Got my CCL this week and carried for the first time today. I found myself overly cautious about "printing" and checking peoples faces to see if they would notice. Haha i sure hope that paranoia goes away with time.

Its funny cause you would never pay attention to that sort of thing until you experience it yourself. Before I entered the lighting industry, I didn't notice anything about lights other than the fact that they were on or off. Now i cant enter a building without looking up to see if can identify the manufacturer and the time frame it was produced in. I have a feeling this is going to be the same way with carrying.

Just thought I would share and see what other first timers are experiencing.

It will be the same as looking at lights after a while. 99.9999% of the population wouldn't know if you were printing or if it was your cell phone anyway, unless you're really bad at it A minor amount of printing is going to happen in some situations. My 14 year old daughter laughs at me when I ask if I'm "all good". She says of course she can see it, she know it's there.

haha yeah i think thats a lot of my problem... i checked the mirror like 5 times before leaving and asked the wife twice. I couldn't really see it, but i knew it was there.

I'm also new to carrying and I also look in the mirror many times before leaving the house to see if I'm printing too much. I even bend over in front of the mirror to see how it would look if I had to bend over to pick something up. I have learned though the shirts I have that are good for concealing and the ones that are not.

I know how ya feel, but remember - 97% of people don't pay attention to their surroundings.

This first time I carried a concealed weapon was about, oh, ten years ago. It was a Walter PPK with a suede ("James Bond") shoulder holster. A party of four of us, two couples, went out for a pizza in a nice area of town, but since I had just received my CCW permit I thought what the heck, I'll carry to see how it feels.

It was cold and rainy, so I wore a sweater, with the holster over the sweater, under my parka. Poor planning on my part. When we got to the restaurant, it was very warm inside, and pretty soon I had to take the parka off. Not wishing to reveal the pistol in the middle of the restaurant, I went into the men's room, and started to take off the parka and the holster...just as a guy walked in. I thought he was going to faint. But, I just went about my business, put the holster and the Walther into the jacket pocket, and went back to my table. The guy who bumped into me left, with his girl, immediately, whispering to the lady and giving me a very odd look as they departed.

There's no moral to this story, other than to observe that while we know our rights and are operating well within the law, the reaction of some people to seeing another "civilian" carrying a concealed weapon is something you need to prepare yourself for, because sooner or later it will happen.

Chris

There I was in a strip club carrying a full house 1911 in an Alessi Shoulder Rig when 3 guys came it to rob the place and it's patrons. The first guy carried an un-cocked Charter Arms Bulldog in his left hand, The second guy a bolt action rim fire rifle and the third guy carried the bag for the gelt!
The person that I was with knew that I was armed and trained asked what I was going to do? I replied nothing unless there is trouble... fortunately it was only a robbery and nothing more. I personally lost a school ring and about 20 bucks.
I called my Dad that night and told him to watch Channel 7 News, he called back after the story aired and asked if I was there and I replied "Yes Sir." He asked if I was totting and I replied back "YES Sir again..." one of the your Custom Colt Government 45's! (similar to the one pictured below)
He said, Son I always wondered what you might do in one of those situations with a Personal Protection Pistol Permit (long pause) but now you genuinely have my respect!
I had a plan but never needed to execute it, don't tell that story often but fortunately I'm here to share it with you guys.
Ironically enough... "That was before Glocks"

AS Rob said, you'll be surprised at hoe little people pay attention. You are probably bringing more attention to your self with fidgeting with it, but I understand where you are coming from. While it's been nearly 20 years since I first started carrying, I remember being nervous as well. Get a good belt and holster, determine what kind of clothes work best for you and carry away. You'll pick up on little tricks that make it easier. For example, dark colored shorts conceal much better than light colored ones. I can wear my G19, with attached TLR-1s weapon light in an OWB kydex holster under a black tshirt and shorts and no one ever knows.

Some good stories...

You'll always look differently at the guy wearing an untucked Hawaiian shirt that's two sizes too large...

Originally Posted by __jb

Some good stories...

You'll always look differently at the guy wearing an untucked Hawaiian shirt that's two sizes too large...

haha thats very true!