Concealment of larger guns

[ISCS Yoda]

There's a current thread on carrying .45 caliber revolvers and lots of neat photos of concealed carry N frames and leather, etc. What are you guys wearing every day that enables you to hide such fat revolvers and how do you stand the weight, never mind the fatness of the things?

Don't get me wrong, I love N frames, have a few, actually, but concealment on a daily basis? Explain how you do that and, if you don't mind, give me a hint to your height and weight. If you hide L frames feel free to jump in, too!

I'm short and chubby and there is NO way I can see for me to hide a short barreled N frame (never mind a 4"!)....

Gracias!

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

As far as handling the weight, it is primarily a matter of having a stiff gun belt and a stiff holster, so that the weight is really on the whole belt. Still, weight usually matters, and it seems to matter more the older I get.

As far as concealment, the main thing is the relationship between your shoulders and your waist. If your shoulders put the material of your jacket or vest outboard of your waist, you're in luck. Otherwise, it's a whole nother can of worms. Same applies to a shirt as cover garment. You could also possibly use a shoulder holster, but that probably requires a jacket, probably not my idea of a good time in Dallas.

I am probably 5'11" and 195#. I believe that my shoulders are outboard of my waist.

Hope this helps.

[Mainsail]

I think you would first need to decide on a definition for ‘concealed’ before you start. If you believe concealed means completely undetectable, then you’re going to have a harder time making it happen. At the other end of the spectrum, if you believe concealed means what the dictionary says it means, obscured from view, and don’t care if the entire outline is clearly discernible, you have more choices and bigger guns from which to choose.

If I were carrying illegally, then the former definition is the one I would choose, but since I am legally carrying concealed it doesn’t matter to me if someone sees a bulge or lump on my belt, I use the latter definition; after all, it could be anything. Where I live there is no requirement to conceal, our license merely allows the option of carrying concealed. So if the barrel is poking out below my cover garment I am not breaking the law.

Once you have a realistic (stressing the word realistic) expectation of how you’ll need/want to carry, you might find a bigger gun is more easily concealed per the dictionary definition than the paradigm definition.

[Rick_A]

Four inches or less, half lug, tapered barrel, or scandium frame, a good pancake holster and a sturdy belt. A long cover garment in a pattern of colors or dark colors is necessary. Using a thinner, boot style grip helps immensely. I use button up shirts as they tend to have longer tails and are thicker in material. A fellow I know wears fishing vests or Hawaiian style shirts which are a great idea if you can handle the fashion statement.

My 22-4 is my most comfortable waistband carry. Before that a 5" 1911 IWB was my choice. I carry both regularly when dressed for it.

[Rick_A]

Oh, I'm 5'8" and 150lbs. Height and weight aren't much of a factor if you're doing things right.

[eb07]

Bottom line is you have to find the right holster for your body type.... everyone is different and has different shapes, different body curves, different bone structure. Expect to go through a few holsters and have a nice drawer full when it is all said and done. It helps to have friends with the same firearm so you can try theirs out.

Once you find the right one, and dress around it, you will find it easy to conceal full sized firearms.


6'0" 185 lbs

4" Model 19 in OWB Lobo Gunleather pancake:






Glock 17 in Dale Fricke Archangel AIWB:

[Laketime]

If you wear a suit jacket everyday,then you will have the benefit of wearing a shoulder rig.With the right system you can carry almost anything with comfort.Belt holsters lead to weight issues tugging on the pants.Smaller guns are usually best for this type of carry. On the subject of shoulder holsters,a sling spider harness has proven to be the best all the way around for concealed carry.JBP makes many holsters off of this system in top grade leather.I have used one of their systems to conceal a .50 cal DE with two off set spare mags under a suit jacket with complete comfort and conceability.Note this was just to test the ability,with no real intentions to carry a cannon for Self defense.

[colt_saa]

Originally Posted by Mainsail

I think you would first need to decide on a definition for ‘concealed’ before you start. If you believe concealed means completely undetectable, then you’re going to have a harder time making it happen. At the other end of the spectrum, if you believe concealed means what the dictionary says it means, obscured from view, and don’t care if the entire outline is clearly discernible, you have more choices and bigger guns from which to choose.

Exactly. I pocket carry the N-frame Night Guards in 5.11 Tactical Covert Khakis. Is there a bulge in my pocket? You bet...so what

Originally Posted by eb07

Bottom line is you have to find the right holster for your body type.... everyone is different and has different shapes, different body curves, different bone structure. Expect to go through a few holsters and have a nice drawer full when it is all said and done. It helps to have friends with the same firearm so you can try theirs out.

Once you find the right one, and dress around it, you will find it easy to conceal full sized firearms.


6'0" 185 lbs

This famous man is roughly 6'1" I do not know what he weighs, but he does not have a huge frame. Without having seen these photos before, you may be surprised at what he conceals.



For those that do not know, this is John Bianchi and these photos are from a magazine article from several decades back. Let us look under the jacket




OK, I know some of you are going to say you can not go around dressed like James Bond on his way to a dinner party. However if you take an honest look at these images you will see many firearms that would still be concealed with an nice untucked polo or tee shirt.

Even if we rule out every firearm carry method in the above photo, lets roll up the pants.



Admittedly, those 5 firearms are not N-frames on his ankles.

Now that you have seen all 41 firearms Mr Bianchi is carrying, go back to the first photo. Knowing the locations some of the bulges become more obvious to you.

The point is a bulge in the clothing is just a bulge in the clothing to everyone out in the world. They are much too obsessed with their next text message, the Walking Dead or what the Kardashians are doing to be concerned with your bulge.

[Decker]

Originally Posted by ISCS Yoda

There's a current thread on carrying .45 caliber revolvers and lots of neat photos of concealed carry N frames and leather, etc. What are you guys wearing every day that enables you to hide such fat revolvers and how do you stand the weight, never mind the fatness of the things?

Yoda, you may be in luck because Governor Abbot is about to sign the Texas Open Carry Law which would allow open carry.

Now don't get me wrong, I am opposed to open carry for practical reasons and will never do it myself, and I will argue how truly stupid it is to open carry in most populated areas. I'll explain my position on that if asked at a later time.

However, I fully support open-carry as a legal option because now we who might accidentally "print" won't be subjected to a ridiculous "printing" law that would make us a criminal and subject to arrest or a fine if we do.
I often carry a Colt Commander in an IWB Milt Sparks VM II holster hanging from a "real" gun belt, not some flimsy dress belt.
I also carry an even "fatter" XD9SC, and yes, I sometimes carry a Model 66 snubby that is even fatter than the XD.

With open carry about to happen where you live in Texas, I wouldn't worry terribly about it unless you truly are a criminal who cannot be seen carrying a weapon for any reason since you wouldn't have a permit to carry anyway.

To carry secret and safe, I would recommend possibly buying the next size larger pants to give you more room for IWB carry if you need the extra room, then be sure to use a proper holster that secures the pistol well, and finally, you NEED a good gun belt. I get mine from http://www.thebeltman.net/, but there are lots of people who make good gun belts.
Naturally, you'll want to wear looser shirts once you've got it all in place, and with a loose shirt, you can even tuck it in if you want if you use a "tuckable" IWB holster.

Now after doing all that, you should be good to go concealed even with a fat revolver, BUT, with open-carry coming to your state, do all that anyway but don't worry if you do print occasionally because you will no longer be "breaking any laws" due to the new carry law.

[ISCS Yoda]

Guys, I made a mistake in this post and I apologize. But first:

Now don't get me wrong, I am opposed to open carry for practical reasons and will never do it myself, and I will argue how truly stupid it is to open carry in most populated areas. I'll explain my position on that if asked at a later time.

I just wanted to note my agreement with that statement from Decker.

My mistake above was that I gave the impression that I am inexperienced in carrying firearms and that is simply not the case. I'm probably older than most of you and I've been carrying concealed firearms long before the CHL law was passed in Texas. So I apologize.

Also, as a lawyer, I know how easy it is to hide a gun under a suit coat. However, as an old lawyer, I go to work every day in jeans, a light shirt in summer, and maybe a heavier one in winter, and very often I wear a vest because it's part of my cowboy persona - I have dozens of vests, some of which are very flashy but are not long, very much "waistcoat" length. Only IWB concealment works with those. OWB works well with longer vests.

Note - I am pretty doggone short and sadly pretty much overweight - so there are some size issues. I only wear the highest quality gunbelts that money can buy, handmade for me by Murray Leather when I wear a 1.5" belt or El Paso Saddlery in 1.25" configuration. And I already have a huge box full of holsters, both for various guns (I have a lot of carry guns; this is not new stuff for me, although my EDC is a 642 in a pocket holster) or various methods of concealment. That said, here's the deal - I can carry, totally concealed - any of the following guns under a vest:

Any 2 inch revolver, J frame or K frame, maybe even 2.5" like my Model 19. IWB or OWB but due to my present waist size IWB is uncomfortable.

Any small frame pistol up to and through a 6906 sized handgun. IWB is less uncomfortable with a flat, medium sized pistol. OWB is a breeze.

A couple of years ago on a winter driving trip I carried a Model 27 4" concealed under my coat as I drove but it was well nigh impossible to hide when I got out of my car. A full sized 9mm climbs so high in a typical pancake holster that no vest I wear can conceal it. In both cases I find those full sized guns to simply be a size burden, not necessarily a weight burden.

So that's why I asked this question, and I appreciate the various comments and advice and again, I am sorry for not being more clear.

Everything folks have said is true but I know I have not seen the solution for myself if I want to carry my 2.5" M686+ (the 2.5" M19 is way easier) or a 4" N frame or a full sized/service sized pistol.

Y'all are just better at it than I am! I admit it!

John Bianchi, of course, is better than everyone!