Concealing a 1911 with a budda belly

[YellowLab]

I am a large guy.. 6'1" 280lbs.

I am looking for a good way to conceal a 1911. An under the arm rig works best, but requires a jacket.

Anything on my hip bulges out 3+ inches.

Whats left? Small of the back?

Pics of members with concelaed guns would be great...

[kbheiner7]

A good IWB won't work for you? I'm 6'1" and 240 lbs., my 5" 1911 disappears in my Brommeland MAx Con V.

[Lupinus]

Anything on my hip bulges out 3+ inches.
Just put it in front and when it is bulging and anone asks tell them you are happy to see them

[Azrael256]

What are you using in your waistband? I'm toting a double-stack .45 in a Milt Sparks IWB holster under an XL t-shirt in perfect comfort. With a high quality IWB holster and a hawaiian shirt (or something similar), you could probably hide a desert eagle. A good holster and belt should make the pistol sit flat against your side. Usually problems come from the pants being too tight. My waist is about a 35, but my pants are 38. If I wear a 36, I'm comfortable without the pistol, but when I put it on, what little love handles I have push the butt of the gun out from my side and make it stick out about like you described. The gun and holster need to be a part of the holdin-the-pants-up rig, not just something stuck into the belt.

[1911 guy]

Get a good holster. Milt Sparks, Lou Alessi, Galco, El Paso Saddlery all make good stuff. Uncle Mikes won't cut it for concealment.

Carry behind the point of your hip. I'm a little shorter and a little lighter than you, but no flyweight, either. Marriage has been good to my stomach! I carry a full size 1911 OWB, my wife can't tell unless she sees me before I put on my shirt.

[imas]

When I first started carrying I bought a decent IWB holster from Wilson Combat and a $10 belt from walmart. My gun was sticking out big time and it was also very uncomfortable. This holster just wasn't working for me.

I would really love to have a milt sparks vm2 but when I wanted to start carrying I couldn't wait 4 months to do so. :barf: I bought a Threat Solutions UCR and it is amazingly comfortable. I had one when I carried a 1911.

I'm now carrying a Glock 17 in a UCR and it conceals perfectly under a t-shirt. I think the site is www.threatsolutions.com

Desantis makes a copy of the UCR but some say it isn't as nice. K&D also makes a nice looking holster of a similar design.

I'm also using an Aker polymer reinforced belt. It is black leather and very nice. It was only about $40. www.galls.com should have them. Just look under dress belts or do a search for Aker.

But now I'm very comfortable and concealed very well.

[BullfrogKen]

Anything on my hip bulges out 3+ inches

What are you using now/tried and didn't work? Belt, holster, please; they both matter. And is it a 5" steel 1911?

[ccw007]

I second Brommeland's Max Con V. It works well with a full size 1911. The comfort is unbelievable too. It is the best money I have spent on a holster and I have bought a couple 100.00 holsters.

[Byron Quick]

Yellowlab,

I've probably got a bigger gut than you. I'm an inch and a half shorter and weigh about the same.

We need to know your belt and holster. I carry a full size 1911 with a Galco OWB holster on an instructor belt. Holster is at 3 o'clock. I can carry a Kahr P9 in a Milt Sparks holster at 5 o'clock with the 1911 with no problems.

T-shirt and Hawaiian shirt or shoot me vest in the summer. Safari jacket in the cooler months.

Trying to go cheap on belt and holster is a big mistake. I know. I made that mistake for a long time.

[jfruser]

Mucho good advice here.

I am 6' and weigh 265 (back in August I weighed 295).

A 5" 1911 is completely doable for those of us with "a few rolls in the bakery."

Requirements:
Quality GUN belt (1.5-1.75" leather or reinforced synthetic)
Quality holster (IWB is my pref) Milt Sparks VM2, HBE COM, many others---with attachments sized to work with quality gun belt above
Pants 1+ size larger than usual (for IWB)
Cover garment other than skin-tight T-shirt

[YellowLab]

I guess my newbieness is gonn show:

1 inch leather belt, Uncle Mike clip on holster. I used to use an under the arm rig.. but not useable in summer.

I guess I am using crap.. and should expect as much.

Next gun show I'm actually gonna stop at the holster table.

[Sergeant Sabre]

It's not that it's crap, it's that the Unlce Mike's rig you speak of wasn't designed with the utmost concealment in mind.

A high-quality concealment holster is not cheap. Check out www.lightningarms.com for outstaning help getting top-notch products from makers like Milt Sparks. I carry a 5" Colt in one of his VM-II holsters under a regular t-shirt with total confidence in its "invisibility", so to speak. However, that holster runs over $100.

Somebody mentioned the UCR from www.threatsolutions.com. I had one of those before the VM-II. A good holster, I must say. It's not quite as comfortable as the VM-II and, for me, seemed to print the butt of the pistol more than the VM-II when I bent at the waist. I have to agree that it's an excellent value, though. Worth checking out, at least.

[Mr.black]

i'm about 5'9" and 180 pounds i wear a trench coat and i got a right handed shoulder holster and i carry a 9mm with a 15 round clip. no one even knows i have it. and the concealment is very good. but i need a perment frist before i carry it everwhere.

[Car Knocker]

And what, pray tell, is a "perment frist"?

[BullfrogKen]

Well, before I held my tongue I was gonna say before you abandoned hip carry you should try something better than a 1" department store belt and a clip on from Uncle Mike's.

Unless you want to walk through life in a black trench coat like our friend here, trying to make do on the cheap isn't going to work. Get a quality gunbelt - Rafter S makes a great value and it will do the job - and get a quality holster. If you want to walk about armed while dressed sensibly you'll need to spend money on it to do it right.

Galco takes a lot of money from people who could have gotten something nicer for the same price from someone like Milt Sparks, Alessi . . . the list goes on . . . Galco reps tour the gun shows, but if I'm gonna spend the same $$$ that a leather artistan charges, I go with the small guys. They're the innovators, and they WILL make something that works for you. Go visit these shop's websites, pick up the phone, and call them. They will set you up right.

[jojosdad]

+1 for Holsters by Eric (HBE). I have a COM2 that I got from another member here and it's a beautiful, comfortable, and functional IWB holster. An added plus is that he's a member here.
http://www.hbeleatherworks.com/

[Iggy]

6'2" 275 with chronic dunlop's disease.

I carry a Govt. sized 1911 all day every day with a "good" gunbelt. (Gunner's Alley) and either a Sparks or Alessi IWB with off set loops.. ie VMII or Alessi WSDT.

Holsters of similar configuration from Brommeland, Bulman, HBE and many other "holster artisans" will work very well.

You can buy cheap lots of times trying to find what you want, or you can buy quality once.

Your choice.

Talk to Craig and Audrey at Lightning Arms Sports for a start.

Or go here, and take a lunch...:evil:

http://www.1911forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112607

[BullfrogKen]

YellowLab, did you find anything suitable to your tastes? I noticed you said elsewhere you work for BAE Systems. Would this be the facility in York, PA? Have friends there . . . I'm only a short trip north. You'd be welcome meet me at the range and sample from my collection of higher end 1911 leather to see what you liked. None of it is for sale, but you can try it out for comfort.

Car Knocker asked: And what, pray tell, is a "perment frist"?


I believe he meant to say he needed his permit first.

[Bwana John]

Some great Ideas, Im 6'2", and 250 lbs. Here is what I found works.
High quality gun belt(Wilderness 5 stich instructor)
High quailty (Galco "Avenger" OWB holster)
Hawiian shirt in 2XL-long
5.11 concealment vest

[The Drew]

I'm a big guy too, and prefer OWB pancake style belt holsters for comfort and concealability, A good belt is a MUST. I usually carry my 1911 in a DeSantis speed scabbard, Relatively inexpensive @ $50 for a leather rig. check gunnersalley.com for a good belt. I wear it at about 4 o'clock.