Why Choose Heirloom Seeds?
By Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
Before you turn even the first grain of dirt in your backyard garden you have to start with a plan. What are you going to grow? How are you going to arrange your plants? How are you going to combat the pest that will try to eat your garden before your first harvest?
The most important part of planning is deciding what kind of seeds you are going to plant. There are two varieties to choose from, either the modern hybrid varieties or heirlooms. Hybrids are created by crossing two selected varieties, sometimes resulting in vigorous plants that yield more that there heirloom kin. Heirloom vegetables are old-time varieties that are handed down through multiple generations. Heirloom seeds usually cost less than hybrids, but that is not the only reason to choose them.
Lots of breeding programs for modern hybrid seeds have sacrificed taste for production. I have grown modern tomatoes that have produced pound after pound of tasteless fruit that has left me sadly disappointed. But the next year I planted the same heirloom tomato that my grandmother has been planting for years with much better results. The heirloom did not produce the same quantity of fruit but the superior taste more than made up for the loss of production.
It is also believed that the newer hybrid seeds have lost some, if not much, of the nutritional value that the older heirloom vegetables have been providing us for years. It would appear that the breeders of the modern hybrid seeds have been more concerned with production than nutritional value.
As a prepper I prefer heirloom vegetables because they are open-pollinated, which means you can save your seeds. If you save seeds from heirloom vegetables you can replant them next year and be assured that next year’s plant will be just like this year’s plant. However, if you plant seeds saved from hybrid plants you never know what you might get. They may be like their parent plant or they may be quite different.
Another quality is that heirlooms don’t all ripen at the same time. Many commercial growers like hybrids because they all ripen in one fail swoop, however this is not optimum for back yard gardens. As a back yard grower I prefer to have ripened vegetables stretched over a period of time so I can enjoy my fresh harvest over several weeks.
Lastly, I can save seeds from only the best plants and use those to grow next year’s garden. I can then share those seeds with my family and friends. I can get my grandchildren involved in my backyard garden and teach them how to save only seeds from the strongest most productive plants for the next year. We can make memories together growing tasty and nutritious vegetables. When the grand kids get older I can then share my heirloom seeds with them and they will have lots of fun stories to share with their kids as they plant our family heirloom seeds in a garden of their own.
There are several ways to get high quality heirlooms seeds. One of my favorite ways is by trading seeds with other local gardeners. However, if I have to order seeds I usually get them from Bakers Creek Seed Company or the Seed Savers Exchange. Good luck and happy gardening!
Resources:
What Kind of Prepper Are You?
By: Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
Yesterday while at work I had to attend training on a new time clock system that is being implemented at my job. The new time clock will consist of a biometric scan of your finger along with a fingerprint scan. Of course none of this made me happy. At the end of the training we had to enroll in the system by completing both scans.
Of course I was not happy and voiced my opinion when it was my turn to submit my finger for scans. There was talk about how no matter how many times we were told that the information submitted was secure; we all knew that before we left the training session the NSA along with countless other government agencies would be in custody of the newly scanned information.
Afterwards one of my coworkers asked me … “How can you tell others about the need to prepare without making yourself a target for unwanted visitors in the future if we really have one of those SHTF situations?” He continued to give me a hard time because I have both my Palmetto Prepper Facebook page and this Blog. I did my best to ignore him and went about my business.
Later in the day I really started thinking about what my coworker said. I decided there were really only two types of preppers; the first type being like my coworker, a Paranoid Prepper and the other like myself which is a Pragmatic or Logical Prepper.
A paranoid prepper is someone who is preparing for an event but is scared to let anyone know about it. The paranoid prepper is terrified that his preps will be stolen from him when he needs them most.
However, a pragmatic/logical prepper knows that in a SHTF situation that they will have to share what they have with others and prepares for this situation. I am sure that this is causing many of you to think I am crazy but just take a second and hear me out.
If I am at the local Wal-Mart and talk to some random stranger in line about why I have 25 cans of corn in my buggy and he seems interested in what I have to say, then of course I am going to tell him about his need to be prepared. And if in six months or a year from now we have a SHTF situation; I doubt he is going to say to himself, “I remember talking to this brown-haired man in Wal-Mart and he had lots of extra food. I think he said he lived in the next town over so I am going to go get his food.” That just is not going to happen. And if he did happen to find me some twenty miles away then he would also need to know that I have also bought some extra guns and ammo. There is actually a greater chance that he might buy a few extra cans of food for himself and his family.
What is most likely going to happen is that my son, who thinks I am crazy and is not preparing, is going to show up at my house with his family and need some supplies. What am I to do? Turn down my son and his family or am I going to know this is likely to happen and prepare for that situation.
Another likely situation that will probably occur is that one of my neighbors will need some supplies. How safe would it be for me to turn them down or get into a gun battle with someone from my immediate community who likely has close friends in the area? In that situation we should ban together and help one another; there is safety in numbers. I might be able to give him some needed sugar and he could help me fix my car or assist with hunting and fishing in the area.
I agree that we need to be careful of who knows that we are preppers and limit their ability to find us; but we need to remember that we cannot keep it secret from everyone. We need to be selective who we tell all while we encourage others to prepare for themselves.
So what kind of prepper are you?
Resources:
Why Being Debt Free is Important for a Prepper
By Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
About two years ago I really started getting worried about the direction our country was heading. I started listing to Podcast like “The Survival Podcast” that focused on preparing for the future and I learned a lot. I actually started doing the things the host was telling us about; bought a water filter, started stock piling food and learning life skills. I even started sharing what I was learning by writing this blog and posting on my Palmetto Prepper Facebook page.
As the economy continued to get worse and the cost of everything started increasing at an alarming rate I started looking at my financial future. How could I protect myself when economy and the dollar ended up in the toilet?
Then I did something that the results scared me even more; I got out all my bills and added up how much consumer debt I had accumulated and I was shocked. I realized that not only are we slaves to our government but I was a slave to the people who owned all my debt. The number scared the crap out of me and that did not even include my house. I knew I could not be prepared and self-reliant until I freed myself from this debt. If things got bad I could lose my house and everything I owned.
I started searching for answers and a quick and easy way to get out of debt. I did not find any quick tricks but I did find this guy named Dave Ramsey and his Total Debt Make Over. I bought the book, with cash, and read it cover to cover in one weekend. I strongly recommend that you read the book also, I am sure you can find it at your local library.
What Dave taught me was his baby steps and I have been following them ever since. Step number one is to have $1,000 cash in an emergency fund. I believe he recommended having it in a savings account; however the prepper in me said nope – cash in small bills locked up in a safe place. I had that step taken care of in just six weeks. See my blog post titled “Cash is King” dated March 20, 2013 for more information about that. In addition to saving the $1,000 we cut up all our credit cards and started paying for everything in cash.
Next we compiled a list of all our bills, listing them from smallest to largest along with their required monthly payments. The list scared me to death. It started with a doctor bill that we owed only $140 on but we were only making a $10 a month payment. At that rate we would be paying on that on bill for 14 months. The first goal was to pay that one-off. At the beginning of the next month we made all our minimum monthly payment and I saw that our balances changed very little and I was almost out of money. I started trying to figure out ways to generate money and fast. I was able to find some odd job from neighbors; like raking yards, cleaning off roofs and helping with odd jobs. In just three weeks I had earned the money to pay off that first debt. It felt great to make some headway.
The next month I was able to start working on the next lowest balance and instead of making the minimum payment I added the $10 that I was paying on the doctor bill. I have been working it ever since. In the first year I was able to pay off $14,737.30 and save up $1,000 cash for my emergency fund. I know I have a long way to go, but it feels good to be heading in the right direction. The freedom we already feel is unbelievable.
Prepping is being prepared and being debt free is one preparation I recommend that you start working towards. If you want to get out of debt, you can get out of debt – no matter how much money you owe. Just take baby steps and you can get there!
Resources:
The Survival Podcast – http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/
Palmetto Prepper Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPrepper?ref=hl
Dave Ramsey – http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/
The Total Money Makeover – http://www.daveramsey.com/store/books/dave-s-bestsellers/the-total-money-makeover/prodtmmoclassic.html
Cash is King Blog post – https://ki4idb.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/cash-is-king-keeping-cash-on-hand-for-emergencies/
What Type of Guns does a Prepper Need?
By Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
I was visiting a friend the other week, who claims to be a fellow prepper, and he wanted to show off his preps; which is something I do not encourage any prepper to do. So out to his man cave, located in the back of his garage, we went so he could show off all his preps. The way he was talking I was expecting to see tons of food, gallons upon gallons of water, go bags and some guns. But what I saw were guns and more guns. Along with the guns there was box after box after box of ammo. This guy had so many guns and so much ammo that he could open his own store. What I did not see was much in the way of water storage or food.
Guns and ammo are an important part of most people’s preps but by no means would I ever suggest to anyone that guns and ammo be the most important prep you have; just like I would not recommend that anyone only prep water or food or junk silver. We must have a balanced approach to prepping.
All this got me thinking about my guns and ammo and the approach I took to picking out the guns I have and just how much ammo was really needed. After giving the subject a lot of thought this is what I came up with.
There are basically four types of guns and each has its own place in your preps. I strongly believe that each household should have a shotgun, a centerfire rifle, a handgun and a .22 rifle.
A good shotgun can be used for both hunting and home defense. I started out with a good 12 gage shotgun that my grandfather left to me many years ago. This shotgun, a Browning A5, is great for bird hunting and can be used to hunt squirrels and other small game. However it really is too big to be a good home defense weapon but in a pinch it will get the job done. Later in my prepping I did add a good pump shot gun to my preps for home defense.
The centerfire is for hunting bigger game and stopping people out at longer ranges. I only get to go deer hunting about three or four times a year and did not want to invest lots of money into a centerfire rifle but I wanted one that would not fail. I found a Remington 770 at a local store for under $200 and it came with a scope. I quickly found that the scope was a cheaper make and the optics were not good for long distance shots so I upgraded to some decent optics for under $200. I have been very happy with this rifle and it is very capable of taking down Whitetail Deer and wild hogs.
A hand gun is to stop bad people at close range. My wife, my oldest son, oldest daughter and I all have our Concealed Weapons Permits (CWP) and carry just about everywhere we go. However I did not start out with a handgun for everyone. To start out I went to a local pawn store and bought a good used .38 caliber revolver; this is gun my daughter currently carries. I would suggest that what every you decide to purchase I would get it in 9mm or .40 caliber. The reason for this is that these are the calibers that are most often carried by local police departments; which means that when you are stocking up on ammo these will be easier to find.
Lastly the .22 rifle is for hunting small game and keeping your shooting skills sharp because the ammunition is less expensive. I have a Ruger 10/22 and I mounted the cheap scope that came with my centerfire rifle on it. It is a great gun. I use it for hunting rabbits, squirrels, turtles and other small game. My kids love to take it to the range to practice with because it is so easy to shoot. In addition the Ruger is probably the most popular 22 rifle made and there are tons of accessories manufactured for it. I have purchased some of the 25 round magazines for it which I have found increases my odds of taking down a fast moving squirrel.
Now how much ammo do you really need? Only you can answer is that question but I will share with you what I have done. I try to keep 500 rounds of ammo for each gun I own, except .22 which I keep about 1000 rounds of. Now this number is not for each caliber gun but for each gun you own. If you had two 9mm pistols (one for you and one for your wife) then you would need to have 1000 rounds of 9 mm ammo on hand. When purchasing shotgun shells you need to be aware that there are many different types. I keep some target loads, turkey loads, small game loads and buck shot. That way I have the type of shells that I need when I need them.
I would not get all these guns at one time. Maybe after you have a good amount of water stored up then you could buy your shotgun. Then add some food to your preps and get a pistol and so on.
I would suggest that your first gun be a good 12 gage shotgun because it is dual purposed. You can protect yourself and family with it as well as hunt. Then I would get a pistol and I would encourage you to get your CWP.
First Exposure – The Journey of Discovery
It is important to remind ourselves that we did not always have the peace and courage that comes from living the prepper lifestyle. We didn’t always know that “life as we know it” is not stable and that it can change overnight. The inner peace that we, as preppers, have realized comes from slowly taking the steps to insure that our families will have a roof over their heads, water to drink and food for them to eat.
The average person is just rocking along with life and my have had limited exposure to people like us. They might have a flashlight, some batteries and possibly a portable radio socked away for when the lights go out, but they are not prepared for any real life changing events. Then they meet someone like us and they think we are strangle and might even treat us differently. Our family will tolerate us preppers because they have to, after all they are family.
However then we have contact with that average person that was just rocking along and they have suddenly had the “First Exposure” with the need to be prepared. They may have just lost their job or knows someone who has. They might have just lived through a natural disaster that made life scary for a few days or a week and now they realize that their family is vulnerable. Or like most people they have discovered that our country cannot keep plugging along spending more money than it takes in every year and they have noticed that the cost of everyday living has risen very fast and it all gives them some concern. Whatever the reason is, they have started seeking out advice and are looking for justification to start spending a pile of money on things that they think they need so they can have the same peace and courage we have when we take on whatever life throws our way.
What we have to remember is that “First Exposure” sucks. Not only does it suck but the person that was recently exposed feels alone and knows that they cannot talk to most people or their family because they know that their friends and family will think they are crazy, just as they would have thought about us before their exposure. Now they are seeking out someone who does not think they are crazy!
Hopefully they find someone who is a level-headed prepper that will steer them in the right direction. Someone that gives them good solid advice and helps them think of thing logically and points them to reliable resources so they can educate themselves before they waste lots of money. I also hope that they find someone who will direct them to more like-minded people so they can start building community and a support group.
I have a feeling that 2014 will produce many new people who experience their “First Exposure” and there is a good chance that you will be placed in a position to be that SOMEONE I mentioned earlier. I ask you to remember what it was like when you had your “First Exposure” and that you help your new friend down the path of preparedness with understanding and patience.
Help them get started and help them to feel normal. Living a prepping/preparedness lifestyle is nothing new. People until recent history lived this way. Remember you grandparents, their generation lived this way. They always saved and put supplies up for later use. People all over the world live a preparedness lifestyle. It was not until recent times that people were taught that we can just run to the store whenever they needed something. Well I believe that is a false security and that 2014 will show us all just how false it is.
Happy Prepping!
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPrepper
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SCPrepper
Prepping Goals 2014
My prepping goals for 2014 include personal, family and farm goals … all of which will impact the safety, security and well-being of my family. The reason for me sharing my goals with everyone is that by letting others know your goals then you have someone to hold you accountable.
Family
– Get my 1100 gallon water barrel contacted to new gutters on the rear of the house
– Grow and can 50% more food to increase our food storage and improve the quality of food that is consumed by my family
Farm
– Build a new larger chicken coop (20 bird minimum)
– New roof on old pump house to increase storage and safety on farm
– Get current goat-herd registered
– Finish 40 foot high radio tower (for Ham Radio antennas)
Personal
– Continue Debt snowball (get all current doctor bills paid off)
– Build readership on blog by creating at least one new blog post a week
– Research how to start a podcast and launch Palmetto Prepper Network
Goals are important for every aspect of life. I would encourage you to make goals, short-term and long-term. Without goals it you are less likely to achieve the things you seek in life.
The two goals that excite me the most is building a larger better egg producing factory (chicken coop) and starting a podcast. Actually the podcast is the one that intrigues me the most. I am actually curious how many of my Facebook followers and blog readers would actually listen or be interested in this endeavor.
Good luck and happy prepping in 2014.
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPrepper
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SCPrepper
The Daily Prep
By: Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
Prepping is an important activity that everyone should make sure that they are participating in. You never know when a winter storm will close down your city or truckers will go on strike, keeping the much needed food supply from being delivered to your community.
I have been asked by both friends and family this one question: What is prepping? This question often confuses me because prepping is such a natural activity. It is what American’s have done since the beginning of our great county. Prepping is preparing for the future. It is just that simple. You decide what you are preparing for and do it. But for most of us, the acts of prepping consist of storing up basics for the future (food, water and supplies). For more information about what our grandparents did check out this blog entry: https://ki4idb.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/our-grandparents-had-it-right/
Once you decide that you need to start prepping and then you look around at all the things you need to purchase and store, you can become easily overwhelmed. That is when most people start to get discouraged. Then after the first trip to the store and you find yourself spending $100’s of dollars on food, water, water purification devices and medical supplies you find yourself wanting to run for the hills. At least I did!
Then I decided that I was going to have to take the slow and steady approach. That is how I was able to prep without being overwhelmed. My slow and steady approach is very simple … I just do one small prep a day. If I don’t have any extra money to purchase a prep for the day, then I work on a new skill like “Knife Sharpening” or “Gardening”. Each thing you do makes you more prepared then you were before and that is what is important. However, you also have to a goal in mind and continue to strive to obtain that goal. Good beginner goals to have would be to store up a month supply of food and water. After that maybe have an extra 10 gallons of gas on hand or extra LP gas for your propane grill, both of those things are important preps.
If you were to look back at my prepping activities for the last 5 days you would see the following:
Day 1 – Stored an extra gallon of water in an empty Arizona gallon tea jug.
Day 2 – Bought a few extra can goods while grocery shopping.
Day 3 – Cleaned and oiled guns.
Day 4 – Bought an extra bag of food for the chickens.
Day 5 – Bought extra dental floss and some large needles (you would be surprised at all the uses for dental floss).
You can follow along on my Facebook page, where I ask the daily question, “What was your prep for the day?”; you will be surprised at some of the answers. https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPrepper
Chickens: A Preppers Dream
By: Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
For over 5000 years people have been keeping domesticated chickens and there must be a good reason for that. I would say that the reasons are quite simple; the chicken provides food security along with food safety and quality, putting it at the top of any preppers list.
If you are planning to keep chickens to provide food for your family after an economic collapse then you have made a great choice. Chickens are small in size, have low maintenance and the ability to provide you with both eggs and meat. The average chicken will lay 260 eggs a year, so if you have a small flock of just four hens you should have over 1,000 eggs to feed your family. If you add a rooster to the mix and make sure you have a breed of chicken that is known for being broody, then you can leave some of those eggs in with the hens and your flock will continue to thrive. In addition to providing direct food for you and your family they also produce fertilizer and eat pest that could ruin your survival garden.
If you are not worried about an economic collapse or the end of the world there are other fine reasons why chickens are a bargain and a must have. One of the most economic and politically compelling reasons to raise chickens is to recycle food and yard waste, keeping it out of the land fill and becoming a valuable organic soil builder for your garden. Chickens provide natural insect control by eating protein packed insect, which will cut down on their feed bill. But, for me and my family, we are more concerned with food production.
If you have chickens, then you need to make sure you can provide for them while they continue to produce for you and your family. Like mentioned above chickens love to eat bugs and scratch at the ground to dig up other tiny morsels of food, helping to provide for themselves. But they can only do this if you allow them to free range. My current flock of eight hens and a rooster get about 60% of their food from grain and the other 40% from forging around the yard. They could get by on less gain but if you want them to produce more eggs for you I honestly believe the grain is an important part of there up keep. However, I know people that just let them forage for their food, giving them just enough grain to come back to the coop every night. After TSHTF and you run low on grain you can always feed them kitchen scraps and you should be fine. I included kitchen scraps in the above estimate of the grain I feed them.
One last note for the prepper with chickens in their survival plan like anything else there is a learning curve, so I encourage you to start your flock now. You will be glad you do not have to learn another skill when all hell breaks loose, in addition to trying to figure out where your starter flock is going to come from.
For more information on prepping please visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPrepper .
Successful Prepping on $10 A Week
By: Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
Several years ago I was minding my own business watching TV and a crazy show called “Doomsday Preppers” came on the screen. I watch about a half an hour of those weird people before turning it off. But the concept of the show sparked an interest in the back of my mind and got me thinking about the safety of my own family. I really started wondering if they would be taken care of or if they would be safe if anything (SHTF) bad happened. I concluded that we were grossly unprepared and our family’s journey began.
I am a list maker so the first thing I did was make a list of what I needed for my family to have just two month’s worth of supplies (food, water, soap, toothpaste …). Once finished I looked at my list and then at my checkbook, I am a father of six with a stay at home wife, and I quickly got over whelmed and then I panicked. After a few days I got brave enough to broach the subject with my wife and we figured out where the disposable income needed would come from. Like most of you, the economy has not been good to me. I have not had a real raise in years and the price of everything keeps going up, even while the government is telling us there is no noticeable appreciation.
My wife came up with the idea of prepping in little bits and watching it all add up. We spent one evening going over our budget and found ways to save money. I cut out my bi-weekly trip to Starbucks, started taking lunch to work a few day a week. We even cut out some of our soda habit and we realized we could easily find $10 a week to put towards our preps, and that is what we did.
You will not believe what $10 can buy until you really start paying attention. Here are just a few things you can get from a discount store like Family Dollar or Dollar General:
Rice (3 lb. bag) $1.69 – you can store 5 bags for $8.45
Dried beans (1.5 lb. bag) $1.99 – 5 bags = $9.95
Sugar (4 lb. bag) $2.39 – 4 bags = $9.95
Toothpaste $1.79 a tube – 5 tubes = $8.95
Kraft Easy Mac (2.05 oz. container) $1.00 – 10 containers = $10
The list goes on and on. Again I can’t say it enough that you can quickly store lots of supplies for as little as $10 a week. When we found a big item we wanted we would just save our $10 weekly prepping money until we could afford to buy the item. I think the first big item we got was a propane burner. In just a few weeks we had the money needed.
The key is to be consistent and disciplined and make that $10 purchase every week. In just a few months into your prepping journey you will be amazed at what you’re accomplishing. Then at the end of the first year you will look into your prepper closet and feel a lot better about your preparedness.
Once you get the basics of prepping started, you will quickly start doing things like gardening, canning your own food, seed saving and other inexpensive prepping activities that will quickly increase your safety and preparedness.
For more information on prepping please visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPrepper
Sneaky Pete Holsters – Product Review
By: Alec Sharp (Palmetto Prepper)
The Sneaky Pete Holster Company is a small family owned and operated business located in New York State. They are actually so small that they don’t have any kind of phone staff and only handle customer support by email through their “Contact Us” page on their website which can be located at http://www.sneakypeteholsters.com .
My wife, who recently obtained her Conceal Weapons Permit, has been looking for a good holster that would allow her to move her newly purchased Ruger LCP .380 from her purse to her person. So when her birthday came around and she still had not found a holster she liked, I took the matter into my own hands and started searching for a holster that I thought would fit the bill. I found several that I liked on the market, but none of them had the fit and finish that Sneaky Pete appeared to have.
After much research I decided to order her a holster from their website. One of the things that helped me make my decision to buy this holster was that the owners of the company have also been making cell phone pouches for years and built this holster to resemble a cell phone holder. The other major reason I decided on this holster was that it was made to be worn on the outside the waist band, which I thought would be much more comfortable for my wife.
I was surprised that Sneaky Pete offered four different versions of the holster for my wife’s LCP. It was offered with a belt clip or belt loop and with flush plate or extended pinky. I decided to order her the LCP belt clip extended pinky design. It was reasonable priced at $54.95 plus shipping. The order was processed quickly and in less than a week my wife’s new holster was delivered.
The holster was packaged in a very nice custom looking black box and then inside the leather holster was in a cloth type bag that resembles something you would get a Crown Royal liquor bottle out of. I personally think the company spent way too much money on the packaging and could have possibly lowered the price of their holster if they would have gone with a cheaper package, which just ends up in the trash.
When my wife opened the wrapped package I gave her for her birthday she was excited and she thought the holster packaging was really upscale. However, the first thing she said once she got her new holster out of its packaging was that she thought the holster was too big to resemble any type of cell phone holder. She commented that it looked more like it would hold a small tablet. She and I were both impressed with the craftsman ship, the quality of the leather and the superb stitching.
The other half of her birthday present was dinner out at O’Charley’s restaurants. We put on our best blue jeans and left the house, of course with her sporting her new Sneaky Pete properly positioned on her belt. She commented several times as we walked around the house and yard about how comfortable the holster was, however when she went to sit-down she quickly changed her mind. She stated several times that in a sitting position the holster was way too big and bulky. When we got out of the car the first thing my wife did was pull her shirt over the holster to hid some of it size. If you are not familiar with the Ruger LCP it is a very small gun. It is so small that sometimes when we are dressed up I will leave my bigger 9 mm or my 1911 45 at home and carry her LCP in the front pocket of my dress pants.
The other thing that she did not like was that drawing the gun from the holster was not natural. First you have to move the flap and then to remove the gun, because the trigger is covered for safety, you have to use two fingers to lift the handle up before getting a good grip on the gun. After a month of wearing the holster she decided to put the LCP back in purse and the holster in the closet.
I have used the holster several times and for a man the size is not as big of deal. I wear it with my t-shirt out, making just the bottom of the holster visible. I also don’t like the act of drawing the gun from the holster but with practice I could become accustomed to it. I wear the holster with a suit or if we are going somewhere that I need to take extra care in making sure that the gun is covered at all times.
Final comments – The Sneaky Pete holster is made of high quality materials and looks very nice. I think the concept of a holster that guarantees total concealment of your gun is a great idea. But it is not right for everyone. For a woman with a small frame the holster is just too big and bulky. I think the holster is ideal for a business man who wants to carry and still look sharp. For our family and needs it just did not fit the bill. I will still wear it on occasions but it will not be an everyday carry holster for us. I think it is a great holster for special occasions but I just don’t think it is practical for your average everyday use, others may disagree but for us this holster will spend more time in the closet then on the belt.
I sincerely hope this helps you make an informed decision.
Please be sure to check out our other blog entries and or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPrepper .
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