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I am new to CHLing. Just got my license a few weeks ago. I live in San Antonio and am a country boy. So I wear tighter clothing. Mostly jeans with my Ariats or Durangos (boots) with a T-shirt or a button up tucked in. I will ocassionally wear a Polo too. I have some larger jeans and shirts but they are not my preference. I am a huge fan of the .45. Its a classic. I would love to get a 1911 but dont have the cash flow to support that. Right now I have a XD .45 4" service model and I love it. Problem is with it being a double stack its a bit bulky for my clothing. I wish I had the money to get a 1911 to acommodate my clothes more but thats just not the case. Do any of you have any advice on how to carry the XD .45 4" with slimmer clothes? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You can probably get it to work small-of-the-back with a tuckable holster. With the right tuckable holster you might be able to just barely conceal a gun that big at about 4:00 with a good IWB with plenty of cant (like a Crossbreed).

Otherwise maybe off-body carry is for you.

FWIW, a single-stack .45 does not have to be that expensive. You could flip the XD and get a Kahr CW45 for even money. I am sure there are other choices.

I carried an XD-40 for a while. It was a little bulky but manageable after I got used to it. You will have to go the "bigger clothes" route anyway you go. If you don't want to expand the waistline you will have to go OWB but will still require a bigger shirt. That is pretty much what I did. I bought a couple of pairs of pants that were bigger in the waist for IWB carry but pretty much just went with the bigger shirts and OWB carry. It is much more comfortable for me.

That's my .02 anyway.

Or you can carry in a man purse!

FWIW I carry IWB and off-body, but mostly IWB. I didn't have to buy bigger clothes and my clothes are not oversized at all; they fit.

However, I did buy a slimmer gun.

That works too.

Carrying concealed requires some kind of compromise. You have to compromise on the gun, the wardrobe, or the carry method. No way around it.

If you're going to wear closer fitting clothing, you're going to have to carry a smaller gun or carry off-body. If you're going to carry a larger gun, you're going to have to wear looser clothing or carry off-body.

I can actually pull it off with the bigger gun but only with my loosest of clothing. The Kahr works with all of my clothes.

And FWIW even a Kahr .45 is bigger than a Kahr 9mm by a significant margin. You want a slim pistol, slim ammo is a big help. Those .45s are pretty chubby.

I have been able to carry my .45 in a Milt Sparks Summer Special with my regular size Levis, however, with the Tucker "The Answer" I have to go to a size bigger. Like you said, it is going to have to be a compromise some where when you carry.

-geo

Thank you all for your help and advice. Its been very helpful and greatly appreciated!

I occasionally carry an H&K USP Compact .40 which, with a 12 round magazine, must be similar in size to an XD. It carries just fine, and I'm not into baggy pants, although being a dumpy 56 years old, my clothes probably don't fit me the way yours fit you.

That being said, if you go just one inch larger on the waist you should be able to fit any gun you want to IWB. You could do that without your clothes getting too baggy on you. Also, you can investigate the various means of carrying under your shirt instead of inside your waistband. Some of our members also carry full sized duty weapons in OWB holsters under an untucked shirt with no problems. And if you really want to keep your shirt tucked in, there are various "tuckable" holsters available.

One thing to remember too is that you are probably paranoid about printing out of proportion to the actual risk of being discovered. It happens to all of us at first. The best advice is to wear it and forget about it. Most people just aren't that perceptive, and even if they are, they aren't looking for indications of a gun on you; so the odds of getting "outed" are fairly low. You'll get used to that after while, and you won't think about it anymore.

You'll know you've arrived when you can stand on stage in church with a guitar in your hands and a gun on your hip in front of several hundred people at a time, and not worry about whether or not anybody notices your gun.

Another option is a vest for concealment.

thanks for all the advice so far...its all great!!!

bdickens wrote:Or you can carry in a man purse!

What's wrong with a man purse? Jack Bauer carries one and he can strangle you with a cordless phone! Besides, they're really called 'messenger bags'. lol

Moezilla wrote:

bdickens wrote:Or you can carry in a man purse!

What's wrong with a man purse? Jack Bauer carries one and he can strangle you with a cordless phone! Besides, they're really called 'messenger bags'. lol

I just bought a new messenger bag today.

At least I didn't get a hat to go with it. But I did also buy a pair of shoes :)

running shoes. and this particular bag is to carry my laptop while cycling to work.

Moezilla wrote:

bdickens wrote:Or you can carry in a man purse!

What's wrong with a man purse? Jack Bauer carries one and he can strangle you with a cordless phone! Besides, they're really called 'messenger bags'. lol

That’s not a man purse, you can say. That’s my Jack Pack. Or Jack Sack.