Everyday Carry
By Robb Manning
Concealed Carry Rifle?
Tennis anyone? The bag strapped over my shoulders definitely broadcast that I was headed for the tennis court. Little known to any onlookers was the little secret inside. A new line from Blackhawk!, called the Diversion Carry Bag, allows for you to carry self-defense firearms that are much larger than what you would normally be able to carry on your person.
The bags are designed and styled to look like bags anyone would carry -- a gym bag, a single-strap backpack, or in the case of the bag I have, a tennis racquet bag. The racquet bag, which is going to be the focus of this article, looks just like a common racquet bag found anywhere on any court in America. It comes in black with grey stripe, blue with grey stripe, or red with grey stripe.
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It conforms to the same size as a standard tennis racquet, so it’s not quite large enough to accommodate an assembled carbine sized AR, but if you split the AR into lower and upper receivers (up to 29 inches long), it fits perfect, and has an internal divider to accommodate that. It will also hold two handguns or a compact pistol/carbine such as an AR pistol or ones like the Roni from Command Arms Accessories.
The padded wall conceals the outline of your firearms, and heavy-duty lockable zippers keep prying fingers out. I think it makes an excellent bag to conceal a truck gun. With the backpack model you could add the extra deception of sewing on a peace-sign patch, and with the gym bag, leave a sock hanging out the zipper. That would surely kill any suspicion, and keep people out.
It’s very reminiscent of the violin case used to hide a Tommy Gun back in the 1930s, but updated to modern times. You’re far more likely to see someone carrying a tennis racquet bag, gym bag, or backpack, than you are to see them walking around with a violin case.
This is a brilliant concept, and I see it having many practical applications for law enforcement, armed civilians and perhaps even some military applications.
Made from 420 velocity nylon. MSRP: $64.99