A Couple Articles On Winter Concealed Carry

•  First up, "Concealed Carry Corner: The Good and Bad of Winter Carry" at the Firearm Blog. This article, in a nutshell, points out that wearing jackets and winter coats makes it not only easier to conceal a weapon, but even allows you to conceal larger, duty sized weapons ("your favorite range guns" although your carry weapons, even if small, had better be among "your ... range guns" even if not your favorite). The downside is that the additional layers make it more difficult to draw your weapon. Exactly! Try quickly and unobtrusively drawing that HK USP in .45 ACP from underneath a zipped up parka with winter gloves on your hands and see how that works for you. Which brings me to the second article...
• "The Best Coat Pocket Defensive Pistols"--Active Response Training. A look at handguns that can be both carried in and shot from within a coat or jacket pocket. Your best bet is a revolver that is "hammerless" (i.e., the hammer is completely enclosed) or shrouded so you have nothing to catch on the material of the pocket or get pinched between the hammer and the firing pin. Bobbed hammers may not catch on the material if you have to draw them, but they can get pinched. But even if you don't shoot through the material, you at least want a pistol that can be drawn without catching on the pocket materials. If you are using a revolver with a hammer spur, you can put your thumb over the hammer when drawing (not to cock the weapon but to shield the spur from catching on clothing) but it does take more careful handling of the weapon.