Does anyone carry a full size 1911?

Heck, I carry a USP45 full size every day - usually a FIST close-cropped pancake holster. This thing makes a nice 1911 look anorexic. If I could carry a series 70 I would, but I refuse to go with a series 80, which is what is required for me to carry a 1911 (firing pin safety required).

This time of year, its under a jacket. In summer, an untucked shirt or IWB with an untucked t-shirt. The only time I resort to something smaller (J-frame) is when I get lazy, not because I have to.
 
A 1911 is a cinch to conceal and carry all day long as long as you spend some time and money on the proper wardrobe and a decent holster.
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True statement - it just depends on how much you are willing to dress around the gun.

:eek: Not to flame anyone's choice but: :eek:

For some of us, style matters - maybe not to us personally, but to our employers and maybe some degree our spouses & children. Having clothes custom made by a tailor to accomodate a full sized, all steel handgun - be it a 1911, Beretta, HK, S&W, etc. - is an option many simply cannot afford (count me among them). The only other option is to buy clothes off the rack bigger to accomodate the bulk of the gun. For instance, pants that are big enough to wear an IWB may fit so loose everywhere else - especially in the back - that you look like....well, like your pants are way to big.

There is also the weight issue. Any good holster needs - and deserves - a good gun belt. But a pair of pants with a heavy pistol hanging off them needs a tighter belt than just a pair of pants. And, if you bought the pants a little bigger for the IWB holster, depending on body construction they'll tend to slip dowm over your hips with a belt that isn't good & tight.

My choice for carry, when I am concerned how I look, is my aluminum 3" Kimber in an OWB holster that tucks the butt in tight. I can wear normal sized pants and a sport coat or light weight jacket, maybe even a sweat shirt if it fits right. The 3" barrel is 2" less I have to worry about my over-clothing pulling up & exposing my gun, & the light weight of the gun is a lot easier on my belt.

The most unsettling issue was getting used to the feeling that the gun wasn't there - I would keep reaching back to make sure it was still solidly in place!

I do have an IWB for it - a VM II, that I highly recommend - that I wear with pants that will accommodate it. It works well, but I don't find it as comfortable as an OWB.

Also, I have a Galco Jackass rig that will accommodate either my 3" or 5" 1911 pistols. Again, it conceals both well but my shoulders prefer I carry the 3" aluminum gun instead of my all steel 5".

YMMV - but to me, anything that is smaller & lighter will carry easier than one that is bigger & heavier...
 
I carry either a Glock G20 (sometimes a pair at that) or a full size 5" 1911 and sometimes a double stack STI framed 10mm 1911.

I have long been a fan of Mitch Rosen's excellent ARG holsters and have found that an ARG DL is nearly a perfect carry for me with a 4.5 to 5" gun.

I mostly wear tailored suits, sweaters, and sport jackets and concealibility is not an issue if you dress properly even though I always carry at least two spare mags.

I have been carrying this way every day for the last 12 years for 8, 12, 16 hrs a day, sometimes all 24 hours in the day.
With a few days running together and the 5" guns are actually the most comfortable for me.

I have tried and tried but I just do not like little guns as my primary carry as I feel almost naked without the full sized guns and the G32/HK USP compact is about as small as I go.
 
Anybody remember that picture of ArmySon (a slender guy, for those who don't know) concealing multiple 1911's under a t-shirt?

Great illustration ofhow concealable the 1911 is with the right rig(s).
 
One thing I don't like about Carrying My Colt 1991A1 is the Wilson Combat mags aren't flush, and tend to protrude. If I carry the Colt mags with My 1991A1 I don't have trouble concealing it. But I don't trust the Colt Mags.

IMHO I've noticed from hanging around here, that the Full Size 1911's, tend to be more reliable than the shorter barreled ones. I have absolutley no idea why, but it just seems to be.
 
I don't know why that is true for 1911's, but I also see it with AR's. Of all the AR's I've seen and shot at rifle ranges, the Shorties seem to have more problems.

If I did a search in this forum for 1911's that weren't 5in barrels I bet I would see more complaints. Seems Like once you deviate from the Original Design you can run into problems. Just an obsevation:)
 
I've carried a "full grown" 1911 since '65 - '67. No problems and I've wandered all over the weight range from 165# up.
 
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