CC "Printing"--Dark or Light Shirt?

[rlltdjpr]

It is warming up here in AL, so I am no longer able to wear a jacket. This will be my first summer concealed carrying, and I can't decide whether a dark or light t-shirt better hides the butt of my revolver from "printing" on my shirt. I am carrying IWB in the small of my back. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.

 

[BullfrogKen]

If I'm going to just wear a shirt, I grab something from the closet with a pattern. Not a Hawaiian shirt, but a nice button up "office casual" shirt. The fashion trend has seen straight cut bottoms - no shirt tail - become popular and they look nice untucked. A tasteful pattern and good material will do more to disrupt the bulge. Besides, most folks AREN'T that observant, and its just a cell phone, anyway. . .

By the way, you might want to think about moving that revolver forward out of the small of your back. If you're worried about it "printing", nothing makes it obvious what it is as when you bend down to do down something with one there. Not to mention, its impossible to practice good handgun rentention in a SOB position, the draw is much harder (unless you're doublejointed . . . owww . . . that's hurts my shoulder to think about it), and i can't imagine how your butt feels after sitting on it all day long.

 

[Soybomb]

Dark, patterned if possible. A white t-shirt is the hardest to me.

 

[allen268]

As long as your shirt isn't see-through I dont know that it matters too much, at least not that I've noticed, I started wearing looser fitting shirts when I began carrying, more comfortable and and less worries about printing.

 

[psyopspec]

Light shirts (i.e. plain white) create odd shadows when they have bumps under them. Dark shirts create odd shadows, but a shadow on a dark shirt is indistinguishable. As stated above, patterns work best.

 

[1911 guy]

Dark and patterns

I wear polo style shirts when I'm not wearing something a little more "dress-up". With jeans it's O.K. for around the house and running errands, with a pair of khaki slacks they're acceptable at most public places as not being a slob. When it's time to play "dress-up", I wear a suit coat and life is easier.

 

[3rdpig]

Much like hunting camo, what's seen isn't color, it's contrast. Things like dark shadows on light clothes, black holsters against white shirts, chrome clips on black belts or black clips on tan belts. Stay away from contrasts and your gun will blend in like a duck hunter in a blind.

I use an all black gun (Glock 26) in a black holster, black belt, black Tshirt and a dark, often patterned, cover garment. Even if the cover garment is pulled up the black Glock in the black holster, with a black tshirt as background, is nearly invisible unless someone is looking right at it. There's no contrast to draw the eye. I can even wear a light colored cover garment and if the gun somehow is uncovered it's still not noticible.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

My 3 guidelines of concealed carry cover garments...
1. Dark is better than light
2. Patterned is better than plain
3. Thicker fabric is better than thinner

-----

allen268, just because you can't see through the shirt does NOT mean you can see the gun underneath it. In some states, if you can discern it is a gun via printing through normal observation, then it is not concealed. One of the more classic examples is wearing SOB or at 4:00-5:00 o'clock and bending over to pick up something and having the shirt stretched tight over the gun, making its outline (but not the gun) clearly visible. It is sort of like the Pam Anderson test of the other side where you can see a feature even though it is clearly covered.

 

[Bob F.]

What Bullfrogken said, exactly and ALL of it!! Also "double O something!"'s right. Move your weapon as far forward as is comfortable, like 3:30!

And while we're at it: learn to draw with a piece of shirt between your hand and the grip. It's gonna happen in real life if the time ever comes. Deal with it!

Stay safe.
Bob

Sorry Doubleought, couldn't resist!