[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I'm going to turn 21 in about four months, and I'm pretty stoked about it.

The one thing that I've been assuming, but not bothered to ask anyone is this:
Does being a larger framed dude make it easier to carry?

I'm more or less 6'3", 220-something pounds.

I plan on carrying a full sized 1911 as my daily carry.


What do you all think?


P.S., the great thing about being Mexican, is that you can wear shirts like this in hot weather and still look cool, :):

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/4692/235220blue2010020pima20ql1.jpg

[AZ Husker]

Bigger is better! A nice thing about being a middle aged white guy is you can wear unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts!

[Jackal]

If only I was fatter, so my dunlop could just flop down over my handgun....

[Autolycus]

Guyabarra shirts are nice.

[jwxspoon]

The nice thing about being 40 is I don't give a crap about what anyone thinks of my clothes. :)

jw

[19-3Ben]

heh. When I knew I would be able to start carrying regularly (finished school in MA, and came home where I have my CWP), I actually lost weight so I could wear guns IWB without needing to buy bigger pants.

[massglockman]

i dont see it being a prob im 6'0 250 and my guns i carry disappear and i never need a snap strap the love handles hold the gun in the iwb holster

[Don Lu]

Im a bigger guy..in the process of losing weight..I find it harder to carry IWB w/love handles..the gun may disappear but it is uncomfortable..Im finding that the more weight I lose the more comfortable CCW'ing IWB becomes. YMMV.

[jrou111]

I have lost 50lbs in the last 6 mo. and it's getting harder to conceal my .44 Taurus.

On the bright side, I can wear a still a 2XL shirt and the bagginess works great with OWB.

I'm looking forward to being able to IWB with a smaller auto and it not be uncomfortable.

[dsgrntldPW]

At 5'9"/235 lbs I find that my 'Dun-lops' over the belt seem to help push the butt of my pistols farther out, making it more difficult to hide my IWB CCW. However, this is primarily with the double-stack mags such as my G27 & G19, which should probably be expected. My J-frames disappear and the single stack autos are hit-n-miss.

Thank God that with age, Tommy Bahama and Torre Richard you can usually overcome these little irritants. You do wind up dressing for your carry piece.

[Dravur]

I regularly carry a 870 shotgun with a 28" barrell.....

I gotta lose some weight... hehe

[Colin Doyle]

I'm 6'4" 300 lbs and I carry a 2" Taurus M85UL snubby OWB. I wear Dickies double-knee work pants, a sturdy leather belt, and a 3XL-tall Dickies work shirt untucked (over a tucked-in t-shirt). Unless I'm bending away from my strong side while lifting overhead, the holster is not noticeable and there is no printing. I keep the holster close to a 2 o'clock position normally, then slide it back against the next belt loop (approx 3 o'clock) when I sit down in a vehicle.

Colin

[CajunBass]

I'm 6' 0" and about 290 so I'm sort of lumpy. I could probably hide an AK or something and not many people would notice. Who notices an old fat guy anyway? Most people have never even noticed when I'm open carrying, or if they have only a very few have ever asked about it. (Usually along the lines of "Can I do that too?")

[tinygnat219]

Depends on mode of carry, for OWB, it's difficult. I am 6'1 and a tad over 300, IWB is ok, but pocket carry is the best by far...

[mpmarty]

I'm only 5'9" and 175 lbs. I carry a Taurus PT145 (45acp small double stack semi-auto). I am not large enough to carry owb without going to extremes so I carry iwb and use a crossbreed iwb holster that has a large leather "pad" that conforms to my hipbone at the three to four o'clock position and is very comfortable and the holster is "tuckable" also.

[vanilla_gorilla]

I'm fairly close to your size, I'm 6'2 and 225. I conceal a full-size 1911 every day in a Milt Sparks VM2. It's not a big deal. Most of the time, I'm wearing jeans and an XL T-shirt.

[DawgFvr]

Nope...it does, however, make you a bigger target.

[Joe Demko]

If you're big enough, you can just tuck the gun between two folds of fat. or under one of your manboobs. Such carry demands a piece with good corrosion resistance, though.

[TimboKhan]

I have a glorious set of manboobs, and while they could probably keep the Keltec in place, they really wouldn't "conceal" it.

As the self-proclaimed resident expert on being a gunny and morbidly obese, being fat makes carrying big guns harder, at least in my experience. It does help make smaller guns disappear, and while my love handles aren't such that they flop over the gun, the sure do keep the grip from printing.

That being said, I am probably going to die of a heart attack before I hit 40 if I don't change something really soon. I make light of it, but it's a problem.

[Caimlas]

I'm 6'2" and 160lb. There's not much that I can easily conceal, to be honest - not without big, baggy shirts. I've got a friend that's 6'4" and about 240, and he has no issues. Another friend who's 6' and 210 or so likewise has no issues - though he says it's harder, now that he's lost quite a lot of weight (used to be 280 range).

[Mad Magyar]

I'm more or less 6'3", 220-something pounds.

I plan on carrying a full sized 1911 as my daily carry.



With your size, no problem in any carry mode...I'm about your height & 205 and feel concealed/comfortable in any mode....My preference in the winter is shoulder as pic'd and cross-draw OWB in the warmer days....:)
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q148/veritas2369/ShoulderRigOfficersModel001.jpg

[VARifleman]

Full size 1911s are easy to conceal. I'm 5'11" and 165...hardly big at all, I have no trouble with them.

[Rumble]

Physical info: I'm 5'11", about 300lbs (not so good), but fortunate enough to have it distributed so that I'm just kinda BIG all over. Definitely got a gut, but i'm more or less barrel-chested (my shoulders are broader than my waist, but not drastically so).

Anyway - I have found:

1. OWB is the best, most comfortable way to carry. But you gotta dress for it, and that's not always possible. Camp shirts are wonderful, if you can get away with them.
2. IWB with the right size pants and belt is perfectly acceptable, and conceals very well.
3. Appendix carry is not acceptable. Gun digs in, can't sit down.
4. Shoulder holsters are somewhat acceptable, because reaching across yourself is an interesting proposition for a larger fella like me, and shirts don't fit very loosely - so the gun is more likely to print.
5. I cannot conceal a Glock OWB - due to my love handles, the rear corner of the slide juts out and tents my shirt. Not very subtle.

It is my estimation that the easiest body shape would be broad shoulders and a significantly narrower waist, to allow shirts to hang more loosely. However, since I'm not actually built like that, I don't know for sure.


Edited: Oh, yeah, forgot to add:

Ankle carry works (bearing in mind its various limitations). However, if you have ankles that are 13 1/2" around, like mine (due to - I kid you not - being big-boned), you're gonna want some big pants.

[stevereno1]

I am 6'-2" and 300 lbs. Yes a biggun! I have to get the xxxl+t shirts in order to conceal a handgun on the hip, which is where I carry my G-27. Here in Georgia, there isn't much of a winter, so extra clothing, like a vest or jacket is not usually worn. That eliminates a shoulder rig.
It aint easy being this big and good looking(like Hoss without the cowbot get up and the 6" thick jawbone. Just for the record, My Mom says i'm not fat, just big boned.LOL!

[stevereno1]

btw, I can bench 300 lbs:what:, so I may be able to push a badguy off his feet if i need extra time to draw.

[rdrancher]

The nice thing about being 40 is I don't give a crap about what anyone thinks of my clothes.

Just wait til you get to be 50!

rd

[Javelin]

The bigger you are the smaller the firearm appears on your person. Your profile will dictate what you can and cannot carry concealed (and in some cases even carry physically as slim jim doesnt move the m240 very quickly ). :)

[Ed Ames]

Try it around the house. Get a belt, a holster or two, and either the gun you plan to CC (if you are buying FTF/it was a gift/whatever) or a pellet/airsoft equivalent if you can't yet possess the real thing.

I don't carry in public yet (class is this Saturday, then figure another couple months to get the license) but I've been getting holsters and the like and wearing around the house to see what works. The biggest surprise is that I can put a full-size BHP-style (old school steel double stack mag 4.6" barrel service size) pistol in an IWB holster and it disappears under a normal untucked shirt unless I raise my arms. Oh, I can feel it there, but as long as the holster cant is right it really doesn't print or interfere with normal motion (standing, sitting, jumping, walking, crouching, etc). I wouldn't hesitate to go out in public with that gun on my belt though I wouldn't carry it (or anything) at work where being made might get me fired. A slightly smaller gun like the CZ-82 is even easier to conceal but it conceals the same way.

When I first started seriously considering CC'ing I assumed I'd need to buy a P3AT or NAA mini to have even a chance of concealment. Now I can see how a full size 1911 would work just fine.

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I'm fairly close to your size, I'm 6'2 and 225. I conceal a full-size 1911 every day in a Milt Sparks VM2. It's not a big deal. Most of the time, I'm wearing jeans and an XL T-shirt.

Thanks Vanilla Gorilla, that's exactly the advice I was looking for.

That's also really good advice, Ed.

Yeah, I'm not big in that sense, I wear a large or XL shirt, hahah.
Thanks for the advice anyway, dudes.


Will do.

[Rexster]

It depends on where you are big. Big shoulders + narrow hips makes CCW easier, with a wide variety of carry options. Narrow shoulders and a wide waist and/or butt means it can be difficult to conceal even small weapons.

[The Law]

I'm 6'6" and about 265. I carry my G21 SF daily in my MTAC. (I could probably fit a couple more in there). However, with my build, I CANNOT carry spare mags OWB. They stick out. I'm looking into an IWB mag carrier now.

Dark and/or patterned polo shirts are your friend. :D

[Ala Dan]

Yes, I think girth (as in people) has its merits. Lot of options out there for
concealed carry; find out whats best for you, and go with it~! :cool:

[W.E.G.]

Depends on what you carry, and how you look.

If your wardrobe leans toward tightly-tailored clothes, forget ever buttoning your jacket.

If you are already tent-size, then you present wardrobe may already be adequate.

[Owens]

6'3", 270lbs.
Bersa .380 IWB or (preferred) full size 1911 OWB in a Masters holster at 3:00 with a long (well below gunline) jacket in winter.

The spare tire provides a nice shelter for the both.

Summer carry: .380 in belt pack at 3:00. It doesn't even look like a gun pack!

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

Thanks for all the info, guys.

I do have pretty broad shoulders, so I think I'm good to go.

After reading about the Versa Max II in American Handgunner, and hearing great things about it here, I think that it's the holster I will go with.