After several months of being jealous while looking in the gun magazines at advertisements for concealed carry organizers, I finally decided, in best KTOG tradition, to "roll my own".

The organizers I refer to go under various brand names: Papago's Anytimer Executive Organizer, Anytimer, and Andrew's Notebook Holster, for example. Basically, these are concealment holders that look like the ever-present Franklin or Daytimer organizers, but are internally padded and cut to hold your favorite handgun. Since I often wish to carry my personal defense weapon in places where maximum discretion is required, I thought these looked like a good solution. I didn't like the price, though, at about $135 or so each!

A diligent search found an organizer on clearance sale at my local drugstore, this being a Mead Personal Size, with a zipper closure. It has a six-hole notebook ring set, and is about 8" by 5-1/2" by about 1-1/4" thick. I paid $15.00 for it, since the calendars it had were a couple of years out of date. I found that my P-11 would just fit inside, with the magazine finger extension attached, once the guts of the planner were removed. There was also room for a spare magazine.

At the WalMart, I found a Thermo Foam Cushion, made by Allen Co., in the sporting goods department. It is made of a good, dense foam (sort of like a FunNoodle), and is in a camouflage color. Cost about $4.00.

I removed the ring binder from the notebook, by carefully bending it upward (away from the spine of the book) until it came out. Turned out that the manufacturer used a sort of slotted screw hold to hold it in place, so I didn't damage the notebook. I them cut a piece of the foam cushion to fit it, measuring it at 5-1/4" by 8-1/4". Placing my P-11 and magazine on the foam pad, I traced around them. I then used a sharp knife on a cutting board to carefully cut out the outlined pieces. This gave me a foam pad the size of the notebook, inside, with form-fit openings for my gun and spare magazine. This I then glued in place into the notebook using Duro contact cement.

I now have a planner/gun carrier that is extremely discrete and which easily fits into my briefcase with my papers. Nobody gives it so much as a second look, and I can even carry it openly into restaurants and business meetings! I suggest, of course, that anyone who wants to do the same be aware of the legalities of carrying a firearm in your area.