Concealed Carry in…Gym Shorts? Absolutely.

If I had it my way I would look cool 24/7.  By cool I mean I would be tacti-cool and ready to rock if aliens started falling from the sky or a sudden zombie attack manifested itself.  Hiking footwear, tan ripstop pants with lots of pockets and drag handles, combat belt, and form fitting tshirt with just enough of a “skin tight” factor to outline the physique (but not too much so as to appear to be trying too hard).  Lest we forget the most important part of the wardrobe, a baseball hat and some Oakleys!

What I have described above is pretty much the standard prepper uniform and while some might choose to modify according to their personal preferences (e.g. photog vest, untucked button down shirt) I’d say I nailed the description with a 95% solution.  Here’s the problem, while I want to wear this type of clothing all the time I simply cannot.  First of all my wife hates the stuff and rolls her eyes at me, usually following up with a comment like: “we’re just going to the store.”  Additionally I’m a pretty active person which means there are times when wearing that type of clothing simply won’t do.  Going out to a nice dinner, taking a business meeting with someone during the day, or even going to the gym to workout.

There is a phrase floating around which makes a great point, the gun on your body is better than the gun in your car (or at home).  Better a mouse gun on your person versus the 1911 sitting in the drawer next to your bed.  I don’t like mouse guns so I choose not to carry one, but the point is even when I’m in gym clothes I still choose to carry.  For example, yesterday I went to workout but also had quite a few errands to run.  Just because I was wearing basketball shorts and a t shirt did not deter me from carrying my pistol as I went from place to place (after my workout).  In most instances I’ll carry at 4 o’clock inside the waistband, but that is a bit cumbersome for gym shorts with merely a draw string to hold them up.  My solution is to tighten the draw string and then stuff the gun/holster inside my waistband at 1 o’clock, or as some might refer to it: appendix carry.  While I generally find this a little uncomfortable the gun does not print and seems to be supported much better (remember I’m in gym shorts).

There are pros and cons to the type of clothing we choose and the way in which we carry our pistols, but the point is I’d rather be armed than unarmed because bad things can happen at any place and at any time.  Realizing this and the fact that it is impossible to walk around as if on patrol (full gear and EDC load, bugout bag, ready for anything) I choose to make sacrifices in order to carry on with a somewhat normal life.