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I know I have seen several discussions about carrying at Church and I wanted to post a couple of questions.

I have not carried at Church yet because I am not sure I could do it without being discovered. I play in our church band and our normal "uniform" is jeans and t-shirts. I am also frequently hugged at church and I worry about someone discovering my weapon during one of these hugs.

My carrying configuration is an XDM 9 Compact in a CompTac MTAC IWB.

For some of you who do carry at Church here are a couple of questions:

1. How do you dress around your weapon at Church?
2. How do you deal with hugs that may expose your weapon if you were carrying.

Thanks.

"go low" ... on carry side, I hug putting that arm of mine under their arm forcing their arm to go more to my shoulders/up from my waist

or
with shorter people ...
I lean over towards them a lot so they hug my neck as my waist is out of reach so they don't feel my Glock I carry IWB, but ...

I also pocket carry a Glock 26 in a Desantis Nemesis pocket holster in "deep pocket" (12" deep pockets) Jeans from Duluth Trading Co.
but if you can't do that due to Glock thickness/shallow pockets etc, pocket carry is good and a lot easier for church with smaller single stack guns too. A couple cousins/Deacons in West Texas churches pocket carry 380s to church if nothing else.

If campus carry became legal but a school policy prevented it, I'd be pocket carrying a Seecamp .32 or a small flat .380 like a Diamondback DB380 or Keltec P3AT in a pocket holster.

I go to a church where Tshirts and jeans are the normal wear other than leather vests (biker friendly church). I wear either 1 size larger tshirt or even better, long (or tall) tshirts. I always (as RPB stated) "go low". On the occasional time when someone comes behind me and bumps it as they are reaching around, it is passed off as "you know, that plasic thing you are not supposed to look at while driving". Therfore they think it is my phone and I am not having to lie (after all it is not wise to look at your gun while driving, now is it )

RPB and RPBrown...

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the help.

I haven't looked at smaller weapons for pocket carry. I own a Browning Hi Power in addition to my XDM.

I may have to go gun shoppin'...

Forgot to mention that i carry a full size XD45 or any one of a number of 1911's usually IWB @ 4:00 with a P3AT as a BUG in pocket.

you could double layer on T's....it's very stylish and with the extra layer would give you extra bulk to cover.

for hugs - try to do the one arm hug on the non-gun side, but that doesn't always work. I carry a small gun, in a low holster, so it works for me, I'm a girl, I hug. I know alot of guys have 'Church' guns, just smaller guns that are easier to "hug" around

RJGold wrote:I know I have seen several discussions about carrying at Church and I wanted to post a couple of questions.

I have not carried at Church yet because I am not sure I could do it without being discovered. I play in our church band and our normal "uniform" is jeans and t-shirts. I am also frequently hugged at church and I worry about someone discovering my weapon during one of these hugs.

My carrying configuration is an XDM 9 Compact in a CompTac MTAC IWB.

For some of you who do carry at Church here are a couple of questions:

1. How do you dress around your weapon at Church?
2. How do you deal with hugs that may expose your weapon if you were carrying.

Thanks.

I play in our church band in the main worship services, and I am the worship leader in our Celebrate Recovery ministry. I am always armed, carrying OWB, usually with a mid-sized pistol (XDm-45 Compact 3.8)...........and nobody knows. I always wear collared shirts untucked at church, which more than covers the gun. I am left handed, and I deal with hugs by going in "high and low" so my gun side is always protected by my low arm. That leaves some small possibility that they'll bump my spare magazine, and that has happened, but with all the crap that regular people carry on their belts these days—cellphones, etc.—nobody has ever commented. Once, when gathering for prayer in a circle before going on stage for a main worship service, the girl on my right put her arm around my waist and rested her left wrist on top of my gun. I'm not sure that she even realized what it was, and she never said anything to me. About half the members of the worship team are my close friends and they know that I carry.

I also am a member of our worship team and carry every Sunday (and all other days for that matter). I carry a Glock 39 which is smallish in a comp-tac minotaur iwb, usually in jeans/polo, and it has never been an issue. I try to hug on my left and go low as others have suggested. I have also had the "prayer circle" situation, but I always have the same people on either side of me because they know. Also at any given time there are 3 other firearms on stage, so if someone were to make me, I don't think they would care.

RJGold wrote:RPB and RPBrown...

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the help.

I haven't looked at smaller weapons for pocket carry. I own a Browning Hi Power in addition to my XDM.

I may have to go gun shoppin'...

Darn the bad luck

Thanks.

I appreciate all the comments on this.

I also play musical instruments in church. The most recent event was with a bell choir where the dress is a white shirt and black pants. I play the lower (larger) bells and often hold them to at least shoulder height, exposing most of my torso. There is a constant pull of my shirt at the belt line in back - which is partially turned toward most of the congregation.

I use this.
http://www.kangaroocarry.com/
I carry a Sig P250 Compact which is similar to your carry piece. Even with all the constant jostling about, I never have a problem

It is also pretty easy to protect the gun from detection in the hugging process. I just keep my left arm close to my body. I have a spare mag on the other side and it has never been detected either.

Not everyone likes the feel of the Kangaroo but I don't mind it. I'm much more calm wearing it than I would be my IWB.

RJGold wrote: For some of you who do carry at Church here are a couple of questions:

1. How do you dress around your weapon at Church?

I found a $1000 blazer on Ebay for $50.00. Works great. Or I wear a leather biker vest or one of my shooting vests.

RJGold wrote: 2. How do you deal with hugs that may expose your weapon if you were carrying.

I don't worry about it.

If someone grabs around it in a hug, chances are they won't recognize what it is. Happens all the time and I simply have not been "outed" by it.

After 12 years of carrying everyday, I just don't let it but me anymore.

Every Sunday with a 5" 1911 in a Brommeland IWB usually with an untucked collered shirt, sometimes with a vest if the weather is cool. Hugs handled as above.

Every Sunday I carry a full size Glock in a Comp-Tac IWB. Sometimes I have the untucked shirt / jeans look and can easily conceal. Other times, I tuck the shirt in and blouse it out to pretty easily conceal everything including an extra magazine on the opposite side. I also use the high / low method for those out there who want to hug...

I'm the Pastor. Wore a size large t-shirt with jeans covering my Ruger SR9c in a crossbreed supertuck. Also had a spare 10 round mag owb. No one noticed a thing.