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I haven't yet.

Someone let me see a minituck and I couldn't wear it in the front or side. I want to try again in the back. I'm really thinking that behind my hip, which is about 4:30-5:00 on me, will be my ideal location to carry. I'm now looking into having custom jeans sewn for me, which I think will be just what I need.

I watched the videos last night. My husband has a supertuck so I'm going to try it again after having watched it. Falia has less height to work with (which is in my favor) but more weight to height (which is in hers) so we'll see!

I haven't seen the city slicker holsters but the shoulder holster I saw was pretty small and was hard to conceal on me without a gun in it! Falia is definitely at an advantage for concealing there and she said she had a lot of difficulty so I don't think I could pull off shoulder with any regularity.

karl wrote:Commander size 1911 in a CompTac MTAC:

I tried this yesterday. The blasted thing doesn't curve nearly as much as I do there. Think of it as trying to put a coaster up against the side of a mug and you've got the mental image of what a holster has to do if any part of it is touching me at 3 o'clock.

CompVest wrote:Be sure to clear your calendar for the TX CHL Forum day, October 23rd. I will have my bag of carry options and of course you will get to see what others use and perhaps give their choice a try as well.

We're really trying to make it work, but it doesn't look promising right now. With the cost of the hotel added in for even just Fri night, it's a little much for our budget.

I tried on a shoulder holster yesterday. I was really hoping that was going to work, but it does not seem likely. I'd either have to get a teeny-tiny little handgun to keep the butt from sticking out in addition to going up a size in shirt just to cover that or I couldn't do shoulder. I shot a .22, three .380s, 2 or 3 more 9mms, and 2 or 3 more .45s and my favorite is still the .45. I couldn't even conceal the little .380s in the shoulder holster!

I held a minituck as well. It could not go in front or on the side as even that was too large for me. When put in front, one edge went past my fly while the other had the metal clip digging into my hip bone and the edge jutting out where my body didn't. And that was on my mid-rise pants--I wore the highest waisted pants I own. It might work to put it at 4ish, though. I'd have to go up a size in shirt for that as well. I'd like to try that with a larger shirt. The owner kindly offered to let me put it on, but there wasn't a modest way of doing so at the firing line so I'll do that when I'm closer to a bathroom or fitting room.

I also held an all-cloth little pancake-style holster. I'll have to figure out what the brand was. I didn't like that it had the bottom cut out for the barrel to go through, but it would probably hold the gun closer to me so that's an option.

I'm wondering what difference the holsters that are specifically made for women would have in cut. Someone told me there's a shop around that specializes in holsters for women, but I can't recall where it was or what the name was. Any one know what it might be?

Thanks! I'm hoping to try on quite a few at the upcoming get-together.

From another thread...

seamusTX wrote:

Hoi Polloi wrote:I didn't grow up being taught how to own or use firearms safely so I'm having to take the time to learn that, though.

It's easier than learning to drive. I learned to shoot when I was 10 years old, and I have never shot anything but the target that I was aiming at. I cracked up several vehicles in my first few years of driving.

Have you considered retention holsters? They are not usually recommended for non-LEO concealed carry, but a retention holster would alleviate some of your concerns.

Have you tried carrying an unloaded handgun around the house just to see how it goes?

- Jim

No, none of the holsters my husband has will work for me. I haven't put my hands on one, or even so much as seen one yet, but I'd really like to try a shoulder holster. I'm thinking it has a lot of potential for me considering my clothing and stature as well as my concerns.

-I won't consider anything not physically touching me in a way that I would have to know if it was removed. Please don't say stay aware 24/7--it's an issue of fear with children all over and around me and if I wasn't aware for just a moment, a purse carry or something like that could be a disaster so I just won't take that risk. So off-body and detachable type arrangements are out. OWB is not a great fit for this issue, but an option.

-I'd really like to avoid OWB where a bad gust of wind could have me flashing the park moms who would treat me like I had leprosy afterwards. So IWB, thigh, ankle, belly, and shoulder are left.

-I can't handle belly. I'd be ill from something squeezing my tummy, even slightly. I'm so positive that I wouldn't even try it. It's out.

-I've read too many times how uncomfortable thigh is. I usually wear pants so it wouldn't be practical. It's out as an EDC option.

-Ankle is technically an option, but not an appealing one. Difficult to conceal when sitting and pants ride up, can't adjust it discretely, and difficult to access when carrying children and bags. Not great for me.

-IWB is proving to be a difficult match. I wear my pants very low on my hips and already have problems with needing to constantly hitch them up. A gun belt would help, but only so much. The issue is that they don't make pants with the length, thighs, hips, and waist all in my proportions on the same pair of pants so I have to go with the waist being larger than necessary which drops it down onto my hips. So I get hip huggers because at least then the above-the-legs fabric area is minimized and not just hanging down. But then the area I can use to conceal a firearm is greatly minimized. From about 1:30-4:30/7:30-10:30, I have about 3" total fabric area to work with, and that doesn't account for moving. From 4:30-7:30/10:30-1:30, I have about 4-4.5" total fabric, and after allowing space for moving and going over a firearm, I'm down to only an inch or two of room for the gun and holster. The amount of gun I'd therefore need to have above the waistband doesn't lend itself to IWB holsters. That doesn't even mention the fact that anywhere other than about 4:00-7:00 is going to print like mad on me. 7-11 is out because that area is often otherwise occupied with children or bags. Several people suggested changing my pants but that simply is not an option and would only increase the issues. Pants shopping is a nightmare for me. I don't have options there. It's possible that there's a perfect IWB match for me, but it is going to take a lot of looking.

-I'm thinking (that's never a good thing!) that shoulder holster just avoids all these issues. I usually wear two shirts anyway so I'll be able to access it easily by putting it between them. No one else could easily access it without my realizing it. It's highly unlikely to be accidentally unconcealed. I can access it while carrying a child (though I'd need to carry on the same side as the child in order to draw with my other hand, so I'm not sure about how that would work, though holstered and under clothing should be OK, I think, and access itself won't be a problem there like it would on the waistband.) It's an area I'm accustomed to having children, bags, and other constraints so that shouldn't bother me. I don't need to change my clothing style. It seems like the primary issues would be comfort and printing. I hear that the location is quite comfortable, though I don't know if I'll agree until I try it, and I could go up a size in my outer shirt if printing was a problem to see if that would help, though I think printing will be far less a problem there where people don't normally look and where your arm is covering and fabric does funny things than on my waistband, especially considering my pants.

Any ideas, corrections, thoughts, whatever for me?

Thanks!!

RPBrown wrote:My daughter has a very similar shape as you and prefers the low ride pants as well. She has gone to a vest with gun pockets. She has a leater one for cooler weather and several different color denum for warmer weather. They work well for her even when she had to carry the little one on her hip. Now that they are walking she still prefers the vest.

As a side note about the vest, she also rides a motorcycle and the vests keep the wind from blowing her shirt up to show, or pushing the shirt tight enough to print. She carrys anything from a KT-P3AT to an XD9 with no problems.

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind!

RiverRat wrote:To update, the Mrs. just got back from a week out at the ranch cattle shopping. She has worn her Champion Operator in the Mtac full time since she left, including for the 300 miles of road time in the car. Her comment was that she did not find it uncomfortable, which I take as good.

So glad to hear that!

baldeagle wrote:

Hoi Polloi wrote:Thank you so much for explaining your reasoning to me, Jeremae! It helps a lot! The point of crossdraw, for example, had not even come to mind in thinking of IWB vs. shoulder. I'm having one of those days where I have to read everything 5 times over for comprehension, so I'm going to get some coffee and I'll definitely be re-visiting yours and fm2's posts/links. I'm trying to find a video of cavalry draw on youtube in the mean time so I can visualize what you're talking about.

I had to watch this about ten times before I got it. The gun is holstered backwards. When it's drawn, it has to be reversed in the hand before it can be fired. It's easier to see it when he holsters the gun after shooting the first guy. If you watch close, you can see him reverse the gun and then holster it backwards. So, for example, you would put a left handed holster on your right side and then holster the gun the way the holster is designed to hold it, which is backwards from normal.

I had only watched it three times before giving up on it being too fast to discern. I should have stuck with it!

I think with trying to fumble kids, keys, bags, etc (am I the only one who hears kits, cats, sacks, and wives when reading that? Probably so.) that SoB carry would be better than trying to get it turned around. That's something I'd have to physically try, though.

Thank you so much for explaining your reasoning to me, Jeremae! It helps a lot! The point of crossdraw, for example, had not even come to mind in thinking of IWB vs. shoulder. I'm having one of those days where I have to read everything 5 times over for comprehension, so I'm going to get some coffee and I'll definitely be re-visiting yours and fm2's posts/links. I'm trying to find a video of cavalry draw on youtube in the mean time so I can visualize what you're talking about.

I can see why the .38 revolver with barami hip grip would be recommendable. (I googled to see pictures.) I'm afraid I'm way too paranoid about guns and kids to make that the best choice for me. I'm really appreciative that you pointed it out so I'm aware of the options because that really showed me how strongly I feel about wanting holstered IWB or shoulder.

I don't have the particular problem of upper girth many other women have so I'm more worried about the shoulder holster not being concealable than it not being accessible. I'm really curious and would like to try one on. I'm going to search the women and guns forum to see if I can get pics of shoulder holsters being worn. If you have any on women, please post them or point them out! The pink and purple holsters riverrat made are both cute! I really like the pink stamps your wife has in her magazines, mojo.

Why do you recommend appendix-carry jeremae? I think it would either hit my hip bone if at 2 o'clock or give me a frontal tail if worn at 1 due to how low my pants sit. There isn't much room in front for hiding anything.

Mike1951 wrote:I would resist any holster that uses a metal spring clip for attachment.

Me, too. I wouldn't get that one. I need something that holds it up much higher and preferably has two attachment points, preferably velcro. And I think I would prefer to carry around the 5 o'clock position. But it sure is purty!

Keith B wrote:

Hoi Polloi wrote: Now here's MY idea of pretty. Too bad it is OWB and only 1 clip.

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/ps/ps2ref3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Those are IWB holsters with that type of clip. Can't really see why anyone would want a really fancy tooled holster that doesn't show.

:D Because it is purrrrrrty. I was told that none of the toolwork holsters are IWB for that very reason so I just assumed. Now I know what I want!

Other women get Versace. I want Mernickle.

I wonder what he has for shoulder holsters....

I don't own any designer handbags and almost never carry a purse at all. It'll have to be on-body carry for me. (At this point, a group of shopping-savvy women is probably turning over in their graves because I had an excuse to buy a Versace purse that my husband should love and I turned it down. LOL!)

Now here's MY idea of pretty. Too bad it is OWB and only 1 clip.

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/ps/ps2ref3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;