2 Concealed Carry Seat Belt Hacks

Context matters and the vehicle is one place where the environment does change some of the best practices and tactics deployed by concealed carriers for daily comfort and preparedness and how one might respond to an actual threat while in the car. One of these considerations is what to do with your seat belt.

ccw seatbelt hack

In this article, I offer two straightforward tips that I've learned over the years and worked to engrain as habits to be better prepared should I need to respond to an active threat.

Unbuckle From Inside

I first learned this technique from Mike Seeklander of Shooting Performance. Mike is a fantastic instructor and brings extensive experience from both defensive and competitive shooting, and as soon as I saw him teach this technique, I decided I'd work to make it my routine.

The basic idea is to sweep the hand behind the seat belt when you unbuckle and remove the belt. As demonstrated in the video, if you are in the driver's seat, you will use your left hand.

This objective is to free the seat belt so that it doesn't pin your arm and reduces the likelihood that the seat belt catches on your gun-if you carry in the appendix inside the waistband (AIWB) position. If you unbuckle with your right hand, which is likely how you have done it your whole life, you have an extra step of bringing your left arm into your chest to ensure the belt doesn't pin your left arm.

Is this a huge deal? Maybe, maybe not. However, it could be advantageous to remove the belt with a single hand so that you can use your other hand in a particular situation.

Untuck Over Seat Belt

I don't know to whom to give credit to this one. However, I think most people who carry in the appendix position eventually hear about this technique.

The basic idea is to untuck your shirt from the belt. If you carry in the appendix position, your seat belt effectively traps your shirt in such a way that it becomes difficult to clear the garment when you draw the gun.

Untucking the shirt first and putting it over the belt will reduce time and friction should you need to draw.

A Quick Point on Small of Back Carry:

This is a good moment to point out one of the many issues with 6 o'clock or small of back carry. Carrying the gun in the small of back may feel comfortable, but the gun is nearly impossible to access with any speed or consistency while seated in a vehicle. Sometimes, people innately recognize this limitation with small of back carry. But instead of fixing a sub-standard method of carrying, they compound the problem by sticking their gun to a magnet mount inside their vehicle. We aren't a fan of this method and explain why in this post.

 

Nothing complicated, my friends, but sometimes it is the little things that help you be and feel more prepared.

If you want to learn more and really step up your handgun handling tactics inside your vehicle, I strongly recommend you claim a FREE copy of our “Vehicle Draw” video training DVD/Stream.

carjacking

The training video is just under an hour in length, but still thoroughly reviews different carry positions including considerations for how to effectively draw your firearm regardless of the positioning of the threat, while also avoiding getting hung up on the steering wheel, seat belt, or other barriers.

Claim your free Vehicle Draw training program here.

About Jacob Paulsen

Jacob S. Paulsen is the President of ConcealedCarry.com. ConcealedCarry.com provides in-person and online firearm training for American gun owners. The Company is currently teaching in-person classes in 25+ states with a team of more than 55 instructors. Jacob is a NRA certified instructor & Range Safety Officer, USCCA certified instructor and training counselor, Utah BCI instructor, Affiliate instructor for Next Level Training, Graduate and certified instructor for The Law of Self Defense, and a Glock and Sig Sauer Certified Armorer. He resides in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with his wife and children.

5 Comments

  1. Tom Hedgepeth on October 21, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    How about cross draw from other holster with belt still on?

  2. irving torchinsy on October 26, 2021 at 3:56 pm

    what about left hand shooters

  3. techs on October 29, 2021 at 10:20 am

    As a right-handed US driver, I have a different view of the seat belt release biomechanics. I *want* my support hand pinned to my chest/abdomen — to clear my concealment and be positioned to form a 2-handed grip. In that position, the 3-point belt released by my right hand slides over the left arm unimpeded, and without the elbow/shoulder gyrations of getting the belt fully clear. Right hand goes straight from the buckle to the gun while left hand is in position for its tasks.

    If your seatbelt retractor does not retract smartly and smoothly, then yeah — different requirements. I find the mechanics from the passenger seat more challenging (but at least I don’t have responsibility for operation of the vehicle).

  4. Bugs on November 7, 2021 at 4:56 pm

    I altered a old IWB hy-bred holster to allow the holster and pistol (Kahr CM9) to be carried comfortably in the left chest (outside) pocket of my ECWCS parka or the upper inside left chest pocket of a heavy fleece liner/jacket .seems to work fine during UNLOADED draws in the car and UNLOADED standing practice draws .

  5. Blane Kelly on November 10, 2021 at 1:46 pm

    I always take my gun out of my carry holster and put it in my car holster…then do the same when I get out of the truck….

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