[bane]

OK, so I've had my permit what... a week now??? And I've been packing at home for at least a month or so. But I'm not sure I have the perfect fit and am looking for suggestions...

Let me say up front... I carry my extra weight in the love-handle areas. So I'm mainly looking for feedback from guys with the same issue (or that are aware of the implications and possible solutions).

I have a SmartCarry but I don't think I like using it for every day wear... occasionally for certain clothes, maybe especially in the summer, yes... but I prefer something that has a bit easier access.

I also have a SuperTuck which I like but have realized that with my love-handles it may not be the best fit possible.

I'm thinking maybe I should go with a SOB solution... but then I have read concerns about falling on it and hurting one's back or worse, falling on it in a time of need and not being able to access it.

Currently I wear my SuperTuck at somewhere between 4 and 5. It's fairly comfortable that way, but I can't get at it while driving and if I'm not wearing some sort of a jacket it seems to print quite a bit there.

Just looking to see if other guys with love-handle issues have come up with something better.

Normally I dress pretty casually and can wear mostly whatever I want.

I carry an XD9sub with the 16rd mag.

 

[GeneticsDave]

Well, unless you want to go outside the waistband, I would say your strong-side IWB carry is probably the best option along with a healthy diet and regular exercise :lol:

I would recommend trying your XD-Sub with the smaller capacity magazine (10 rounds) and having one or two extended 16 round mags on your weak-side. See how bad the printing is with this configuration. By carrying with the high-cap mag, you basically nullify the purpose of a sub-compact gun. There's just no easy way of carrying a full size grip without printing. You will notice that the SmaryCarry works better with the smaller cap mag in the gun and a large cap mag in the spare pocket.

Good luck and congratulations on getting your permit!

 

[tapehoser]

I agree. I'm kind of a skinny guy and printing with the full 13-round mag for my XD45 was a problem. As soon as I dropped down to the 10-round mag, the printing problem went away.

 

[Paul]

Get a smaller gun! 8)
My Kel-Tec P3AT. You can hide this baby anywhere. Get a pocket holster and simply pocket carry. Mine has a 1 round magazine extension so it can actually be smaller than the picture.

-PW

 

[bane]

Huh... I figured 16 shots is way better than 10 but I hadn't thought about going with 10 and carrying a 2nd mag...

As for a smaller gun... I think that's a kewl idea as a backup but I'm not comfortable with going solely with such a small gun... especially only 1 round! For one thing, I have nervous disorder that although it's not wildly out of control I think it's pretty likely in a high-stress situation I might miss with that 1st shot (unfortunately, darn I hope I'm smart enough, should it ever happen, to realize whose near the BG)... for another thing, for all my talk about not being overly concerned with larger calibers, I do actually worry that I'd be able to stop an aggressor with merely 1 shot of anything smaller than a 9...

In regards to the diet/exercise point... I'm making progress... but when things like T-day and Xmas come around, I balloon up quickly (I'm a "mesomorph" for those who know what that is). It comes off quickly when I start eating clean and working out again... but unfortunately I can't ever seem to stick with it long enough to totally get rid of the LH's... still trying though! My new thing is I'm trying to find some time to squish my home office into the closet and put a Bowflex in the office... I just can't seem to find enough time to get to the gym and I think this would help a lot. Then I could just do 20min. quickly every single day and being the mesomorph that I am, I would thin up quickly as long as I wasn't eating pizza every-other night... anyways, a little off-topic I guess... but if any of you has a Bowflex, any feedback on that would be helpful too...

Also, I wonder if anyone has ever seen an IWB holster that has a ridiculous forward cant so that the grip of the gun is starting to approach vertical??? I think a mount like this might work better for concealment purposes and mounted at somewhere between 3-4 would probably feel better on the love-handles too...

 

[Paul]

bane,

My post was a bit confusing. The Kel-Tec holds 6 in the magazine and 1 in the pipe. I added a 1 round magazine extension, so it now holds 7 in the mag and 1 in the pipe. You can clearly see the magazine extension if you look at the pic. I would definetely NEVER carry a gun with only 1 bullet in it. My post was a bit confusing. If I pull the magazine / pinky extension off the gun makes an even smaller profile.

As far as the size of the caliber goes, I initially bought and carried a 9MM.
After I bought the .380 (P3AT) and started shooting and carrying it, I have basically stopped carrying the 9MM. I am plenty confident in the .380 and what it can do. I would like to carry a bigger caliber, but to me it is absolutely CRITICAL that noone knows I am carrying. My dress only allows me certain carry options. I simply don't want co-workers, friends, anyone to know that I carry. Thats why I have chosen to ankle carry. The .380 is much nicer to ankle carry than the 9MM. I would really like to try IWB Tuck carry method, but I have had a horrible time finding a IWB holster for my current selection of guns, due to the fact that I am a LEFTIE. I have been looking at the XD's and will probably buy one in the near future due to the fact that there are so many more LEFTIE carry options for the XD's.

Anyway, I have pretty much decided that to me it is more important to CARRY everywhere, and never be MADE than to have a bigger caliber and round count, so that why I have been carrying the .380 lately. I figure 8 rounds of .380 should do the trick if needed.

-PW

 

[apollosmith]

I'm in the same situation as you. Same holster, same gun, (presumably) same love handles.

What I've found that works:

- Use the 10 round magazine. The 16 round is going to be hard to keep from poking out the back of your shirt. I keep my wallet and keys in my front right pocket and cell phone and (often) spare mag or knife in my front left pocket. The more stuff you have in your right front pocket, the less the pistol 'seems' to bulge (at least for right handers).

- Adjust the SuperTuck for almost maximum depth. In other words, the pistol will ride fairly deep in your pants. I have it set to one notch of forward cant. This can make unholstering/holstering a tad bit more difficult, but I think the concealability is worth it.

- I carry at about 3:30. This will be uncomfortable unless you set the pistol to go deep and use the 10 rd. mag. With the way the SuperTuck fits your body, any further back seemed to result in the gun grip sticking out or my shirt getting stuck on it. I've also found this to be the most comfortable for me because I am sitting or driving most of the day. If I were more active, it might be a bit less comfortable.

- Use a strong belt. Anything other than a wide, stiff belt is going to make the gun poke out or poke you. Here's the one I use.

Here's a photo of my set up:

I found I can carry this way and keep it pretty well hidden even with tight polo shirts and even T-shirts.

 

[bane]

PW: Sorry about getting confused on that... I should've known better since the XD has a similar extension mag... at any rate, I can't access ImageShack from home so I can't actually see those photos. I have been thinking about buying a .380, though, and just seeing if my wife will take to it enough to want to try and carry it (she will not carry a 9). So maybe I'll get a chance to change my mind. In any case, the .380 would be nice come summer time when it gets harder to conceal my 9.

Apollosmith: *AWESOME* advice, thank you so much! The photos were great. Yes, we are similar build proportionally-speaking (though I think you are taller, I'm only 5'9"). Anyways, I have switched to to the 10rd mag and reconfigured the holster and so far it feels and looks great! This may just be the advice I was looking for... hopefully now once I get a better belt I'll have the perfect setup. Thank you, again!!!

 

[bane]

SMITH: BTW, what type of clips are you using and what belt??? I've blown the photo up 700% and can barely even see clips so I'm curious which ones you are using... also it looks like you are using a velcro gun belt as opposed to a more traditionally-looking leather one... is that right???

 

[Paul]

PW: I have been thinking about buying a .380, though, and just seeing if my wife will take to it enough to want to try and carry it (she will not carry a 9). So maybe I'll get a chance to change my mind. In any case, the .380 would be nice come summer time when it gets harder to conceal my 9.

My wife liked the gun....until she shot it. LOL. It was more than she wanted to handle. Weak wrists are a problem with the Kel-Tec. It just banged her around and hurt the web of skin between her thumb and pointer finger. The Kel-Tec P32 (.32 auto) is less of a beast to control, but so far she hasn't expressed much interest in shooting it, because it is the same size and looks basically the same as the .380.

Some other woman friends of mine have shot the .380 and did OK with it though...so I don't really know what my wifes problem is. She shoots my Ruger P89 (9MM) just fine and loves it.

-PW

 

[Paul]

If you are looking for a Kel-Tec, here is a good one that will probably go fast...

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=218&ad=2276085&cat=185&lpid=

-PW

 

[Ruger Collector]

Some other woman friends of mine have shot the .380 and did OK with it though...so I don't really know what my wifes problem is. She shoots my Ruger P89 (9MM) just fine and loves it.
-PW

My daughter shoots the guns pictured in this post regularly. Given the choice of the SW380, PF-9 or 357 she'll take the 357 with 38+P loads.

 

[Paul]

Ruger,

How do you like the PF9?

-PW

 

[Ruger Collector]

Ruger,

How do you like the PF9?

-PW

It's a great little gun.. She fits well in my ankle and pocket holsters and will conceal anywhere. So far she has eaten about 500 rounds of various brand ammo without so much as a hickup.

I have 2 of them (was going to give my daughter one for her 21st) but money is tight this year so I'll probably sell one of them (which is NIB) to help pay for Christmas.

 

[apollosmith]

SMITH: BTW, what type of clips are you using and what belt??? I've blown the photo up 700% and can barely even see clips so I'm curious which ones you are using...

It is the Crossbreed Supertuck as seen below, but mine is black leather.

The backing is all leather, but the holster piece is Kydex.

It has J-clips. They are hardly noticeable... as you noticed... errr... didn't notice.

[/url]

Also it looks like you are using a velcro gun belt as opposed to a more traditionally-looking leather one... is that right???

Yes, that's correct. The Wilderness Instructors Belt velcros back onto itself. It is very sturdy and stiff.

If I am going to be carrying with a tucked in shirt, I have a less sturdy leather belt that I wear that looks a lot better.

One thing about the Instructors Belt... it could seriously be used as a weapon. You take that thing off and start swinging the buckle around and I guarantee nobody is going to mess with you! 8)

 

[Tarzan1888]

OK, so I've had my permit what... a week now??? And I've been packing at home for at least a month or so. But I'm not sure I have the perfect fit and am looking for suggestions...

Let me say up front... I carry my extra weight in the love-handle areas. So I'm mainly looking for feedback from guys with the same issue (or that are aware of the implications and possible solutions).

I have a SmartCarry but I don't think I like using it for every day wear... occasionally for certain clothes, maybe especially in the summer, yes... but I prefer something that has a bit easier access.

I also have a SuperTuck which I like but have realized that with my love-handles it may not be the best fit possible.

I'm thinking maybe I should go with a SOB solution... but then I have read concerns about falling on it and hurting one's back or worse, falling on it in a time of need and not being able to access it.

Currently I wear my SuperTuck at somewhere between 4 and 5. It's fairly comfortable that way, but I can't get at it while driving and if I'm not wearing some sort of a jacket it seems to print quite a bit there.

Just looking to see if other guys with love-handle issues have come up with something better.

Normally I dress pretty casually and can wear mostly whatever I want.

I carry an XD9sub with the 16rd mag.

I know you don't want to hear this but here goes.....FANNY PACK....

There I said it.

Its dorky but it works.

Tarzan

 

[tapehoser]

I know you don't want to hear this but here goes.....FANNY PACK....There I said it.

Its dorky but it works.Tarzan

Dorky is right.

 

[Paul]

I know you don't want to hear this but here goes.....FANNY PACK....There I said it.

Its dorky but it works.Tarzan

Dorky is right.

ROFLOL.

I wouldn't be caught dead with a fanny pack on!

-PW

 

[Strategic Tactical]

I make fun of people who wear those in our classes, True there is a place and time for them and maybe this is that time..... But NOT me......LOL

 

[Tacomatose]

Be careful how deep you guys are setting the holsters IWB. I can see from Apollo's pic that you can't get a good grip on the gun without having to re-adjust your grip once the gun has left the holster....this can lead to dropped weapons, especially when you are already risking getting the shirt stuck in the draw (as with any concealed draw).

Bane, The comment that you make about knowing you are going to miss the first shot in an intense encounter,

"For one thing, I have nervous disorder that although it's not wildly out of control I think it's pretty likely in a high-stress situation I might miss with that 1st shot (unfortunately, darn I hope I'm smart enough, should it ever happen, to realize whose near the BG... ",

tells me you need to do 1 of 2 things: Stop carrying a gun as you are as much a danger to bystanders as the attacker is, or Practice, Practice, Practice. Carrying a gun is a privilege, a right, and to some a duty, however, if you cannot do it safely then I might suggest looking for other means of protection.

It was a God given right, therefore, it should not be infringed upon, but I do believe that people should not knowingly put other peoples lives at risk just for the sake of "carrying".

This is not a direct attack on you personally (and looking at most of your comments, I feel you are open to individual opinions), I have just seen many people come through my classes and then head out the door with their signed paperwork, that I know are more of a hazard to themselves and others than they were when the walked in. And there is nothing that I can do to prevent it. "Shall Issue" means just that.