Tuckable holster for my 1911...do they work?

J

jdthaddeus

New member
I am thinking that I might want to try a tuckable holster to wear underneath my dress shirts.
Do they conceal or do they print? I can't imagine how it would really conceal underneath any tucked-in shirt.

Who makes a good one?



Thanks
 
Yes they work really well in my opinion. I bought a tuckable from Wild Bills at the last gun show for my Kimber Ultra Carry and I was amazed at how well it works. When you tuck your shirt in around the pistol you puff your shirt a little. The gun conceals in the puff which is completely natural looking. The only sign of a gun is the metal retention clip on your belt which noone notices. If they do then just say it is a clip for my pager which I forgot to put on. Because the belt is so tight against the holster and your shirt is in between you don't have to worry about your shirt comming untucked. This method is not quite as fast as others either since you have to yank your shirt clear to get at your gun. My next holster purchase will be the Milt Sparks Versa Max II. This is a tuckable holster that completely dissapears with special clips.
 
I also have a tuckable from Wild Bill, and I really like it. But I use mine with a smaller gun (Star Firestar Plus), so my experience may not translate to using one with a much larger gun.

But yes, they do work -- and are very concealable.
 
For four + Years

I've been carrying an Officers Model in a Milt Sparks VersaMax II for more than four years now. I work in shirt sleaves in all kinds of weather. I "blouse" my shirt to prevent it from pulling tight across my gun while I work.

"Does it Print?" Well, in that time, I've been "printed" twice. Once by my lawyer, who knew that I carried, and was looking for it. And another by a firearms dealer at whose home I was working. I am often around LEOs, and if they noticed it, they chose to say nothing.


Yr. Obt. Svnt.
 
I carry the Browning Hi-Power in a Milt Sparks Versa-Max II and sometimes carry it in "tuckable" mode. In that holster I haven't had a problem with printing; but the Hi-Power isn't as tall as the 1911 either.

The main problems I have had with the tuckable feature of the VM-2 are as follows:

1) Those Kydex clips are rock solid. Once the holster is clipped on, it isn't moving anywhere so make sure you like the position before you continue tucking in your shirt and getting dressed.

2) Heavier steel frame guns (like the 1911 and BHP) will catch loose parts of the shirt between the gun and your back and "iron" creases into them every time you sit down. Pretty soon you end up with horizontal creases running down the back of one side of your shirt - nobody has ever figured out why that was happening; but it does look a bit odd.

You can get around that by wearing lightly-starched cotton shirts that wrinkle all over the back the moment you sit down anyway, or you can go with sweaters and other shirts that are more crease resistant.

3) Wear pants with a fly; because every time you have to do undo your belt/pants, you can expect to spend 10-15 minutes tucking your shirt in again. After a while, you get more familiar with the holster and it doesn't take as long and isn't as much of a pain.

I've also used the Glock 26 in a Galco Deep Cover tuckable holster. I didn't care for that holster at all. The J-hook is exposed and difficult to explain - also the holster was so thick that it looked like I had a small tumor sticking out from my side when tucked in. You couldn't tell it was a gun; but it definitely didn't look natural. The J-hook is also useless without a good quality gun belt to retain the holster during the draw and tends to shift around.

In general, I'd recommend the VM-2 for an IWB holster (especially if you want tuckable). The way the clips are spread out offers greater stability and also makes the holster more narrow so it doesn't stick out as much. With a narrow gun like the 1911, this rig is pretty slick. As a bonus, if you don't feel like messing with the tuckable aspect, it comes with belt loops and can be worn as a regular IWB holster (although the Kydex clips are good enough that you can wear it without a belt and just the clips)
 
Thanks for the info. Just to clarify, are the "Kydex clips" you guys are talking about "Talon clips"? I have a Watch Six Dual Talon with the Talon clips, so I was just wondering if the clips on the VM2 are the same or something different.

Thanks!
 
jdthaddeus, I'm glad you asked this question. I took the good advice from the replies and am ordering one of these. Thanks for the tips, guys.
 
jdthaddeus - the kydex clips on the VM-2 are very similar to the Talon clips but not identical. Imagine the Talon clips on the Watch Six redesigned so that they are tuckable and you have a good idea of what you are dealing with.
 
I think the VM-2 is a great holster and I own three. Never do I use the kydex clips for tucking. Yes, they are rock solid. Yes, it can be something of a chore to get the tucked in well such that there are no "pulls" from the clips. The clips also don't allow much room for tucking, so heavier weight shirts don't tuck that well. Thin dress shirts tuck much better. Any length of the shirt that would hang below the holster much be packed or folded into the clip, so there can be a problem with bunching. As such, being able to pull up your shirt to draw the gun first requires enough strength to overcome the clips, then the bunched fabric in the clips. I have managed to rip one shirt while practicing to see how well it would work. Somebody in another thread had suggested that it was really a two pull endeavor to get to the gun, but I think it can be done in one big pull, but it has to be a strong pull.

Galco makes a Deep Cover holster that uses a j-shaped piece to loop over the top edge of the pants and then hook under the belt. There is little or no pinching of the fabric in the V-shaped tuck area, nothing to snag on. I have one for a Colt Pony and it works well. The largest size they have, I believe, fits a Glock 26/27 and apparently nothing for any size of 1911s. The one other drawback it has is no body side sweat shield to keep the top rear of the gun from touching skin. Ideally, this holster should be worn with an undershirt to prevent skin contact.
 
Another TFLer that I shoot with has the Milt Sparks, and it works really well for him.

I use a Be Secure bellyband, worn around my waist with the gun in regular IWB position. It is super thin, and I can tuck my shirt in over it easily. The only disadvantage I can see is that I cannot reholster one handed. Retention is actually pretty darn good once you tuck your shirt in and cinch of your belt.
 
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