TexasCHLforum.com

me wrote:4. Wear a good belt - one that is fairly stiff, 1-1.5 inches wide and a bit thicker than you'd normally wear with dress clothes.

Abraham wrote:I must respectively disagree with the above. Don't wear "a good belt". Wear "A GUN BELT"! They are especially designed to carry the weight of a gun and perhaps a spare magazine or two.

Jumping Frog wrote: Respectfully.
I agree a "good belt", "work belt", "heavy belt", "Amish belt", etc. are not the same as something designed and sold as a GUN belt. Get a gun belt.

While normally, I wouldn't come back with a rebutal to two such good, fine and respected members of the forum's community, perhaps the following tale will be enough to illustrate my meaning...

At one of the gun shows in Fort Worth a few years ago, I was looking for new belts after, ahem, expanding my waistline a little bit. A vendor had two piles of belts... one was marked "dress belts" and the other was marked "gun belts". Both had belts that were the appropriate length for my new waistline, about 5/8th " thick, 1.5" tall, and fairly stiff (hmmm.. sounds familiar, doesn't it?). Black, brown and tan in various shades. In fact, in comparing the two, I found a couple that were almost exactly the same, though the stitching was a bit heavier in one than the other. The only difference I could tell was the price tag, about $20 difference for the "gun belt".

I asked the vendor what the difference was... his reply? "The price tag" I'm still wearing, and still carrying, with those belts a few years later, though it probably is time to get some new ones since I've been on a waistline reduction campaign for the last little while.

My point is this: sometimes belts sold as "gun belts" might be different than similar belts. Sometimes, they might not. Your mileage may vary.

Hints for IWB?
1. A hybrid leather/kydex is a good blend of support and low cost, usually less $$ than an all-leather holster.
2. Most folks seem to find carrying at 3:30-4:30 seems to be the most comfortable (for right-handed shooters). That's just slightly behind the hip bone, but not so far back as to be in the small of your back.
3. Wear a t-shirt. Not only will you chafe, if you don't, but you'll put extra wear on the holster.
4. Wear a good belt - one that is fairly stiff, 1-1.5 inches wide and a bit thicker than you'd normally wear with dress clothes.
5. A holster takes some time to break in and mold itself to your body. Don't be in a hurry to discard a holster that doesn't feel right on day #1, but if it's not feeling right after a week or two, it's probably not going to.
6. You WILL go through more than one holster in your search for the perfect holster. Lots of folks have gone through three or four, and still aren't 100% convinced they have the best possible holster.
7. Borrowing someone else's broken-in IWB holster is like asking to borrow someones favorite shoes. Don't ask!