[Fernando Coelho]

One of my mishaps occurred around ’86 when I was walking in a mall with my girlfriend. We had just left a store and were on our way to the exit nearest to where I parked the car. It was wintertime and I was wearing a rather heavy coat with a shoulder holster under it (I won’t mention the brand). In the holster was a full size Series 80 s/s Colt 1911 in .45 ACP, cocked and locked.

As we were walking in the mall I heard a very low “snap” sound from under my coat. The next thing I noticed was that the weight of the gun in the holster was shifting. As I realized what was happening things began to go in slow motion. I reached into my coat but the gun was already out of the holster and on the way to the floor. It landed on the ceramic floor just in front of me, right on the rear sight. As luck would have it, the way it landed caused it to spin in front of me and slide away from me. I quickly was going after it, bending down trying to catch up. As it slid to a halt I grabbed it and quickly re-holstered it, this time keeping my hand on the gun till we got to the car. There weren’t that many people in the mall at that time of day but there were enough around me when it happened. Needless to say, I had everyone’s attention.

When I got in the car I examined the thumb snap of the holster. It snapped together fine but when I went to release it, the snap released way too easy to my thumb pressure. I few more tries and I realized that this mid priced holster was now useless. I looked at the Colt and the rear sight was fine other than having ceramic dust all over it. My girlfriend (now my wife) was very good about it. She commented that it happened pretty quick and before she realized what going on I had already re-holstered it . To me it lasted minutes.

Lessons learned: never skimp on a holster and always inspect your equipment before going out.

 

[CZgunner]

That was a close one FC.
I had an Astra .45 slip out of an IWB holster in a mensroom stall and clatter onto the floor in the next stall over, luckily a friendly foot pushed it back over. So much for $14.99 cordura holsters.

 

[Fernando Coelho]

That was you in that stall? :mrgreen:

Spending the money on a good holster is well worth it. Knowing when it's time to replace a holster is also important.

 

[bofh]

You can just hear some woman scream....

OH MY GOD HE'S GOT A GUN!

 

[Fred]

Nowhere near as dramatic as yours, Fernando,

but made me think of the time I had just received a new holster. As soon as I got home from work I stuffed my 1911 in it and wore it around the house w/o concealment. Some time later door bell rings and wife yells for me to get it as it's Chinese food delivery.

Well, I got the food, signed the slip and tried to have a little bit of small talk with the driver, but his eyes were as big as saucers and he wasn't talking. Made a beeline for his car as soon as I handed him the credit card slip. Couldn't figure out why until I turned to come back in and whacked my 1911 on the door! :shock:

By the way, we still order from the same place, but that guy doesn't show up any more. Someone else delivers.

 

[Greg L]

Mine was with my KelTec P-11.

I'm left handed and wanted to put the belt clip over on the left side of the frame so that it could be clipped on the correct side. The guy at the gun store who sold it to me told me that it couldn't be done because the slide release would get in the way. A reasonable thought when you looked at it because if you flipped the belt clip over (so that the holes would line up) part of it did rest on the slide release. Ok, no problem I've got a bench grinder, I can just carve a little notch out of it to fit around the slide release. A little grinding later and it fit perfectly and slipped onto my belt just where I wanted it over on the left.

A little later Mrs. L. wanted to go to the store and I offered to drive. While I was climbing into the truck I heard this clattering behind me. I looked around and saw a very familiar magazine laying on the ground. Apparently the slide release isn't the reason that KelTec doesn't offer a LH belt clip, my belt had been pushing on the magazine release and when I lifted my leg to get in it fell out.

Oh well, back to the right side for that pistol. At least the lesson was learned in my driveway and not if I had needed it for its intended purpose.

Greg

 

[mark123]

OH MY GOD HE'S GOT A GUN!

I've heard that before. :lol:

My response: "Relax :roll:"

Seemed to work.

 

[John Hunter]

Mine only embarassed me as no one else knew of it. I wear an ARG rig and I wear it every day. It is so comfortable I forget it is even there. One day I returned home after being out all day. When I took off my vest I realized I had never slipped my pistol into the holster! I had been unarmed all day! My gun was still where it spends the night by my bed. :roll:

 

[Dean Speir]

Mine only embarassed me as no one else knew of it. I wear an ARG rig and I wear it every day. It is so comfortable I forget it is even there. One day I returned home after being out all day. When I took off my vest I realized I had never slipped my pistol into the holster! I had been unarmed all day! My gun was still where it spends the night by my bed.

Um, don't feel like the lone stranger… I could cut 'n' paste this verbatim into one of my own posts with the minor alteration that I figured out something was wrong when I bounced up the steps of the local post office and something j-u-s-t d-i-d-n-'-t f-e-e-l q-u-i-t-e r-i-g-h-t. I stopped and did a silent and discreet inventory, and as the inside of my wrist swept past the covering garment over my ARG where RTWP should have been comfortably residing, I got that sinking feeling.

It was only a block and a half to Chez Speir, but it was covered with world's record alacrity.

You're right, John… the ARG (and, BTW, it will always be the "Ayoob Rear Guard" as far as I'm concerned!) is just that confortable!

My anguished cry that particular day was:

"O m'Gawd, I don't have a gun!"​

I never want to experience that again!

 

[John Hunter]

Dean,

I never want to experience that again!

Amen! It was one sinking feeling and ever since I find myself doing a double check before leaving the house.

 

[mikegunner]

I have had three such "enlightening/embarrasing" moments in my ccw days --

I used to carry an American Derringer DA-40 in a [email protected] Wallet Holster (until Klinton's BATF ruled it a class 2 AOW). I had gotten in some "new" CCI Gold Dots, and took two out of the box and put them into the gun. Carried the sucker for weeks and one day a friend was down and wanted to do some shooting -- so after banging and clanging away, I figured what the heck, and pulled out the AD DA-40 and ----- CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK (yes, five clicks per bullet!!) and NOTHING!! I had broken one of the fundemental rules of CCW and not made sure that the ammo function in MY gun I took the ammo out of the gun and it had deep hits into the primer, but no ignition -- put them into a Glock 23, and BANG BANG

When I thought how lucky I was to have not needed that gun, it made me feel almost sick in my stomach --- that has been MANY years ago and I have never made that mistake again!!

The Second happened about 10 years ago at a Federal Courthouse -- I knew that it was illegal to CCW, so when I headed off to appear at a customers Bankruptcy hearing, I took my Shorty Forty out of its Ayoob Rear Guard and put it under the seat of my car and proceeded into the court house ---- I go into the security area, and empty my pockets (they confiscated any edged item [knives etc...] and I still beeped when going thru the metal detector --- US Marshall demands that I take off my shoes --- Still beeped ---- take off your belt --- still beeped --- so he wands me ---- guess what was beeping???? The metal banding in the throat of the ARG :roll: :roll: So, now having seen a "ACK" Gun holster, this US Marshal really becomes a D!ck --- so I pulled out my CCW, and explained that I had left it in the vehicle --- after about 20 minutes, he finally let me thru, and then on the way back, I had to beg to get my confiscated pen knife back!

The Third happened with the DA-40 mentioned in the first scenario --- carried it for so long as a BUW I never really thought about it, was rushing to catch a plane, and forgot to take it out of my back pocket and lock it in the car. Remembered when the nice lady was WANDING me :shock: :shock: -- Told her I had forgotten something in the car, and sciddadled back to the car ---- when I came back thru, I thanked her over and over for letting me go back to my vehicle!!!! Thank god that was before 9/11!! I have been damn near strip searched at an airport because I had a paper clip on my money in my pocket (honest to god, it happened at White Plains!).

Mike

 

[Sleuth]

Oh, lets see:
1. Back in the old days, when we carried BRT (Big Round Things = revolvers) and dump pouches. We were in a Dunkin Donuts, getting ready for a warrant service (this was before all that SWAT junk). As we started to walk out, my dump pouch did, scattering .38 Spl round all over the place. So much for being covert, scurrying around on my knees, trying to collect my ammo.

2. Cheap upside down shoulder holster, S&W M60, following a suspect. Had to jump off a loading dock, M60 popped out and hit the deck, all in one move I picked it up and kept on truck'n.

3. Can't tell you how many times I saw Agents/Cops carry Mexican style, and have their pistola slide down their pant leg getting up from lunch.

4. My boss told of the time he was in the Border Patrol, had a guy in a truck drive through a checkpoint without stopping. He jumped on the running board, eventually screwed his M19 S&W in the drivers ear to make him stop. Gets back in the office, opens his desk drawer, and 6 rounds of .357 ammo are there. Yup, did it with an unloaded gun.

5. Drove to the office, pulled into the lot, realized NO GUN (which is a bad thing when you're a Federal Agent), quietly drove home & armed myself.

And the beat goes on.....

 

[jeff Freuler]

This off duty police officer at the ACC basketball tournament had the ultimate CCW mishap…

http://newsobserver.com/nc24hour/ncsports/story/3414868p-3035358c.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-sp.detective14mar14,0,5616605.story

 

[Nemo]

My first...

Just got back home from a very boring fed training week in Atlanta...

<Sidenote> It was my firts time in that city and stayed in the Westin that has the revolving restaurant on the 72nd floor... The local brew I consumed on St. Patty's, Sweetwater I believe it's called, seemed to have additional effect on that deck constantly moving around. Fun, fun! I didn't bring my pdw to Atlanta and it felt really weird, to say the least, to walk the streets completely "naked". <Close sidenote>

Anyway, got back home to Jax to unpack and repack to fly to Puerto Rico tomorrow. Need to make a quick trip to the neighboring Winn Dixie. Loose cargo shorts, Teva's, t-shirt and my Glock 30 IWB attached to my belt by its clipdraw. I was blazing through the isles of the grocery store and don't know when it happened, but when going for the pasta for tonight this kid, maybe 9 or 10 asked his mom... " Mommy is that a GUN?"

All of the sudden to me the store felt silent and slo-mo. Turn my back to where the little voice came from and mommy and junior had their eyes locked on me. Took my hand around my waist to 0400 and yes, my shirt tail was hanging from the fat butt of my lil' Austrian. Mommy tells junior - "come on baby, let's go... NOW!"

As clear as a HDTV movie, I could picture in my mind mommy going to the everpresent JSO deputy and berzerkingly going..."There's a raggedy-looking, dark-skinned foreigner with a gun in the spagetti isle!"

Just in case I got my pasta, scanned my few items in the self service lane, swiped the plastic and was outta' Dodge quicker than a 38Super +P+.

Had to share that!
Cheers,

 

[WaltGraham]

Heading to Atlanta myself next week - I see that GA lacks reciprocity with VA... I've found that properly carrying a pistol on a daily basis is an art all in itself. Fortunately got some good advice early that shortened the learning curve. Used to live in Eau Gallie when my Dad worked at the Cape. Sometimes I miss the ocean, but it's so durned flat down there

 

[Charlie Petty]

Just read the two reports...

If you believe that I'd like to talk to you about some beachfront property for sale in Death Valley...

I sure would like to know what kind of gun it was and how the trigger got pulled.

 

[Richard Jefferies]

Well, I just had my first CC mishap this past Tuesday. I was in a hurry to get to my church's 6:45AM bi-weekly men's group meeting at a coffee house, and as I was leaving the meeting, discovered that my spare mag carrier was empty.

At least I had my GM with 9 rds of Fed. PDA, my Surefire E1, cellphone, and 4 blades on my person. It could have been a lot worse!

 

[Sleuth]

Charlie, after reading the reports (and 27 years as Federal Investigator), I'll bet that he jumped up, and then did "the clutch" to reposition the gun. Went to shove it down into either holster or pants, and either had finger on the trigger, or caught a belt loop with the trigger.

What do you say, a can of reloading powder (if we ever find out) to the winner to spice it up?

 

[Arc Angel]

A year, or two, ago I decide to take the wife and our two dogs out for a Saturday afternoon car ride. Well, an hour or so later we're deep in the Delaware State Forest driving around a curve on some, God-forsaken, back road. When, suddenly, there in the middle of the road is a stopped car - a brand new, bright red, Volkswagen Beetle.

A big, angry-looking guy is chasing a woman around the bug. I pull up to within, about, 25 feet of them and stop. She starts screaming for help; he gives us an evil look and keeps circling around the car trying to catch her. He does, and starts to push and slap her. My Pit Bull is going crazy; my wife is saying; 'My God we, just, can't leave her, here, like this!'

So I put the SUV in neutral, and step out the door to say; 'Hey, enough.' 'Cut it out!' He throws her up against the car, and reaches inside the vehicle for something. Well, all my alarm bells, suddenly, go off; and I brush my jacket back and reach inside to wrap my fist around the butt of my gun. This is when I realize that my holster is empty! The big guy sees me begin the draw, freezes, gives me a long hard look, and quickly walks off the road into the woods.

The battered woman comes over to our truck, acting hysterical; and, I don't know why, but, I thought a little too melodramatic. About five minutes later her boyfriend comes out of the woods; he seems a lot calmer and stays by his new car. We offered this woman a ride; but she was more afraid of my Pit Bull than she was of him. After giving us their names and his license plate she got back into the car with him; and they drove off.

My wife and I debated what to do with their information; I finally decided it was best to forget about the whole thing. I kept the paper with their names for a week or two; and when nothing appeared on the news I threw it away. What did I learn? Well, there is such a thing as a gun that is too comfortable to wear. (I had removed my carry piece in order to relieve myself, just, before leaving home and forgot to return the gun to the holster.) I learned an important lesson that day: Now I, strictly, reserve my German-made, Walther PPK-S for Brooks Brothers suits.

PS: I was, however, carrying two loaded clips on my left hip. Yeah, like if it all went wrong, I could have thrown the bullets at him, or something! :dunno:

 

[Nemo]

A definite "Holy Sh1t" moment!

ArcAngel,

Your post just made me realize the good side of carrying my G30:

THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I WOULDN'T NOTICE IT ISN'T THERE!!

I'm glad the situation didn't go FUBAR on you and the wife!