IYHO - What's the best Auto for tuckable IWB carry?

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Covey Rise

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IYHO - What's the best Auto for tuckable IWB carry?

Things to consider.

Size: Width, Length, and height
Comfort: Does it bite in holster, sharp edges or rounded
Weight: Does it pull your pants down
Stopping Power: Enough barrel length and caliber for reliable performance
Accuracy: Can you hit a 7 in diameter size target at 25 yards consistently, I know this is not completely necessary but I wont own a gun that won't do this, (like a Seecamp).

This should be fun,

Thanks,

:D
 
H&K P7M8 ? Nice and thin. Very accurate stationary 4" barrel. Really nothing to snag on a holster, doesn't have anything poking out the sides besides the mag release. You can get the P7PSP with the release in the bottom of the grip if you don't like side mounted ones.

Only downsides are the price, small capacity and H&K stopped production on these this year. Dunno how long they will continue to service them. I sold mine and replaced my carry piece with a Sig P228 but I keep having second thoughts on selling the P7. :(
 
Full sized Government 1911, I do it everytime I'm back in PA. Just get the right holster and belt and it'll do wonders for any kind of gun.
 
Kahr's are very nice. I own a P9, but I'm getting a PM9 also. Less than an inch thick, 14oz (PM9)/15.8oz (P9), accurate little things, very easy to conceal, just pretty much everything you want in a CCW pistol :evil:

My P9....

KahrP9.gif
 
Lightweight .45 acp Colt Commander in a FIST IWB holster. Excellent choice (and in a real caliber, too). :)
 
As always the Keltec P3-AT comes to mind.
It does well in tuckable carry, it truly excels at pocket carry.
Of course the .380 is a marginal round..
I personally prefer pocket carry since it's faster to access than tucked in.
 
Just an observation!

It occurs to me that one can't adequately address the question unless one also takes into consideration what holster setup will be used. Clearly, it would seem that the smaller the pistol the more effective the coverage achieved from tucking would be. But, that really does depend on the holster. Just though I would add that for consideration :rolleyes:
 
Covey Rise:

Size: Width, Length, and height
Of these three, height (referring to the length of the frame) is the biggest problem, i.e., hardest part to conceal. An Officer's length frame is ideal, an Ed Brown Bobtail is very beneficial on a Government frame. Width, to me, is not much of a problem to worry about, nor is length since you're asking about IWB carry.


Comfort: Does it bite in holster, sharp edges or rounded
A well-designed, quality IWB holster will take care of these.


Weight: Does it pull your pants down
With a double-thickness belt built for carrying a CCW pistol, along with the aforementioned quality holster, weight will be more easily distributed. A spare magazine or two on the other side can also help in this regard. However, if weight is one of your chief conerns (and a lighter pistol is more comfortable to carry, all other things being equal), alloy or polymer framed pistols should percolate up to the top of your list.

Stopping Power: Enough barrel length and caliber for reliable performance
With today's premium and high velocity ammunition, barrel length and caliber are less of a concern than they were in the past. +p and +p+ in 9mm, Corbon, Triton and Doubletap in .38 Super, .40 S&W, 10mm, .357 SIG, and .45 ACP & GAP, along with the designs of the Gold Dot, Golden Saber, Nosler, Hydrashok, Starfire, etc. yield hollowpoints that are moving fast enough to reliably expand and penetrate under most conditions, and with enough different bullet weights to match, with most barrel lengths. If reliable performance, i.e., expansion, is a concern for you, remember that, generally speaking, a bigger bullet that doen't expand is a better choice than a smaller bullet that doesn't expand.


Accuracy: can you hit a 7 in diameter size target at 25 yards consistently......
Can YOU hit that target consistently? If the shooter does not have the skills &/or doesn't practice to do so, no pistol is going to make up for his deficiencies.

With all of the above in mind, I carry the following on a revolving basis, depending on what strikes my fancy that morning: S&W 1006 10mm, S&W Sigma .40 VE, Kimber Ultra-Elite .45 ACP, Colt Delta Elite 10mm. All are carried in a Milt Sparks Versa-Max II IWB holster; with its attachment locations offset, it helps to distribute the pistol's weight & stabilize movement of the holster. I only recently (within the last month) started carrying on a Milt Sparks 1.75" wide, double-thick gunbelt. The difference in comfort was clear & surprising to me; I thought the belt I used before was comfortable enough-I was wrong.

With all that said, the most comfortable of my carry guns is.....my lightest one, the Kimber Ultra-Elite (now called the CDP). It is 24 oz. unloaded, holds eight rounds (with a Chip McCormick Shooting Star magazine), and has the Officer's length frame. More mornings than not, this is the pistol that strikes my fancy. That's what works for me.

Regards,
Sam
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I just picked up a Taurus Milleneum Pro PT145 in .45ACP. This is fairly light at 22ozs and it has a full 10+1 capacity yet is no thicker than my 1911. The edges are rounded and smooth. The grip is comfortable and the mag has a pad for your little finger support. It's a DAO and the safety is easy to operate.

I don't carry IWB (hell, sometimes after a big dinner, it's tough to get ME IWB :eek: :D but with an simple Uncle Mikes nylon holster, it slides in and out very smoothly.

I only have a couple hundred rounds thru it and right now I am getting 8" groups at 25yds. Once everything smooths out and I get more practice with it, I hope it will deliver better accuracy. I'm using Remington Golden Saber 185gr for testing it's ability to perform without fail and the recoil is very manageable. So far there have been no failures of any kind.

Definitely look at polymer constructed autos for overall light weight. The Springfield XD series at just over 20oz are excellent pistols but I wish they would be available in .45ACP. Look at the small Glocks too, if you like them.
 
George S.:

I have looked at the Taurus and liked what I saw. I have owned and sold more than a few Glocks; just can't get over how ugly they are ( just can't) :barf: . I would appreciate it if you would email me with your experiences with the 145 after you have had time to wring it out a little more.

Thanks! :)
 
Without a doubt, the FN HPDA. The stock area is wide to allow a double-stack magazine, but the slide area is thin like the traditional HP. Thus, slipped into an IWB, the overall package has about the same width. It eliminates the added width of the holster. Also, the compact is quite small.
 
The Kel-Tec P11, hands down. 11 rounds of full-power 9mm in the smallest and lightest package available. Disappears in an IWB holster.
 
I vote for the Kahr PM9. Out of all the guns I've tried, the PM9 is the easiest to carry IWB.

It meets all of your considerations.

For me, at least:
It is very accurate and has good sights (7" at 25 yards is no problem)
So small and light I forget it's there (I use a cheap thin belt and a thin leather IWB holster)
I have confidence that 9mm +p Gold Dots will be effective.

I'm sure other guns could work well for you too, but the PM9 is my choice.
 
I like my Kahr P9 Covert, which is very similar to the PM9, just a 1/2" more barrel length. Accurate, lightweight, and relieable.
 
Oddly, full size 1911 for me. Its length actually compensates pretty well for me, distributing the total area of the gun around nicely... Of course, a 4" or 3" with a brommeland holser (since it has the "paddle") would also accomodate that effect.
And it feels THIN!
 
Glock 21 in Milt Sparks VersaMax 2

Size: Width, Length, and height:: 1.27", 7.59", 5.47"

Comfort: Does it bite in holster, sharp edges or rounded?:: No. It's very square though.

Weight: Does it pull your pants down:: 38.28oz loaded. No, it doesn't pull my pants down, because I wear quality belt.

Stopping Power: Enough barrel length and caliber for reliable performance:: It's not a .22LR shot out of a 3" barrel and it's not a 12 ga shot gun. It's 45ACP from a 4.6" barrel and there are non +P jhp rounds available that will push 230gr close to 1,000 fps at the muzzle. It will work about as well as any handgun for personal defense.

Accuracy: Can you hit a 7 in diameter size target at 25 yards consistently, I know this is not completely necessary but I wont own a gun that won't do this, (like a Seecamp).:: Yes, easily.
 
I just got an XD9 subcompact and I use it in a Tucker Texas Heritage. It works well for me, but I'm pretty skinny.

The Kahrs would work well too. Eventually I want the K9 or PM9.

Also the new CZ RAMI looks like it would be pretty good in this role.
 
One thing I forgot in my last post was that it is really hard (for me at least) to actually tuck the shirt in around the gun. Granted that I am new at this thing but it takes me an extra 5 minutes to get my shirt looking presentable and the gun concealed.

This also makes it a big pain in the neck to practice your draw.
 
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