A bus whirs by as University of Kansas students wait along Jayhawk Boulevard on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.

Concealed carry on the KU campus is here, as of Saturday. But first, a primer on the do’s and don’ts of responsible gun-toting — and some relevant information on the subject for everyone else, too.

For more need-to-know facts, check out our earlier story on concealed carry and what to expect with its onset.

Is it easy to spot a concealed firearm?

To the layman’s eye, no.

“If a person is carrying properly concealed, no one’s going to know they’re carrying anyway,” said James Howard Phillips, a certified concealed-carry instructor based in Lawrence.

But experts such as Phillips, who retired from the Lawrence Police Department in 2008 after 30 years in law enforcement, also know where to look — and, perhaps more specifically, what to look for.

“Their body mechanics, the way they walk and move, their body language — if you’ve dealt with this long enough, it’s fairly obvious,” said Zac Marrs, owner of Lawrence’s Mil-Spec Security Group.

Marrs has trained police officers, military personnel and other security professionals since 1997 at Kansas City’s National Law Enforcement Training Center. With 20-plus years under his belt, he knows what to look for. Baggy or heavy clothes — a sports coat or oversized shirt covering one’s backside, perhaps — are a tipoff, Marrs said. (Bulges underneath clothing might indicate a concealed firearm, too.)

The size of the firearm will also impact the carrier’s movement.

“If they’re carrying a full-size weapon, it’s hard to move freely,” Marrs said. “But if they’re carrying a compact or very small weapon, they can move a little more.”

Likewise when comparing experienced marksmen with firearms novices, Marrs said. Off-duty police officers and military personnel tend to move about fairly effortlessly when packing a weapon; a person “with absolutely no training whatsoever,” or folks purchasing firearms as “novelty” items, Marrs added, are much easier to spot with their potentially clunky motions.

So, where should one conceal their gun?

While you could theoretically stash it “pretty much everywhere,” Marrs said, he wouldn’t suggest that route. His first words of advice: get a holster, preferably a good one.

KU’s policy mandates that guns be stowed away either on the person of the carrier or in a backpack, purse or other bag that remains in constant control of the carrier. Ultimately, it’s all about “personal preference,” Phillips said, though he prefers to keep his gun around his waistband — with a holster, of course.

“You don’t want to just stick a gun down in your waistband, because the gun could just fall through,” Phillips said, cautioning against a move he said people often borrow from TV shows. “You need to have a proper restraining device, whether that be a holster, or, if it’s going to be in your book bag, it needs to be set in a place where you don’t accidentally grab it.”

Manufacturers make all sorts of holsters — ankle, shoulder, belly, thigh, chest and groin, just to name a few. And increasingly, businesses are catering to female gun owners, too, with holsters and specially designed concealed-carry purses.

Max Garcia, a former reserve police officer and avid “gun guy,” has sold firearms, ammunition and personal protection items at his Lawrence shop, Max Tactical, since receiving his federal firearms license last November. And women, he said, are among his target customers. Belly-band holsters — a stretchy girdle-like thing designed to conform to a woman’s body and her slimmer-fitting wardrobe — are “real popular,” Garcia said.

Garcia also recommended the Flashbang bra holster, a small clamshell-shaped piece that keeps the gun tucked under one’s bra band. He also offers “situational awareness” courses for women through his business.

Other things to keep in mind

If you plan on carrying, “you have to be very, very responsible,” cautioned Garcia. For him, that means gun safety education — and a concealed carry course, he said, provides a good foundation. A training class, however, is no longer required in order to carry concealed in Kansas.

It also is important to remember that many students may still not be old enough to legally carry concealed. The Kansas Personal and Family Protection Act generally requires an individual to be at least 21 years old in order to legally carry a concealed firearm.

Alvin Sowers is the education program manager at the KU-operated, Hutchinson-based Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. He’s also worked as a firearms instructor for roughly 15 years, and he said there are four basic rules taught in all firearm training: always assume all guns are loaded; never point a firearm at anyone or anything you are not willing to destroy; keep your finger off the trigger “until it’s a dire threat;” and know your target and what is beyond it.

“You have the ultimate responsibility to be safe around all parties involved, and you’re accountable for your actions,” Sowers said.

Garcia agreed. Part of responsible concealed carrying, he said, is keeping that gun securely concealed — and not “flashing your pistol just because someone flashed you a dirty look,” he said. A weapon should never be shown unless its owner plans to use it, Garcia said.

So, should I tell people I’m carrying?

If you’re planning on carrying at KU, should you tell your professors and classmates? What about your roommate, if you’re living in on-campus student housing?

“I see good and bad with this, but I just don’t know how it’s going to be received,” said Marrs, who worries about the “politically charged” nature of on-campus concealed carry, especially at KU.

Phillips, the law-enforcement retiree, said he’d err on the side of secrecy.

“Personally I think if you carry, you just keep it quiet. You don’t tell anybody,” he said. “If a situation arises where you do need to get involved with a firearm, then the element of surprise is on your side.”

Garcia also said he feels it’s best not to tell, unless “you’re letting somebody know that is pro-gun.” Otherwise, professors and roommates don’t need to know, in Garcia’s opinion.

In interactions with law enforcement, Sowers said, there’s no requirement to tell officers you’re carrying. But it would probably be a good idea if you did.

“As an officer, I would want to know that,” Sowers said.

If I suspect someone is carrying and the situation seems like it could become dangerous, what should I do?

Phillips’ advice, should you encounter a suspicious person with a gun, on campus or off?

Don’t be the hero.

“Contact the police,” Phillips said. “Just let them deal with it.”