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A little link love for a fellow gun blogger, wherein The Firearm Blog’s James ruins perfectly good outwear to prove that you can indeed shoot a snubbie through a jacket pocket. At bad breath distance. But not a semi.

Personally, I like to carry my firearm in a holster so I can remove said gun and show it to the bad guy. To dissuade the perp or perps and have a much better chance of hitting someone posing an imminent, credible threat of grievous bodily harm or death.

One thing: don’t do this with a ported gun. The side blast would be extremely painful. And no, I’m not going to test it. Oh, and GET OFF THE X. Just sayin’ . . .

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29 COMMENTS

  1. Actually, you can shoot a semi-auto handgun through a coat pocket.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: you will most likely only get ONE SHOT because the coat pocket will probably interfere with the slide on the pistol when the slide tries to cycle after the shot.

    • …unless you are pressing the semi-auto forward far enough in the pocket to move the slide back slightly, taking it out of battery. In which case you don’t even get one shot.

    • More likely than the coat pocket preventing the slide from reciprocating, it probably prevents the empty shell from being ejected. The other potential peril is getting a nasty slide bite from not being able to get a proper grip inside the pocket.

  2. Tried it with 2 different jackets just to see; Ruger LCR .357 shooting Remington 38+Ps. Holes were impressive, didn’t care about the jackets.

    • In the black powder days shooting from inside your clothing was likely to be more dangerous fire wise. I’ve heard accounts of muzzle flash setting peoples clothes on fire during those times.

    • I’m surprised the hammer didn’t snag. What I tested with a hammer Smith, it snagged first shot every time.

      IMO, shrouded or “hammerless” is the way to go if you really want this to be a viable multishot option.

  3. The best thing about the snubbie in the jacket pocket is you can talk to the person but have your hand on a functional gun without ever presenting it.

    Even in a bad hood not every encounter requires a show of force.

        • No, the wife uses purse carry, not me.

          The other advantages are that she can carry a heavier bulkier pist ol than on body and she doesn’t have to change her wardrobe. Of course these are all pretty well offset by the disadvantages that have been widely publicized around here.

    • I don’t know, jwm. Some guys around here seem to think that if you are not actively waving your dick in a potential aggressor’s face before eye contact has been made, you are a weakling and as good as dead. Forget keeping your gun concealed.

      • Every situation plays out differently. I have displayed a gun when I thought it needed. Have fired a gun when needed. Never rushed into it, tho.

        Backed a guy off real fast with a knife one night. Knives seem to scare the hell out of people moreso than guns.

  4. If you’re going to shoot from your pocket, a compact revo lver is the better option. However if you’re going to pocket carry without a ho lster, my recommendation would be carry a semi-auto with the chamber empty. Odds of having to shoot through your pocket are much lower than the odds of having a nasty accident, even with a DA trigger.

  5. Your idea of a good jacket and my idea of a good jacket are two very different things. That is one of the worst jackets I’ve ever seen.

  6. A) Skip to the 3:00 mark.

    B) I’d like to see this replicated with a jacket with a slanted pocket; not the typical pocket shown here. Like most jackets most of us are gonna wear when we wear one. I wonder if the semiauto would function better in that pocket. Not that I carry a semiauto ‘naked’.

  7. Thanks for posting this, Robert – I know I don’t necessarily fit the TTAG mold so it’s appreciated. I agree completely on holster versus pocket (and, as an NRA instructor, I think I’m probably obligated to anyways) but I was surprised with the BG perforation factor with this particular method. Thanks again for the link love.

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