CCW Discussion for the Skinny Guys

I'm around 6' tall and 160 lbs.
I carry a Baer Stinger in a Versa Max II at about 3:30.
And I was on the cross country track team in high school (long time ago, but I'm still in shape) and can still run a mile in a little over 7 minutes. Back in school I ran a mile in 5 minutes and 15 seconds...thats not really anything special, but I'm proud of it...

I carry a G23, IWB, at 3 oc. I'm the same weight as you, but half a foot shorter, and have no problem hiding the G23, under a T-shirt. Three o-clock is the most comfortable for me, driving especially. Any farther back, and the grip starts printing if I bend over, and forget about sitting or driving, with a gun in your back.

It varies from person to person...I'm a truck driver...I drive 10 - 12 hours every day with my gun right there....doesn't bother me at all.

3:30s not bad, but any more than that, and the lump in the back feeling won't go away

5'10" 140# and I carry a 4" short frame 1911 STI Ranger IWB at about 4 o'clock or so. I can get this thing concealed by just about any "tuckable" shirt I wear. Given the design of the holster I don't think I could get concealment with a tucked in shirt. So I do end up wearing something over it. This shot was taken the first night I had this holster and It's gotten very comfortable to wear even while driving. It tuckes up nicely underneath my rib cage, kinda pressures the kidneys but it's not that bad.

#1 rule to remember as a skinny guy CCWing - no one will notice. Really.

I have a SmartCarry rig - they're great, but especially with a small, thin gun (I keep a Kahr P9 Covert in mine). I also have a leather motorcycle jacket with a gun pocket - I keep a Ruger P90 in it. The jacket is bulky and totally hides the gun. It holds the gun in a position basically like a shoulder holster rig, but I can take my jacket off and not flash anything. Btw, I am 5'10" and about 155 lbs.

I typically carry an airweight ( I know, not an autoloader) IWB at 12 o'clock. I'm 5'7" at about 140 lbs. A medium size shirt untucked is baggy enough so it doesn't show in the least.

The down side is dropping it in the toilet, plus it's, er, pointed in a scary direction.

Thinking about a Kel-tec for the same carry location.

#1 rule to remember as a skinny guy CCWing - no one will notice. Really.

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Why?

I wouldn't call myself skinny, but I'm not fat either. I am 5'9", and weigh 180 lbs.

I carry a Glock 19 in a Blackhawk Serpa holster.

#1 rule to remember as a skinny guy CCWing - no one will notice. Really.

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Because people just... don't. They're not primed to look for the outlines of guns under shirts. We are.

Secondly, you know exactly where your gun is, so when you look in a mirror, you can see it and are convinced that everyone else can see it too.

Throw some minimal cover over it, and be done with it.

I'm 175lbs at 5'11". I also have to wear a suit 5 days of the week. Most of the time I do not wear the jacket. I also spend most of my time seated. I had a hard time with my carry options. In my opinion IWB tuckables didn't look right, and I could not get my dress belt tight enough to keep my pants up.

I regularly carry a Colt Mustang .380, a 9mm CZ Rami (more often than not), a S & W 9mm 59, a Glock 36, and sometimes a Springfield Mil Spec GI 1911A1.

After much experimentation, I came up with the following:

Everyday in a suit or anywhere I'm required to tuck my suit I carry the CZ in a belly band in the cross draw position. The butt of the CZ fits in right under the belt line with the muzzle pointing in a safe direction. Blouse your suit ever so slightly, no one knows it's there. It's also short enough that it does not interfere with the hip joint. I also have a High Noon IWB tuckable that works well for this size pistol, but that works better when positioned at about 4:00. I don't try to carry anything bigger in the belly band.

Any other time I can use about anything depending on the length of the cover garment. I use a Milt Sparks IWB VM2 for the 59. An OWB High Noon Snapper and an Andrews IWB Mcdaniels for the Glock and an OWB holster from Springfield for the 1911. I have other holsters that I can use as well, but those are part of the experiment.

Dressed causually, I generally OWB holsters. I think they are much more comfortable. It is quite a challenge to find a carry holster that you are comfortable with and works with your wardrobe and lifestyle. If you have friends that carry, maybe you can borrow a holster to determine if it works for you. I would also get a holster that has a slide shield to protect you hide.

Good luck.

I find I have to shift guns further around to the back than most guys due to the my thin waist. I am fairly broad shouldered, but have a 32" waist so if a gun is at my side the butt tends to protrude out the back if I bend forward at all. Only wearing a jacket or really baggy clothes helps with this as it lets my shoulders produce a space below them where the gun can hide. If I move the pistol around to say 4:30 to 5:00 this tends not to happen. Various holsters work well for me in that position, but typically I am wearing a Crossbreed or C-Tac. I can hide a fairly large gun in a Crossbreed so long as it sits well back behind me. I even have rigs from them for my Witness Limiteds and TRP Operator just in case I feel the need, but the weight of those guns will pull your pants down unless you wear a very tight belt.



Being skinny certainly poses challenges in CCW. Over time I have come to be more of a fan of light weight guns mainly due to the pants drag issue more than just the weight itself. Either your jeans are falling or you have to tighten the belt so much that it is uncomfortable. I long to carry my various full size steel guns, but in general it is just not practical.

John

I noted a lot of 1911s in this discussion...

another reason I need one. Kinda hard to conceal a double stack when
one is 6'1" and 157 pounds.

GP

6'1" and 157# ??? Good Lord man, pile some more on yer plate !!!!!!!!!!!! I'm 6'2", 225#, and work out and drink protein shakes cuz I feel thin!!

I'm 6'4" 175lbs. 32" in the waist.
Yea, it sucks.

I went from H&K P2000, to Glock 19, to Kahr MK9.
Right now my always gun is S&W 442.
It pulls on my pants the least.
Pocket holster and off I go.
KelTec P32 is great too, but... it's a .32 AUTO :-(

I'm yet to find a gun / holster combo that will not undress me after several minutes of walking.

I think I'll try Glock 26 or Kahr PM9 soon. I/OWB or pocket.

Being skinny sucks for packing heavy heat on the belt.

Well, I'm 6'1", 170#. I carry a fullsize 1911 in a (very aptly named) Galco Summer Comfort IWB at about 4 o'clock. Its incredibly comfortable, most of the time I can hardly feel the gun there. Any time I'm not on campus, I've got the gun on, even sitting around home, never have any comfort issues.

I can have some serious printing issues with some of my fitted t-shirts or dress shirts (mostly with the rear target sight), but its not really a problem in the middle of winter, and dress shirts with a non-fitted cut don't print, and I have plenty.