Concealed Carry Full Size Pistol

[longtooth]

No offense, but I am noticing that many of these pictures of you guys effectively carrying a mid-size or a full-size pistol concealed involve two very key ingredients:

1. person carrying is significantly overweight
2. the cover garment is very noticeably oversized

So the question is, can someone who is not overweight and does not wear oversized clothing carry a G19 size pistol?

The only way I have found that's even remotely doable is with a Smartcarry, and that's not exactly really easy or comfortable in all conditions. I'm sure I can draw from it ok but I am not really anxious to have to. About the only other way would be SOB but that prints instantly as soon as you bend at all, and of course it's hardly comfortable. Of course I have not tried every IWB holster on the planet but I have tried just sticking the gun in my waist band at various locations and there is nowhere it will go that it doesn't print unless the bulk of the gun is carried below the belt line and the butt of the gun is obscured by the belt line such as with a Smartcarry.

I am about 190lb just a hair under 6' tall and wear size L (42) shirts, 33-34" waist jeans that are not "relaxed fit" but more "regular fit" like 501s. My shirts are not tight but they are not oversized (I can fit into a M ... and some of my shirts are M or even S depending on the maker... so I guess even L's are oversized a little bit). I don't wear a stiff belt routinely. I'm all ears if there is a way to carry my Sigma 9mm with an IWB.

5"10 & 200. No big belly hangin over my belt. We ar almost the same size.
Under this polo shirt is a Kimber Pro CDP in a Comp-Tac Infadel w/ stabalizer strut.


revealed. On the left is my cell, pepper & extra Mag. W/ Quality gear the cell is the more evident than your gun.


Type vest I wear a LOT.

Under it is a SA 1911A1 in a Tucker HF1. Different shirt in the picture.

[longtooth]

Concerning your belt
A quality gun belt w/ a quality holster is the key to full size carry.
The combination keeps it tight, stable, & comfortable. A good GunBelt is worth every penny.

[mr.72]

well, longtooth, even though we are within 2" in height and 10 lb or so in weight, we are not nearly the same build.

but alas, again it seems to be that I am just not ever going to easily "fit in" with the gun carrying folks. I guess that just makes it much more unlikely that anyone would ever guess I was carrying, or more unlikely that I will be.

"don't carry a mousegun"
"you can conceal a full size autoloader"
"you have to dress around your CCW"
"you have to wear a belt"
"wear hawaiian print shirts"

Welcome to the world where "normal" people carry a handgun every day! I guess it'll be easy for me to ID people who are not carrying, because they are the ones in contemporary fashionable clothing, who are trim and fit and don't have any weird bulge along their waist line.

[NcongruNt]

I'll also refer you to my holster shirt thread, where I have pictures of me in a dress shirt and pants carrying my Hi-Power in a 5.11 Holster Shirt. Yes I'm overweight, but that's not really as much a factor for concealment in this configuration. As far as full-sized pistols, a 1911 would probably be easiest to do this way, as it's thinner than just about anything out there, but other people have reported carrying service model XDs in them, and Glocks aren't all that dissimilar in dimension.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 13&t=15033

[mr.72]

yeah the holster shirt would absolutely print with 90% of the clothes I wear, not to mention impeding my normal activities.

I may try a belly band just for flexibility of carry position and clothing. But I am beginning to think my ONLY option is a a pocket-size gun in something like a belly band or smartcarry.

[lunchbox]

yeah the holster shirt would absolutely print with 90% of the clothes I wear, not to mention impeding my normal activities.

I may try a belly band just for flexibility of carry position and clothing. But I am beginning to think my ONLY option is a a pocket-size gun in something like a belly band or smartcarry.

dont put a heavy gun in a belly band

[mr.72]

what do you consider "heavy"?

[M9FAN]

... but other people have reported carrying service model XDs in them, and Glocks aren't all that dissimilar in dimension.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 13&t=15033

In addition to the Beretta M9 that I carry (see my above post for pics), I also carry my XD 45 Service model and Glock 22 (.40 service model) on a regular basis. I'm living proof that tall, thin folks can and do comfortably carry large framed semi-autos in a concealed fashion without wearing extremely baggy or oversized clothing!

[tarkus]

No offense, but I am noticing that many of these pictures of you guys effectively carrying a mid-size or a full-size pistol concealed involve two very key ingredients:

1. person carrying is significantly overweight
2. the cover garment is very noticeably oversized

So the question is, can someone who is not overweight and does not wear oversized clothing carry a G19 size pistol?

I'm 5' 10" and have a 36" waist. I carry IWB. My gun is about the same size as a Sigma.

I remember seeing a picture quidni posted of her concealing a 1911 and she's much smaller.

[agbullet2k1]

No offense, but I am noticing that many of these pictures of you guys effectively carrying a mid-size or a full-size pistol concealed involve two very key ingredients:

1. person carrying is significantly overweight
2. the cover garment is very noticeably oversized

So the question is, can someone who is not overweight and does not wear oversized clothing carry a G19 size pistol?

6'2", 225, 38 inch waist, 34 inseem. I shop at American Eagle, Gap, Dillards, Macy's, Jos. A Bank, Banana Republic, etc. My wife insists, very strongly, that I be fashionable at all times. I wear a CTAC IWB at about 4:00, and with a button up dress shirt, tucked or untucked, I can touch my toes before you can notice a "bulge," and even then it's no bigger than a cell phone. The carry gun is a P99, so not too small. I can easily get away with a white tshirt and shorts, or a polo tucked into jeans, or pretty much any combo of stuff you can imagine. I've yet yo find anything, short of being too tight as to be good looking anyway, that hasn't been able to conceal. Fashion and CC are not mutually exclusive, and you don't have to "buy special clothes to fit the gun." I'll give a +1 to everyone saying good carry equipment matters. I had a cheap paddle holster for a year that I couldn't hide with a loose leather jacket.

[thejtrain]

Don't get too discouraged, Mr.72 - there are others like you & agbullet2k1. I'll echo just about everything he said about what he's found that works. That's really the key - experiment with the gun you want to carry and the clothes you'd ideally like to wear with it, and start changing things (clock position, cant, tucked or un-, etc. etc.) until you find something that works well for you.

I don't have any pictures, and I still haven't carried out of the house (the plastic probably arrived at my house today but of course I'm out of town for work), but I've been practicing at home and from what I & my wife can see I've figured out what works for me. Here are my particulars:
- 6' 2", 230 (on my way to 210 from 267 )
- Glock 30
- Crossbreed SuperTuck IWB
Like you, I'm not a fan of a) wearing two shirts or b) wearing untucked button-downs, and here's what I've found works very well for me:
- cant the SuperTuck as far forward as possible (so the grip is pointing as far "upwards" as possible)
- wear @ ~4:00
- the firmer (and tighter) the belt, the more it helps the grip really hug your side, rather than "lean out", especially if it's a heavy gun (and whether it's polymer or not, the 10 rounds of .45 in the magwell is a bit of weight!)
- I've found that tucking actually works better than leaving the shirt untucked, as long as you "bloom" it out a bit. Having the shirt tucked sort of "secures" it from draping itself across the grip when you move & bend. The lines & folds & wrinkles that a shirt has when it's tucked helps camouflage it more than a straight-dropped-down untucked shirt tends to do.
- Along the same lines, I'll echo others who've said that dark colors, & patterns or stripes tend to work better than light colors or solids.

Again, YMMV and every person's different. So, try, and try again!

[fm2]

So the question is, can someone who is not overweight and does not wear oversized clothing carry a G19 size pistol?.

Yes, depending on your comfort level. One example is jeans: I am not sure what you mean by "oversized", but you can carry something like a g19 without changing your pant size. I have done that, but if I add an inch to the waist size of pants, its much more comfortable to carry IWB and bend & sit.

I am about 190lb just a hair under 6' tall and wear size L (42) shirts, 33-34" waist jeans that are not "relaxed fit" but more "regular fit" like 501s. My shirts are not tight but they are not oversized (I can fit into a M ... and some of my shirts are M or even S depending on the maker... so I guess even L's are oversized a little bit). I don't wear a stiff belt routinely. I'm all ears if there is a way to carry my Sigma 9mm with an IWB.

I think some pictures to see how you dress would go a long way toward understanding better your goals.

[JLaw]

mr.72,

You and I are very close in size. I'm about 6' 1" and 190-195'ish. I do carry both IWB and OWB, never pocket carry. My pants are 34" waist Wranglers, I move to 36" waist when I carry IWB. Don't have any pictures of carrying my revolvers, but here's a few of pictures of the pistol I carry sometimes.







I know it's not the pistol you are carrying, but I can only say carrying a belt gun is not difficult. Like longtooth said, get a good belt. Find a quality holster. When I buy shirts I find the one that fits me then buy the next size up. No they don't look grossly oversized, they don't hang down to me knees, but they do provide more room and length to help conceal.

Conceal carry is a little bit of a compromise. If you want to carry a large gun, you can't do so with a snug fitting shirt and skimpy belt. A skimpy belt lets the gun flop around way too much and the snug shirt prints way too much.

Don't give up, try a few things mentioned here and you'll be very happy that you did!

JLaw

[mr.72]

Like longtooth said, get a good belt.

A quality gun belt w/ a quality holster is the key to full size carry.
The combination keeps it tight, stable, & comfortable. A good GunBelt is worth every penny.

Part A of the rub. I don't routinely wear a belt. When I do, it's absolutely not a stiff gun belt.

When I buy shirts I find the one that fits me then buy the next size up.

And here we are again with oversized clothes.

6'2", 225, 38 inch waist, 34 inseem. I shop at American Eagle, Gap, Dillards, Macy's, Jos. A Bank, Banana Republic, etc. My wife insists, very strongly, that I be fashionable at all times. I wear a CTAC IWB at about 4:00, and with a button up dress shirt, tucked or untucked,

The only times I have tucked in shirts in the past 5 years are when I had to go to a funeral or I had a wedding gig. Maybe when I was playing on Easter each year (I am a musician).

I guess here's the other part of my problem.

There is literally no way for me to try any of these holsters. The CTACs start at about $50. That's a pricey experiment given that I seriously doubt it will work. All of the other holsters that get recommended are also $50-100. Most require a belt (which I don't usually wear) so I know they will not work for me. But still I don't want to collect $400 box full of holsters in order to finally come back and say definitively that I cannot make it work.

So I guess since I am unlikely to adjust my wardrobe to include a gun belt, and I am extremely skeptical of any IWB holster that does not require a belt, then I am back to square one.

OK, now I have a couple of pairs of jeans like this (which I wear 90% of the time without a belt):



The fit me just about like they fit the guy in the pic. When I do wear a belt it's because I have to clip wireless equipment to it, which means I am going to be on stage in front of a few thousand people lifting the tail of my shirt messing with my wireless gear before the downbeat. I won't be carrying at that time.

In the summer I also tend to wear cargo shorts not unlike these:



Again, those I wear with a belt but it's a cotton/canvas belt and it's not really very tight. Just tight enough to keep the shorts from falling smooth off.

In either case I don't wear shirts tucked in. 90% of the time I wear a t-shirt untucked. I don't mind wearing a wicking tank top under the t-shirt (tucked in).

I don't look like a Bowflex pitch man but I am a cyclist with a moderately athletic build.

I have found that I can conceal my Sigma with the Smartcarry and the cargo shorts no problem. Those are rather baggy. I think a belly band would likely work better since I could wear it up a little higher easier. I have found that I can't use the Smartcarry with my normal jeans... there's just not enough vertical space (it ends up mexican carry... butt of the gun over the belt line). If I want to carry with jeans, I have to pick some of my jeans that don't fit so well (baggy, higher-waisted) and then I have to wear a belt to keep them from falling off. Of course my wife hassles me about my choice of clothes when I do this.

So right now I guess I am seriously considering buying a much smaller gun (see my sig). I'd rather find a way to carry the Sigma.

Still looking for suggestions... maybe without XL shirts and a stiff belt.

[mr.72]

sorry to hijack this thread ...

let me clarify something real quick...

IF my Sigma is NOT going to EVER work, then I don't want to waste any money trying a whole bunch of holsters in a vain effort to make it work.

Instead I'd rather invest that holster money in a pistol more likely to work (I mean, I should be able to conceal a Kel-Tec PF9 in the worst case, and maybe if I'm lucky a Kahr CW9?) and a holster for THAT pistol.

I'm not trying to reject everyone's advice but it all seems to be counter to my purposes. I am not going to change my wardrobe. If the Sigma can't work, then so be it. I'll save up and buy something smaller.