Plan and act accordingly, and above all remain dangerous.
Or, in the words of Mad Dog Mattis - "be polite, be respectful...and have a plan to kill everyone in the room".
I remember thinking when I started carrying, "my God, nobody here knows that I have a gun on me..." I was always paranoid about printing. My main reason for getting my permit (I live in the People's Republik of Maryland, where we need a "good and substantial" reason) is my pro sound company - concerts. Bar gigs. County fairs. Nightclubs. I do a lot of lift/twist/reach. One of my bass players was one of my references on the permit application. He caught me after a gig, about 3 months after I started carrying, and asked me "man, you went through the whole process to get your permit...how come you aren't carrying?"
I grabbed his hand, made it into a fist, and knocked it on my right hip at the 3:30 position, right into the grip of my XDs.
He never knew. My company shirt is a black dry-fit golf shirt...and he never knew.
Cops I know, and my range instructor for the course (retired MD State Police), told me over and over "normal people don't look for guns. Normal people don't even recognize a gun when they do see it under a shirt. Relax."
I didn't buy it...until my bass player and I had that conversation.
I work primarily with two bands. Nine musicians total. Wives. Regular friends and fans. At least one gig a weekend (when we're not locked down...grrr...). That one bass player - and his ex-Army girlfriend who comes shooting with us sometimes - are the ONLY ones, to this day, who know. The rest...are clueless. I love 'em all like family...but I prefer it this way.
Something goes down at a concert, and the LAST thing I need is:
"Hide behind him, he's got us"
"yo man, you don't want to mess with our sound guy..."
"dude, this guy is messing with my wife, go take care of it"
"this guy is messing with my wife, I'm gonna go take care of it and the sound guy has my back"
Or, from a business perspective..."don't book that company, that dude carries a gun"
yea...don't need any of that. Gray Man here. MD, it's a "wear and carry" permit - not "concealed" carry. No distinction. I have my permit, I can carry open or concealed.
Concealed.
Always.
ESPECIALLY an hour from DC, and an hour from Baltimore.
Right after I started carrying, I was at a 7-11, squatting to get a soda off the bottom shelf. Sheriff next to me. I squatted, reached, stood. He looked at me. "Permit?" "Yes, sir". He reached over, pulled my shirt down over the grip, and said "have a good night".
Ever since then, I look for shirts that have longer tails. I'm 6'4", and it's hard to get "long" shirts for me to start with, especially since I'm only about 200# (anything THAT long, is like a XXXL and I wear it like a tent)...but I've managed to restock pretty well. "Untucked" shirts work great for work - button-ups that are designed with flat tails so they don't get tucked in but still look good and cover not only the firearm, but also the holster belt clips. Tees, I look for shirts with some spandex content that will stretch as needed to keep covered. I cycle daily, in cargo shorts, cycle shorts underneath, and a tank top. Decommissioned Army base, people all over the place this time of year jogging, cycling, walking...and nobody sees anything (or, they just don't say anything when they wave and we smile through our sweat at each other).
Now? Like many others here, my XDs is like a pair of boxers. I feel naked when I leave the house without it. And I only notice it when it's not there.
When you start carrying, the only giveaway....is YOU. Don't ACT like you're carrying a gun...and people won't KNOW you're carrying a gun.