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33 Comments

  1. I usually carry a Colt Combat Commander with the same type of shirts you describe, and it works great for me. I do have to hold my left arm a bit closer on windy days. My two spare magazines are a bit farther back on the right side, so they usually don’t show when the wind blows. On the really windy days, I only button up the bottom one and undo it when I go inside inside. I have spotted a few people printing in our Church too. It is also a good idea to go through “poses” that you normally do, such as leaning on a door jam or squatting down to check for printing. It seems more than a couple of people don’t think about that.

  3. When I carry IWB, I carry on my left hip, crossdraw. Less likely to “print”, especially when bending over.

    I have an Maxpedition shoulder “turse” (tactical purse) for my usual everyday carry. Not the same model as a “FatBoy”, but close. Well worth the money. “Tastes great, lasts a long time”.
    It’s big enough to carry my checkbooks, “wallet” items (cash, plastic, IDs, etc), small kindle, and some misc reading material; PLUS there is an easily accessed rear zippered pocket to hold my pistol (S&W 40) and a side pocket to carry two extra magazines.
    I carry it everywhere, and no one gives me, or it, a second look. The only places I don’t carry are where there are magnetic gates. Don’t care how well concealed you are, you can’t hide steel from a magnet.

  4. Bravo Concealment for many models especially Glocks (though not Glock 30 or 21). I carry a Glock 21 in a First Spear (TapRack) and it conceals easily under an untucked shirt.

  5. I have come to notice that most people are completely oblivious to there surroundings. I am sure there are those who are not but I have yet to have someone stop me and say “Hey, you are printing, you might want to fix that.” So if they realize what it is, either they don’t care or think I am an moron and move on silently. I happen to carry in an OWB on my right hip with an oversized t-shirt or button down short similar to Pat, but I also wear an under shirt so that my pistol does not rub me raw. I am sure that some of my body movements do cause me to print. But like I said, if you have a few minutes to watch people, whether at a mall, restaurant, coffee shop, where ever it is they are, this is what I see.
    1. Looking at their phone.

    2. Talking with a companion.

    3. Concentrating on task at hand. (shopping, ordering, etc…)

    4. Lastly, just lost in thought.

    Very few people are actively observing there surroundings or making eye contact with other people beyond a cursory glance. So if I happen to print a little I don’t think it is a cardinal sin as it is made out to be.

  6. I have been carrying a Taurus 85 (with a Crimson Trace laser grip to compensate for the short barrel) in a Galco ankle holster for the past 10 years. I can do everything I normally do without printing or discomfort. I highly recommend it.

  7. I’ve seen more and more open carry lately. While I’m not opposed to this, I personally do not want anyone knowing I am armed so I carry concealed. I’ve bought all kinds of holsters both inside the waist band (IWB) and outside the waist band. I’ve switched between compact and full sized all in an effort to find the best fit for me personally. For my outside the waist band I currently use a standard leather belt holster that fits my Kahr CT9 perfectly. I just throw a heavy button down (long sleeve) shirt over my tee-shirt and I go to town. During the hotter months when I’m in shorts and just a tee-shirt I have an IWB holster for my Ruger LC9 that rides about the 4 o’clock position on my right hip. I never see any printing from this set-up and drawing the gun is relatively easy. The holster is a soft material and is quite comfortable.  I have more expensive Kydex holsters, but they all in some way or another dig into me and are uncomfortable. I’ve tried the pocket holsters, the Bulldog holster and I’ve even invested in a neoprene belt holster to give it a try. So now that I’ve invested in a FN 509 that is a pleasure to shoot, I’ll look for ways to see if I can comfortably conceal carry this gun. Until then I’ll stick with my two single stack pistols mentioned above.

  8. As a well-endowed woman, the belly band works great. You have to cinch it up so the gun is below your breast, and it fits in the natural space between be your body and clothes.

    The girdle/holster combination is great for when you have to wear a dress. I have even used this for formal events.

  9. Good discussion Pat. I often realize that at my age and height, my profile is more like an olive on a toothpick. Strapping on a OWB belt carry really is pronounced printing, so IWB is best for CC.

    I’ve tried Galco and a few others, and three different models of Alien Gear holsters, which is a company in the Redoubt zone.

    Two of the three Alien Gear holsters I don’t like, but their IWB hits a home run for me. It fits snug but not tight, is a hybrid with comfort next to my body yet good security and adjustable holding tightness, and is very comfortable for my 18-round 9mm to wear all day and night. I’ve used it as a student in shooting range classes for two years for concealed draw and carry techniques now, and and it is my EDC. I have to drive frequently and it works well for fitting inside my seatbelt, as well as getting in and out of vehicles. I still rate it highly.

  10. Your distant cousin may have been stupid but ‘Letting Everyone See’ is not necessarily stupid.

    Open carry accomplishes something that hiding doesn’t. Concealed carry is supported by the 2nd Amendment. But open carry supports the 2nd Amendment. BIG difference.

    If everyone open-carried liberty-destroying politicians would think twice before they passed gun control laws. Fake Americans would not pee their pants at the sight of a handgun. And most of the concealed carry industry would not be necessary.

    Of course it’s easy to say for some old coot in Montana. But maybe we should stop hiding and ‘come out of the closet’ and grow some… Ridiculous you say? Homosexuals had the guts to do exactly that. Not an endorsement, just saying.

    1. Roger:
      Open carry in the big city is a big “shoot me first” sign. They can tell by the way you walk that they should not mess with you. They just don’t exactly know why. Doubt inspires caution.
      RV

    2. Roger D:

      Not sure about your “come out of the closet and grow some” comment, but I can surely say that I don’t feel the need to display a weapon to confirm my manhood. Open carry will most assuredly invite a bullet to your chest should a situation develop. Those who advocate for putting on display your defensive options seem misinformed to me. I’ll keep my options to myself and certainly won’t tip any adversary as to what could be unleashed should the need arise.

  11. As a female in a warm climate, I have so much trouble figuring out how to handle this. I am NOT well endowed, anywhere, except in my height. I’ve slimmed down in recent months, so I don’t have much fat to help me out. And I am fairly young, so I wear fairly tight fitting clothes. I also make almost all my clothes or modify them to work for my height. I am wanting ideas. The pistol I carry is a very compact pistol, which is good. I have been carrying in the pocket of my shorts. Since I’m mostly on the farm, it doesn’t really matter if someone sees it as much, but with customers coming to the farm, I’d rather not intimidate them. The bigger thing is not interfering with my work. I sweat a lot, and I do a lot of lifting and hard physical labor. Oh, and because it’s so hot, I very often run around in just a sports bra. I keep a shirt handy in case someone drives up. It’s not a perfect solution and I’m looking for more ideas. Maybe there isn’t just one solution. Maybe when I go away from home, I should carry in a belt with a shirt over it. But at home, carry it in my pocket. I can totally make whatever I need, I just need to figure out where to tuck it.

  12. Don’t know if any of my farmer friends have thought about this, but if I’m wearing my overalls, which is generally all but one or two days out of the month, I use a belly band. Now, I don’t wear it down on my gut, like advertised, I wear it between chest and belly. I leave the button on my shirt at the weapon level unbuttoned, with the gun right in front of my heart; and it is behind the bibs of the overalls so it is concealed. I find I generally sit with my hands inside my overalls quite a bit, (anyone who has worn overalls has) and I can lace my fingers under the bibs and they automatically set on my chest where the gun is located. No one knows anything, it looks like I’m just lounging back in the chair. It is very easy to pull when needed and the bulk of the bibs completely hides it and there is little to no chance of printing. I have even pocket carried with a small holster in my pocket, but the chest band is the handiest for me. The only problem I’ve had is with body sweat, and I more often than not have to wipe down the gun every night.

  13. Younger sister wears a ” belly band ” ? It’s a stretchy piece of stiff fabric with velcro on the ends, tan colored which seems to blend in case it gets temporarily exposed.

    It has ambidextrous pockets so you can even wear it for a cross draw and keep a spare mag in the other pocket. Held a Taurus 730 fairly secure. She bought a Glock 42 in hopes of having something a little bit smaller but unfortunately it keeps stovepiping.

    There’s a YouTube video of a very petite young woman who has several options for carrying. She does a very good job of concealing regardless of what she’s wearing however think it’s best to stick with one carry method for muscle memory

  15. I love the sneaky pete holsters Im a home health nurse often working in the hood so people think its just a nurse device its got a magnetic cover but I practice drawing and shooting so ive got it down as well as I can for me The only time ive been asked about it are friends that carry carrys well outside my scrubs

  16. I agree that most people are oblivious. Here in NH we have constitutional carry, and it is quite common to see open carry. I prefer to carry concealed and like L.L.Bean button down short sleeve shirts. I normally wear a large, but the large tall fits me in the shoulders the same and gives me a good 4-5″ of additional length that works extremely well. They’re not cheap but wear like iron. I keep it buttoned, but have spent LOTS of range time and have developed the muscle memory to get sights-on quickly.

  17. I carry open and never concealed but I live in Oklahoma where men are men and aren’t ashamed that they have an EVIL gun. I have carried open for about a dozen years and have never once had a negative comment from someone who saw me with my gun on my hip but I’ve gotten dozens and dozens of positive comments from everyday citizens and especially a lot of positive comments from business owners or managers as I was doing business with them while carrying open. In my environment it’s just simply no big deal running around with a gun strapped to my hip and frankly I wouldn’t live in a state where it was. I also feel like I’m doing my part to help people to get used to seeing a firearm without freaking out. And I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times some good ole boy or gal wants to stop me and talk guns. What I have noticed though is that about ninety percent of the folks that I encounter never even notice that I’m carrying. It’s easy to tell by watching their eyes. And finally I feel good knowing that I am representing the typical gun owner (an ambassador of sorts) and because I am representing a carrying gun owner I make sure that I’m extra polite and friendly and courteous so that when someone later hears about how dangerous people are who carry guns, maybe that person will think “Gosh I just met a guy in the restaurant the other day who had a gun on his side and he was really a nice guy.” Don’t be intimidated, try carrying open for just one week and see how people respond to you. You will be pleasantly surprised. But then again I guess that depends on which state you live in.

  18. Hawaiian shirts, untucked and two sizes too large, can hide two bazookas. Even on 100+ degree days, I carry two full-sized Glocks, and one spare magazine behind each pistol (OWB) because I learned that I’m not too thick to reach a spare on the far side if one hand/arm is out of commission. The load balances perfectly and I have zero back issues this way. Sometimes oblivious people compliment my wild shirts, not knowing that this old man is a squad problem inside 50 meters. IWB holsters invite nerve problems down the road.
    Open carry is…..not helpful, because the people in public places that you scare the snot out of…..VOTE. May not matter in WY, ID, MT, UT….most people there have bark on them.
    Waving AR-15s at rallies helps the Left “prove” how unstable and dangerous you are. Leave the camo at home, wear a suit and tie. Don’t try to out-crazy the Left.

  19. As a female I carry two ways. As a backup to my .45acp, I carry a Sig P238 .380 ACP in a Flash Bang bra holster. With a couple of simple modifications, it works great and my weapon is so well concealed that I have actually hugged many friends and family and they never knew. Also, I carry my Sig P938 .9mm in a Flash Bang holster as well. The holsters are surprisingly comfortable, easily concealed, provide easy access (with practice), and very safe for the carrier. Not to mention your weapon is on your person and thus an extension of your body.

      1. I thought it was funny too. Most bad guys have a different concept in mind when they see a lady lift up her shirt. It’s actually quite effective. I bought one of these for my daughter (and her LCP). Quite honestly, if the woman is not at least a “B” cup, it’s not going to work very well. While the concept is sound, most men’s eyes have a habit of roaming to that location anyway. If it doesn’t conceal well, it will be spotted quickly.

        1. “Most bad guys have a different concept in mind when they see a lady lift up her shirt.”

          that probably will buy her a couple of seconds extra reaction time.

          “it will be spotted quickly.”

          … nah. people see what they’re expecting, and also have a hard time seeing what they’re not expecting.

    2. Laugh it up guys! I will neutralize you before you realize what has happened! Ha! And yes, there has to be enough upstairs to make this work. Those of us who are “blessed” can both conceal our blessings and our curses while carrying this off quite nicely thank you very much!

  20. I carry a Ruger LCP in a leather pocket holster in my front pants/shorts pocket (spare mag in another pocket).To the untrained eye it prints like a wallet, but if you look close you can see the shape of the grip/pinky extension. I fought for years with various holsters/carry methods for full-size and even compact handguns. There are drawbacks of pocket carry but I find it’s the most realistic way to carry. I’ll take a tiny .380 over being unarmed due to discomfort.

  21. While I figure out how to “carry”, I have utilized a few tools that I already had in my wardrobe.

    First, the pistol I’m carrying is super compact. It’s a beretta 21 bobcat. The barrel, through my clothes, appears to be one of those compact pocket flashlights. Laid side by side, it is the same thickness, roundness and length. Obviously the grip adds another dimension, but in the curve of my hip, I can usually place it so it isn’t as visible, so outside of my clothes, the only the barrel contour is showing.

    The piece of clothing that I have utilized is what I call a “shirt extension.” I take a thrift store women’s stretchy shirt, cut it off right below the arm pits, make a casing, and insert a piece of elastic. I made these because I am so tall, and I needed a way to conceal my midriff, since all the shirts seemed to be short. Pregnant girls often use them also. They are called belly bands. They will often leave their zipper unzipped and cover with one of these. Basically, when you wear this piece, it appears to be an undershirt. But because I live in the hot south, I very often am doing good to wear one layer of shirt on top. Having this piece has enabled me to carry the pistol in a front pocket, and it looks like I have a pocket flashlight. Actually, I very often carry a pocket flashlight in the opposite pocket, along with my breath spray, and it appears to be symmetrical. Because I am young, I often wear clingy clothing. It seems to be my style as of late.

    That’s where I am right now in this journey. Still learning.

  22. I’m a fat, half-crippled old guy who has lived his entire life (carrying concealed for most of it) in the sweltering hot deep south. 9/10ths of the time my wardrobe consists of shorts, T-shirt, & flip-flops. Here’s what works for me: A Glock 27 with a Streamlight laser/light combo attached, carried in my right front pocket WITHOUT a holster. Just put it in the pocket, and remember to never put anything else in that pocket! The laser/light combo breaks up the outline of the gun, leaving a squared outline like a wallet or a phone. I can stand with my hands in my pockets all day long and no one realizes I have 10 rounds of .40 in the palm of my hand. It takes a little time and practice to learn to draw while seated, but it works well for me. If i’m going to a shady area, I put my .38 snubby BUG in the left front pocket as well.

  23. Been carrying over 40 yrs and gone through several stages. When young, especially in the summer, I would often stuff a small 38 with pachmayr’s really low between 2:30 & 4:00 position & even with no shirt on at all, it was almost invisible. (short piece carried deep was the key & the hooked end of small 38 pachmayr’s with a tight belt and I never worried it would ever slide past the belt, down my pants leg). Lousy draw, but having it was more important back then than “being ready”.

    But after an incident 20+ years ago, I will NEVER carry a revolver for protection again! If I’m gonna start a fight, I’m gonna be certain I have enough fire power to finish it and the only way you can reasonably do that is with a high capacity firearm & at least one extra high capacity mag.. giving you nearly 40 rounds on your person. Think cover fire & you realize a revolver is empty by the time you gain cover.

    Plus as the world becomes more dangerous, I now only carry the more comfy 2:30 to 4 o’clock position when at home or outdoors away from strangers. When in town, I now solely carry appendix. My Beretta 84 (.380) takes little thought & I never worry about printing, even with just a t-shirt on.

    But more & more I’m feeling the need to truly “be ready” and now mostly only carry a Beretta 92 compact, which is no small piece to hide or carry. Normal carry is with a K-rounds appendix kydex holster (check it out, it is like no other appendix carry holster). You can easily move the holster around & I swivel it down deep (with the mag pointing up toward my right ear) and it somewhat comfortably presses into & disappears into my now bigger gut and as long as an out-of-pants shirt or t-shirt doesn’t fit tight around my gut, it has a zero print profile. Plus in unusual instances when the need arises (windy, etc) you don’t draw attention by carrying your hand or hands in front of you.

    Why appendix? It’s the absolute easiest way not to print; I can swivel the Krounds holster to a more comfy position when I get back in the car; and most of all… I don’t think twice now about someone behind me seeing my piece print (at 3 or 4 o’clock) and a couple guys possibly shoving me up against a wall & disarming me.

    Quite simply, I’m now ready to take care of business pretty quickly; I always feel like I’m in control of my piece; 9mm 147gr hst rounds have great penetration & stopping power; and depending on the situation, the at least one and sometimes two extra high capacity mags I carry in my pocket insure my confidence that I can finish anything I start.

    And I realize it sounds a little cheesy, but in the most delicate of all situations, I will still consider no holster at all, appendix carry, with the muzzle shoved into my shorts.. is prob the absolute most hidden way to carry. But of course you gotta remember I carry a super safe Beretta… I would NEVER carry a friggin glock appendix unless I had a gunsmith add a real safety to it. Seriously guys & gals… if you aren’t 1,000% certain you can never have a misfire accident, you have no business carrying concealed! Good luck & stay safe!

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