IS IWB carry possible ...

I began CCW at 5'11", 365-370 lbs. carrying my blubber distributed over my entire frame, much as an infant does. I have comfortably carried 1911s, first full sized in a Ross Leather Model 18, now a compact in a Milt Sparks Summer Special 2, always on double thickness leather "gun" belts. Both guns have ridden best at the 3:30 position, aft of my overhang. I have always bought trousers loose enough that the only real difference between armed and unarmed has been which hole the belt is cinched to. As I have lost weight, now down to 285, the surprise has been the discovery that I was relying a good deal on my butt to keep my belt up. I now find I must keep my belt cinched tighter and that I am at risk of being pantsed by the weight of the gun if I do not.

Buy clothes to suit the purpose. The sausage casing effect is not compatible with CCW (or much else in the life of the adult fat guy.) Buy a good stiff, stout belt. I like my Cabela's Double Duty II belt: it works better than the $80+ Ross belt I have and cost me $20 on sale. If you opt for one of the high dollar gun belts, consider models with a built in stiffener. The Ross belt I bought could have had a stiffener, would have been much better if it did.
 
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4:00 is the right location to carry at. I can't speak to what holster to use for your gun, but getting the right belt(And suspenders if you have problems holding the pants up) and the right size pants makes all the difference in the world.
 
Couldn't carry with a simple IWB holster with a single belt clamp, the gun would "roll over". However, I got a Galco King Tuk. Those, and similar ones (see Jimmy R's post) work great. Need the pants and belt to be one size larger.
 
I mean no insult, but you could try dropping a few pounds. It would give you that extra pant space.

I recently dropped 30 pounds just by cutting my caloric intake to about 2400 a day. No exercise! The extra weight is more likely to kill you than an armed combatant.
 
I found that carrying at the 4 o'clock position made it very difficult to draw quickly, so despite my well-rounded mid section I carry at about the 2 o'clock spot if I use a IWB holster. Another solution you might consider is the Smart Carry holster, which essentially is a pouch that sits pretty much right over the family jewels. Its surprisingly easy to reach into your pants and draw your weapon, and it doesn't get in the way at all when sitting, or bending over, etc. and it absolutely doesn't print at all. It might look odd when you reach your hand down into the front of your pants, but if the situation calls for you to pull out a firearm who cares what it looks like?

Another thing to consider would be the Remora line of holsters. They have no clip or belt loop, but you just tuck it into the beltline inside your pants and it stays put. Its a bit less bulky than other IWB holsters and works OK for me with my j-frame. Just be careful when you undo your pants to use the restroom facilities since there is nothing but some pressure and friction holding the holster in place.
 
YeshuaSaves said:
I would think IWB would be easier to carry the bigger you are...
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Not really. In fact, IWB carry for folks with extra girth poses a few problems:
1) Because our sides are not vertical, our gun's grips tend to stick out at odd angles.
2) If a gun rides low enough to where it is under a "love handle," it often ends up poking in very sensitive tissue, especially if the firearm has any sort of edges, a hammer, or a pronounced beavertail.
 
So ...... I bought this holster from High Noon Holsters (Split Decision High Ride tuckable ) and tried it out for the first time today. I suppose it is possible to go IWB even if you're a lard ass like me.
As you can see from the pictures below I can tuck my shirt in and still hide it very well .
 

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hey guys, sorry I must be ill-informed but I assumed mostly because I see very large people with HUGE shirts that are VERY loose fitting - leaving lots of breath room for the pistol. In addition, I see lots of fat people with HUGE pants - leaving a lot of breathing room everywhere...only problem would be if they were tight around the waist I assume.

my fault
 
YeshuaSaves said:
hey guys, sorry I must be ill-informed but I assumed mostly because I see very large people with HUGE shirts that are VERY loose fitting - leaving lots of breath room for the pistol. In addition, I see lots of fat people with HUGE pants - leaving a lot of breathing room everywhere...only problem would be if they were tight around the waist I assume.

my fault
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No apologies needed.

In some cases, what you describe is accurate. There are a lot of body styles, even among the heftier bodied community. Each person has to accomdate their own body style, and their wardrobe.
 
YeshuaSaves said:
hey guys, sorry I must be ill-informed but I assumed mostly because I see very large people with HUGE shirts that are VERY loose fitting - leaving lots of breath room for the pistol. In addition, I see lots of fat people with HUGE pants - leaving a lot of breathing room everywhere...only problem would be if they were tight around the waist I assume.

my fault
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I agree with JimmeR. No apologizes needed . Now that you've explained your point of view I can understand why you would think that. I was offended.
 
This comment is not meant as a insult to High Noon Holsters. The quality is excellent. This one is well made and seems to be a top quality item.I think they probably build really fine products except for how it relates to MY gun.
The IWB holster I bought from them sucks ..... for my Walther PPX. It's just a smidge too small. Too tight to easily withdraw and reholster. I did the break in as per their instructions. I even took out the retaining screw with the big rubber grommet to give it more room.
It's not gonna work. It's a common issue I've had with this gun. Few manufactures make holsters to exactly fit it. I should have know it not work when I saw the label on the bag packaging that had 20 other models listed on it.Not only is the gun really big but the trigger guard is squared off and not rounded. It looks to me to be the real problem.
I'll have to keep looking around for something different. I also discovered that a leather holster probably won't work for me because it just collapsed once the gun was removed. I'll have to try a kydex one.
 
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tommy_y said:
This comment is not meant as a insult to High Noon Holsters. The quality is excellent. This one is well made and seems to be a top quality item.I think they probably build really fine products except for how it relates to MY gun.
The IWB holster I bought from them sucks ..... for my Walther PPX. It's just a smidge too small. Too tight to easily withdraw and reholster. I did the break in as per their instructions. I even took out the retaining screw with the big rubber grommet to give it more room.
It's not gonna work. It's a common issue I've had with this gun. Few manufactures make holsters to exactly fit it. I should have know it not work when I saw the label on the bag packaging that had 20 other models listed on it.Not only is the gun really big but the trigger guard is squared off and not rounded. It looks to me to be the real problem.
I'll have to keep looking around for something different. I also discovered that a leather holster probably won't work for me because it just collapsed once the gun was removed. I'll have to try a kydex one.
Click to expand...

I strongly reccomend a kydex/leather hybrid holster. They are some of the most comfortable holsters I've worn, rivaling OWB holsters, and provide excellent retention. I like Crossbreed, but don't reccomened them due to their use of rivets instead of screws to mount the kydex. Check the links in my earlier post and see what they have- I don't think you'll be disapointed.
 
I have gotten so fat that I am considering buying a flashbang setup only kidding but I am a pretty hefty guy and I can carry fairly well in the summer using a Ruger LC9 in a blackhawk #1 IWB holster. Not the best holster that I have but it is very comfortable and when the holster is comfortable I carry more often.
 
I also have a Sneaky Pete for my LCP. Even for that tiny gun, it's a bit large. No one who thinks about it will believe it's a cell phone. Fortunately, most people don't think.
 
We, as a group, need to be contacting Hollywood.

Really, they have possession of some gun-carry secrets that we just have to learn.

How many times have you seen the lean hero characters (or some baddies, too) produce a full sized pistol from, well, nowhere. Go back on your DVR all you want, you will not see a weapons bulge under even the tighter clothing.

They know something we don't.

Bart Noir
 
I also have a Sneaky Pete for my LCP
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I didn't know what this was and had to go GOOGLE it. It gave me a good laugh as my first thought was "man bag". It sort of looks like a fanny pack too. I never would have thought it would be hiding a gun. But then as I looked into it more I could see me using one of these. I imagine one for my Walther would be very large. Too bad they don't make one for the PPX ...... yet.
 
I ordered the Sneaky Pete for my LCP. I drew out the dimensions of other size Sneaky Pete, say for a j-frame, or for my Ruger sr40c and they were so large it was ridiculous looking. But as I might have mentioned in this or another post, I own a Coronado Cross Carry Bag, i.e., a man purse, that I used for years when traveling out of state on vacations or other road trips. It has a rear compartment for a concealed gun. I always thought it really yelled out "Man Carrying Gun!" but I never had a problem. Maybe as an older, white haired overweight guy no one thought I would have a gun, or maybe, as others here have stated, folks just don't really look closely at other people. I fully expect the Sneaky Pete to work just fine for my LCP, and possibly I will end up getting one for my j-frame.

I just find IWB not very comfortable for everyday wear, and OWB only works for me if I am wearing a long untucked shirt or a jacket of some sort. The Sneaky Pete will let me wear a tucked in t-shirt and regular jeans or shorts. I guess even if someone suspects that I have a gun in the case, it is closed and concealed and thus legal. And of course, I have pocket carry for times I don't want to wear anything extra at all.
 
I think I've worked out a good solution to carrying IWB. It seems the problem was never really with my size or shape. My waist band did actually have enough room to accommodate carrying this way also ( jeans have a little give to them ). What finally did the trick was going to really heavy duty leather belt that is actually 4 sizes too large for me.
I knew I had gained more weight since the last I bought a belt but thought the old one was still large enough. But, it was old and worn and it was time for it to be replaced. When I went to the big men's store the only one they had that I liked was 4 sizes too big so I bought it and ...VIOLA ! I can now carry IWB very comfortably.
I also have switched to a holster ( http://www.amazon.com/Walther-PPX-L...58143&sr=8-2&keywords=IWB+holster+Walther+PPX )that is a very soft and made of much thinner leather that covers the gun up over the trigger guard and the butt on the side that touches the skin. It sits a little lower and feels more comfortable to me.
 
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