenings I work at my family's business. I'm alone, it's somewhat noisy and its a dirty job. I make livestock feed but mainly make a baseball field product. It uses sand, clay , glue and dye. At the end of the night I am quite dusty and when I take a shower it's a river of red.

The first week I didn't carry while working because I didn't want to get my gun filthy. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that even though the police station is only 4 blocks away I need protection more than any other situation. Mainly because I am alone and it's dark. Since I have exterior doors open I get at least one looky-loo a week wondering what I am making.

Anyways I carried once this week and at the end of the night I inspected the gun. I was filthy. Completely covered in dust. The butt was red from the dye, the night sights completely packed with dust. I did not strip it but I could tell dirt got in there.

So my thoughts are I need something a little more resistant to dirt. I'm thinking because of all the moving parts a semi-auto is not ideal. Especially if I get a grain of sand in there. So maybe a revolver? I was thinking of a LCR because its cheap and I could just toss it in my pocket and wont get in my way.

Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

How are you carrying? and IWB and a shirt over shouldn't be able to attract to much. A lube like ballistol will lube but not attract dust. Have you considered something like smartcarry?
 
Actually I like the idea of the 380, either an LCP or Bodyguard. I think a thin baggy with a bread wrapper tie slid in the back pocket would work fine. I have a BG and it fits nicely in the back pocket and your trigger finger can easily poke through if you needed it. Ideal... No but nothing is ideal in this work environment. Make this gun your work gun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 93 (members: 0, guests: 93)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
49,523
Messages
610,661
Members
74,992
Latest member
RedDotArmsTraining

Share this page

Back
Top