Concealed Carry: What works for you?

Mine hasn't really changed much after I got a CBST holster for my G26. I have added a P3AT to my front pocket at all times, especially around the house. Basically the same set up for many years now.

uc
 
hkp30sk with minotaur iwb at 5o clock
s&w shield with alien gear at 5
hk45c iwb or owb depending on weather

recently bought a g42 but can't hit crap with it so its not in the carry rotation, intended for pocket carry in hot weather
 
I got my concealed carry license just a few months after Florida instituted them in 1987. I initially carried a S&W 642, but eventually became concerned with the low capacity and changed to a Glock 26. It is still my EDC, carried IWB with a good belt from Beltman.

My cover garments are light sports coats when I dress professionally (more comfortable than some people would have you believe) and tail-out shirts for more casual occasions.

I also have a pocket pistol (Sig P238) for situations when IWB doesn't work; the most common is going to church, where I have to change from jacket to robe (I'm a pianist) and back again without privacy.

Gun belts are under-rated until you buy one. Personally, I think even pocket carry is more comfortable if my belt is a good one.
 
Another Floridian, here! Miami Florida born and raised.

Carried at 4 o'clock for years, then appendix, then back to 4 o'clock again.

These guns:

SIG P226, P220, P229
HK USP 9 and 45 full size and compacts as well.
Glock 34, 17, 19
1911s


Good belt and holster are all you need.

I carry mainly 9mm these days. Current EDC is an M11 or P229. In a Kydex holster. I prefer NSR Tactical for my SIGs and Glocks. PHLster for my Glocks. Then Gundo for my HKs.

That said I also always carry a backup Smith and Wesson 360PD .357MAG.


Over the years, not much has changed in terms of gear.
 
Ruger LC9s, IWB@4:00 in a King Tuck holster. Very comfy, easy to hide, very accurate, and 100% reliable for over 2000 rounds of anything I've fed it. It's had 2 boxes of factory ammo and all the rest are many different handloads, and all but my LC9s and CZ75B SA have choked on one handload or another. I also carry two 10 round backup mags as well.
 
If wearing a coat and it never comes off then just about anything in a holster works fine. That scenario is not practical. So I go with the smallest and lightest auto pistol in the absolute bottom line caliber. Front pocket carry in a thin leather pocket holster. Loaded with the JHP ammo I can find.

I actually have two of these and a few times I carried the second one in an ankle holster. But I found it not the most comfortable arrangement.


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I live in MA so concealment is everything around here or the Libtards blow a gasket. That said, I appendix carry, usually between 1:00-2:00 o'clock. It prints less than other carry modes and works best for me. It's also easier on my shoulder since I don't have to reach around my waist (really starting to feel all the mileage from my youth).

IWB_SW1911.jpg
 
I've never made that many changes in my carry habits. When I first started carrying in ~2009, our family budget was exceptionally lean. If I bought a gun, I damn well just had to be happy with it, because there was no trading back and forth. That would have cost me money that my family couldn't have afforded. My first carry gun was a Springfield Armory GI model 1911. I carried in a Theis IWB initially, but decided that I also wanted an OWB leather holster for it, so I picked up a DeSantis Speed Scabbard. If you're going to carry a full-sized 1911 and an extra mag or two, that's a pretty comfortable way to go.

Still, it didn't take me long to figure out that there were days when it sure would be handy to have something to just slip in my pocket. Something for early morning runs to the grocery store, or when I'm working in the yard. So I horse-traded some stuff around and wound up with a Ruger LCR in .357, and put it into the rotation.

Well, after a while, I got to thinking that as much as I loved my 1911 (& I do), that thing got heavy if I carried it all day. This ol' fat boy is built for comfort, not for speed.... So I went to looking for something lighter. That meant polymer. To my mind, that was a bad thing. I'd never owned a polymer pistol and didn't really want one. Nonetheless, I've got some folks in my circle of acquaintances whom I consider to be pretty knowledgeable about guns, and they carried polymer pistols, so I figured I'd give polymer a go. Once I'd gotten past that mental roadblock, I re-examined caliber . . . . and decided that I didn't absolutely, positively have to carry "a caliber beginning with a 4."

So off I went to research another carry pistol, and I wound up with a Gen 4 G19. Pretty soon, she was getting more time on the belt than my 1911. After a while, I decided that it didn't make a lot of sense for me to have 3 carry pistols, one with a thumb safety and two without. So, with some sadness, I have mostly retired my 1911 from carry.

I haven't gathered the proverbial Box Of Holsters, but I do have one for each gun for almost any occasion, and every belt I own is a gunbelt. These days, I carry either the G19 or the LCR, depending on what that day's wardrobe looks like. I cannot always resist the siren song of the 1911, so I still carry her now and again.
 
Another Floridian here. Almost always a pancake or IWB at 3 O'Clock with 9mm or .40. Sometimes I go with a paddle depending on clothing. Every once in a while I get nostalgic and go with .45acp 1911, but holster types and position remain the same.

When I can't dress around the above I pocket carry a Glock 43.

I haven't hunted in years but if I get back out there it will probably be a 4" GP100 .357 in a pankake at 3.
 
Used to carry a browning high power on this cheap owb retention holster that was a real pain, got an iwb and still carried the browning until I fired a colt detective spiecial on a whim and that was that.. so I bought that and carried it on a nice leather owb very light weight and comfortable.

I now carry a bersa thunder plus on a shoulder holster, I find it works best for fast draw even in a car or when sitting etc, also it doesn't present an issue in public bathrooms!!! I do still rotate the revolver into carry though whenever I feel like it.


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My first carry was a 4"Colt Python.
Either carried in a hip holster or a
Inverted shoulder holster. Both rigs
LEO issue.
Now I carry my G19 in a ITW holster.
Very comfortable & easy to carry here
in South Florida or my AA mini 5 shot
22 mag in my pocket. Don't wear shorts!
 
interesting to read how we all go around with handgun choices, and the importance of a proper holster and belt (where i need to focus on now as my armory is full).

these days i narrowed my ccw picks to a naa guardian 32acp, bond arms 3" derringer 9mm or 410 (45lc in speedstrips), s&w 642 38sp (wadcutters only), ruger lcr 22lr. i enjoy shooting them so i get enough practice to be handy and accurate with them.

i regularly enter facilities that prohibit firearms, which must be unloaded and locked inside my vehicle. although im a wheelgun guy, the naa guardian or ba derringer often get the nod. revolvers are a time consuming, suspicious looking, pain to unload and reload while seated holding the gun low out of public sight under the steering wheel in a busy car parking lot.

i like naa and ba; they make stout, handy, steel, reliable pieces with heart in the usa and offer great customer service.


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I've got a Sig P938 that I conceal with Single Clip Protos-M IWB holster from Black Arch Holsters. I haven't picked up a OWB holster yet for my Range Officers, but that will likely be from Black Arch as Well when I do.

I was extremely picky when trying holsters for the first time in the store. Quickly discovered that I don't like the feel of kydex pushed against me and whatever I picked out would need to be soft on the side that touches me. The Black Arch was comfortable from day one. I've been very pleased with that purchase.
 
What works best for me as of right now for EDC is my HK p30sk in an Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 IWB at the 3 or 4 o'clock position. In the past I carried a Ruger SR1911 commander in a normal Alien Gear Cloak Tuck IWB in the 4 o'clock position. Alien Gear makes good holsters and they are reasonably priced. Customer service is also good too.

I have also carried my HK USP 40 S&W fullsized with a Streamlight TRL-3 in a Huckleberry Tactical light bearing OWB rig too. They are nice as well but pricy and the lead time took a while. You can do a lot of custom colors and what not with them too if your into that.

At work however, we open carry. I carry my Smith and Wesson 629 4'' barrel mountain gun in .44mag in a Bianchi duty nylon holster. The weight of the gun isn't an issue for me. Neither is the recoil, it is a very accurate pistol. I also carry this during the winter months when I can wear a jacket over it and during hunting season.
 
In an effort to avoid my natural tendency toward long-winded bloviation, I'll just say that I've evolved from full sized pistols and revolvers for CCW to much smaller, lighter guns;)
 
What UM belt did you have? the cheap one that's like 10-15?

I've been using a UM reinforced instructors for the last 4 years, has held up well, only cost about 30 dollars and is pretty stiff, I love it.
 
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