IWB vs OWB

[england]

So I've been carrying everywhere since I got my license last week. Before it arrived I bought 2 holsters, a Fobus paddle, and an Uncle Mike's IWB. I really thought I'd use the IWB, but after one carry decided I hated it - it was just too tight inside the belt. So it came down to start buying baggy pants, or carry outside the belt/waistband. So now I'm using the Fobus paddle OWB. The first few days I wore a sweater and a jacket, where nothing was visible. But after a few days I noticed nobody even looks at your waist, so just went with the sweater. There's a slight bulge, but I don't think much different that if it was IWB. Also, my pistol (a glock 19) clicks securely into the paddle, so I feel very comfortable with the round chambered.

Anyone else given up on IWB for this or other reasons?

[Mike1951]

It seems you're learning just how personal finding a holster is. In my own experience, I find the Fobus paddle does not work for me. The only justification for a paddle is if your routine requires taking the holster off and on frequently. If you decide on OWB, you should probable look a good quality belt holster.

And don't rule out IWB because you bought a cheap nylon holster. I spent over $100 in 1997 on an excellent IWB holster and have never regretted it.

With holsters especially, you get what you pay for.

[longtooth]

I am strictly OWB except for very few specific needs.

A good IWB holster will not be as thick as the Uncle Mikes. Try to find someone close that will let you wear theirs for a day. Especially the ones that have really good reviews.

[Zee]

I bought an IWB from HBE for my Commander. It takes some getting used to since it rubs right against me. I bought a used Don Hume OWB pancake style that also pulls tight with less rub.

The IWB covers the barrel but feels very much there.
The OWB has more gun & holster exposed but feels a little better.
Then it hit me my winter options aren't the same as my summer options.
I'll end up with as many hoslters as my wife has shoes if I don't put the brakes on it.

[frazzled]

I bought an IWB from HBE for my Commander. It takes some getting used to since it rubs right against me. I bought a used Don Hume OWB pancake style that also pulls tight with less rub.

The IWB covers the barrel but feels very much there.
The OWB has more gun & holster exposed but feels a little better.
Then it hit me my winter options aren't the same as my summer options.
I'll end up with as many hoslters as my wife has shoes if I don't put the brakes on it.

Yep. I use both, depending on circumstances and what clothing I am wearing that day.

[The Annoyed Man]

One of my first OWB holsters was one of those Fobus paddles for my USP compact early in my CHL experience, but it wasn't the first holster I bought. That honor goes to a hand made kydex IWB holster I bought from one of my CHL instructors to fit a commander length Sig GSR 1911 I owned at the time. I don't use either anymore.

But, the Fobus did teach me that there are times when I prefer to carry OWB to IWB. I eventually sprung for Galco Concealable Belt Holsters for my 3" and 5" 1911s, and a Desantis Speed Scabbard for the USP Compact. That's a $265 investment in three OWB holsters right there.

And then there is the saga of finding an IWB holster.... I started with that one kydex job, but sold the pistol. I bought a D.M. Bullard IWB holster ($55) for my 3" Kimber, but it didn't work for me. It is very well made, and the leather quality is high, but it doesn't work for my body type. Then I bought a Galco Royal Guard ($125), and it didn't work that well either. I finally settled on a MTAC Minotaur ($80), and that has worked very well for me. It worked well enough that I bought two extra holster bodies for it to fit my 5" 1911 and my USP Compact... ...but I almost never use it for either of those two pistols. And there there was the Galco Summer Comfort ($80; similar in type to the Royal Guard) which I bought for the USP Compact, and which I never use anymore...

So, here is the total investment in holsters:

$ 55 Commander sized kydex IWB, no longer used
$ 30 Fobus paddle OWB for USP, no longer used,
$ 55 DM Bullard IWB for 3" Kimber, no longer used
$ 80 Galco Summer Comfort for USP, no longer used
$ 80 MTAC Minotaur for 3" Kimber, STILL USED
$ 35 extra MTAC holster body for 5" 1911, no longer used
$ 35 extra MTAC holster body for USP, no longer used
$ 65 Desantis Speed Scabbard for USP, STILL USED
$100 Galco Concealable Belt Holster for 5" 1911, STILL USED
$100 Galco Concealable Belt Holster for 3" Kimber, STILL USED

$635 total invested in holsters
$345 of that investment still in use today

Now, I don't know if I have spent more, or less, or about the average for holsters until I found the ones I like to wear that work the best for me. But, I got my plastic in hand in February of 2008, not quite 2 years ago, and that seems like a lot of money to me. I DO know that many of us here have bought a number of holsters before finding the ones they like best for the firearms in their carry rotation.

If you find one you like without burning through a fair amount of money, you'll be one of the more fortunate among us.

[OverEasy]

Looser pants, bigger belt, not a bad thing, especially if you like to go eat at a buffet once in a while. Google "Smart Carry" you'ld be supprised how often one of them comes in handy.

I've got everything except an ankle holster. I use a butt pack most of the time. My next most popular method is IWB.(out in public) Around the house it's pocket carry and or OWB, but covered by a shirt.

You'll end up with several holsters and IT NEVER ENDS. You may have a holster you don't have a gun for but you'll never have a gun you don't have a holster for!

Regards, OE

[ELB]

I went through a couple or three holsters, but stopped with the Comp-Tac CTAC tuckable about three years ago (or is it four?). It is an IWB, and I wear it with everything -- winter, summer, khakis and polo shirt, suits, t-shirt, tucked or untucked, whatever.

I much prefer the IWB both for concealability and security -- it keeps the gun in tight. I buy pants big enough to go around the holster, and since I always wear it, I am not plagued with ill-fitting pants without the holster. I am also very much of the mind that sticking to one mode of carry is much more tactically sound --- I do not have to think in the least about where to reach for my gun. I have proven to myself that under sudden stress, having more than on possibility just results in confusion. So I CTAC all the time.

[stroo]

I really don't like IWB, even with good IWB holsters. I feel the same way you do about IWB and have never gotten used to it. So I either carry OWB with a Hume JIT or pocket carry, sometimes both at once.

[dewayneward]

I daily carry IWB my hi-point 9mm with a cheapo ($14 tuckable holster from cheaper than dirt at 8 o'clock (I'm a lefty). I enjoy it as it keeps the gun nice and tight to me and it is easily accessible.

True, the pants need to be a little bigger and you need a decent belt, but all in all it is an easy carry.

I guess the only reason I really dont do OWB is that I I would have to wear a larger shirt and I really dont want to. In a pinch I'll grab a OWB holster and a large shirt/jacket and carry. I think i print like crazy, but no one has every had reason for concern.

I guess it is up to you on which way you want to carry. Someone on the board made a comment that sticks, "A gun should not be comfortable, just comforting".

[The Annoyed Man]

I'll be carrying my Kimber OWB on stage tonight, for like the eleventy ninth time, and nobody knows. Fears of printing are vastly over-imagined.

[england]

So here's more info about my first week. On the second day our family and some friends are going out together, taking their SUV. My wife suddenly starts talking about me getting the CHL, and her friend says she hopes I'm not carrying a gun with me. And my wife agrees. I just laughed, and they took that to mean I wasn't carrying. Au contraire - it was with me everywhere that night.

You probably guess from that story, that my wife's not exactly thrilled that I've got the license. First it was: don't go to the gun range; second - don't get a pistol (though we have rifles and shotguns); third - you are not carrying that with you. So I've got a new date on the calendar. Jan 1st 2010. That's when I tell her I've been carrying everyday for a month, and surely it can no longer be a big deal.

Now that I write this, I think I may need photographic evidence, or she won't buy it.

Now my question: anyone else dealing with wives that don't like the general public carrying weapons?

[carlson1]

I am OWB except Church times. I use the Minotaur Neutral Cant Holster. Always an LCP or S&W 340PD for backup. I love the 340PD.

[dewayneward]

So here's more info about my first week. On the second day our family and some friends are going out together, taking their SUV. My wife suddenly starts talking about me getting the CHL, and her friend says she hopes I'm not carrying a gun with me. And my wife agrees. I just laughed, and they took that to mean I wasn't carrying. Au contraire - it was with me everywhere that night.

You probably guess from that story, that my wife's not exactly thrilled that I've got the license. First it was: don't go to the gun range; second - don't get a pistol (though we have rifles and shotguns); third - you are not carrying that with you. So I've got a new date on the calendar. Jan 1st 2010. That's when I tell her I've been carrying everyday for a month, and surely it can no longer be a big deal.

Now that I write this, I think I may need photographic evidence, or she won't buy it.

Now my question: anyone else dealing with wives that don't like the general public carrying weapons?

I tried to convince everyone that CHL and guns are safe and are useful for self defense. The women in my life dont want to hear it. My wife knows I carry, but it is an out of sight out of mind thing at this point. Her family is "anti-CHL" (they are scared of guns, not that they would vote for anti CHL policy) and I have given up trying to explain the good of carrying. I just carry and it is one of the many topics that dont get discussed.

I dont know about giving her the info that you have been carrying all month when she doesnt want you to. Sounds like a recipe to end up in the doghouse. If she isnt up for it, dont pressure her...just dont bring the topic up anymore. Carry, but dont make a federal case out of it. I just told my wife that I was doing it, I explained the benefits and I carry 24/7. She knows it, but since she doesnt see it, it is out of sight out of mind.

[81aggie]

So here's more info about my first week. On the second day our family and some friends are going out together, taking their SUV. My wife suddenly starts talking about me getting the CHL, and her friend says she hopes I'm not carrying a gun with me. And my wife agrees. I just laughed, and they took that to mean I wasn't carrying. Au contraire - it was with me everywhere that night.

You probably guess from that story, that my wife's not exactly thrilled that I've got the license. First it was: don't go to the gun range; second - don't get a pistol (though we have rifles and shotguns); third - you are not carrying that with you. So I've got a new date on the calendar. Jan 1st 2010. That's when I tell her I've been carrying everyday for a month, and surely it can no longer be a big deal.

Now that I write this, I think I may need photographic evidence, or she won't buy it.

Now my question: anyone else dealing with wives that don't like the general public carrying weapons?

My wife had no problem with my getting a CHL or carrying (in fact she wants to get hers as well) but we don't really talk about it much. In order to get used to it and also to break in a couple of holsters I carried around the house for the 2 months while waiting for my CHL to get here and she never knew it. The first time she "caught" me was one night recently when I was going to HEB and she bumped against my .38 Special snubby (IWB in keeping with the original theme of this thread, the only way I carry right now) while giving me a hug and asked me if I was carrying. Told her I had been for the past few months and she had never noticed. The rest of the family is a mixed bag, a couple who do carry and some who might not be comfortable with it so it's not generally a topic for discussion.