I started carrying a pocket pistol early in 2025. In this article, I share what I think are some pros and cons of doing so AND some things I learned about pocket carry that might help you.
First, today’s wisdom from the Bible:
Finishing is better than starting.
Patience is better than pride. Ecclesiastes 7:8 NLT
Also, just so we’re clear, I always carry a primary “fighting size” pistol, either the Ruger RXM, a Glock 19 or sometimes a Glock 43X or 48. But I also think it’s a good to carry a backup pistol too, because “stuff happens”.
Which brings us to the 3 reasons I carry a pocket pistol:
Reason #1: I carry a pocket pistol as a backup gun. There is a saying often attributed to the Navy Seals that “2 is 1 and 1 is none”. And most of us learned Murphy’s Law a long time ago, “if anything can go wrong, it will.” Let’s be real, for most of us the odds we will ever have to use , or even draw, our pistol are extremely low. But, I heard Colion Noir call that a “low probability-high consequence” situation and I think that’s a good way to describe a deadly threat self-defense scenario.
Bottom line, if we ever do need to use this lethal weapon we carry around, that means a whole lot of things have all gone wrong really quickly. I think it is naive to assume that everything is suddenly going to start going smoothly and perfectly. Let’s face it, stuff breaks – often at the worst possible time. Your life or the life of someone you love could depend on you having a backup.
Reason #2: A pocket pistol is just easy to carry in almost any type of clothing. For several years I carried either a Glock 43 or Glock 26 in an ankle holster with an ankle med kit on the other leg. Honestly, it was a pretty big hassle to find pants with large enough leg openings so the ankle gun would fit and it wouldn’t look like I had a squirrel wrapped around my leg.
And, even with wide enough leg openings, I had to be really mindful in some situations when sitting down that my pants leg didn’t come up so far that everybody could see I obviously had a gun there. Plus, working in construction and going up and down ladders and in and out of ditches, the extra weight and bulk was often a real pain in the butt. I have found that pocket carry is just easier and generally more comfortable
Reason #3: A pocket pistol is pretty much faster to draw than the guns I was wearing on my ankle, even though I practiced getting them into action pretty quickly. Also, it’s pretty normal to have your hand in your pocket, which can really give you ahead start on drawing the pistol. For example, when pumping gas I can just stand there with my hand in my pocket, on my pistol, and it doesn’t draw attention. It just looks normal. But if that “low probability- high consequence” scenario rears its ugly head, I can probably get my pocket pistol into action faster than I could defeat my cover garment and get to my primary gun.
So that’s 3 of the reasons I started carrying a pocket pistol. But, to be fair there are also some trade-offs and I’m admittedly giving up some capability by my decision. So, real quickly, let’s talk about those and then I’ll share some lessons I have learned about pocket carry that I think could help you.
Obviously, the biggest thing I am giving up by going with a pocket pistol instead of my ankle gun is firepower and capacity. Both the G26 and G43 I was carrying are 9mm guns. My current (and most) pocket pistols are chambered in less powerful calibers. Also, at least with the G26, I not only had more rounds but I could also use the same mags as my G19 if things went even worse.
And then, really the other main negative with any pistol small enough to fit in a pocket is that they are generally harder to control and shoot accurately. But, to be fair, the odds are any time I would need to use my pocket pistol it would probably be within what James Yeager called “bad breath distance”. So accuracy shouldn’t be a huge issue. Generally, distance dictates time. They further away the threat is, the more time you potentially have to react to a threat. If I’m too far away to be effectively accurate with a pocket pistol, there a good chance I’ll have time to draw my primary pistol and engage the threat (while moving toward cover).
Those are what I consider the main tradeoffs with carrying a pocket pistol instead of a larger backup gun.
So now I’ll share a few things I learned over the last 5 months while pocket carrying a pistol every day.
The first thing I learned is that you need to have nothing in your “gun pocket” but the gun. No keys, knife or anything else, except…
It really helps to have a good pocket holster, even if you are carrying a pistol that could be “safe” without one.
Here’s why:
About 5 months ago the folks at North American Arms were kind enough to send me one of their new .22 magnum Sentinal micro revolvers to test and I liked it so much I started carrying it as a pocket gun. At first, I carried it with no holster because in my opinion the design of the pistol, especially their “Safety Notch” cylinder, makes it safe to do so. However, I found out that it is small enough to move around in my pocket and sometimes it wound up in a less than great position to grab and draw. Since my usual CCW holster company, HAWG Holsters, didn’t make a holster for that particular pistol I bought a Galco leather Pocket Protector holster.. I had to slightly “customize” it to work with the NAA Sentinal due to the design of the pistol, but it works great. Not only does it maintain the pistol in the proper position for a smooth draw, it also breaks up the outline of the pistol in my pocket.
Also, just like your “regular” concealed carry pistol, you need to practice drawing from the pocket. Every style pistol/holster combo may need a slightly different technique to avoid getting snagged on your pocket during the draw. And you may need to adapt your draw technique to different types of clothing, like gym shorts or sweats. You can safely practice this at home with an unloaded gun but it is important to do. In my opinion, competent gun handling is every bit as important as marksmanship in a self-defense situation.
And, finally, spend some quality time at the range with your pocket pistol. Especially focus on one-handed shooting because that’s a skill that is more likely to be needed due to the size of the pistol and the circumstances that caused you to need to use your pocket pistol.
If you carry a backup gun (or have been considering doing so), I hope this has been helpful. Bottom line, yes, there are trade-offs when choosing to carry a pocket pistol over other back-up gun carry options. For me, at least right now, the pros outweigh the cons. Whatever you decide, be safe and remember:
Survival Is Not An Accident. Be Prepared!
(Update: As of the time of this writing, I have also started carrying a Smith and Wesson J-Frame 642UC chambered in .38 Special n my pocket as a backup.)
© Bryan Stevens 2025
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