CCW with business casual attire for a skinny guy

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Yanroy

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The title pretty much says it all... I want to be able to carry every day, but I just can't find a way that works, and I'm hoping you can help. Most days I wear business casual (a button down shirt and khaki/docker type pants). This clothing is fairly well fitted, and it isn't an option to wear baggier clothing (my job requires a certain standard of fashion). I'm 6'1" and 150lbs, so I don't have a lot of bulk to conceal anything anyways.

I've gone through a progression of guns, getting smaller each time, from a Sig P239 to a Ruger LC9 to roughly the smallest I can get: a S&W Bodyguard 380. I think there are one or two slightly smaller guns available in MA, but they're .22 or something and hard to find.

I've tried a bunch of holsters:
  • IWB: I like my Crossbreed Mini Tuck very much, and it works great with jeans, but there is a noticable bulge with my work clothes. It's not really printing, and you can't tell it's a gun, but it looks like I have some weird tumor at my 4 o'clock position. Even if this problem were solved, I worry about the black clips showing (I have the velcro clips/belt) against khaki pants.
  • Pocket holsters: my Crossbreed Pocket Rocket works great in a back pocket with shorts, but in my work pants it just looks huge and ridiculous in either front or back pocket. I have a DeSantis Nemisis but I don't like it at all and never use it.
  • I recently bought a 5.11 holster undershirt and I thought it was the answer to all my problems... so close, but no cigar. I think my torso is just too thin to conceal a gun, especially since the gun rides so low with this shirt. If it was right up in my armpit, with exactly the right cant, it might work, but this rig isn't it. I liked the feel though.
I've also considered a couple more options, but haven't actually bought them:
  • Ankle holsters: my calf is significantly thinner than the gun, regardless of cant, so printing is inevitable (I've tried just taping it to my leg, without a holster, and it prints even in my jeans).
  • off body carry: I don't carry anything around with me regularly, and I think it would raise some eyebrows if I suddenly started carrying a case that I never open.

So, does anyone have any ideas for what else I can try? :D I'm thinking my best bet might be some sort of custom shirt or under-shirt shoulder rig, but I'm hoping their's an off-the-shelf solution. If I do have to go custom, I'd love some pointers to anyone who does that sort of work. Thanks for your help and bearing with this long-winded post!
 
Have you considered a 5.11 Covert Carry Shirt?

(6'1@150? I'd be happy to loan you 30 lbs, then we both be 6'1" 180 :)
 
Thanks for the ideas. I don't think eating well help much; if family history is any indication, it will all go to a pot belly and the rest of my body will remain skinny :)

I have briefly looked at belly bands, but I feel I don't understand them. I'm imagining something that is effectively gluing the gun to my stomach. How does that not result in a tumor looking bulge?

The covert carry shirts seem like they might be good to wear over a shoulder rig, but they don't offer a holster themselves unless I'm looking at the wrong thing.
 
The smart carry isn't really a belly band. It hangs below your belt into your crotch area. Wearing pleated dress pants will hide any bulge.
I had a chance to meet the old guy who invented it. He is also a very skinny guy and CCs a full sized 1911 wearing loose jeans.

http://www.smartcarry.com/
 
Tuckable IWB holsters

do some research on the Mitch Rosen Workman or the Workman Express holsters.

Essentially they were (are?) small IWB holsters, rough side out, but featured a stiffened leather piece with either a j-hook or a belt loop which rode up along the exterior surface of the holster. This allowed you to wear the holster inside your waistband, but tuck your shirt in over it - between the holster and the leather piece that attached to the belt.

They were made for J-frames and small autos, and were typically worn at the 2 o'clock position in front of your hip.

Galco made their own version of this holster, and that's the one I use for my Beretta Tomcat.

They work passably well, if you can handle IWB holsters -- and in your case it sounds like nearly any option that works for you might be a good option.

Check into the various tuckable IWB holsters for the office environment.
 
I don't see how you could conceal a "bulge", with a form-fitting, tucked-in shirt with any type of IWb holster. If printing bothers you (and more often than not, it's an issue with the shooter worrying too much IMO- especially if printing is not illegal) then it's ankle, or pocket carry.

I was looking at some Derringers at the gun show a couple of weekends ago, including the Double Tap which wasn't as small as I'd hoped up close and personal. This Bond Arms is interesting...smaller than these others (although heavier, which ain't a bad thing) and the power of .45 ACP.

It would be interesting to test the conceal-ability of this gun with their "sticky holster" (no clips) IWB:

http://bondarms.com/bond-arms-handguns/backup/
 
I'm very intrigued by the SmartCarry. That seems like a very good solution. I'm going to send them an email to ask about sizing, since their site isn't terribly clear on which guns fit in which sizes. Thanks for the tip!

I have to say I'm also quite interested in the kangaroo carry. The Micro one looks like it might just work, but I'm a little concerned that it will suffer from the same problem as the 5.11 holster shirt that I just returned. It might be worth getting one and trying it out. I'll ponder this further, thanks.

The derringers tobnpr linked are sadly not available in MA (like many fine guns), but they would probably be a good solution or backup gun for another else who stumbles upon this thread that doesn't live in this "great" state.
 
Our infinitely wise overlords have decreed that all firearms must pass rigorous "safety" standards. Among other things, they require something like 6 copies of every gun to be sent to some state agency for destructive testing (and the gun manufacturers have to pay for the privilige of having their guns destroyed, so this is a very expensive proposition for small-volume arms makers). Then there are requirements about features it has to have, such as safeties, loaded-chamber indicators, minimum trigger pull weight, etc. And to top it all off, the Attorney General has an entirely independent list of approved firearms that is a subset of the ones that pass the above nonsense, and there is no rhyme or reason to that list. All of this is per model number, as well, so you want that gun in a different color, or with a different grip? You're probably SOL.

I often ask myself why I live here, given that we've got an insane government, high taxes, and terrible winters. The answer is Boston. I love this city enough to put up with it, for some reason.
 
I was going to suggest the LCP, but it isn't MA approved. I was really surprised how limited your list of approved handguns is. The powers that be need to be out.
 
I'm very intrigued by the SmartCarry. That seems like a very good solution. I'm going to send them an email to ask about sizing, since their site isn't terribly clear on which guns fit in which sizes.
Click to expand...
This is the list from their site, in case you missed it.

http://www.smartcarry.com/images/GUNS_ AND_SIZES.pdf

I have a number of their holsters, and have become very fond of them. They are one of the most versatile holsters you can have, and one of the most concealable. Ive used one every day for about 10 years now, and will never be without one.



As far as the undershirt holsters go, Ive found the Kreamer Confidant (http://www.kramerleather.com/productDetail.cfm?productID=65&categoryID=21) to be much better than the 5.11. It has two pockets/holsters attached under the arms, that carry the gun(s) securely and in place, unlike the 5.11's pockets.

You can also wear any undershirt you like under it, so you dont look like you just got out of boot camp. The 5.11 I have is "white", or should I say WHITE! Its also tends to make me sweat.

With the Confidant, I wear my normal tee shirts, and everything looks normal.

If you should go that route, follow their advice, and get it one size smaller than you normally wear. Mine, while slightly snug, doesnt move around, even with two guns in it.

I have carried a Colt Combat Commander in one holster, and its double reload (in its belt carrier), in the other. That was under a full cut, oxford dress shirt and tie, and comfortable, all day, for a couple of weeks. For me, "dressing up" was more uncomfortable. :)

While you can easily carry a full sized handgun in them, I found two SIG P230s to be a little more comfortable. These days, a Glock 26 and a double 17 reload, would be my choice.
 
I've used a SmartCarry for about 9 years now, usually with an M85UL revolver but sometimes a P140 Millenium pistol. The revolver is a bit less conspicuous being more rounded and most of my co-workers have no idea I'm carrying. The same holster has lasted me the entire time, they are well built. I'm not as skinny as I used to be but mostly due to growing a midsection; before I hit 35 I was less than 150 lbs.
 
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