Purse Carry: Last Resort or Valid Option?

It’s often touted that purse carry is a dangerous option that should never be considered. Some say purse carry should only be a last resort if you’ve exhausted all other options. Are these sentiments valid? We’ll take a look at that today!

Why the Bad Rap for Purse Carry?

A quick search yields dozens of news stories of purse guns going off and injuring bystanders. There are also numerous stories of people being fatally wounded after someone got a hand on a purse gun. It’s understandable, and easy to write off purse carry because headlines highlight the tragedies. It’s easier to apply a blanket statement, “purse carry is dangerous”, than it is to expect accountability and safe gun handling from other conceal carriers.

In reality, the issue is not that purse carry is inherently dangerous. The issue is that there are people who do not do it safely. When you employ safe techniques, purse carry is just as safe as any other conceal carry location.

How Purse Carry Safely

A lot of the anti-purse carry rhetoric comes from men who have never carried purses, or women who do not regularly carry a purse (with a firearm inside or not). As a daily purse carrying woman for the better part of the last 15 years, I don’t find it that difficult to integrate the safety measures I was already taking, with the additional safety measures required to safely carry a firearm in my purse. Let’s walk through these steps.

The Gun needs a Dedicated Separate Pocket or Compartment

Nothing else should ever go in that space, ever. Your wallet, keys, chapstick, and anything else you keep in your purse needs to be in a separate compartment.

Additionally, it is a good idea to look for a purse that has at least a semi-rigid wall between where the firearm will go, and where all of your other belongings will go. This is just another layer of protection to make sure nothing can press into your firearm causing it to go off.

The Trigger needs to be Covered

You can have a covered trigger with a kydex holster, a pocket holster, or a kydex trigger covering. Even though you’ve made sure that nothing else is in the compartment with the firearm, a covered trigger is still a must. You don’t always know how the other items in your purse will shift around as you are on the go. Something could shift and poke or put pressure into the firearm’s compartment.

Having a covered trigger ensures that nothing else from your purse has the potential to make it go off. We all know that guns don’t just go off on their own.

Be Mindful of your Purse at all Times

You should already be practicing this. Whether or not your purse has a firearm hidden away or not, you don’t want to give anyone the opportunity to take your purse away from you. Don’t leave your purse out of sight, and make sure that you always have a hand on it.

I recommend a cross body strap as those are harder to slip off your shoulder if someone wants to try to grab your purse and run. Additionally, cross body straps are also easy to keep on if you are out to dinner with friends.

Do not let Anyone Handle, or Access your Purse

If you are purse carrying, you cannot let anyone else handle or get into your purse. You can prevent accidents from happening by making sure you are the only one handling your purse. It doesn’t matter how much you trust someone, set the precedent that others do not go looking in your purse.

This will also require you to be mindful of your purse. You can’t just leave it laying around because children might want to go digging around. It is your responsibility to teach the children you are around not to get into your purse, and its your responsibility to make sure it doesn’t happen.

When you get Home, the Firearm goes to its Home

Your firearm should not live in the purse 100% of the time. You need to have another secure location that it can go to when you get home. Securing your firearm at home will prevent children from getting their hands on it if they still decide to go through your purse.

I’d also recommend finding a home for your purse to live that isn’t just laying around. It is inappropriate for children, or others, to go rifling through your purse. Putting it away when you get home takes the temptation away.

Don’t Let People Go Through Your Things

I feel like this needs to be expounded upon because I always see a comment about how people’s children go through their purses, and it always makes me roll my eyes.

Your purse is a private space. It is your responsibility to have boundaries around it, and to enforce the boundaries you set. It’s common decency to not go looking through people’s medicine cabinets, or go digging through their trash. A purse is an equally private space. Teach those around you that it is not okay to go looking through your purse, and that there will be consequences for violating that boundary.

Before I purchased my first firearm, and well before I started purse carrying, there were plenty of things I carried in my purse that I would not have wanted my nieces or nephews to go grabbing for. The list of items ranges from snacks to medication. My wallet, to pocket knives. Aside from a gun, there are a lot of potential dangers in your purse. Adding a firearm does add significantly more consequence, but I’d bet there are still other potentially lethal items hidden away in your purses pockets. At the very least, you are likely carrying your wallet with your ID, credit cards, and maybe some cash. All private and personal items.

To drive this point home: a late, diabetic family member was not very safe about how she transported her insulin needles. After her passing all of her bags had tiny, open pin needles strewn about. As a 27 year old woman I was cautious as we sorted her things. If one of her grandchildren or nieces had gone digging through her things she would have inevitably been pricked. It’s your responsibility to teach your children not to go through your purse. It’s your responsibility to enforce that expectation.

Limitations to Purse Carry

Purse carry does come with its own limitations, and it’ll be up to you to decide if these limitations make it a viable option or not for you. Whether this is something that works for you or not, that is not the determining factor in purse carry’s validity.

Slower Draw

Purse carry is going to slow you down. It is never going to be as quick as on-body carry. You will need to practice to become not only competent, but safe as you draw from the purse.

A safe draw stroke from a purse, as taught by Darryl Bolke, includes putting both hands on the purse, and opening the firearm’s compartment. Securing your grip, and then pulling the purse away from the firearm before presenting.

By pulling the purse away from the gun before presenting, you mitigate the risk of muzzling others as you bring the gun to low ready, or to the target. As always, we must practice muzzle discipline, and that will require practice and awareness on your part. This is just like it would be when drawing from any location.

Beware Purse Snatchers

A purse is something a thief might wish to take from you. Whether that is accompanied by an assault, or just a thief taking your things, keeping your firearm in your purse does put it at a higher risk of being taken from you than when concealed on body carry.

If you don’t maintain awareness of your purse, you also run the risk of leaving your purse behind, which could result in your purse and firearm disappearing forever. I can say that in 15 years of carrying a purse that I have never forgotten my purse at home when I meant to bring it, nor left it at my last destination. However, if you are not a regular purse carrier, that might be a concern if you suddenly decide to carry one with a firearm inside.

You

Do you have the capacity and bandwidth to take all of this into consideration and apply it? If not, that is perfectly fine, but you should opt for a different carry method. You carry a huge responsibility when you are armed, you are responsible for being safe.

Is Purse Carry Inherently Dangerous?

No. Ultimately, you are the determining factor deciding if purse carry is going to be safe or dangerous. Choosing to leave the house armed is a massive responsibility. Period. Whether you opt to carry strong side, appendix, or in a purse, YOU are the one responsible for being safe. Purse carry does come with extra steps, and extra precautions that need to be made. If you decide not to take the extra steps or precautions then you are putting your life, your loved ones lives, and the lives of those around you at risk.

Don’t be another headline. Make the safe choices.

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