Front Sight, Press

The cognoscenti of the concealed carry self-defense community have taken to calling photographer’s vests “shoot me first vests” on the assumption that bad guys in the know will identify a person wearing a vest as a person who is carrying a gun and attack them in a preemptive strike to keep the armed citizen from interfering with the crime. Pity the poor photographer who gets caught in a bank takeover. There is some validity to this concern, but I wonder if it’s a bit over-blown.

I wear a vest a lot, especially in very warm weather when I can’t wear a jacket or other covering garment. I have wondered about the vest at times, if people were, in fact, making me as a gun carrier. Once, one of the butchers at my favorite meat market asked me if I was a photographer. I said, “Yes,” which, in my case, happens to be true, but I wondered if he was really expecting me to say, “No, I just wear this to conceal the .45 automatic.”

I prefer the cooler weather when I can wear just a simple basic blazer or bomber jacket. Lately, during this heat wave I have been doing as I spoke of in the “Ah, Snubbies…” article — the snub in a pocket holster in some cargo shorts. That’s a good arrangement. It looks casual and normal, doesn’t print and the access is fairly good, plus there’s extra pockets for reloads and other paraphernalia. The snubby in the pocket is definitely OK, but I prefer a larger semi-auto pistol.

The trouble with the “shoot me first” vest is that it’s so darned convenient for other things. It’s like a mobile desktop organizer — cigarettes, bug spray, phone, doggy poop bags, pens, notepad, maybe flashlight, reloads, checkbook and leashes. I miss my vest when I’m not wearing it. If anyone has ever thought I had a gun under it, I have never gotten any clear indication of that other than the above-mentioned encounter which is speculative. The guy could have been an amateur photographer for all I know.

The vest is not for everyone, and it’s not my first choice, but it sure is handy. I’ll probably never make the cover of GQ. I haven’t had a crew of bank robbers target me yet, and I think that the people who are most tuned into that are us gun-toters. A pro bank robber might make us, but does a pro want to engage in a shoot-out, win or lose? No, not really, he wants to steal some money as easily and quickly as possible. He would most likely wait until we have finished our business and left the premises. Gabe has a lot of cop experience, and I take his insights seriously, but by the same token, do we have any cases in which armed CCW people have been shot by bank robbers or other criminals because they were wearing a vest, or a fanny pack or whatever? No, not really.

The vest I wear is a Cabelas hunting vest. It even has the game pouch in the back. My grandfather wore one, and used it so much that it always had the scent of Camel non-filters and dove’s blood about it. My father had one but he didn’t use it as much. Of course, I haven’t been dove hunting in nearly a decade, and it’s been three years since I went deer hunting, but these kinds of vests go way back with me to some of my earliest childhood memories. To me, a hunting or photographer’s vest doesn’t necessarily say “concealed gun” although it may to some people.

When you see the “private contractor” security guys in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are all wearing vests and it’s a pretty safe assumption that there’s a gun or two under them. Of course, there’s usually a gun or two above them as well with those guys. You will also see scores of journalists, photographers, and others who are not armed wearing these vests also. Anyone whose occupation requires that they carry a lot of gadgets and gear around with them will find these vests appealing.

The upshot of all of this is that I’ll probably continue to wear my “shoot me first vest” and pray that I don’t get caught in a North Hollywood bank takeover.