When one decides to carry a gun off-body, a number of issues arise, many of which otherwise responsible gun owners may not even think to consider.
Day planners, backpacks and purses can be accidentally left behind. If the someone else discovers that there is a gun in the gear, it can be very bad for the gun's owner, resulting in criminal charges, loss of LTC, and, if it comes to the employer's attention, possible loss of a job.
I am aware of several instances where this has occurred, including guns left in bathroom stalls, guns stored in purses left behind in a grocery shopping cart, and a gun that slipped out of concealment purses only to be found the following morning in the high school parking lot where the PTA meeting had been held.
When we carry a firearm, we do so as protection against a deadly attack, agreed? If your gun isn't in a holster on your body, your draw time will suffer, and if you are digging in a purse, dayplanner or briefcase, your unusual movements may give away your intentions, with devastating results. Your gun is only yours so long as you can keep it, and it will do you no good at all if the bad guy gets it away from you.
I find that some folks who opt for off-body carry end up also being afraid of carrying their semi-auto with a round in the chamber, ready to fire. Instead, they believe that the safe thing to do is carry with a full mag, but empty chamber, trusting that they will be able to work the slide and chamber a round at the instant they realize they are facing a deadly force attack.
Too many things can go wrong in this scenario. One could fail to fully rack the slide, nervously ride the slide forward, jamming the gun, or, even forget to rack the slide at all, dropping the hammer on an empty chamber. If the gun has a safety, the gun owner could accidentally flick it on. It may take way too long to figure out what the problem is, and solve it in time.
Another problem is what I call "preparing to prepare syndrome". If your gun is holstered on your body, if you get into a encounter that might lead to deadly force, you have very little to do in order to be ready. With training, you should be able to draw and fire within 1.5 seconds.
If your gun is not in a holster on your body, you'll need to prepare to prepare, removing it from wherever you have it concealed before the action begins in ernest. One client, who has given me permission to discuss what he did, was travelling down I-93 north of Boston. He was carrying his Glock 19 in his soft-sided briefcase. He had nothing in the chamber, and the gun was loose in the briefcase. No holster. He got into a road rage situation with a tractor trailer driver. He feared the trucker was going to force him off the road, get out of his truck and beat him to death.
My client did what many improperly trained people end up doing: as he was driving down the highway, he drew his gun before he actually needed it. He told me he didn't point it at the trucker, he just took it out of the briefcase and put it on the seat beside himself so he'd have it at hand if and when he needed it. Unfortunately, the trucker was able to see what he did. Guess who was the first one to call the police? That's right, the trucker.
A few minutes later, my client was pulled over by the Mass. State Police. The troopers took him out of his car at gunpoint, seized his gun, and charged him with Assault With a Dangerous Weapon.
Looking back on it, if he'd had his gun in a holster on his body, there would have been no need to have been seen drawing a gun. Instead, he got himself into an embarrassing brush with the law. After many court dates, I was able to get his case dismissed after a short period of probation, and payment of court costs. He lost his MA non-resident LTC, and the MSP confiscated his Glock 19 until I could make arrangements to pick it up and store it for him until I could get it to him where he lives out of state.
At the risk of drawing what some may call an unjustified conclusion, I believe that most people who opt for off-body carry would be well-served if they increased their level of firearms training, gained more confidence in their firearms skills, and learned the wisdom of on-body, carry in a well-fitting, quality holster affixed to a quality gunbelt. Carrying on one's body is safer, less-risky, and enables the gun owner to have his gun in hand when he really needs it.