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  • What Makes a Good Gun Purse

    11:25 PM PST, 11/22/2008

    I got so frustrated I started selling concealment purses Ladies, if you're looking for a gun concealment purse that is stylish, sturdy and secure, I have just what you need. Tired of ebay listings an online ads for concealment purses written by men who know nothing about purses or about the special needs of women who carry concealed weapons? I had the same problem. I AM a women with a CCW, and I have carried a concealed weapon for over twenty years. I got so tired of not being able to find out what I needed to know to make an informed decision in my gun purse purchases that I decided to sell a line of purses I personally love and created my own ebay listings. I have provide plenty of photos and descriptions so that you can really see what you're getting. As all CCW holders know, carrying a concealed weapon is an important decision, and no one should have to guess when it comes to safety. A Purse a Month, NO More I like my guns big, but my purses felt differently. When I first stated carrying a concealed weapon, I didn't really know anything about gun purses, so I tried using regular purses. Even expensive, supposedly all-leather handbags where woefully inadequate. Often the gun wouldn't fit well because there was no specially designed gun concealment area for it. The weapon would just be loose inside one of the compartments. The other problem was that the weight of even my small concealed carry weapon (a little snub nose .38) would quickly wear out the seams or put so much stress on the straps that they would break in a matter of weeks. I was literally buying a new purse every 4-6 weeks to the tune of $40-$60 a piece. One of the huge advantages to buying a gun concealment purse is that they are capable of lasting for years. Because of the all-leather construction, reinforced stitching, and heavy-duty hardware used for the straps, these weapon concealment purses last and last. I have paid anywhere from $69 - $150 for concealment purses at normal retail prices. My goal is to offer you the same high quality that I personally demand in a gun concealment purse, at much lower prices. There have been times when I have found myself in an uncertain situation or location. One night, I while I was walking to my car in a downtown parking lot, two drunken young men began to cat-call at me and make rude remarks. I was alone and it made me pretty nervous. I obviously didn't want to give away my advantage or get into legal trouble by showing my weapon, but I did want to get to my gun if it became necessary to protect myself. I simply slipped my hand inside the gun concealment opening, unfastened the velcro retention strap and maintained a state of readiness with my hand on the weapon butt - without ever removing or brandishing my weapon - until I was safely inside my car with the doors locked. In these holster purses, the weapon is concealed in a center locking zippered gun concealment compartment. This makes for an easy draw. I have carried concealed in regular purses and in other styles of weapon concealment purses without locking compartments. Whenever I have carried without a locking gun compartment, I have felt like I had to keep my purse in physical contact at all times which can become very inconvenient. I used a purse with a Velcro closure for a number of years and found myself doing things like looping the long shoulder strap over my knee under the table and restaurants or placing it between my feet under the desk at work so that I was always in direct physical contact with my gun purse. Even using such methods to insure my gun was secure, there were times when I would need to be able to set the purse down and not hold onto it every minute. It is very hard to play with or hug kids with a purse hanging about your neck or shoulder. Whenever I would visit my grandkids or friends with children, I would find myself worrying more about my gun purse than about my visit. I could put the CCW purse up high, but that was no guarantee that active curious kids wouldn't manage to get to it, so I always kept my gun purse in my lap or looped over my shoulder while visiting. Each purse I sell is designed with a locking zippered weapon concealment compartment with a holster for proper positioning and weapon retention. With a locking zipper, I can now secure my gun in my purse and feel much safer setting my CCW purse down. It is a very nice feature that gives me a great deal of peace of mind. This is of course not a substitute for safe responsible gun handling. I would not leave even a locked gun purse just lying around for long periods where the curious might manage to find the keys and access the weapon. Always use good judgment and safe weapons handling to prevent accidents. Of course another advantage the zipper has over Velcro is that zippers are much quieter. I found that the loud scrrrraaaaaak sound of the Velcro closure ripping open in the empty echoing parking areas near my work was a bit unnerving. I really like the much quieter zipper. Where's My Damn Gun? I've used other types of gun concealment purses without holsters having only separate concealment spaces where the weapon flopped about. I never knew what position the weapon would be in when I reached inside. I found this more than a little disturbing. Unlike some gun concealment purses, these compartments are not just empty spaces but rather are fitted with actual holsters secured on the inside by sturdy heavy-duty Velcro and with Velcro strap across the butt of the weapon to insure retention. There are three important features that I really like about this holster purse concealment system: First, I'm never in a situation of having to look down while searching madly for my weapon like I used to have to do in an ordinary purse because my weapon is in a holster that is held securely inside a center compartment. My weapon is always in the same position, location, and orientation insuring quick access. The holster also prevents objects in the regular purse compartments from snagging on the weapon and interfering with the draw. The holster also makes practicing a quick, smooth, consistent draw much easier and more practical. When I used a Velcro closure, I did not practice the draw nearly as much as I should because I was concerned about wear caused by continually tipping open the Velcro. With the zipper type gun concealment, I can just leave it unzipped and practice as much as I need to without that concern. Second, if I feel I need to take a ready stance and unzip the gun purse concealment compartment, the Velcro retention strap insures that my weapon will remain secure until needed even if the purse is tipped downward. Though many of you may carry a much smaller weapon, which will also fit securely in the holster, I carry a full-size S&W .45 semi-auto and this holster system held it securely even when I turned the bag upside down and gave it a healthy shaking directly over my husband's head as he was photographing it for me for my ebay listings. Third, the holster further conceals the weapon by helping to prevent an imprint of the weapon on the outside of the CCW purse. Certainly, when I load my gun purse up with all the usual junk I carry in it, it would be almost impossible to make out the shape of an object nestled in the center. But just to illustrate how well this holster purse conceals, I placed my full-zipper .45 in the holster with nothing else in the gun purse. The weapon is complete invisible from the outside of the purse even when it is empty. I was so happy with these purses when I found them that I wanted to make them available to other women who carry concealed and care about both safety and style in their carry purses. You can see all of the items I am selling on ebay by going to www.mygunpurses.com and clicking on any image. You will be linked directly to the corresponding active ebay listing. I hope you love these purses as much as I do.