Concealed Carry Full Size Pistol

[DoubleJ]

Oriental chick? is she a rug?

no thanks. I can dress my self, and I'm happily married.

[mr.72]

Oriental chick? is she a rug?

no thanks. I can dress my self, and I'm happily married.

altho this definitely took this thread in a whole new direction!!!

[yerasimos]

Drifting away from the full-size pistol theme . . .

Mr.72, in one of the other threads, you mentioned that you were more accurate shooting the Kahr than your full-size gun (Sigma). Given that Sigmas have historically had atrocious triggers, I am not at all surprised.

You have already stated that wearing a belt for you is a problematic proposition, and you are not interested in wearing a "gun belt".

Working around your sartorial criteria, if your low-rise jeans will stay on your hips, perhaps you could try modifying a pair of those jeans for carrying your Kahr in the front slash pocket, in a thin pocket holster such as a DeSantis Nemesis ($20-30, IIRC). The front pockets could be made wider, deeper and reinforced, and a clever tailor could open the mouth of the pocket so you could get your hand inside more easily. If the jeans are a dark material, the printing effect could be disrupted. But with the added weight of the pistol (and a spare magazine on your complementary side), a belt---even a thin fashion belt---could be helpful to prevent unwanted sagging, though you should be able to avoid the dreaded "gun belt". Or the waist area could be taken in slightly by the tailor for a similar effect, without any belt.

Perhaps someone here can recommend a sympathetic, skilled tailor in the greater Austin area.

Let me make myself clear: pocket carry has its advantages as well as its disadvantages, and I do not advocate (nor am I interested in) Kahrs or Keltecs or other guns I have already disparaged. That said, in your situation, to defend yourself if necessary while stopped at a gas station at night (for example), this might get the job done with a handgun you currently possess.

By the way, those of you who missed red2000vette's pictures are not missing much.

[mr.72]

thx for the input yerasimos.

I did note that I shot a the Kahrs at least as well as my own Sigma. The Sigma is funny. The trigger is not atrocious. In fact I don't think it's bad at all. But I am pretty new to the whole "sight picture" thing and I shoot the SIgma right on the money (that is, bigger groups but groups averaging center) when I point shoot but have less luck using the sights (low left, which is probably trigger). I guess I am spending more time trying to align the sights and this gives me more time to squeeze the trigger down and left, but when I just point and shoot quickly, I hit right on target.

Anyway the Kahr's trigger is much shorter (tho not much lighter) and it breaks before I manage to yank the gun down, or so I am guessing.

I don't yet own a Kahr, my friend has two and I have shot his.

We'll figure this out yet. :)

See ya-

[Disturbed]

If your shooting down left, then your milking the trigger. That means your pulling back with your pinky or ring finger on the grip. Try to relax these 2 fingers and only use the the muscles that moves the 3rd joint in your index finger to pull the trigger. The pad of your index finger should be on the trigger. not the joint.

this is a common issue with glocks or replicas, its called either milking the trigger or glock syndrome. It will take some practice to get used to on a sigma, but try dry firing in the mirror and watch the barrel drop down to the left when u pull the trigger. With practice you will learn to adjust. Try not using the ring and pinky finger on the grip for a few dry fires,, and see the difference.

good luck.

[Wildscar]

[mr.72]

headin' out to the range this morning to work it. :)

[lrb111]

Since, you don't mind spandex type materials, you might look at some of these concealment clothes and undergarments.
http://magills.com/index/40_Concealment+Clothing/

[NcongruNt]

As it seems to be related to this discussion, here is a post I came across in the Call Me Ahab blog. He is a "self-described metro-tactical person", who is picky about his clothing, just as mr.72 seems to be.

He does mention belts, though.

Everyone who is cool is talking about holsters right now; I have decided to drop my two cents into the communal pool.

I deal with an annoying situation when I carry, namely the fact that as a not-exactly-large guy, I have to choose my holsters very carefully when I’m carrying anything larger than a pocket pistol. I’m not exactly brand loyal, which is a nice way of saying that I have a drawer full of holsters that I’ve tried and ultimately discarded for being uncomfortable/impractical or just plain bad.

As a self-described metro-tactical person, my holster selection is further confounded by my choice of clothing. Assuming for the moment that I’m not carrying a pocket gun like my Beretta .25 ACP, my preferred method of carry is an inside the waistband holster. For me, that’s been an ideal solution, as it allows me to usually carry a full-sized handgun without having to strap a giant holster on to my not giant frame.

When I carry outside the waistband, it is really a mixed bag, although I tend to use a lot of Galco holsters as I like their construction and durability. But I’ll also go plastic fantastic sometimes with my holster, as the Blackhawk designs often allow the fastest access to the gun from concealment.

Tam is absolutely right about holsters - you need to put as much thought into your rig as you do into the carry gun itself. Because I’ve taken the time to develop my carry guns, to carefully chose which holsters work best for which carry situations, I’ve reached a point where I can be pretty safe to guess which new rigs will and won’t work for me.

But the key to getting to that level is carry your gun a lot. A lot of people buy a new blaster with a crappy holster and then leave the gun in the sock drawer because “it’s too heavy� or something, not realizing that it’s probably your holster that’s causing the problem.

The most often overlooked component of your carry set-up isn’t your holster though - it’s your belt. Because the holster rides on the belt, a crappy, saggy belt will go a long way towards reducing the efficiency of any holster that you use. Galco and other companies actually make purposely designed belts for carry, which are often reinforced with plastic linings inside the belt. The problem with those is that sometimes they’re not exactly stylish, but that’s okay. For a man or a woman, any thick, stiff belt will be a good choice. One of my favorite gun belts is quite “hip� (or whatever the kids are saying) as it’s thick leather with two roles of metal rings reinforcing it. I can carry my Beretta 92D and two spare magazines on this belt like it’s not even there.

Even though I’ve already said it two or three times, you need to try a lot of holsters before you find “the one� that works. Just because your first holster/belt combo didn’t work isn’t a reason to toss the gun, it’s just a reason to find a new holster and belt combo. Then someday you can be like me and have a drawer full of holsters you never wear.

You can read the page in its original context here: http://www.nrahab.com/2008/06/26/holsters-belts/

He also has another post about his "metro-tactical"-ness, (with linked pictures) which seems just as pertinent (linked in the above quote, and can also be found here: http://www.nrahab.com/2008/01/23/metro-tactical/

You're not alone in your struggle, mr.72.

[mr.72]

Hey thanks for the link. That is definitely useful information.

BTW this link that follows from his blog entry on "metro tactical" http://www.expressfashion.com/products. ... =34&ppp=13 is a good example of the type of shirts that I wear (and the way they fit) pretty commonly.
or this
http://www.expressfashion.com/products. ... groupid=37
and this
http://www.expressfashion.com/products. ... groupid=39
although I'm not as slim as their T-shirt model. Think that dude, 20lb heavier (or 10 years older ) Hey I look pretty fit but I am not exactly Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

With jeans and a T-shirt I think the smartcarry is not going to work consistently, but it smartcarry works fine with cargo shorts/pants if I wear it kind of "high" so it ends up being a low appendix carry with the butt of the gun just above the belt line. You have to be feeling for the gun or walking into a very stiff wind to know it's there ... and trust me with a smartcarry, nobody's going to be feeling for it who doesn't already know it's there .

For the jeans scenario I ordered one of these http://www.desantisholster.com/031.html which I chose for appendix carry with jeans, given that being a lower-riding IWB it would put less torque on any belt so in the event I wear it with a belt that is insufficient to support a gun, I hope it winds up not being that much of a problem. Since it hasn't arrived yet, that remains to be seen.

As for my gun choice, the bulk of the Sigma conceals easily with the smartcarry and I think it will not be a problem with the Insider either. The one quirk with it is that the pinky extension on the base plate of the magazine tends to catch on the waist band and get pulled out on top of the waist band. I may take one of my mags and file down the pinky extension so that it protrudes less and has smooth edges that won't catch and this might just make it work and allow me to carry my preferred gun (the one I already own, high-cap 9mm).

The reality is that since I bicycle to work, and my employer does not allow firearms on the premises, the majority of the time I will not be able to carry and won't have to solve this problem. I also work a different job on the weekends which has a whole different set of limitations for clothing and carrying and unless I am carrying a very small, flat gun in a Smartcarry, it probably will not be feasible to carry. Mostly when I will be carrying will be in my own home or running around on the weekends and evenings, or when I am traveling.

I still plan eventually to get a smaller gun that will potentially be easier to conceal, but I'm out of funds at the moment. Probably next spring. At the current rate it appears I won't have my CHL in hand until it's cold outside anyway and I am sure I can easily conceal the Sigma when I need to in the winter time.

[NcongruNt]

I'm glad things seem to be working out for you.

[Wildscar]

I'm glad things seem to be working out for you.