Share your person evolution as a person who carries concealed.

[gryghin]

Since it was brought back to life, I'll add.

I inherited a Beretta M71 that came with a leather shoulder holster. I carried that for years and had my 1911 at home. I realized that I wanted to not carry that 1960's piece that much since I wanted to pass it along to one of my kids. I think I came across this thread and read others about CC.

I bought an Alien Gear Holster for the 1911 and Sig P238, I carried it with a new leather belt at the beginning of 2014.

I used these in rotation and then ended up getting a 92SF by the end of that same year.

I realized that I had been buying a new leather belt about once a year and during this summer this year, sprang for a SlideBelts Survival Belt which is costly but well made and very stiff. We'll see how it holds up, but in the 6 months that I've had it, it is still as stiff as when I got it.

Sometime since 2015, I bought a G19... it was from Frontline Arms here in Beaverton before Casey got hurt and I've got that in the rotation.

I started out with a great IWB holster and have bought more of the same. I can carry any of them and forget that I have them on. Today I was trying on jackets at the Levi's outlet, I had my G19 and wore a mock turtle neck shirt. No one was the wiser. Tucks in real nice and doesn't print.

I realize that a superior belt is necessary and I think I've found one.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I still drag my backpack behind me with a ten foot rope.
hey, if it works..

Oh edit, I'm still ciphering on picture taking so.. brb

 

[P7M13]

I still drag my backpack behind me with a ten foot rope.
hey, if it works.. Does she wear a burqa?
Oh edit, I'm still ciphering on picture taking so.. brb

Compact 1911 in OWB, SOB and shoulder. Have an IWB too, just haven't tried that yet.
Compact 10mm, used to be in a Bianchi pancake, very comfortable, but that's collapsing and wants to rack the slide when I holster. Just picked up a kydex similar to my 1911 OWB. If it doesn't work, will look at alienwear.
Contemplating a small frame, like the 938, so I can have something while wearing shorts in the summer. Haven't jumped yet.... I was thinking .380 but watched a video yesterday where the good guy put 7 rounds from his 380 into the perp, who ran a few blocks to his car and drove himself to the hospital. See it here:

 

[peternov01]

I started carrying legally in 01' at 185 and 5'11" in california and due to that i started with a Kimber Compact Stainless that has been one of the best pistols i have ever owned. I carried it everyday for many years, and it is still in my "bag". Now i'm 240 (i know i'm fat and married) and trying out a H&K 45c with a Vetter holster and i got to say I plan on getting more stuff from them, it is really comfortable. Course i have been using the same kydex IWB holster i got years ago so there is that... ultimately i was carrying the 45 on one side and a spare mag/surefire light in a kydex rig on the other and a third mag in my pocket. As well as a gerber multi tool on my belt and one or two knifes. After years of that i'm down to the gun, the gerber, and a pair of knives for my edc, with my light rotated in and my bag always close. the one constant has been the multi tool, it may seem insignificant but i don't think a day goes by i don't use it....i was wearing it the day i got married.

 

[gryghin]

Compact 1911 in OWB, SOB and shoulder. Have an IWB too, just haven't tried that yet.
Compact 10mm, used to be in a Bianchi pancake, very comfortable, but that's collapsing and wants to rack the slide when I holster. Just picked up a kydex similar to my 1911 OWB. If it doesn't work, will look at alienwear.
Contemplating a small frame, like the 938, so I can have something while wearing shorts in the summer. Haven't jumped yet.... I was thinking .380 but watched a video yesterday where the good guy put 7 rounds from his 380 into the perp, who ran a few blocks to his car and drove himself to the hospital. See it here:

I didn't know that the sheepdog was using 380. I may have to change from my p238 to the p938.

 

[Backfire]

My physique has changed over time and I've managed to fill my clothes with a knife & fork. I was able to carry full-sized autos like my Kimber Custom II or CZ75B discreetly, but that seems a challenge these days and my trousers seem to migrate due to gravity. I often carry a SIG P232 .380 ACP in an IWB holster but for questionable environments, especially in wintertime, I carry the Kimber .45 Auto in a shoulder holster. I want to avoid the requirement to frequently adjust my trouser belt, so the shoulder holster takes the weight of a full-size auto off my belt while acting as suspenders or braces to keep my trousers in the proper position. The .380 ACP is so compact and light that it's not a concern.

 

[Medic!]

I can't remember a time when I wasn't packin.

 

[Stomper]

Started packin' a 1911A1 and/or an Italian 92F (and once in a while a S&W 357 6" Highway Patrolman) in a Bianchi vertical shoulder holster in '87 and never felt the need to change for years and years. Went to IWB and a G30 (cuz 45ACP) about 7yrs ago, bought a G19.4 (cuz 9mm+p has improved) about 18mos ago with IWB, and a G43 with IWB and Urban Carry concealment holster for deeper concealment options. I'm over 50yrs old now, 6' tall @ 205lbs with no flabba-lanche goin' on around the mid-section, and I also still have that 1911, 92F, S&W, and Bianchi shoulder rig.


FYI- All of my IWB holsters are now exclusively @ORYGUNHolsterCompany products, because they're top-shelf kit!

 

[ArtBrownSr]

I tried to carry concealed but then I'd have to buy pants that are two more inches around. I hate buying pants when the ones I have still work even IF some of them are from 2005 ( I'm NOT kidding).
So I carry OWB but covered by a pull over DU fleece and / or a vest. I call it "Subtle Carry" as it may print occasionally, or show the bottom of the holster.

 

[American123]

Used to own only a Glock 29 as far as CC goes and carried it mostly appendix.

Then I got a Glock 20 and switched between the 29 appendix and the 20 4pm OWB

Did that for a while.

Then I got a sig 938 and Glock 17. I've shot the 17 and 938 more because if ammo costs. I also have put on some weight in my progression of CC over the last 8 years. I carry appendix a lot less as a result lol....

These days it's mostly a Glock 17 with a TLR HL attached OWB under a T-shirt or jacket and a spare mag in a Safariland horizontal mag holster on my belt.

Summer becomes the Sig 938 IWB and a spare mag if I am somewhere really busy, otherwise still a Glock 17 under a T-shirt OWB. I don't really care if I print a little, most people don't know what they are seeing and don't even think about someone carrying a gun.

 

[Beauness]

Since it was brought back to life, I'll add.

I inherited a Beretta M71 that came with a leather shoulder holster. I carried that for years and had my 1911 at home. I realized that I wanted to not carry that 1960's piece that much since I wanted to pass it along to one of my kids. I think I came across this thread and read others about CC.

I bought an Alien Gear Holster for the 1911 and Sig P238, I carried it with a new leather belt at the beginning of 2014.

I used these in rotation and then ended up getting a 92SF by the end of that same year.

I realized that I had been buying a new leather belt about once a year and during this summer this year, sprang for a SlideBelts Survival Belt which is costly but well made and very stiff. We'll see how it holds up, but in the 6 months that I've had it, it is still as stiff as when I got it.

Sometime since 2015, I bought a G19... it was from Frontline Arms here in Beaverton before Casey got hurt and I've got that in the rotation.

I started out with a great IWB holster and have bought more of the same. I can carry any of them and forget that I have them on. Today I was trying on jackets at the Levi's outlet, I had my G19 and wore a mock turtle neck shirt. No one was the wiser. Tucks in real nice and doesn't print.

I realize that a superior belt is necessary and I think I've found one.

 

[teflon6string]

Good Grief what on earth were you searching for to dig up this long dead thread from 2009
teflon97239

No kidding! I probably saw something interesting in the Similar Threads section down below whatever I was reading and swooped on it like a starving pterodactyl.

 

[zenmonger]

My "evolution" - Ok, a long, long time ago, in a far away land called Los Angeles, the first EDC I had was a percussion cap, single shot derringer, carried illegally. This was in the early nineties (the NINETEEN nineties - I'm not THAT old). It was a cute little .45, loaded with way too much green dot powder behind a 230 grain .45 auto slug filed down just enough to squeeze down the barrel. My lack of thought process here was that it would truly be used only in the most dire of life or death situations, and not knowing if the thing would take off some or all of my hand guaranteed it would only be used as an absolute last resort. That dire emergency never arose, and one night while riding home from a bar on the ten freeway, a wheel came off a car two lanes over and hit my Kaw 650 bike in the wheel, yanking the whole bike out from under me at 60 mph. In the ensuing hilarity, the derringer went flying out of my pocket, and I never saw it again.

Fast forward to 2012. I'm older, Budweiser, and my cousin is hosting permit classes at her house. She convinces me that it is my civic duty to carry because I am capable of keeping my head in a high stress situation and equally capable of killing a bad/psycho/criminal lowlife in said situation. I began to think how I would feel if, God forbid, such a situation arose, and good people died, with me standing around unarmed, and I decided she was right. Now I carry an older hammer LCP, modified with removed mag disconnect, night sights, steel spring rod, stiff spring, cut down safety lever, and the nastiest ammo money can buy. But the thing that makes this pistol my EDC is the added belt clip that allows me to carry IWB without a holster, plus I can put in a pocket and the clip will keep it from falling into it. I can shift where I carry it on my person easily. I would use the clip on other guns but it doesn't work as well on anything else I tried.

 

[pharmseller]

Early in my evolution I talked about carrying concealed.

Now I don't.

The less I say about it the better. No disrespect intended, but (God forbid) if anything should happen anything and everything I've ever posted will be information to be used against me.

Someday I'll evolve to the point where I don't even respond to threads like this.

And anyone who clicks the "like" button on this post is an idiot.





P

 

[druiseeker]

I started carrying a Springfield 1911 in an OWB holster under a coat or long shirt. Great gun, but I felt uncomfortable with the weird looks I'd get sometimes when the wind or various activities exposed the weapon. I later switching to IWB where I found the TRP not working well for me as I started getting heavier. I switched to smaller and lighter pistols. Along the way I've acquired many great guns that are a joy to shoot, but something about them always prevented me from wanting to carry them for very long. Eventually I started to find the right balance of pistol/clothes/holster/belt that would allow me to effectively carry concealed with a pistol I felt comfortable with. The main lessons I've learned (for myself and my situation) are:

1. Belt designed to hold the weight of a gun.
2. Pants with belt loops in the right places.
3. Holsters that have positive retention, features that aid in concealment, and are comfortable.
4. A pistol thats as close to full size as you can away with, works well, isn't going to print with whatever clothing is worn, and above all else - is something you wouldn't mind carrying.

Seeing where others have been and the difficulties they've experienced is a great learning experience. I wish I had seen this thread when I first started carrying. The money I could have saved...

 

[DONOTBUGME]

And anyone who clicks the "like" button on this post is an idiot.


P

I could see you wanted a like, but are too proud to ask for one. I got you.

 

[HB of CJ]

My evolution getting to where I am today would take pages. Chapters. Let's just say that today I am quite happy with a CrossBreed Super Truck inside the pants holster and mag carriers. Non combat cutaway. Tan horsehide. Standard steel clips.

Browning High Power Mark 3. Blue. HIgh three point sites. Hi speed +P+ springs and guts. Four, (4) extra 13rd Belgium designed, Portuguese made spring assist "rat trap" mags for a total of five and 65 rounds. Not for Zombies or a poor aim on my part.

But instead the weight of the loaded extra mags about equals the weight of the HIgh Power. I have nothing real bad to say about my holster. You can pack for a long 18 hour day and actually forget you are carrying. That comfy. After break in completely quiet.

I am 6'1" tall and did weight over 230. No printing. Now close to 200 going downward due to the continued diet and exercise. Even a summer tee shirt does not print. About the only bad thing is the practiced draws. Lifting the clothing to get a grip takes practice.

Aged 72. Started with the 1911 .45 but found much to my surprise I could present and get hits quicker with the 9mm Browning HIgh Power.. Age marches on. A ambo thumb safety sealed the deal downsizing. Left handed. Will always need that thumb safety.

About the only improvements possible in the CrossBreed would be to incorporate some sort of increased gun retention. How I do not know. Also consider captive holster and mag carrier clips. Right now practice wrestling gun take aways sometime succeed.

The High Power is ALWAYS carried. Even in the home. Again that comfortable. We live in Southern Josephine County in SW OR USA. Next to ZERO law enforcement. None. Thus the need to carry. At night the gun goes under the pillow. So far so good. For now.

Concealed carry does NOT make me feel big and powerful. I am still an old man who no longer can get in fights. Concealed carry for me is for that ultimate horrible situation where I can no longer run or beg. Like said .... Awesome power. Awesome responsibility.

P.S. Right now the carry ammo is the Federal 9BPLE +P+ 115 grain Jacketed Hollow Point. The Corbon Powerball is not available.

 

[Jonnyuma]

An old but interesting thread. I like it.
I started OC-ing when I moved to AZ (from 29 Palms, CA). I went all-in with a stainless MK lV Colt... that was in 1989. As CC became a thing in the 90s I put away the tooled-leather holsters and the big 45 and changed with the times, albeit slowly. I got my holsters from Bianchi, Milt Sparks, and Wild Bill's.
My first plasti-gun and striker fired piece was bought in 2012... an XDM 40. I bought my first hybrid holster that same year, up until that point it was leather or nothing. I think my first 9mm happened around the same time... it was quite the rennaissance. Geezer-hood has made me more open-minded.

 

[zenmonger]

Compact 1911 in OWB, SOB and shoulder. Have an IWB too, just haven't tried that yet.
Compact 10mm, used to be in a Bianchi pancake, very comfortable, but that's collapsing and wants to rack the slide when I holster. Just picked up a kydex similar to my 1911 OWB. If it doesn't work, will look at alienwear.
Contemplating a small frame, like the 938, so I can have something while wearing shorts in the summer. Haven't jumped yet.... I was thinking .380 but watched a video yesterday where the good guy put 7 rounds from his 380 into the perp, who ran a few blocks to his car and drove himself to the hospital. See it here:

Precisely why I refuse to carry smaller than 9 mil, and I'm fully aware of a 9's limitations as well.

 

[MrRob96]

At 6'1"/200# I'm not bulky enough to conceal a 1911 anywhere but in a shoulder rig under a sport coat or jacket (Bianchi with 2 spare mags under my right pit). Happily, I don't wear that uniform anymore.

These days, I keep a small revolver or single-stack 9mm in a strong side hip holster under a Hawaiian shirt or flannel. Nothing super custom or stable. I slide it forward and back between belt loops (through my shirt/jacket) in order to stand, walk, sit, drive, etc.

I used to go find trouble for a living, but I carefully avoid it now. So I'm hoping that 5, 6, 7 or 8 rounds (depending on what I'm carrying), might be enough to create sufficient distance and run like hell without getting caught up in my first gun battle.

Actually, I'm gonna pick up a couple hi-cap double stack 9s - soon - before the Dems officially destroy that possibility here too. Not sure about concealing those yet until I get them, but we'll see.

Are you purposefully resurrecting old Playboy Penguin threads thinking he'll come read this?

Just pay him money on YouTube super chats like John Vedek or A. Singh.