Carry Methods
We spend quite a bit of time and space in the book on carry methods; I'm not going to repeat that here. But there's a few things that we didn't discuss in as much detail as I'd like to.
Carry Without a Holster
Is, all in all, more practical than it sounds, and probably more so than I made it sound in the book.For pocket carry, the primary thing to remember is to keep everything else outside of the pocket—keys and such can and have gotten hung up inside the trigger guard, and that could be real, real bad.
Lately, I find that I'm increasingly comfortable simply tucking my pistol under my belt, behind the hip. My gun belt is wide enough that the belt actually covers the trigger guard, and I wear it tight enough to hold the gun in place adequately. Concealment, even without a covering garment, is just a matter of blousing the shirt enough so that it covers the gun butt. In theory, it's not as secure as it would be with a good holster, but I've been doing it a fair amount over the past few weeks, without a problem. And, of course, with any kind of covering garment, including a shirt worn out, concealment is easy.
Thunderwear and Smartcarry
Both of these under-the-trousers-or-skirt pouches seem to intimidate some people, particularly some men. That's understandable, actually; in order to holster the weapon, you do have to point the handgun at something you're not willing to destroy, and it's utterly necessary to always holster slowly, and carefully—and to practice, repeatedly, with a repeatedly checked-to-be-unloaded weapon before you ever think about using either of these for a loaded one.But, that aside, they do have quite a few virtues. Concealment is just this side of utterly perfect, under all but the tightest clothing; access is good. No, reaching your hand down your pants or yanking up your skirt isn't a dignified thing to do—but in a life-threatening event, dignity can go by the wayside for awhile.
As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two is the patent number. Neither gives you terribly quick access, but both seem to work just fine.
Attitude
Attitude is, also as far as I can tell, the big deal. Not looking like you're doing anything unusual is, in my experience, the key to not being made as carrying. I've spotted a few folks who I just know are new permit holders; they keep looking around and touching the spot where they've got their handguns concealed. I don't know how many people I've been around who have been carrying, though; I don't have xray vision either, after all.Me, I don't worry about it anymore. I just take reasonable precautions to carry concealed, and check myself before leave the house, or as I exit the car (covering garments can ride up), and pretty much leave it at that.
Ammunition Selection
...is something that a lot of people, me included, spend far more time on than it probably warrants.For most permit holders, it's demonstrable that it doesn't matter: most permit holders will never have to so much as take a handgun out in public (this is a good thing!), much less have to shoot.
So why do we spend so much time worrying about "stopping power" and "one-shot stops" and such?
I think it's more a psychological thing than a practical one. We can't control the single most important thing about a lethal confrontation: whether or not it happens. Sure, we can influence it a whole lot—by avoiding trouble in the first place, backing away if at all possible, etc.—but we can't control it. We can't even control when it happens.
So understandly, we focus on the things we can control, including the ammunition.
Truth is, even the best handgun rounds are probably marginal for immediately stopping an attack. Having the best available is probably a good idea, but incredibly difficult to determine, and, for most folks, irrelevant in practice, if not in theory.
Me, I tend to carry an FBI load in my pocket snubbies, but if when I'm out at the range I have to go home with some PMC hardball in it instead, I don't worry about it.