27-2 For Concealed Carry?

SW357Addict · #1 10-08-2010, 07:40 AM

Hello. I should be getting my concealed carry permit hopefully soon. I have a 27-2 with a 3.5" barrel that I am thinking of using as a SD gun. Does anyone here concealed carry one of these? If so how do you carry it? What holster are you using? Thanks.

computeruser · #2 10-08-2010, 08:24 AM

You can carry that, but there are better choices, particularly if "serious" concealment is required (i.e. carrying in NPE, or if "concealed means concealed" where you live).

I've started wearing an M28/4" a bit lately, mostly because I want to. From an efficiency standpoint, it brings nothing to the table that my customary carry setup - Gov't Model and a few magazines - doesn't do better. But for an evening and weekend setup with a couple speed strips, it is a fun change of pace after a decade of wearing the exact same gun every day.

IWB, I find it hides nicely under an untucked shirt or loose t-shirt, though the skilled eye will catch the difference in how the fabric drapes on the gun side; not so with the Gov't Model or other smaller pieces, which truly disappear. I wear stock Magnas on mine; larger target stocks will be harder still to conceal.

If you plan to wear it IWB, look at a spread-loop holster like Milt Sparks VersaMax or, as is popular to mention around here, Lobo's IWB. These designs will prove more stable with a heavy gun and by keeping the loops away from the cylinder, will keep the bulkiness of the setup to a minimum. Expect to go through a couple holsters before you find one that fits you properly - how high/low the weapon rides, how much angle it has, etc. - and make sure you have a stout gunbelt or you will be very unhappy with the results, as a big, steel N-frame is surely not a Glock 26.

I'm currently using a "modified" Lobo IWB - solid loops instead of snap loops, more forward rake than originally designed so as to duplicate the angle of my regular carry setup. I am quite pleased with the setup and find it quite serviceable. But there is no question that it is tougher to carry an N-frame than a thin full-size auto, and surely a lot tougher than a compact. So as you move into the concealed carry world, keep that in mind.

jimmyj · #3 10-08-2010, 08:29 AM

Good Morning:
An agency I started with some years ago issued (from evidence room) a 6" Model 29-2 as a service weapon and a 4" Model 28-2 as an "Off Duty".
I carried the Model 28-2 4" in a pancake style holster at 4 O'clock position with a loose fitting outer shirt or vest.
I never found IWB holsters comfortable.
Jimmy

LoboGunLeather · #4 10-08-2010, 09:17 AM

Back in the 1970's I carried a 3.5" Model 27 with service stocks and T-grip while working plainclothes. I used a pancake-style holster at about 3:30 position. Reasonably comfortable for all-day carry, but I later picked up a 2.5" Model 19 that was much easier to carry.

When the old chief retired and a new chief changed firearms policies I went back to my prefered weapon, the 1911A1.

keith44spl · #5 10-08-2010, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SW357Addict

Hello. I should be getting my concealed carry permit hopefully soon. I have a 27-2 with a 3.5" barrel that I am thinking of using as a SD gun. Does anyone here concealed carry one of these? If so how do you carry it? What holster are you using? Thanks.

Son,
I've been totin' 3 1/2" N frames for nye on 40 years...Concealed or open carried. Works for me...

Su Amigo,
Dave

cjw3 · #6 10-08-2010, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SW357Addict

Hello. I should be getting my concealed carry permit hopefully soon. I have a 27-2 with a 3.5" barrel that I am thinking of using as a SD gun. Does anyone here concealed carry one of these? If so how do you carry it? What holster are you using? Thanks.

I carried a 4" M28 for a few years, but was never comfortable carrying it in a deep concealment mode which I define as being undetectable regardless of clothing choice, climate, activities, your build, etc. I think a lot of people go with IWB of one sort or another to achieve this and the rub, no pun intended, with a revolver that size is the thickness of two layers of holster + the cylinder. I personally don't like having that large a lump pressing into my waist, regardless of how well designed the holster may be. Also, in a place that has the climate of Louisiana that gun up against your body is going to require close monitoring to stave off the corrosive effects of sweat. We have the same problem in GA and stainless steel or corrosion resistant finishes are our friends.

It is worth a try if that is what you have and would like to work with, but I am guessing that you will eventually wind up looking for something smaller/lighter.

Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but BTDT. Good luck with whatever you come up with.

cmort666 · #7 10-08-2010, 02:04 PM

I've got a 2 1/2" 27-2 as well, which I've considered carrying. I'd be more inclined to carry it in the winter than in warm weather, as it would conceal well under a sweater or sweat shirt.

I'm planning on making an OWB for my 4" 29-2, so the same design slightly shortened would work just as well for my 27-2.

Wyo · #8 10-12-2010, 10:15 PM

I've carried a 3 1/2'" M27-2 in a Simply Rugged Sourdough for a long time, sometimes IWB, sometimes out. Either works fine depending on the clothing I'm wearing. More recently I've been carrying one of Keith44Spl's holsters that looks very much like his Red River rig shown above (we haven't really got a name for this new one yet) and it's a real peach! Very comfortable and beautifully built, it's also one of the classiest rigs I've come across in a long time.