Free Republic Gun Club – Concealed Means Concealed

8/5/08 | self

[Pistolshot]

Free Republic Gun Club – Concealed Means Concealed

You finally have your CCW permit. Now what?
You’ve qualified, shot the course of fire, did all the paperwork, made the conscious decision to protect yourself. Now what? Holsters.

The one mistake I see novice CCW permit holders make is the ‘hand-check. They consciously keep reaching for where the gun is in its holster. It’s a dead giveaway. I have more than once walked up to a permit holder and ask them why they keep checking to see if the gun is still there. If it’s in a secure holster and you’ve done the job of checking the mirror that, yes, it is concealed.

LEAVE IT ALONE.

Concealed mean the ability to hide a weapon where it can be reached and employed in the quickest manner possible. THAT NO ONE ELSE KNOWS IS THERE..

Deep concealment is for law enforcement, so let’s dispense with the ankle holsters, waist band, bra, garter, and other deep concealment holsters. They are S L O W. Slow to access and slow if you need it right now.

For anyone who has a CCW permit, you’ve had to make a lot of choices. What kind of gun to carry, caliber, and especially, how to carry it and still have it quickly accessible. What I am going to talk about today are holsters. The one item you can never have too many for carry.

We all have our favorites or the ones we rely on for almost every day usage. But there is a difference between carrying in cooler northern environments and the hot desert of the Southwest, between the jeans and a shirt and a suit or in the case of women, dresses, skirts, and blouses. The environment alone will determine what you carry as well as how. For most guys a good strong side holster inside the waist will be sufficient such as the Summer Special

or the Milt Sparks Executive Companion

My favorite for autos is the Biachi Pistol Pocket.

The PP covers just about everything I need in a good IWB holster and has one feature that has me sold on it for all my autos. The buckle has a swivel to change the cant of the holster. It can be shifted to crossdraw or deep behind the hip. It has a nice thumbsnap to help with keeping the weapon secure at any angle or even a tumble if you fall.

Ok, so these are a little more pricey that you’d like to spend on a IWB holster. Well, Galco has this little number.

It covers the tire weapon and is secure.

What about revolvers?

Also from Galco.
But a word of caution on IWB for revolvers. The cylinder is going to poke and rub against you. It will be uncomfortable. For revolvers I suggest a high rise thumbsnap such as the Bianchi Black widow.

Now, I didn’t forget the ladies. Galco has a couple of holster purses that work well with almost any size firearm.

These are not the only modes of carry. There are crossdraw, shoulder, ankle, small of the back or pocket holsters depending on what you want to carry. The crossdraw has you reaching across your body, similarly the shoulder rig does the same. Both modes are secure, but both have extreme drawbacks. If you are wider around the middle, or especially endowed on top, a shoulder rig or the crossdraw may not be your best choice.

Pocket holsters are great for the mouse guns or something along the Kahr/Kel-Tec lines, but for anything bigger, a proper holster should be employed.

Small of the back holster are nice IF you are not driving. Something about even a small pistol sticking you in the back while driving down the highway doesn’t sound too appealing. Fanny packs are out there, but a word of caution. Most law-enforcement officers pick them out quickly and a LOT of the criminal element take a fanny pack as a challenge.

These are not the only choices you have in a holster, just the ones I would recommend. You can find holsters almost anyplace, garage sales, flea-markets, and especially gunshows. I, personally have about 100 different types of holsters. Some work well…..others….well….they make good examples of what not to wear.

What do you like to use? Remember this is for concealment.

Enjoy

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[Uri’el-2012]

Here is one option

[Joe Brower]

For the FreeRepublic "banglist", please click HERE .

[contrarian]

I have 6 holsters of varying arrangments. I also have 2 T-shirt holsters to wear under a loose shirt and 3 511 shirts with hidden velcro pockets in which I can carry my Kimber ultraraptor 45 or my Glock 27 with no printing or discomfort.

[B4Ranch]

>Cross body went out of favor with the cops and most self defense guru’s sometime ago. The thought is that it gives the bad guy a chance to pin your are across you.<

The solution that I was taught is to sit down, draw and shoot upwards. If you still have to, turn your body to align with the perp.

[MtnClimber]

Here is my Para Ordnance 12.45 LDA which is a doublestack 45ACP holding 12+1 rounds. It is in a Milt Sparks Versa Max II holster. I have the normal belt loops on it, but can switch to kydex "Shirt Tucker" clips that allow your shirt to be tucked in over the gun and holster. I find the kydex clips to be somewhat difficult to use. I use this in winter with a sweater or jacket as a cover garment. In summer I usually carry this Kahr MK40 which is the compact, all steel .40 cal model. I carry it in my Right, Front pocket in a Desantis Nemesis pocket holster.

[Conservative4Life]

As a licensed LEO, I would suggest looking into some law enforcement equipment sites also one of my favorites is Botachtactical.com (sorry, not too good doing links) as well as sportsmansguide.com they are both really good at getting you started and have frequent sales of holsters and shooting supplies.

[Dead Corpse]

Nothing "thin built" about me. 5' 10" 245lbs with a 50" chest and a 40" waistline. Sue me, I had a weightlifting habit for a decade or two.

For the most part, slacks and dress shirts during working hours (IT Director). Was tempted to use my laptop carry bag, but it's already got too much in it as it is.

[Mr. Lucky]

I've sworn never to go near Philadelphia at all.

Jeez, without Philadelphia ther ain't a whole lot of crime in Pennsylvania, is there?

[MtnClimber]

Some things I have noticed: Smartcarry/Thunderwear as well as pocket holsters cause your gun to be hard to access when seated (restaraunt or driving for example). Inside waist band is easier to access, but can become painful while driving.

[NFHale]

Summer carry is tough, but baggy shorts w/moderately deep pockets work well. I just dump the SW642 (.38 Special +P) in an Uncle Mike’s pocket holster in there, and carry some extra speed loaders in the other pocket.

Works well. It’s lightweight, points well, and goes bang with enough punch to do what it needs to do. Similar to a Model 36 snubbie, but not as heavy (it’s alloy).

If I need to wear jeans, well, again, I make sure that they’re loose-fitting enough to be able to conceal. Also have a KelTec .380 - works well enough, but it’s a weak round. But I’d say that it looks like a HOWITZER when you’re looking at the muzzle end of it.

Fanny packs - No way...just...no way...

As for “Mexican” style - never quite got used to the idea of a firearm pointing at my johnson....even WITH an empty chamber. Bought a “Thunderwear” rig some years back, and tried it out a few times. Tough to get to the piece that way, especially under stress.

The pocket holster is the way to go (IMHO) if you can’t have a hip-paddle.

Winter/fall/spring is much easier for CCW...

[Diggler]

It’s a concealed carry permit, not a hunting license!

:D

[mad_as_he$$]

Sounds like a good solution. I will try next practice time.

[NFHale]

“...and I’ve sworn to never go near Philadelphia at all...”

Concealed Carry in Philadelphia is LEGAL with a PA CCW. ReGARDLESS of what Chief Thugramsey and Mayor Thugnutter say. The Uniform Firearms Act made the law the same throughout ALL of PA, in spite of what the DemoComm fascists want.

Carry where you NEED it, brother. Just be circumspect and discreet.

LFOD

[thefactor]

your wifes mode of carry is BAD, IMHO.

a purse snatcher would get a nice surprise. also, women have been known to leave their handbags in dressing rooms, coffee shops, movie theaters, cars, restaurants, etc...

i'm not saying she would, but the women i know would be better off with a secure holster somewhere on their person.

[TexasRedeye]

Thanks for your opinion!

[ExSoldier]

All thru my Sr year of college and in the military I carried OWB in either Bianchi or Safariland. I finally discovered the advantages to IWB in Milt Sparks and much later I found Sam Andrews (who became a personal friend). But as my belt line grew IWB became a double edged sword, offering superb concealment but much discomfort as the butt started to to gore my love handles turned into lifting bars. The solution came along in the way of so called "sweat guards." Then along came KYDEX and one of the first and arguably still the best of those brands is BLADE TECH and I have many of their holsters which I find utterly comfortable but still tended to drag my pants low. Only in the last six or eight months have I discovered the perfect IWB holster that won't drag my pants low, that is 100% comfy and concealable without an extra cover garment here in Miami, FL. That it's run by Christians is a bonus. I refer to CROSSBREED. Their premium holster is the SUPER TUCK DELUXE and I have purchased two of them, so far. Costing much less than others of comparable quality I paid about $60 for my first and they offer a two week trial and a money back guarantee.

Finally, while I love FR and spend much time here I also spend a lot of time (under the same screen name) over at DEFENSIVE CARRY. The rules there are strict in standards of conduct: NO FLAME WARS or foul language will be tolerated. But it's a great place for talk on guns. Everybody hangs there, all levels of skill and all backgrounds. Lots of cops and soldiers/marines and every day folks, including a lot of the gals. The MODS are awesome and very responsive. Can't say enough good stuff about the site.

[B4Ranch]

I saw a picture of a handgun a couple of months ago that someone had modified by adding a belt clip to the gun itself. No holster needed! Modified Mexican carry, I suppose.

Now just how good that would be if you were sitting down or running I have no idea.

[CodeToad]

” it seems that 99% of people don’t wouldn’t notice a fire engine about to run them down so I don’t worry about it.
“

lol. So true. I carry often and I doubt anyone has ever noticed it is peeked out from under a shirt of printed through one.

[CodeToad]

“Back holsters are not nice - they are dangerous. Never, ever wear your gun on your back or behind the hip. This is not a comfort issue. I’m surprised anyone who has been around guns would say that it is acceptable when every expert will say that it is not.”

Define “expert”.

[BigBlueJon]

I’m saving up for one of these right now....never used them, but have read great reviews.

Comp-Tac
http://67.52.203.44/