Concealed Carry Holsters

Working in a retail gun holster store, I'm constantly amazed at the sheer size of some of the handguns people are choosing for concealed carry. Keep in mind that body size and type will also play a role in the size of the weapon that can comfortably be carried.

Case in point: A few weeks ago, a customer comes in the store asking about a CCW holster for his Springfield XD-45 5". This customer is 5'6" and maybe 140 lbs with a very narrow frame. Even with a typical belt holster that might be used at the range, the profile of the weapon exceeds the dimensions of his waist. Although I felt it was a waste of time, I did my best to "help" him find an IWB that might meet his needs. Nothing we tried even remotely came close to concealing the weapon as it was simply too big for his frame.

I politely breached the topic about the size of the weapon and learned that the customer liked the caliber (.45) and could shoot the weapon extremely well even at distances of 25 yards. After demonstrating the potential concealability of smaller .45's that we had in the store, the customer began to rethink his approach. Being tied to a weapon because of it's calliber or how well you shoot it, becomes kind of irrelevant if the weapon is just too big to conceal.

3 weeks later the customer returned to the store with a beautiful new Kimber Ultra Carry that he had picked up as his new CCW weapon. In 30 minutes or so, we had found an IWB set-up that worked for his needs.

No matter how well you shoot it or how much you like it, you simply won't routinely carry a handgun for concealed carry if it's too large to conceal. You may try for a bit, but, eventually, you'll stop carrying it and start looking for an alternative.