comfortable concealed carry holster in hot weather.

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BrandonFromTampa

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I carry a Sig Sauer P239 and I'm looking for a good concealed holster. I work at a convenience store and I currently carry it in an Uncle Mike's paddle holster which works fine because I'm on private property and the boss knows and likes that I carry, but I get nervous whenever I'm out in public because it doesn't take much to expose the gun.
I live in Florida. We don't wear jackets. No one wears suits, not even lawyers really. I wear shorts very often, so ankle holsters will not work. I'm also fat, 5'11 285 lbs. And I work eleven hour shifts so comfort is important. I like the Galco Y hook or j hook design, at least in theory. Can anyone who owns one tell me about them, pros and cons? And what about other holsters? What do you use and what do you like and dislike about it? I don't want to say that money is not a concern, but I'm willing to spend some money to get the right one the first time.
 
Is Florida one of those states where "printing" or otherwise accidentally showing your gun will get you in trouble? If not I'd not worry about it.

If it is an issue, a good tuck-able holster like a Crossbreed Supertuck or Comp-Tac Minotaur would work well, however they have a lot of surface area so they may not be as comfortable in the heat + humidity.

I'm wondering if one could cut some terry cloth and stick to the backside of one of these holsters.
 
Hey Brandon from Tampa, I'm Dan from Pasco Co. ;)

I currently have on order a Comp-Tac MTAC minotaur holster on order. I will be carrying my m&p fullsized .45 in it shortly. they supposedly conceal large pistols quite well.
 
I carry in a Tucker Texas Heritage, it is very comfortable and I recommend his products. I tuck my shirts in, and this holster does a fine job of everything it is supposed to do. The main change for me, back when I first started carrying in this holster, was wearing an undershirt. In hot weather, I'm miserable. Someday, I'm going to try out a CrossBreed or other tuckable, but my main issue is the undershirt.
...cut some terry cloth and stick to the backside of one of these holsters.
Click to expand...
I've been thinking about something like this for a while now. I've wondered if there are any holster makers who are using a patch of cotton or other fabric on the inside of their holsters to nix the undershirt need. If I could somehow paste a patch of t-shirt or silk to sit between me and the holster, I think I'd be in heaven because I really can't stand wearing layers in summer.
 
I have a low opinion of J-hook retention. For one thing, if you look at a picture of one carried on a belt, you will see that the weight is not supported by the belt, but by your pant waistband. And it looks entirely too easy to pull the hook out from under the belt when drawing. I suggest a more conventional IWB holster with a full width clip that hooks firmly under a belt, or straps. With a straight hemmed, long tailed shirt a little on the large side, untucked, this will provide concealment without looking out of place. Also wear a T-shirt or A-shirt - preferably from a synthetic, moisture-"wicking" material, not cotton - between the holster/gun and your skin. A gun butt and slide against bare skin is horribly uncomfortable and can cause your gun to rust. Although your gun has a "clean" profile with no projections, a holster with a body shield is also helpful.
 
BrandonfromTampa:

I'm out in Plant City, just east of you. Give me a shout if you're interested and I can show you what we have.
 
Supertuck or similar, wear an undershirt and a covering shirt plus a good belt and you're good to go.

As far as a cloth backing added to a holster, if you do it make it easily removeable and replaceable ... my Supertucks are OK for occasional undershirtless carry but eventually they'd get nasty and I don't think they'd do well in the washing machine.
Maybe a hardhat liner could be repurposed? Maybe Velcro on the holster's rim and sewn to the cloth backing?
 
I'm thinking you get some plain black towels (or other dark color ... white is gonna get funky). Then cut them to the shape of the holster and stick them to the back side of the holster either with velcro (sticking the "loop" side to the holster so you can still use it without the velcro) or just double stick tape.

Make several of them and then you can toss them in the laundry ... swapping them out daily if necessary.


I live in the cool, dry, rarefied air of the Rockies so a t-shirt is generally enough to protect a holster for me.
 
I'm a sweaty fat guy in Ohio, and a T-Shirt under the holster is plenty for me as well ... but sometimes I dislike wearing two shirts, I'm sort of liking the concept of having a washable/disposable under-holster shield and ditching the undershirt.
I've even got some ratty old shirts in nice material that have been awaiting MrsBFD for sewing machine practice, perhaps if I'm nice she'll make me a couple holster-socks out of an old cotton/silk or linen shirt.

But as far as the OP goes, I'm still all for a hybrid IWB design for confort, either that or all Kydex will protect your hide and the gun from each other best.
 
Now... if this is the starting point of a million dollar idea, I want to publicly state that the holster liner/sock thing was my idea.:p

Seriously though, BFD's idea of a fitted jacket/sock for the holster's body shield is a good one! All I could figure was to sew the fabric to the leather or use some type of adhesive to glue it there.:eek:
 
I'm going to talk to my sewing expert on this one, and see if I can convince her to whip up a crude prototype out of scrap fabric, followed by something from an old linen shirt I wore until it was see-through.

Seems like a pattern would be fairly simple, cut around the leather backer with ~2" extra in all directions, fold and trim it to make it stay on the holster, maybe add the Velcro to the FRONT of the holster?

And here I am with lots of comfy cloth material and lots of Velcro ... I just need to figure out how to do this without permanent modification of my holsters until I'm 100% sure it is a winner. I forsee a lot of binder clips in my future, at least.

if this is the starting point of a million dollar idea, I want to publicly state that the holster liner/sock thing was my idea.
Click to expand...
It may be your idea, but I calles it a holster sock FIRST!
 
If you get the Supertuck, order it in horsehide, which is 15 bucks extra. That is a more dense hide and resists sweat better. Only possible drawbackother than slight extra cost is it's tan in color, as horsehide can't be dyed very well. The regular ST is black. I live outside DC and got horsehide. As someone said,wear an undershirt and no issues
 
bigfatdave said:
I just need to figure out how to do this without permanent modification of my holsters until I'm 100% sure it is a winner. I forsee a lot of binder clips in my future, at least.

It may be your idea, but I calles it a holster sock FIRST!
Click to expand...

Well there you go, make it a sock type thing that fits over the entire holster with holes for the clips or loops and you don't need anything else to affix it to the holster.
 
I got my MTAC from comp tac, and I tell you, first try was NICE. Concealed my fullsized M&P .45 very well, under shirt, with button up(unbottoned) over shirt:

DSCN2030.gif
 
One nice thing about the Minatour is that they line the back side.

MTAC-Back.jpg


Should be more comfortable that way (still not so nice against the skin, but no leather is).
 
Oh I disagree about not being nice against the skin, It was very soft, almost not noticable, then again, i wear boxers, Not briefs ;)
 
...then again, i wear boxers, Not briefs.

I'm more concerned with my love handle. I can wear a holster without an undershirt for a quick errand out of the house, but for more than a couple hours, I begin to feel the burn.:fire:
 
Thanks everyone. I appreciate it. I was worried that the y hook might not be very secure. I don't want anything that is supported by the waistband of my pants. I'm going to look into the minotaur thing and the guy from plant city.
 
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