Ladies' holster options - requesting pictures

[Hoi Polloi]

Thanks!!

[Hoi Polloi]

From another thread...

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?

[karl]

Seeing how low your shirt tail sits in relation to your hips, I doubt a gust of wind would have you made. I'm pretty thin and when I carry IWB at 4:00 sometimes I wear a thin muscle shirt and tuck it over the grip in case my shirt does slip up. Since you wear two shirts you may be able to tuck one into the waist immediately surrounding the IWB or OWB holster, leaving only 2 or 3 inches of untucked shirt to cover you in case of a wardrobe malfunction courtesy of mother nature.

Commander size 1911 in a CompTac MTAC:


Sorry for the blur, didn't feel like uploading again:




My two o'clock from CompTac is a lot more uncomfortable than I expected with my Taurus PT111, but it works. I went a whole day working on Habitat homes with it under a size large t-shirt with no problems except when I had to reach up to paint the walls edging the ceiling. Consider this, though, a size large on my frame did not stick down as low as your shirts do, so you may not even run into a problem with reaching either.

Editing to fix pictures, trying to make them a bit smaller.

[RHenriksen]

Have you taken a look at this thread by LimaTunes?

http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulletin ... highlight=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think you'll have to bite the bullet and TRY some of the IWB & OWB options out there. I suspect that with some personal experience under your belt, the decision making process will get easier. At the moment, you're sounding like a 'paralysis by analysis' victim. We'd all love to buy the exactly right holster the first time, that works with all outfits, in all climates, with all activities... hasn't happened yet.

[Tommytankertruck]

Yep I agree..you might just have to bit the bullet and buy some..if they don't work..send them back. Just don't buy anything custom at the moment. My husband went through 5 holsters before he found the right fit..and in his research recommended the perfect one for me that I carry. I have the Kholster full moon and that is my match. Don't be afraid to try a few, just like buying clothes, some might fit, some might not. Just make sure they have a good return policy.

Tanker

[Hoi Polloi]

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

[CompVest]

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.

[Hoi Polloi]

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?

[Hoi Polloi]

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]

Most leather products or leather/Kydex products need to be worn so they can "mold" to your body. The vast majority of inside the waistband holsters have a fairly stiff flat piece of leather. Can't do anything about the gun of course but if you can, without great discomfort, put a gun inside your pant's waistband you can use an inside the waistband holster.

[UpTheIrons]

You know those internet journeys that take you from place to place, and before you know it, you found something neat, but just aren't sure how you got there? Had one of those the other day. Somehow I got to Say Uncle, and in and amongst the usual goofiness there, I found a couple of gems.

Hoi, I know you are still looking and trying holsters, so these videos may give you an idea of some of the options. I know you tried a couple of these at the get-together last weekend, but this young lady does a good job of showing several different holster types and clothing configurations. I think they dovetail well with the Limatunes videos that have also been suggested. My wife watched them yesterday and found them to be very informative and helpful.

I'll second CompVest's remark that leather must be worn to get it to mold to your body. faliaphotography does one review exclusively of the Crossbreed ST, and you can tell she's had it long enough to have it mold to her shape. She uses an LCR, but I think that is good enough for the examples she's showing, so your mileage may vary, if you holster something else.

In any event, I think she addresses some of your wardrobe concerns, too. Are the pants in the video considered low- or mid-rise pants?

The first one is about several different options:
[youtube][/youtube]

This one is a Crossbreed SuperTuck-only review:
[youtube][/youtube]

If you're out there, faliaphotography, welcome to Texas! (Well, the internet version, anyway!)

[fm2]

At her blog, http://www.faliaphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, under the "Photos of my gear" section (about 1/2 way down the page), there are some nice pics of various holsters being worn.
These are a couple of great videos that she's put together that should be a tremendous help. Thanks Sonja!


Hoi, take a look @ the video, she has the holster closer to 4 or 5 o'clock. Did you take a look at Ken Null's city slicker holster?It's a very minimalist design for a shoulder holster.

[Hoi Polloi]

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.

[xdfanatic]

I am just curious Hoi Polloi if you ever found a solution to your holster problem. My fiance is looking for a on the body holster option for herself and I was hoping you may have some suggestions that have worked for you. She has a Xd 9sc and a Ruger LCP which she is planning on ordering a Minituck for, she currently carries the Xd in her purse or just generally leaves in the car. Hope you found a solution to your holster problem.

[Hoi Polloi]

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.