You’re Not Fooling Anybody

This comment was left on a recent video I did.

“I wear a 5.11 vest. In 29 years I have had approximately six people ask me if I was a fisherman or a photographer.” 

Six people realized “That ain’t right” and approached him about what he was wearing. In 20+ years, I’ve been made exactly once, when I was carrying my Shield at the 3:30 position with a loose t-shirt as a cover garment.

I was a photojournalist, an actual working photographer, for a dozen years. I never once wore a photojournalist vest, even when I was on assignment in Latin America. I live in one of the epicenters for sports fishing in the United States (if not the world), and nobody here wears a fishing vest when they’re out and about; it’s took freaking hot to do so.

Look, if you think that photojournalist’s vests look cool and want to wear one, do so. But don’t think that doing so conceals the fact that you’re carrying a defensive firearm on you. A “shoot me first” vest might hide your firearm, but it won’t hide your intent. If you want to look like a member of Gen. Schwarzkopf’s protection detail, great. But understand what you look when doing so is someone who is carrying a gun and is looking out for people who might shoot at him,  not a fisherman or a photojournalist.

Oh, and by the way, I also did videos on how to get a quicker draw and how to set up a dry fire routine. Go check them out.