As someone else said, the first rule in personal protection is to have a gun. And yes there are several ways to carry a gun. You need to consider the level of risk in the area you are in. Crime rate, BLM groups, etc. Having a small handgun in your pocket that holds a few rounds may be more than adequate. If you are retired and seldom go out, I'm sure it is. Sitting at home in front of the computer, I am carrying my Ruger LCR 38 special. Pretty sure I'm save. If I went out a whole lot, and live in a highly diverse area I might want more than 5 or 6 rounds. That gives you two options. Carry a larger handgun, or carry two smaller ones. I certainly agree that if you are going to carry one in your pocket it needs to be in it's own holster, for a number of reasons that have been stated here. In the area I live the crime rate is 1/2 the national average which isn't much either, but I frequently carry more than one gun. Drugs are everywhere, I don't care where you live, and as such so are the bad guys.
For what ever reason, when I go to church I feel the urge to carry my high cap 9mm with an extra mag. Or if I go to an area that is crowded I also carry likewise. I have a fair number of personal defense guns. What's important is that what ever you carry, try to carry it in the same place every day, so you reach for the same place then the balloon goes up. I carry what ever I'm going to carry at about 3:30 under my shirt. If I'm carrying a 2nd gun it's in my left rear pocket in a Nemesis holster. I have arbitrarily set 10 as the minimum number of rounds I want to have on me at any given time, if I'm out and about. That will vary for all of us.
I carry more depending on the situation. You are on the right road to figure this out. One can certainly be discreet if they suspect danger to casually put their hand in their pocket and have a hold on the grip of your gun. Once the danger passes you can discreetly remove your hand from your pocket. See Jeff Coopers 4 levels of danger. Depending on your build and how you dress carrying on your belt isn't a problem for most of us. If you have a little roll on the side that goes along ways to concealing a gun. If you are very slender IWB might be more appropriate. The important thing is. GET SOME TRAINING, and GET A GUN YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH. Then get more training. There are also a lot of good books out there, but don't confuse reading the books for training.
