Concealed carry becomes a little more strategic during the winter season. All spring, summer, and fall season was a far simpler when you wore less clothing and were ready for anything in the event you needed to rapidly reach for your weapon.
The Distraction of Winter Weather
Cumbersome clothing and weather becomes a slight obstacle in defending yourself during winter. Using umbrellas, being covered in hoods, and wrapping yourself up tightly while dashing from a building to your car quickly compromises your alertness to danger. This is all the result of sleet, rain, ice, and snow.
When you’re trying to keep yourself balanced on ice or avoiding stepping into water puddles, you’re mind is as much on trying to get from point A to B as it is for your protection.
Maintain a sense of peripheral vision at all times. With hoods and other articles of winter gear that blocks your view, it puts you in a vulnerable position.
Plan Ahead for Cold Weather
How many times do you catch yourself putting your hands in your coat pockets? This is another thing working against you in event that someone confronts you unexpectedly. While it’s normal to place your hands in your pockets in freezing temperatures, it’s not a safe thing to do carrying concealed. You need your hands free to draw your handgun quickly.
You may want to consider getting gloves that aren’t too bulky when it comes to retrieving your firearm and being ready to shoot. Note that you must be efficient in wearing the exact same gloves you’ve mastered shooting before getting to this point.
Practice Makes Perfect
If you haven’t practiced drawing your gun with all the additional clothing on for winter before the season began, you may want to start immediately. Over the summer, you probably had on just a t-shirt. You’d lift your shirt to expose the firearm then draw it from the holster.
Now a winter jacket is added to the mix and your draw will change somewhat. For instance, if the jacket is unzipped, the motion is to sweep it to the side and away from your gun before lifting up your shirt to access it. This is an additional step, which means practicing during the winter months is vital.
Taking these preventative steps will help you a lot in the safety department. The takeaway is to not get distracted with winter clothing blocking your view and know how to maneuver within your attire safely to draw a firearm.
