The dynamics of handgun conflict are this: You should be able to draw your firearm in two seconds or less and get a solid hit on a moving target while you are also moving. If the gun is tucked so deeply that you cannot achieve the first step, then your gun is really just a fashion accessory and it might as well be at home.

(Left) A snug-fitting belt holster can hide a reasonable-size handgun. Make sure that the belt will support the gun and holster without sagging. (Right) Inside-the-waistband holsters offer an even greater level of concealment but can in some cases make the gun slightly harder to draw.

Quick access means that you will have to dress for concealment and not try to hide the gun under the clothing that you may have worn before you made the concealed carry decision. Think about where you travel, work and live, and then dress appropriately around the gun and the selected concealment location on your body.

Clothing considerations must be based on the environment, which includes weather as well as locale. The vest or jacket that is normal on your way to work may not be right in a tourist area, where jackets are rare but fanny packs are everywhere.

While we gun people think of the fanny pack or related "belt boxes" as holsters, the majority of the citizenry think of them as a way to conveniently carry credit cards, cash, baby supplies or a camera. Shift the fanny pack to a similar place as your regular carry location and practice with it. Clothing considerations should be based on blending in to what is normal as well as providing a reasonable level of concealment. It's a compromise, folks; the gun must be hidden but also accessible.

The strong-side belt holster offers the quickest access for the shooting hand. The path of travel is no more than a foot or so and makes it simple to draw into a weapon-retention position.

Since the gun must be drawn quickly and easily, the best concealment location will be someplace near the shooting hand. Think about where your primary hand is located as you go through your daily routine. The waistline at the front of the body offers the shortest travel distance for the shooting hand, but since the weapon must be concealed under a garment, shifting the gun around to the side of the body helps keep the gun away from prying eyes. How far around the body is up to the user based on body style and flexibility.

A handgun can be held only so close to the torso, and a semiauto pistol will be flatter than a revolver, but a quality holster will go a long way toward hiding the gun. For example, a dual slot holster--commonly called a pancake holster--will pull the gun in tighter than will a pouch holster with a single loop stitched to the rear. This is because inward pressure is applied to the entire body of the holster instead of just the suspension point. The thickness of the holster material will also come into play, as it will add bulk to the package being suspended from the belt.

If a belt holster does not offer the level of concealment desired, then an inside-the-waistband holster can be considered. This style of carry gets the gun underneath the pants and belt, which normally holds the gun out and away from the body when a belt-mounted holster is used.

The inside-the-waistband rig uses the contours of the trousers, wrapping around the body to help conceal the holstered pistol. But this can become a disadvantage because the gun is now held as tightly to the body as possible, which can interfere with obtaining a solid, three-finger wrap around the front strap of the handgun as it is being drawn. This is definitely something to consider.

Cross-draw carry? Like many people, I advised against it for many years, but once it was brought to my attention that it has been used in many real-world situations by armed professionals around the world, I changed my mind. In several cases, the men (and one woman) who related their stories to me were convinced that if they had carried the gun anywhere else, they would have perished.