Carrying 1911 with tucked shirt?

M

MatthewVanitas

New member
Greetings all,
For a while I've been inclined to purchase a compact 1911 (most likely Kimber Compact), for concealed carry. However, I'm a fair bit confused by the holster choices, and many of the reccommendations are not applicable to me, or I can't quite imagine them being practical. Most websites just show a pic of the holster, giving me no idea how one carries it, or moves to draw with it.

My situation: at any point when I'd be wanting to carry, I wear slacks and a button-down shirt tucked in, with a white undershirt below that, and must always have it tucked in. I'm 5'6" and weight a trim 145.

Basically, only three solutions seem practical:

A) An IWB holster, but don't those stick up considerably over the waistband? So I'll have to untuck both shirts whenever I might conceivably have to draw? Seems awfully slow.

B) A "Smart Belt" or "Thunderware" type sub-belly band. These sound a lot better than the old belly bands, like a second belt, and I could just reach down between my belt and my shirt and draw, just not sure how obvious and comfortable a chunk of metal over my groin would be.

C) Give up on concealed 1911s, just get one for kicks, and buy a 45 Colt Taurus snubbie and do it pocket carry. The only firearms I've actually tried out putting on and carrying around were snubbies (S&W 640 and 642) that friends had, and those were awfully comfy in a pocket.

So, I will welcome and suggestions on how to comfortably carry a compact 1911 under those circumstances.

-LCpl Matthew Boris

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--Capitalism isn't a program or a system like "socialism," but a description of reality like "the Pythagorean theorem." Deal with it.
 
There are plenty of tuckable IWB holsters available. Some work, some do not.

My only personal experience is with the Mitch Rosen Workman. It conceals a commander size 1911 easily when I'm wearing a tucked in dress shirt.
 
If your trousers have pleads, 3 or more that Thunderware will work with compact 1911.
Be aware that thunderware is soft holster, and while it is comfortable and very concelable, cond. 1 1911 in your groin area will not make you more relaxed, so cond 3 is the only way i would carry ir in the groin.
(I carry cond 1 in any other mode).
I don't like IWBs, but this is my personal preference.
 
Correia does it every day with a full sized 1911. I looked. I didn't see it untill he showed it.
I have winesses.
Gunslinger's rig.
It worked.

(Gunslinger - commision check to the normal account ;) )
 
Matt, I used to be thin too (age getting to me) but I couldn't keep my pants up with out having the belt snugged up. This would definately rule out Thunderwear for me. Never be able to get to it. If you were to decide on the Ultra Carry or Ultra CDP, you might consider a ankle holster. They look difficult to get to but are actually pretty easy to use with practise. Get a good one though. I too find it difficult to carry a auto concealed and usually leave it in the truck unless I've got a jacket, sweatshirt, or vest on. You may want to try one of those leather vests on the market too. Seems like a good idea and wouldn't look too bad either with "casual" dress clothes. Otherwise, I'd select "C". Gives you another excuse to get another gun!! :D


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"Charlton Heston is my President"

Danny45
NRA, NAHC, Buckmasters
 
Talk to Gunslinger about his concealment holster. He doesn't like to advocate it too much on TFL, but it works very well for me under the same type of conditions, so I don't mind doing it. His email address is gunscustom@aol.com.
Eric
 
Hey Marine, the Sparks VM-2 is another good holster for the 1911A1. You should find no trouble carrying a full-size 1911 concealed in one of these holsters.

However, if you are going to carry it IWB-tuckable, be aware of the two problems discussed in this thread. They seem to apply universallly to most of the tuckable holsters out there IMO.
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Hi,
I carry a CZ75B in a shoulder holster on top of a white undershirt, and wear a button down shirt on top of that and it works very well for me. the difficulty is getting to it quick enough, so most of my shirts have either snap type buttons, or velcro with dummy buttons.
I am over 6'0 and weigh 184 Lbs so this arrangement may not be the right one for smaller people.
Regards,
Anand
 
Boris --

I use a ClipDraw for this. I'm just about your size, and carry a Kimber Ultra Carry. The ClipDraw is a steel belt clip that screws on under the grip panel. The gun tucks inside your waistband, with the clip outside. I then tuck my shirt over the pistol, leaving only the clip exposed. I've carried that way all summer, and found it very comfortable and convenient.

-MD
 
I'm the guy mentioned by George Hill. Give Gunslinger's bellyband a try. It works really well. I'm rather big, 6'4" 255, and I can conceal a full size 1911 effortlessly under even a light shirt. I imagine with a commander or officers it would work even better. It is pretty comfy once you get used to it, and you can tuck your shirt in with no straps showing. Yes that does slow down the draw having to untuck your shirt, but you sacrifice some speed for extream concealment. With practice it can still be pretty darn fast.

Also, you wear the band over your undershirt, and under your outer shirt, to answer your question.

Eric posted Gunslinger's addy. Ask him, he and Terri are a class act. :)
 
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