Concealed Carry Full Size Pistol

[Disturbed]

Your handgun is just one tool in your self defense arsenal that you have availble. Scale the gun to your daily activies, this is what I do.

Cold days that i'm rarely active ( jacket weather ) I will use my G19 OWB
Warm summer days I use my G27 IWB tucked/untucked shirt.
Days that i'm infront of clients doing work, or formal events, i use the Ruger LCP pocket gun.

Its just not beneficial for everyone to carry around their 45's all the time. Sure it nice to have that much fire power, but a well placed .380 will stop somebody just the same.

[Wildscar]

Since you seem to shoot everyone Ideas and suggestions down about holsters maybe you need to re-evaluate carrying a full size pistol and look for a smaller pistol. Good equipment is going to cost money. That makes it easier. We have a saying in the networking world. You can have good, cheap, or fast just not all three at one time. Pick two. It can apply to guns also. You can have good, cheap, or easy to conceal. Just not all three at one time.

Dropping 4 to $500 on a firearm and then skimping on the equipment is like buying a motorcycle without a helmet cause its too expensive even though one day it might save your life.

I hope you find what works for you I really do. So far the only limits I see are the ones you are placing on yourself. Good luck in your search.

[bdickens]

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

Yes.

[mr.72]

I hope you find what works for you I really do.

You can see how I doubt your sincerity.

So far the only limits I see are the ones you are placing on yourself.

You mean, the only limits are the CLOTHES IN MY CLOSET

[rant]
You know this is the single most irritating thing about many gun-carrying folks. It's the overt opinion that once you decide to carry concealed, then every other part of your life needs to be re-oriented around it, otherwise you are being unreasonable. C'mon people, I know some of you are really interested in helping but I asked specifically for information about making something with within my totally normal and reasonable situation.

If you really want to help, then help. If you are going to parrot the advice of "try a series of a $100 holsters, a stiff gun belt, and XL shirts to cover it all" then you know what? That advice is not helpful to me at all.

This is one of the key things that keeps "outsiders" on the "outside".
[/rant]

Never mind. I shall go back to figuring this out on my own.

[Keith B]

I hope you find what works for you I really do.

You can see how I doubt your sincerity.

So far the only limits I see are the ones you are placing on yourself.

You mean, the only limits are the CLOTHES IN MY CLOSET

[rant]
You know this is the single most irritating thing about many gun-carrying folks. It's the overt opinion that once you decide to carry concealed, then every other part of your life needs to be re-oriented around it, otherwise you are being unreasonable. C'mon people, I know some of you are really interested in helping but I asked specifically for information about making something with within my totally normal and reasonable situation.

If you really want to help, then help. If you are going to parrot the advice of "try a series of a $100 holsters, a stiff gun belt, and XL shirts to cover it all" then you know what? That advice is not helpful to me at all.

This is one of the key things that keeps "outsiders" on the "outside".
[/rant]

Never mind. I shall go back to figuring this out on my own.

Unfortunately that is probably what you will have to do. Please don't rant at the folks on the forum because they don't have your perfect answer.

Not knowing you personally, and not seeing what your body build is like, the actual clothes you wear, etc., there is no way to tell if you can properly carry a Sigma or other larger pistol and conceal it properly over the Internet. There are things that you have to determine on your own sometimes. This is one of them. I can tell you there is a lot of trial and error involved in finding the perfect combination for you. There is no 'one size fits all' in concealed carry. There are WAY too many variables. I have a drawer of holsters and some new clothes to prove it.

If you are not willing to go to looser clothing, then you will have to move down in gun size to be able to cover it. I personally carry a Kahr PM9 most times as it fits well in cargo shorts pockets and you can pocket carry in jeans. However, it is not nearly as comfortable pocket carrying, and not as easy to get to as when I am OWB carrying and wearing a stiff belt and loose shirt. Kangaroo holster works under a polo shirt, but if it is tight, you are going to print, plain and simple. Try putting a 4" Sigma in there and you will DEFINITELY print!

So, again, this is one of those things that will probably require you to either adapt your clothing or go to a smaller firearm and find a loose enough place to carry and cover it, without compromising the presentability.

Regards,

[KC5AV]

I went back and re-read this thread from the beginning. In the photos posted, none of the clothing really seemed to be oversized. Even so, I doubt most folks would consider moving up 1 size to be that much of a sacrifice.

You asked for suggestions and opinions.
[qutoe]So the question is, can someone who is not overweight and does not wear oversized clothing carry a G19 size pistol?
I'm all ears if there is a way to carry my Sigma 9mm with an IWB.
[/quote]
The fact is, without a belt, it's going to be very difficult to carry a medium or full sized pistol IWB comfortably and effectively, but it's not impossible. The problem will come if you wear fitted shirts. They will print. I can't see any way around that.

There are any number of quality IWB holsters out there, and it's likely that any one of them will work for you. I've recommended the supertuck. Others recommend holsters from comp-tac. At some point, I'd suggest trying one. I tried the supertuck, and it works for me. I'm sure I'd be just as happy with a comp-tac minotaur, or any of several others.

Good luck in your search.

[Disturbed]

I hope you find what works for you I really do.

You can see how I doubt your sincerity.

So far the only limits I see are the ones you are placing on yourself.

You mean, the only limits are the CLOTHES IN MY CLOSET

[rant]
You know this is the single most irritating thing about many gun-carrying folks. It's the overt opinion that once you decide to carry concealed, then every other part of your life needs to be re-oriented around it, otherwise you are being unreasonable. C'mon people, I know some of you are really interested in helping but I asked specifically for information about making something with within my totally normal and reasonable situation.

If you really want to help, then help. If you are going to parrot the advice of "try a series of a $100 holsters, a stiff gun belt, and XL shirts to cover it all" then you know what? That advice is not helpful to me at all.

This is one of the key things that keeps "outsiders" on the "outside".
[/rant]

Never mind. I shall go back to figuring this out on my own.

I believe people are just trying to help you out bud.

I know what your going through on the concealing part, I am their right now. Big gun or small gun, Do you spend $500 on a gun and then spend $500 on looking for a decent holster? These guys in the forum are generally just trying to help you out. Try and not be so irritated over such things, you ask a 100 people a question, your likely to get a 100 answers. The thing to do is just figure out what works best for you, while using the expierence you learn from the forum to help guide you in a direction.

And to answer your question about can you conceal a G19 on a slim frame. YES
I'm 6'2 175lbs 32 waist.
I can conceal a G19,G27 with no issue, But there is a comfort factor when sitting all day. Which why i changed guns for office use.
Check my picture above, you will see the holster and guns i carry.
I usually wear business casual, slacks/tucked shirt.

If i can hide a g19 with a Comp-Tac i'm sure anybody can. ( though i dont recommend doing so when running network cables, I got called on it from my supervisor while bending over a desk grabbing cables.. Luckly hes pro gun, and everything went smooth. Which prompted my Ruger LCP purchase )

Cheers and good luck sir.

[Wildscar]

I hope you find what works for you I really do.

You can see how I doubt your sincerity.

So far the only limits I see are the ones you are placing on yourself.

You mean, the only limits are the CLOTHES IN MY CLOSET

[rant]
You know this is the single most irritating thing about many gun-carrying folks. It's the overt opinion that once you decide to carry concealed, then every other part of your life needs to be re-oriented around it, otherwise you are being unreasonable. C'mon people, I know some of you are really interested in helping but I asked specifically for information about making something with within my totally normal and reasonable situation.

If you really want to help, then help. If you are going to parrot the advice of "try a series of a $100 holsters, a stiff gun belt, and XL shirts to cover it all" then you know what? That advice is not helpful to me at all.

This is one of the key things that keeps "outsiders" on the "outside".
[/rant]

Never mind. I shall go back to figuring this out on my own.

First off there is no need to do this one your own. You asked for advice and that’s what we are giving. I am sorry that is not the answer you want to hear. Before you go off all half cocked and degrade members of this forum by calling them “significantly overweight� you need to realize one thing. The firearm that I carry is a Beretta 92FS and it’s about as big as you can get. Only thing bigger would be a Desert Eagle. You say you carry a Sigma which is significantly smaller. Your body frame is significantly smaller than mine so in relation you carrying you Sigma would be like me carrying my Beretta.

As for garments being over sized they are not. I wear the same thing whether I am carrying or not. So unless the “CLOTHES IN’ your “CLOSET� are all made out of spandex you should be able to conceal a Sigma with the right placement and orientation. I would even venture to guess that you could do it with a cheap nylon holster from uncle mikes that no more than $20 bucks.

Basically it’s going to boil down to finding what works for you and that goes for everyone. We can give suggestions and you can pick and choose. That’s what we all do. I would bet money that if you took 5 of us from this forum that none of us would be carrying the same way. You have OWB, IWB, small of the back, forward cant, rear cant, straight cant, shoulder holster, ankle holster, fanny pack, man purse maxpedition bags, neck hangers,big gun, little gun, backup gun, 2 guns, 3 guns, NEO from Matrix type carriers. Then you also have 1 mag, 2 mag, 3 mag, No mag, 1 mag per gun. The possibilities are endless. People just have to open up and see that advice is just what it is. It’s not some set in stone way of life. It’s just advice nothing more. Use it or don’t. It’s that simple. Just don’t get offended when you get an answer that wasn’t the holy grail of answers.

I am honest when I said I hope you can find what works for you. We all do. If my words are tarnished to you then fine don’t read them. But at least read others posts and suggestions. We are a close community and one that I am proud to be a part of. I am glad that Charles gave us a place that we can swap ideas and suggestions. Don’t let my post run you off. I would like to know what you finally went with and what did work for you. Who knows maybe I can use that same method one day.

[mr.72]

First off there is no need to do this one your own. You asked for advice and that’s what we are giving. I am sorry that is not
the answer you want to hear.

Dude, there is a difference between "not the answer you want to hear" and "not an answer that applies to the problem at hand".

Before you go off all half cocked and degrade members of this forum by calling them “significantly overweight�

I wonder if this isn't where I touched the nerve.

It was not my intent. I am 190lb now, and 6 years ago I was nearly 270. I spent my entire life before age 30 being very overweight. I got down as low as 175ish. I really don't mean to degrade anyone about being overweight but it does make most of the demonstrations of how to carry a full-size weapon irrelevant when the people demonstrating this have a very different body type than I do.

As for garments being over sized they are not. I wear the same thing whether I am carrying or not.

Ok so I don't know you or what you look like, your body type or what you wear, but I can speak from my own experience having been overweight most of my life. When I was overweight, I wore oversized clothes. I wore shirts that would not even get close to snug against my waist line. It actually took me a while to get used to the feeling of clothes fitting against my body all the time after I lost all the weight and bought new clothes. So even though you say you don't wear oversized clothes, my experience is that overweight people (which included me) almost always wear oversized clothes. Or maybe more accurately, clothes made for overweight people are almost always much more loose-fitting than those made for slimmer people.

So I don't think it automatically applies that if someone 6' tall and 250lb can conceal a big gun, then that means someone 6' tall and 200 lb can conceal one that is 20% smaller.

So unless the “CLOTHES IN’ your “CLOSET� are all made out of spandex you should be able to conceal a Sigma with the right placement and orientation. I would even venture to guess that you could do it with a cheap nylon holster from uncle mikes that no more than $20 bucks.

You know I actually do have a lot of clothes that are made of "spandex"... but I am a cyclist.

anyway... I would seriously consider any IWB holster that did not require a stiff belt, particularly if I could try it. I don't mind spending $50-100 on it either. I just don't want to spend $50-100 on some internet order thing, wait 6 weeks for it to get here, then find that it won't work and stick it in a box and have to go try another one...

Basically it’s going to boil down to finding what works for you and that goes for everyone. We can give suggestions and you can pick and choose.

I guess I can... but then you say something like

Since you seem to shoot everyone Ideas and suggestions down about holsters

which means I can't pick and choose without being blown off.

I'm not shooting anyone's ideas down. I am sure those ideas and suggestions work fine for other people but I can tell from one look that they obviously won't work for me. So I am going to pick and choose not to follow those pieces of advice, because they are not applicable to my situation. Seems some folks recommend I change my question so it better fits the answer.

I guess my current plan is to carry the Sigma in the Smartcarry when I can, and the rest of the time, leave it locked up at home until I can raise funds for a smaller pistol.

[thejtrain]

Never mind. I shall go back to figuring this out on my own.

Dude, no need to take your ball & go home (EDIT: glad to see you didn't, since we posted simultaneously). The folks on the thread are just trying to be polite & make suggestions & help (and since concealed carry is so personalized, it's very hard to make suggestions about anything other than what one has tried personally), but I think some of us (myself included) may have allowed the four-page thread to distract us from your very first post:

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.(emphasis mine)

I know for myself, I focused more on your description (though mentioning you're a cyclist probably would have gone further than weights & measures - "athletic" doesn't really mean much given the wide variety of athletes out there, from cycling to running to basketball to football to rugby - an earlier "cyclist" mention would also have given us a better idea of what frame of reference you were using when you mentioned "overweight") and kind of overlooked the bolded section where you basically stated you wouldn't want to wear a belt. If I had focused on that portion instead I probably would have addressed that specifically, and only then added my suggestions on "what worked for me".

Unfortunately, what I would have said (again, based solely on my own limited experience, others here may disagree) is that you'd be very hard-pressed to make a full-size pistol work in ANY kind of WB carry (inside or outside) without a belt of some kind. Just the weight of the pistol alone will make it almost impossible. Long story short, the gun needs something to hang from that isn't going to be going anywhere. (think of the Smartcarry - it's essentially an under-the-pants belt with a pouch attached that the gun hangs from) Will the pants you wear, in the style you wear them, support the weight of the gun without any kind of belt at all? Only you can answer that, since none of us can feel what it feels like to wear the pants you wear. If the answer, as I suspect, ends up being "no", then neither IWB nor OWB is likely to work at all, and it's time to be practical & realistic and consider something else (either carry location or the gun itself).

The only other thought I have would be perhaps the Pager Pal, but the relative "tightness" of the fit of the jeans might preclude that. There's a video on the site you can check out, and I know one other individual here has tried it and found it lacking.

As with everything, YMMV, and we all really do hope you find what works for you.

JT

[M9FAN]

[Disturbed]

As with everything, YMMV, and we all really do hope you find what works for you.

[mr.72]

Unfortunately, what I would have said (again, based solely on my own limited experience, others here may disagree) is that you'd be very hard-pressed to make a full-size pistol work in ANY kind of WB carry (inside or outside) without a belt of some kind. ... as I suspect, ends up being "no", then neither IWB nor OWB is likely to work at all, and it's time to be practical & realistic and consider something else (either carry location or the gun itself).

That's exactly the conclusion I am coming to right now.

Next step for me is most likely a different gun, which is where I started

thanks JT..

[Disturbed]

Next step for me is most likely a different gun, which is where I started

Have you looked at this,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -long.html



Just kidding, Good luck

[zeroskillz]

Concealing any handgun is easily possible depending on your wardrobe choices.
Concealing a full sized gun without a belt would be very difficult, if not down right dangerous (Mexican carry anyone?).

I'm gathering that you're unwilling to adjust your clothing just to conceal a firearm, so you need to adjust your firearm choice to fit your clothing--or not carry.

From what I've gleaned from the last few pages, I think pocket carry might be a good choice for you. I'd take a look at something small that would fit a pocket holster and could slip into a front or rear pocket. I personally own a Kel-Tec P11 that does this just fine (in a Don Hume pocket holster). The purpose of the holster is to orient the gun in your pocket andd break up the shape so it doesn't print much. A small revolver would be a good choice as well. Smith and Wesson makes a number of lightweight revolvers small enough for a pocket that also pack a big punch.

If you're near Dallas, you're welcome to come by and take a look at the combos I carry (from pocket to over full size).

Good luck,
-Ted