Well, I now have a firearm which I carry daily - legally of course! Which means I now need to take the steps to make sure I don't freak the general public out because we all know, everyone with a gun is a bad guy! (Thanks US Gov't!). So I ask, where would you folks suggest buying shirts for the younger generation (22 year olds) that are a little longer then usual... I wear a L/XL now, I really really don't want to have to bump up to a 2XL or 3XL just for this matter. I am a firefighter, so I like wearing those kinda shirts, I don't mind certain firearms shirts and I do like to wear USA made products... HOWEVER - I do not like paying 35-40$ for a tshirt...haha Any ideas, suggestions?
You can get a lot of stuff in Long; the sleeves will be longer too though. I wear a large, but have longish arms, so after a few washings, regular Large long sleeve shirts look funny because the sleeves are too short. Maybe look into those. I got a shirt from Eddie Bauer, but a lot of companies make them; sort of like the fishing shirts if that makes sense? They are pretty loose and are cut a little longer which would probably help with concealing. Here is a link to the kind of shirt I'm talking about.
Get yourself a good in-waistband (IWB) holster like the ones CrossBreed sells. Set it and forget it. No special dressing required - other than a bit of extra room in your pants' waistband.
Yes I am in CT, I also wear a jacket and a fleece quite frequently with a tshirt but when I bend over to pick something up, or step out of my truck they ride up showing the firearm until I realize I gotta fix it. Old Faithful Holster IWB on order, right now I'm carrying it in the pants loose right above my . With everyone in the firearm craze my holster is on order but is taking 3-4 weeks to ship....sucks. I contacted them to let them know my issue, the person I spoke said and I quote "due to your current holstering issues, we will make every attempt to expediate your shipment process, you should be recieving your tracking number in the next few days." Talk about customer service! fwiw for a disclaimer.... I do not carry with one in the chamber, with the trigger not being covered I'd hate for my inside tshirt to get into the trigger guard and accidentally discharge.
What make and model do you carry? That can make a big difference on what holsters will work and what carry styles and/or clothing changes you might have to make. Duluth Trading Company makes a line of shirts with extra-long shirt tails, if thats something that would help you. Remora holsters are a good IWB option for some guns, using friction to keep the holster in place. Glocktech makes some minimalist IWB holsters if you like the "gun stuck in your waistband" mode but want the trigger safely covered. They have models for a number of pistols, not just Glocks. Personally when I carry I either go with an OWB high-ride pancake style from UBGHolsters when I will be wearing a jacket that I won't be taking off, or when I can wear an untucked shirt, or pocket carry in a Desantis Nemesis holster when I can't wear a concealing garment. Different guns in those situations. Glock 26 in the OWB or a S&W j-frame when pocketing.
Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm Full Size... I can't wear an OWB holster, even though my lovely state is a "open carry state", they still will throw me in jail for OWB if I am considered a "breech of peace" or am "disorderly" in any way.... Little side story, we had a guy here in state who was OWB carrying... was at the grocery store with family and went to reach in his pocket to grab cash...well someone thought he was going for his gun and drew down on him, after some misguiding words and misunderstanding the cops were called and the gentleman was thrown in jail for breech of peace and disorderly conduct, even though he was within his legal rights to carry openly.
Oh I never open carry, I just prefer the comfort of OWB over IWB. I always wear either a light jacket or an untucked shirt so that the gun is still completely concealed. So with your gun pocket carry is out of the question. If you're not an untucked shirt kind of guy, get a few lightweight jackets that won't cause you to overheat indoors, so that you won't have to take them off. Long term I think you'll eventually have to buy a smaller gun for summertime carry but always-untucked shirts can work too. You might be able to work it with tuckable holsters such as the Crossbreed and its many clones, or the Comp-tac MTAC. If you go with tuckable holsters then your shirts will need to be a little baggy around the waist and you'll want shorter than normal shirttails to minimize the amount of material that is bunched up around the gun. I've carried my G26 in my Comp-tac tucked before but wasn't happy with the overall result and felt that if I had to get to it I would have to work at it to tug up the shirt and get it out. Better than not having it but still not ideal. You'll just have to try different things until you find what works for you.
^this "As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives [only] moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun, therefore, be the constant companion to your walks." -- Thomas Jefferson, writing to his teenaged nephew.
Raven Concealment Vanguard holster gets good reviews if u like the minimalist carry method. I've had good luck with a Galco kingtuk which is essentially a Crossbreed clone. Those style holsters spread the weight out and give multiple options to conceal. The 1 thing, I can not stress enough," Buy a good belt". This makes a night and day difference.