How do you conceal your large handgun?

[Protected One]

Been in Law Enforcement since I was 23...While in the patrol division in St. Louis the regulation was ..Armed anytime you were in the City..St.L. is hot very little grass a lot of concrete and almost all houses were brick..I remember the year 68 when we had 100+ day after day...Carrying a off duty was a chore multiplied by the heat..No semi auto's then colt or SW snub nose was it..I am 5'9" 155lbs and I never really mastered the concealed carry....I am now 75 and the same weight but I think I have shrunk a inch still don't carry a concealed carry pistol very well..Mental I guess...Best I have found so far is a shield in a IWB holster..I have a high dollar IWB holster for my PPK-s that works OK...I love my BHP that I wear on occasion with one of Rays belt-slide holsters that works well but you have to have a over-shirt..Not bad but shirt must be a little large..I feel like a sign saying gun aboard...Doesn't show most of the time but due to my small waist the grip can print...I keep trying to find the perfect solution to no avail as of yet....I have the Shield that with the right holster just might work.....Now to find someone that has the perfect holster to try out...I have to many different perfect holsters hanging out now..I have given holsters away and still have don't use holsters laying about.

Tagua makes a nice 4 in 1 holster for the Shield. I took the clip off because I only use it for OWB, and it works great. I'd already found a great IWB holster at a gun show.

BTW. Did you happen to know a St. Louis officer named Jim Harrison? He formed & worked the special squad back then that brought in the "hard case" arrest.(Prior to SWAT Teams)

 

[Protected One]

Like this:

What's that you're carrying there, Rastoff?

 

[Rastoff]

What's that you're carrying there, Rastoff?

Um, it's a gun.

Ah, OK, seriously though (wipes tear away from laughing so hard) it's a Commander sized 1911, but in a holster big enough for a full sized. I have no trouble concealing it. One day I'll get the right size holster for it.

 

[Stephanie B]

Colt Series 80 GM in a DeSantis cozy-partner holster.

I wear oversized t-shirts anyway.

 

[Donn]

I've got a Crossbreed Super Tuck for my 1911 and M&P's. They do the trick to a point. The large grip will always require extra attention. Bend down to tie your shoe and there it is.

 

[jimmyj]

Lobo OWB Pancake with cover shirt, vest, or jacket/coat
Lobo IWB Enhanced.
Sometimes IWB cross Draw

 

[Rick_A]

"Concealed Carry Tips: How to Stop Worrying About PRINTING" by Chris Baker

 

[george minze]

Nobody gives an old fart in a cowboy hat and vest a second thought in Wyoming.

That vest covers a lot of "sins". Chronic Dunlop's Syndrome, hidden guns, S'penders and I don't know whut all!!!

I carry N frame revolvers in belt holsters all the time.


If you ain't familiar with Dunlop's Syndrome, that's when your belly dun lopped over your belt buckle.

IGGY...HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THAT HOLSTER....I LOVE IT......IT HAS CHARACTER AND IS WELL DONE....Normally I don't like exposed triggers, however if I had that holster I would have to immediately go out and buy a revolver that fit.....

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

There is a lot of good advice in this thread, so I'm going to try and not just repeat...

I carry IWB pretty much all the time with a T shirt and a unbuttoned shirt in the fall/spring, a untucked t shirt in the summer and the "winter" here is short so normally a t shirt with jacket.

Tend to avoid "gun" clothes, but a clip knife can be a giveaway in a bigger town near me while in the town I go to mostly if you don't have a clip knife you'll stand out!

BTW: I tend to carry more mid sized guns like a 2" model 10, a compact .45 3rd gen, but just bought 4567 (a Colt commander sized 3rd gen.) that will get some carry time.

 

[george minze]

Tagua makes a nice 4 in 1 holster for the Shield. I took the clip off because I only use it for OWB, and it works great. I'd already found a great IWB holster at a gun show.

BTW. Did you happen to know a St. Louis officer named Jim Harrison? He formed & worked the special squad back then that brought in the "hard case" arrest.(Prior to SWAT Teams)

there was three special units in St. Louis Metro,,,,,SOD, Mobile reserve, and the major Case Unit that had it's beginnings as the Metro Squad..The SOD was by far the most shall we say interesting unit as they did get the hots. they would dress up to look like street people and sort of put themselves in hot armed robbery areas..One of the major magazines wrote them up and from what I heard they had to, shall we say dispose of some bad guys during that period....Before my time....Or so I heard...

 

[dullh]

I carried my full-size M&P 45 all weekend in an Intruder IWB holster under a one-size-too-big untucked polo...I routinely carry my 45c and full-size M&P nine in this same fashion, too. They don't print.

The right holster, the right belt and a one size larger shirt does the trick every time. Unless one makes physical contact with me they don't know I am wearing a handgun.

I eschew "mouse guns" because at 6'2" and 245 pounds I can conceal anything short of a full size Desert Eagle...and if I tried I could probably conceal one of those, too...

 

[Iggy]

IGGY...HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THAT HOLSTER....I LOVE IT......IT HAS CHARACTER AND IS WELL DONE....Normally I don't like exposed triggers, however if I had that holster I would have to immediately go out and buy a revolver that fit.....

About a month. Dave Keith, on this forum, built it while he was doing some work on the gun.

 

[Old cop]

I'm a big person (6' 2", 200 lbs.) but never mastered the carrying a full sized gun thing off-duty or in retirement. If worn OWB what do you do when it's too warm or the cover garment needs to be removed? I've tried a sweater under a jacket but cannot stand them in a restaurant or movie theater, just too warm. Pocket or IWB has worked for well over 40 yrs.

 

[diyj98]

(unless your gun is a NAA tucked inside a jock strap)

Don't knock jock strap carry, it's the way I carry my 629

 

[JohnSW]

I am seldom dressed in a manner that I think will keep the handgun thoroughly concealed

I suppose wearing a big down jacket in Texas would look suspicious.

 

[BAM-BAM]

For years .... in the Big City (Steelerburgh) business casual was the thing unless you were going to court (which in my practice means I've really, really F'd up.. LOL)

Clients never came to the office......I got away with tan LL Bean jeans open neck shirts and a nice Harris tweed/herringbone sports-coats and Bean desert boots...(Bean also made some nice Summer weight "jackets")... perfect for a Walther PPK in the 80s or my 3913 since 1990.

For the past 10 years I've worked/consulted from home..... jams and fuzzy slippers.... unless .... I gots to go meet with the CEO/CFO.... I've come to hate ties!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Protected One]

Um, it's a gun.

Ah, OK, seriously though (wipes tear away from laughing so hard) it's a Commander sized 1911, but in a holster big enough for a full sized. I have no trouble concealing it. One day I'll get the right size holster for it.

Very funny. Colt? Smith? Springfield?

 

[thomasinaz]

For concealed carry of these medium to large pistols, 2 things are necessary; IWB holsters and good sized covering shirts. Bigger waist size pants help in the comfort area also...... Most of us who have been carrying for more than a couple years have that big box-o-holsters, from trial and error looking for the perfect carry gear. After 25+ years of this I've settled on IWB holsters and untucked shirts.

 

[SW01SS]

Im a small guy at 5'9" 150lbs. My full size 5" 1911 hides away easily with a shirt one size too big for me.

Wearing a proper sized shirt, it conceals no problem standing up right. But any bend, kneel, dip, ect. and it prints. To me it prints pretty bad, but I know most people throughout day to day life aren't going to notice something they're not trying to notice, so it may not be as bad as I think. But it still bothers me. Thats wearing a black shirt too, lighter shirts print worse. I am however, using a junk iwb holster and no gun belt. So I can still improve things quite a bit and possibly make it hide completely even in a regular sized shirt if I get better equipment.

When it gets a little cooler out wearing two shirts or a jacket makes it a piece of cake to conceal.

 

[Biggfoot44]

What Lobo said.

The order of importance is : Clothes , belt , holster. With any CCW a degree of care about bending over , streatching the wrong way , etc is required. With a medimum large to large gun in general will need to click that up a notch.

Medimum dressy aka business casual aka Dockers with tucked polo shirt is probably the most challenging mode of dress.going a step more casual OR a step more formal can improve things. How Rick dresses ( loose dark Tee shirt, and jeans or cargo pants clean in good repair is typical apearence for a casually dressed 20somthing or 30somthing. A square tailed sport shirt is a step dressier , and not uncommon for casual-ish wear for all age groups.

IWB's are love/ hate. For some people (ie me, but I'm not alone) most IWB's are a torture device. The overall ht and wt of someone isn't a guide , and has to do with subtle differences in body shape. *For me* the difference between Commander-ish length , and full size 1911 requires a pancake of just the right angle , and carefully selected shirt.

Vests depend on you , and the environment. Some people can naturally pull them off , some can't.

It's been mentioned by some that they make a decision that it is more important to them to wear certain clothes than to carry a large gun. Hey , we live in a semi-free country, hurrah for personal choice !