How many conceal carry full size auto pistols?

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If a browning hi-power is fullsize, then yes I do. it's pretty easy, but I'm 6' 2", 190 lbs and dress pretty loose. Kinda like a high class hobo.
The key really is to not fiddle with it. If you worry about it, you mess with it and that "tell" is what gets ya.

I tried carrying a para ordnance P14 and an FNP 45, but they were too bulky for me to not worry about.
 
I have and carry a PT1911AR and a PT-145; not sending mine in, I like it too much. I use SIG P-220 holsters for the PT-145, they fit it quite well. I have several good IWB holsters fr the 1911, as well as a Remora that comes in handy.
 
Bulky is subjective.

I'm an average size guy and when working as a plainclothes LEO I've carried Govt Model 1911s, S&W 659, Beretta 92, Glock 17, and 4" S&W K frames at various times all concealed in a IWB holster under a loose fitting tshirt. A lot of people told me they were too big to conceal but I did okay.
 
I sometimes do. But only in limited circumstances. If I'm making a quick trip out of the house where I won't be doing a lot of reaching or bending or sitting, and if I can wear a coat or very large shirt, then I will sometimes carry a full-sized pistol.

I don't carry full-sized in IWB, because I can't carry at work, because I want my pants to fit me, and because I'm not going to buy two sets of clothes in different sizes. That means when I carry full-sized, it's OWB and that means a pretty long cover garment even for just walking around. For full concealment under all reasonable circumstances without constantly pulling at your cover garment, you have to wear a shirt so long that it's practically a short dress. Or, I guess, an alternative might be to wear a high-rise holster that puts the gun way up on your torso--as long as you could draw from that position.

If I could carry all the time, then I might be willing to buy all my pants to accommodate a full-sized pistol worn IWB and that would change things.
 
I frequently carry full sized pistols... even my Desert Eagle and 8" Dan Wesson 744...
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from the truck to table at the range.

For concealed carry my XDs 3.3 in 45acp is as big as ever go. Most days I carry my LCP... and I have a gun on me every day, all day. All my friends that conceal carry full sized pistols never actually seem to have a pistol on them. They always brag about packing their hogs leg... but don't seem to actually carry it with any regularity at all.

0128192159.jpg

For open carry in the woods I like the extra rounds my XD mod 2 sub compact with extended magazine gives me. Nice and light with 13 fairly stout rounds.
 
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I first started carrying an FM90 Hi Power and now carry an HK Mark 23. The only time I carry smaller is dictated by clothing but that's uncommon for me.
 
I’m the guy on the forum whose year round edc is a Beretta 92FS in a Milt Sparks Executive Companion holster. I have carried this gun and holster combination for three years now. I either Open or Conceal carry depending on the weather. Now that the summer weather is here I will Open Carry for the next several months. Technically my carry is more semi-open carry as it is iwb. I make no effort to conceal the grip and slide that is above my belt. When Fall arrives and I start wearing a jacket I still carry the same gun and holster. It just happens to be concealed because of the garment.

I have only seen one person notice my gun. It was a pharmacy clerk as I was picking up my meds. She didn’t say anything but kept staring at it. Mind you I was standing directly in front of her only 2 or 3’ feet away so it was very easy for her to notice.
 
Back in the day, when there wasn't such a huge choice as to the size of concealed carry guns, I use to go with a Colt Government, Colt Combat Commander, or a Browning Hi-Power if I wanted a full size service type gun. If I went smaller then it was a Charter Arms Undercover or a S&W Model 36, typically in a Bianchi IWB clip-on holster.

The .38 Special snubbies we're real easy to conceal; the full size guns usually required some sort of cover, either a jacket or vest, to conceal them effectively.
 
Ive carried full size handguns daily for about 45 some odd years now. As bannockburn said, at the start, there wasnt a whole lot of choice if you were carrying an auto, revolvers were usually K and N frame Smiths for me, if I was carrying one. Mostly, it was a Colt GM's or Commanders in an IWB holster.

After a short stint with SIG P220's, P226's and P229's, its been Glock 17's for the past decade or so.
 
sparkyfender said:
My favorite full size carry gun is the Hi Power, which is surprisingly easy to conceal considering the 5" barrel.

View attachment 844694

I have also carried a Sig 226 and a GLOCK 21. Much bulkier, but not impossible.
Click to expand...

I keep idly thinking about sending mine to C&S for a trigger job and beavertail addition (mine slide bites the heck out of me), then it would be a fantastic carry gun.

Too bad spare mags baseplates are razor sharp and I had to swap them for Beretta 92 baseplates for my offside carry. Ugly but more comfortable
 
flashhole said:
What is the gun in the botton left corner. Beretta?
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Correct. A Beretta 92 INOX. It is the second hand gun I ever purchased nearly 30 years ago and the gun I have the most trigger time with. I actually traded my first hand gun straight across for it... a Ruger P85 with 6 HiCap magazines. That was during the national HiCap magazine ban. The gun shop probably threw the P85 away and sold the magazines for a fortune.

The Beretta will always be one of my favorites. It works much better for me than the CZ-75D compact right above it.
 
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For me, it's a weight issue. I have no butt, so I can't keep my pants up with anything much heavier than 30oz unloaded. Suggest suspenders, do you? I'm 45 years old and my wife would put me in a nursing home if she saw me in suspenders.
 
What, are you saying only us old gents are allowed to sport suspenders? I got no butt either, I just cinch up the belt real tight and roll with it from there … You can find suspenders that can be worn under a shirt, though, for those that are fashion-conscious and worry about what people think about them ...;)
 
In DA/SA and in 40 I've carried a beretta 96. A USP 40. And a 226 in 40. I only do so during winter. Otherwise I carry a Glock 27 in a crossbreed. It gives up 2 rounds to the Beretta, 3 to the Sig, and 4 to the HK. And it's much more concealable and shoots nearly as well.
 
guyfromohio said:
For me, it's a weight issue. I have no butt, so I can't keep my pants up with anything much heavier than 30oz unloaded. Suggest suspenders, do you? I'm 45 years old and my wife would put me in a nursing home if she saw me in suspenders.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have the same problem... if I want to carry a full size 1911 I have to glue skate board traction tape to my butt.
 
Now I do have a lightweight Commander that does a nice job of concealing. Other than weight, 1911s really conceal well in all sizes.
 
If you're willing to dress around the gun, you can carry pretty much anything you want. A Gov't model 1911 was my carry gun for about 3-4 years and it worked just fine. I used a sturdy belt and an IWB holster. On rare occasion, I still carry it, but I've moved to an OWB leather. I just need a longer cover garment.
 
The carry gun and method vary with destination.

Around my small town, it's a snub revolver 38 or 357 IWB appendix carry. That includes church.

If I gotta go to an urban area, I up-arm to a glock 22 OWB at 4 o'clock .
OC or concealed (cover garment), the guns are strong side.

I always run Perry suspenders to keep my britches up, even if I'm not carrying.
 
Minimal summer attire: loose fit untucked shirt with plaid, print, stripe, (A-frame/tank underneith) and cargo shorts.
I can conceal a Glock 22 AIWB and it will be invisible.
 
trying to decide if I can summer carry/hide an HK P30LS- or do I buy a VP9SK

;)
 
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