Back in the day, when I lived in Chicago, I worked as a Private Investigator for a lot of years. I usually carried either my S&W Model 686 4″ barrel revolver, or my Ruger Security Six 4″ barrel revolver – both .357 Magnum guns, plus a couple spare speed loaders. I found that I could more easily conceal those big revolvers in shoulder holsters instead of belt holsters under my suit jacket. I also packed some kind of .38 Special snubby revolver in an ankle holster as a back-up. Unlike the police, I couldn’t call for back-up if something went south, so having a back-up gun was reassuring, to say the least.
Whenever I worked late night stake-outs, I’d wear one of my big revolvers in a belt holster when I was in casual dress – it worked well for me. Still, concealing big revolvers was a challenge back then – in the 1970s and 1980s – we didn’t have the great holster selections back then, that we have today, so we made due as best we could with what we had.
Today, I rarely wear a shoulder holster for some reason. I don’t know why, I always found them comfortable – after a two-week break-in period – just like it is with most new holster – you’re body has to get used to ’em. These days, I can usually be found wearing my main gun on some sort of belt holster and my back-up gun, still resides in an ankle holster.
I received a “shoulder” holster from Deep Conceal, LLC for test and evaluation, and to report my findings to SurvivalBlog readers. Now, the Deep Conceal carry holster isn’t your typical shoulder holster, as I found out when I opened the brown envelope it was mailed to me in. I didn’t think there was a holster of any sort in this mailing envelope. I was more than a little surprised when I found a neatly packaged concealed carry shoulder holster inside.
My Deep Concealed holster is a light-weight (to be sure) shoulder holster, but this isn’t the type of shoulder holster that you wear on top of your clothing. Instead, it is worn under your dress shirt, or even under a loose-fitting T-shirt. The gun is carried comfortably under one arm, at slightly below chest level, and on the other side, there is room for spare mags – and you should always pack a spare magazine or two for any gun you carry. The shoulder straps and belly band straps (there are two for the belly) are made out of elastic for a very comfortable fit. Plus, the holster comes in either white or black, and in various sizes to fit you and various handguns.
My usual attire these days consists of a T-shirt, cargo pants and hiking shoes. I think the last time I wore a suit was when my oldest daughter graduated from college 10 or 11 years ago. Hey, what can I say? I live in the boonies, and most folks around here wear T-shirts and jeans – I like cargo pants – it’s a very casual area when it comes to wearing whatever clothes you want. During the summer months, I wear an outer, button-down shirt (never buttoned) over my T-shirt, with my concealed handgun on my belt, covered by the buttoned-down shirt. I used to wear a photographer’s vest, but it became well known that folks who wear those are packing heat, so I stopped wearing mine and switched to a button-down shirt in the summer months. In the cooler months, I, of course, wear a jacket to cover my handgun.
There are times, when I wish I didn’t have to wear a button-down shirt over my T-shirt, enter the Deep Concealed Carry Holster. With a loose fitting T-shirt (mine are), I can wear this holster under my T-shirt, next to my skin (and it is comfortable and didn’t chafe my skin), and no one would be the wiser that I was packing a handgun under my un-tucked T-shirt.
Now, one thing about the Deep Concealed Carry Holster is, you can’t do a fast-draw from it. It’s gonna either be under your shirt or under your T-shirt, and you can’t get to the gun as rapidly as you’d like. Now, don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing – if trouble is coming, you should always be at least, in Condition Yellow, and be prepared for it. So, you should have gun in-hand if at all possible. I’ve only had to pull my gun a few times when trouble presented itself, and every time, I didn’t have to fast-draw my firearm…my gun was already in-hand. At one point in my life, I worked for an alarm company – on the day shift, I installed alarms. On the night shift, I answered alarms. Hundreds of times, there were verifiable break-ins, and we had to go into the buildings to see if someone was in there. Needless to say, I went in, gun in hand . Sometimes the Chicago PD officers would go in with me, other times, they said they would stay outside “to catch anyone coming out…” Yeah, right!!! So, my gun was already in my hand whenever I entered a building that was broken into. And, quite often, due to the nature of silent alarms, I caught burglars. I wouldn’t go into one of those buildings with my gun still holstered. I knew there was possible trouble and hence I was prepared for it.
Many women carry their firearms off-body, my wife and oldest daughter included, and I think that is a big mistake. It’s too easy to lay your purse down, forget it in the car or “whatever” and your firearm won’t be nearby when you need it. The Deep Concealed Carry Holster is a great option for women – you can carry your handgun on your body, under a blouse or T-shirt, and no one would be none the wiser, that you were packing – neat idea. I know, there have been several similar holsters on the market, but the Deep Concealed Carry Holster is probably the best of the breed – especially when it comes to comfort.
You need to give any holster a good two-week wear time, for your body to get used to it. I’ve found, that even when I replace an older holster with a newer one, of the same make and model, I still need a break-in period of a couple weeks for the holster to become a better fit for my gun and against my body. And, so it is with the Deep Concealed Carry Holster – give it a try, and give it a fair two-week trial period, and you’ll really enjoy it. I can usually be “caught” carrying one of my Glock 23 handguns these days, simply because I like the light-weight, total reliability, and the power of the .40 S&W round – I find it a great compromise for my needs, with a spare magazine. The test holster worked perfectly for my Glock 23. I don’t think I’d care to carry a 6″ barrel large-framed .44 Magnum in this holster, and it wasn’t designed for this. This holster is designed for everyday carry guns that most people chose to carry – not big hunting handguns.
The price varies on the Deep Concealed line, depending on holster size and body size. But you can get them between $43.95 and $46.95 to fit many guns. Check out their web site for a complete listing of holsters for guns to fit you and your handgun. It’s a good (deep concealed carry) holster – perfected!
Pat’s Product Review: Deep Concealed Carry Holster
