The subject of concealed carry came up while talking with a neighbor the other day. He had considered getting a license, but has shied away for one reason or another. He mentioned that is favorite gun was a 5" 1911. It was then he said, "Of course, you can't conceal a full sized 1911. So, I'd probably carry something different."

I chuckled inside a little and said, "I'm pretty sure it could be concealed." "I don't know" he replied, "it's a pretty big gun. It would print and be really obvious." I didn't tell him that I was carrying one at that moment; neither did he notice.

I can also conceal an M&P 45 pretty easily.

I just thought it was funny how he was telling me it couldn't be done while I was doing it.

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Freedom isn't free.

I frequently carry a full size 1911 in an IWB kydex holster. With a loose untucked shirt nobody but me knows its there.

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S&W Accumulator

Actually because of the long relatively thin barrel/slide the 1911 full size is fairly easy to conceal as is the Browning HP which even has a thinner barrel/slide. I have carried both over the years with no problem but now my concealed carry pistol is a Sig P228 9mm with 16 rounds.

I carry some biggins daily. Not a big deal.

It's funny hearing people talk of wanting something smaller than their already compact gun because it's too hard to conceal.

I believe most people who use excuses to not do something are looking for excuses to not do anything. My brother said he couldn't carry a full size 1911 (of which he owns 4), because he has to wear pants with no belt do to medical condition. I have a kydex paddle holster for 1911's he liked it, so on the next outing to a well stocked gun store we found a leather holster with a paddle. He bought it and has never worn it in the 2 years he has owned it. In times past, I've carried 1911's in military flap holsters concealed under a flannel shirt. If you want to do something, you will find a way to make it happen.

The hardest way to conceal any gun is in a $5 padded nylon holster! Even a LCP is almost lunch box size! Ivan

Your neighbor speaks from "lack of education". Perhaps, if he ever decided to get licensed, he will be "educated". Much to his surprise he will realize he has been surrounded by people doing what he here-to-fore had thought impossible.

Consider the source.....a know-nothing.

I've concealed 3" RB N frames with ease and I am not a big man. The right holster and the right belt make it easy without having to wear a bed sheet for a shirt.

I have on occasion carried a full sized Sig 220 which has similar dimensions to a 1911. It does require forethought and appropriate dress but can be done.

I think that most people who do NOT carry, don't typically notice those of us who do.

I would compare it to owning a particular car. When you buy a new (or used) car, you start noticing your model car, more and more often than you ever did before.

Carrying a firearm is a lot like that. People who start carrying get totally flummuxed about it, because they think everyone is looking at them, now. They get smaller and smaller pistols, until they are comfortable that it is really "concealed" and no one is the wiser.

After a while, they start noticing that other people are also carrying guns. It's sort of like recognizing your car model. "Hey I never noticed that before!"

After a while longer, they start to notice people really carrying "well" and people carrying "not so well" (Meaning that it's easier to tell with some people).

Then after years of carrying, they notice that people who don't carry, don't notice people carrying, whether they do it well or not. Then they realize that probably no one was really looking at them in the first place (when they started carrying) and they start carrying what they feel like carrying.

That's the way I see it, anyway.

People on the average, notice very little about their surroundings. You can ask a friend where they had lunch today, and if they can tell you the type and color of the floor or ceiling. 90% of the people you ask - won't remember - and it was just hours ago!

Bianchi Carry Lok: Leather level 1 retention pancake holster. Makes 220's disappear. At 4:30 it is gone under a light t-shirt. Something about the cant and ride height is magical for me.

Most single stack 1911's are nearly invisible AIWB. Pretty good at 4:30 as well. The flush fitting magazines are best at 4:30.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

Also with today's "smart" phones nobody gives a large bulge a second glance. In fact most people seem so glued to their phones they won't even give you one glance.

I saw a video a while back of a crazy guy with a gun in hand on a subway. Not a single person noticed until he shot a guy in the back of the head. Even then nobody could give a good ID on the crazy.

"you mean like this?"

Most people who have never carried are a little freaked out by the thought of doing it.
Think back if you can to when you first got your permit. If you're like me, you carried a J-Frame. You were just SURE everybody was going to know.
Of course, nobody did. It takes a while to get over that mindset.
A 1911? Heck, that would be easy to conceal. I carry 4" or 5" N-Frames regularly in the cooler months, in complete comfort and with complete concealment.
Jim

My routine urban concealed carry is a 5" 1911 @ 3:00 and a spare magazine @ 9:00 on my belt with an un-tucked shirt over them. My remote rural/woods concealed carry guns are an FNH FNX-45 Tactical, a Glock G20 SF, or a 4" S&W 29-2 .44 magnum with two spare magazines or speed loaders.

Before I retired, a LEO friend bet me over beers one evening that there was no way anyone could carry my new Desert Eagle 50 AE concealed. After I got my Ross Leather holster and double magazine carrier, I wore it all day at work around senior LEO and no one noticed until I showed them at the end of the day. Ya gotta wanna.

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U.S. Navy - U.S. Army, ret

I have concealed a full size sig 1911 and a g21 under just a T Shirt with no problem.

I've found that this holster does a good job concealing a full size 1911.

Hopefully if this guy does decide to get licensed, he'll take his CC Class from someone who incorporates 'Dressing to Conceal' into the class.

That looks good, but what is it? Can you wear it with a tucked shirt. I'm looking for something similar for either a Sig TacOps .45 or S&W mod. 39

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Tmb

My normal mode of dress in retirement is cargo shorts and an un-tucked tee shirt so I could conceal almost anything (I'm tall & thin). Physical problems limit me to a J frame in my pocket w/a speed strip in a small pouch on the belt.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

As along time Military Police Investigator, a CID Agent, and as a supplemental fill in on the US Secret Service Military Augmentation Team I'll throw the " I don't know what I'm talking about[ BS]" flag on the OP' s friend. The old "slabsides "is more concealable than any major caliber revolver and will serve you better when the SHTF. No need to pull my leg ,they are both the same length, and I've been there ,done that. Nick

I carry several different makes, and models of handguns, depending on what I may be wearing, but a 5" Ed Brown in a Milt Sparks IWB holster is one of them……a good gun belt, and a
t-shirt is all that is needed.

Semper Fi!

Quality holster; quality belt (REALLY REALLY important); dress around the gun. You have get your priorities right.

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NHI, 10-8.

I've carried a Browning HP in a custom made IWB that carries and conceals very easily. Loaded, I think the gun goes about 36 ounces. I feel this about the limit for me, weight-wise, for comfort.

I've carried my 5" Model 1911 which, loaded, is probably tipping the scale at 40 ounces or so. To support that weight, you really need to cinch up your belt to hold the gun in place and to keep your pants from drooping although that is now the popular style of dress in some circles.

Many of today's IWB holsters have unnecessary layers of leather which adds to thickness and discomfort. The less leather, the better. However, I'm not a fan of Mexican carry.

My daily carry piece is a full-size 1911 Kimber Custom CDP, usually with nothing more than a loose-fitting shirt for cover. Been doing it for years and years. Back in the days when I was working plainclothes the suit coat or sportcoat made it really easy. Now I don't need to make an impression, so it's even easier.

Attached Images

5-22 belt 009.jpg (65.7 KB, 78 views)

Your belt could use some help. Anything that you need cinch up uncomfortably tight is inadequate to support the weight. You might want to consider a purpose-built gun belt that will carry the weight more comfortably.

Best regards.

Tips to avoid printing? I see a lot of you guys are saying you just carry with an untucked shirt over it. Well when I try that its fine if Im standing fully upright. If I bend or lean in any direction, sit down, kneel down, ect. the shape of the gun, particularly the butt of the grip will print through my shirt. I've tried all the positions on the clock, I only have a cheap blackhawk holster, I'm sure a quality holster would make a difference but even if I just stick it in my pants with no holster it will still print if I do any kind of activity other than standing perfectly upright and still, not moving.

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M&P 15-22
1911

I can guarantee you that you cannot see a full size Glock 17 on me if I wear it in a Brommeland Max Con V holster and a Wilderness Instructor CSM belt. The stiffness of the belt, the location where the holster is designed to ride, the vertical position of the handgun in relation to my belt line (dictated by the holster's design) and the cant of the pistol in the holster (again driven by holster design) all combine to make a pistol (that most say is difficult to conceal) completely disappear no matter how I move.

Everything has to work as a system. With all due respect if all your sum total of experience is with a cheap Blackhawk holster and a casual belt, you don't know what you don't know about concealment.

Good concealment gear is not inexpensive. Most quality kydex holsters that are actually concealable start at $60 and go up from there. For good leather the starting point is right at the $100 mark. Between the Brommeland holster and the Wilderness belt that I mentioned, there's close to $190. And the belt is just as important, and in some cases MORE important than the holster attached to it.

Look here for an idea of what I am talking about.

I carry a S&W 1911 BobtailSC, which is an alloy commander. That means it's several ounces lighter for carry (but still not light). I can hide it really well. How well? Here is my comparison video showing two holsters by Milt Sparks. I currently carry with a Milt Sparks Nexus, and this combination is very nice. There are also several other quality holsters for less, that take less time to get. If you want cheap/fast/decent, go with Aliengear holsters or Foxx Holsters. They are a kydex holster, but work well.

In all honesty, I sold my Ruger LC9 because I could just as easily/comfortably hide and carry my 1911 Bobtail SC. I have since purchased a Ruger SR9c that I love, which is even easier to carry, but both are nice.

See here, and you'll see how well a 1911 hides:

Milt Sparks Nexus and VM2 Holster Comparison, 1911 Commander - YouTube



Enjoy!

Is your shirt about one size larger than you would normally wear?

Also a good gun belt and good holster REALLY helps.

When bending over bend with your legs not your back. (Helps your back as well. )

Well, I hope you gave him some advice on how to do it...

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Jorge

i bought a very sturdy belt right here on this forum just for my gun it was built good, no canting and holds tight to my body

All excellent advise.

One more thing. When I first started carrying concealed I was ultra paranoid and would only carry a J frame IWB because that was the only thing I thought I could make work.

As I grew more experience and saavy with creating a holster/belt/shirt system I noticed that the size of pistols I could conceal effectively (notice I did not say totally) grew and grew.

The bottom line is that 99.9999% of the people out there are utterly oblivious to you and any slight bulges that might appear for a few seconds as your clothes drape over you.

I've been carrying for nearly 8 years now in ALL kinds of situations, with ALL kinds of guns large and small, and in ALL kinds of places and got made only once because of a poor choice of holster for the application. Nothing was said to me by the person who noticed. My wife told me, she said she saw the guy's eyes bug wide and he simply walked off without a word. Nothing ever came from that.

I've found concealing a full size handgun isn't so much an issue as carrying that heavy thing around all day.

It is definitely a matter of want to and dressing around the gun. Omitting pocket carry (so easy with the right gun; it's my standard mode of carry) I used to routinely carry my CS-45 IWB under a simple vest. Nobody noticed. I got heavier myself so I switched to an OWB; still nobody notices. One day recently I had to go somewhere that I thought called for more than just a J-frame in my pocket so I put a full sized SIG SP-2022 into its OWB holster, under a best, AND carried the Model 642 in my pocket, too. Nobody noticed and my pants didn't fall off! A good belt is a must!

As for bending down, I don't do that any more if I can help it. Old joints require that if something drops it better be important before I bend to pick it up! But if I do, and if I have an OWB gun under a vest, I just clamp my arm over it as a bend my knees. Nobody notices....

People who KNOW I carry a gun don't notice; I can't worry about people who don't know I'm carrying since they have no clue what to look for, anyway.

***GRJ***

Years ago I carried a 5" 1911 in a *******. holster (OWB, small of back /horizontal carry) for a few years with no problems.
I either wore a jacket or a untucked shirt to cover it.

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"Life is short, hunt hard"

My wife stands 5'2" and weighs 120. She carried a Colt Government Model Commander in 38 Super for years in a shoulder holster under any one of several ladies' jackets. One time in 10 years did a Security Officer in Dillards ask her if she was carrying concealed. She drew herself up and said, "Sir, thank you for asking, but any bulge you see on my side is my Colostomy Bag." She said the poor guy turned red and almost melted away. Older now, she carries a S&W M 640 stoked with a good SD round. ...................Big Cholla

I love my 1911 in a low cut, fast draw, IWB leather holster by Tucker leather
That said, my Glock 9 is high capacity and I can put rounds quicker on target, many say that's a better carry choice , but, I still love my 1911.
Hopefully the first shot will be on target.

I also carry a steel Colt Commander with a Brown & Pharr clip that secures under the right grip panel and has a flat "finger" that runs along & parallel to the slide. Tuck it anywhere and it stays in place.

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S&W Accumulator