New gun or just a new holster?

[kd7nqb]

Ok so as a resident in Portland where we have been breaking heat records consistently for the last week, I am facing a serious dilema. This dilema is that my current CCW is a full size M&P .40 carried IWB in a MTAC holster. I love this set up 99.5% of the time. However the one downside to this set up is that it requires me to wear an undershirt.

Fat guy + Undershirt + 100 degree heat means = CCW become real uncomfortable real fast.

So I see two options.

1. A new small gun like P3AT or LCP that could be carried in a pocket

2. A different holster to carry my M&P. Any suggestions on a OWB holster that carries high enough to conceal under a pretty standard T-shirt?

I have wanted an LCP for a long time but they are so back ordered that I am starting to consider getting a P3AT instead.

 

[2RCO]

I started out carrying a Springfield Micro in .45 ACP.. I found quickly that this didn't work well in Summers so I switched to pocket carry of a P3AT. Obviously .45ACP is a more effective caliber --But what good is it if it's a PITA and I don't carry it.

 

[Just One Shot]

LCP works for me in those situations.

 

[zombienerd]

Lots of mouseguns to choose from nowadays Check out

http://www.mouseguns.com/PocketAutoComparison.pdf

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Perhaps an undershirt of a moisture-wicking material? Cotton (the usual material for undershirts), once it gets wet with perspiration, can be quite uncomfortable, actually trapping heat. If your undershirt is a full T-shirt, you might consider switching to an A-shirt (colloquially known as a "wife beater). Also, the current climatic conditions you describe are unlikely to continue forever.

 

[vintage68]

Carry the gun you train with.

Ever taken a 2 or 4 day pistol course with a .380? I highly doubt it. What happens if you're called on to actually use it? You won't have the muscle memory or familiarity to use it when the adrenalin is pumping.

Carry the gun you train with.

If the holster is uncomfortable in hot weather (I carried IWB in Florida, so I know of which I speak) then you need a better holster/belt combo.

Carry the gun you train with.

 

[vintage68]

P.S. The old wife beater works well in hot weather. Generally a very thin material that will keep a layer between you and your pistol.

 

[AK103K]

Buy the LCP because you want it.

Get a good kydex holster, like Blade Tech, especially if your planning on wearing it against your bare skin.

 

[Dr_2_B]

I believe you should stick with the proven gun you have & find another carry method. There's a pretty big difference between the effectiveness of a 4o and a 380. Besides, idiots like me buy more guns when it makes more sense to stick with the one you're good with.

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

I've carried several pistols under a T-shirt only with a Blade-Tech UCH and they were well concealed.

 

[ByAnyMeans]

I think anyone who carries concealed should have not just a primary but also an "always"gun that is there no matter what. Obviously I think you need another gun. Which one you choose is a matter of preference.

 

[Big Mike]

kd7,

Being a big guy, having grown up in the Puget Sound, and now live in Florida (I didn't know what real sweat was until after I moved here...) , I will offer that Option #1 is likely the decision that will be the most gratifying for you, and meet your current needs and wants. I would say, that in around 4-6 weeks, the weather will turn, if not sooner (as I'm sure you know it will) and the brutal heat will subside. I have carried mostly full sized pistols, concealed, since turning 21 nearly 20 years ago, and for me, having spent hundreds of dollars ranging from the cheap to custom holsters, the best of them just don't make the pistol lighter, particularly the longer you wear it.

I always recall what someone told me a long time ago that carrying concealed is more comforting that comfortable. My Ruger SP101 doest just about both. Good luck. Mike

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

That's an additional benefit of Kydex holsters.
They keep moisture away from your pistol.

 

[AK103K]

I used to go through two, good leather holsters a year until I got my first Blade Tech kydex holster when they came out. That first holster lasted 10 years of hard daily use before it and the gun were retired and I still have it today. In those 10 years, I replaced a couple of straps, and broke a small piece of the sweat guard off, as you can see.

The gun, a Combat Commander, in its original blue, lasted almost a year in its second Galco Royal Guard before rust took over and I had to have it hard chromed. That in its own right says a lot about Colts blue, as the gun was in a wet holster all day, every day, from early spring till late fall. It then rode those same 10 years in the Blade Tech, with very little troubles. It still shows wear from constant use and holstering, and I still got that faint surface rust once in awhile around the grips, but nothing like before.

Before kydex and hard chrome, it was a constant struggle to keep rust at bay.

Colt and Blade Tech just after they were retired. The holster on the left is a new one I bought as a back up just before I stopped using the Colt. There are some pretty good wear marks on the Colt you cant see in the pic due to the lighting.



This is a pic of the last Royal Guard I had, taken about the same time as the ones above. It was sitting in a holster box until I found EBay and sold it, and the new Blade Tech above. The Galco was used about a month at the beginning of summer at that point. The duct tape was a feeble attempt at slowing down the sweat soaking the leather. It didnt work.

 

[dairycreek]

Hello Fellow Oregonian

I'm from North Plains and we have been sharing Oregon's superhot heat wave as well. I sympathize with carrying a "full bore" CCW in this weather as I am a real perspirer. My solution has been to carry my LCP in the Galco Pocket Protector holster shown in the pic. My LCP has a Crimson Trace on it so you have to order the Pocket Protector accordingly if you have a CT.

The holster is inexpensive, fits well in either my right front or rear pocket ( I wear loose fit jeans) and certainly protects both me and the gun from sweat. I sure do recomment it highly.