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Hi Everyone,

I just completed my CHL course as of last night and am excited to start figuring out how I will carry effectively. Although I have awhile before I receive my license, I want to have all the pieces in place when my license arrives. I was wondering what would be the best way for me to carry my handgun with me being 5'7'' and 155 pounds? I have looked into the IWB type carry, and I don't think that is going to work because of how slender I am. I'm looking for feedback on how/where some of the more slim members of the forum carry their firearms? BTW, I haven't decided on a gun yet, but I'm leaning towards something that is going to have a 3'' to 4'' barrel. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

shortysboy09 wrote: I'm looking for feedback on how/where some of the more slim members of the forum carry their firearms?

Sorry , I don't fit the profile .

But welcome to the forum !

I'm a bit on the slim side. The only thing that works for me is pocket carry with a LCP or P3AT.
I don't have enough hips to support a belt with any weight on it, and I'm not going to wear suspenders.

Winter with a heavy coat I can carry something bigger in a coat pocket.
But then what do you do when you are inside for a while and have to take your coat off?

I can't speak from first hand experience. However, my son is probably about the same size as you, maybe even slimmer. He carries both IWB and OWB depending on his attire. The biggest adjustment he had to make was the generally can't carry directly on his right hip. He has to move the gun around to about the 4:00 to 4:30 position. He has a 9mm Beretta Storm and it snugs in right by his kidney. In that position, he can usually get away with a looser Tshirt and not get made. Hope that helps.

T.

I'm 6'1 and about 155 #, depending upon whether it is before or after Thanksgiving. I can carry a full-sized service pistol in an IWB holster at around 4-4:30.

I think the keys are (1) to get a holster that puts most of the pistol down inside the waistband and the grip close to my back, and (2) to wear long, loose shirts with a print that is somewhat distracting and hides shadows. I'm not talking about Hawaiian shirts, but something like a check or herringbone pattern. It doesn't need to look like you're wearing a tent, just something a size larger than you would wear if you wanted to show off your muscles.

I can also carry in an OWB holster with the same kind of shirt, but I feel that is more iffy with respect to possible printing or people bumping into me.

Also, a good belt is essential. Don't bother with a cheap belt -- most of what is sold now is junk. Get a good, solid belt with a double layer of leather stitched all the way around. You can find them in police equipment stores and some larger gun stores.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:
Also, a good belt is essential. Don't bother with a cheap belt

I didn't think it would make much difference , but it makes all the difference .

Hi shortysboy09 welcome to the forum. As you can see there's a wealth of information here at your fingertips and knowledgeable people to help you with your questions.

I carry a smaller gun that's in the photo, in an IWB Don Hume holster, and it's virtually invisible to anyone as long as I don't tuck in my shirt. They even make "tuckable" IWB's that will permit tucking in your shirt that are really cool. I'm saving my pennies for one. (it'll take a LOT of pennies though!)

The size of gun you decide to carry will be the deciding factor in concealability, IMO. Plus the kinds of shirts you decide on.

USA1 wrote:

seamusTX wrote:
Also, a good belt is essential. Don't bother with a cheap belt

I didn't think it would make much difference , but it makes all the difference .

Get a good 1.5" gun belt, even with no hips it will keep your pants up!

I also have this issue being not only slim but short as well.
I do believe that we slim and or short guys can get away with a lot more than we think we can.
For me, I'm most comfortable carrying a pocket gun in a decent holster, I use a DeSantis Nemesis.
For when the weather gets cooler I can carry IWB with a GOOD holster such as an MTAC with a small frame gun such as my Sig 239 or a glock 26 with a sweatshirt or sweater and feel totally concealed. Personally i like to carry at about 3:30, just past my hip. If you like .45 you can certainly carry a short barrel 1911 this way also. I have also tried IWB in warmer weather I can wear my Sig IWB with a bowling type shirt unbuttoned about 1 size to large, I'm still really self conscious about it but I haven't been made.

BTW, shortysboy09, I just noticed that this was your first post.

Everyone thinks that concealed carry is going to be harder than it is. I've been in groups of people who I was 99% certain were packing, and couldn't tell where or how any of them were doing it.

The average person wouldn't notice if you had a sledge hammer under your shirt. Even LEOs don't pay attention unless you fit some kind of profile.

I don't know where you live. You might be able to find some kind of gathering of people who can show you the ropes, like an IDPA match.

- Jim

I am 6'1 and about 180lbs and am in the same situation as you...trying
to figure out a decent way to carry while I'm waiting for my application
to go through.

I got my MTAC in the mail the other day and was not having much luck.
Eventually after a lot of fiddling, I found out a few simple things that
helped immensely.

If you have broad shoulders, you can probably get away with 3:00
carry. If not, you need to move your gun back to around 4:30 or it is
going to look like you have a huge growth on your hip. Stand up straight
and look at how your shirt drapes. You want the grip of your gun to be
in the area of your shirt that isn't touching your body.

I also had an issue because I have long legs and tend to wear my pants
down a little bit from my natural waist. This pushed the butt of the gun
out instead of pulling it in towards my body. Hitch your pants up if you
don't already so that the grip is angling inwards.

The last thing that helped is configuring the MTAC to have a fairly
extreme foward cant. This will help with getting a grip on the gun when
it is further back on your belt, and will also keep the grip in a more
vertical position which will hide better on a slim frame.

I'm a complete noob, so grain of salt to my advice, but it seemed to
help a lot for me. (MTAC + Sig P239)

Buy a good tactical belt for IWB holsters and wear it around the house testing out all the rigs you are going to waste money on. By the time you get your CHL you will have a stack of expensive rigs that don't work and hopefully a few that do.

Thanks to everyone for the help! I was worried, but sounds like it's not quite as tough as I was thinking it would be. I will be looking into belts here shortly. Does anyone have any recommendations on websites where I should look for accessories pertaining to Concealed Carrying? Such as the belts, holsters, and other things of that nature?

TLynnHughes wrote:I can't speak from first hand experience. However, my son is probably about the same size as you, maybe even slimmer. He carries both IWB and OWB depending on his attire. The biggest adjustment he had to make was the generally can't carry directly on his right hip. He has to move the gun around to about the 4:00 to 4:30 position. He has a 9mm Beretta Storm and it snugs in right by his kidney. In that position, he can usually get away with a looser Tshirt and not get made. Hope that helps.

T.

I'm 5'10" and 140 and that's where I carry my 4" 1911 in a Minotaur MTAC holster. Being this skinny you don't really have a comfortable option anywhere on your side because your slide annihilates your hip bone. My biggest problem is shirt length. If I raise my arms to reach anything there's a nice pistol grip sticking out of my pants, then your shirt gets caught on it and you won't even realize it's not tucked in anymore (found that out a few days ago but I was wearing a jacket).

Granted I'm still figuring all this out too, I'm not yet a veteran CHL'er, I'll let you know if I find other helpful hints.

There's a great holster resource right here in the Day-To-Day section of the forum. It's in Holsters & Accessories, and it's a sticky thread(the light bulbs) at the top called "a great holster resource". There's a couple or 3 dozen holster makers and their websites listed. That's what I used when hunting for my holster.

karl wrote:I'm 5'10" and 140 and that's where I carry my 4" 1911 in a Minotaur MTAC holster. My biggest problem is shirt length. If I raise my arms to reach anything there's a nice pistol grip sticking out of my pants,

I have polo-style shirts that are 27 to 30" long from the shoulder seam to the hem. They are plenty long enough.

One is an Izod and another is a Haggar. The others are brands that I never heard of. I bought them all second-hand.

Speaking of second-hand, all those holsters that don't work out for people are on eBay, and some are good bargains. They are in the Sporting Goods category.

- Jim