Smartcarry, invisible holster or thunderwear

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tehlump
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Smartcarry, invisible holster or thunderwear

Post by tehlump »

Hi folks,

I bought a medium Smartcarry for my Ruger P345. I bought this holster specifically because I don't feel comfortable tucking in my shirt over my bladetech UCH. I thought that the smartcarry would give me yet another option for concealing my pistol.

Because I normally carry my pistol in the UCH, the smartcarry will probably be reserved for church and other occasions where I must tuck in my shirt. My lifestyle allows me to dress comfortably, my normal wear is blue jeans and a loose shirt.

I wore the holster to church last weekend and I was pretty uncomfortable. Not because of the holster, but I was self-concious about the pistol's location. I could see the impression of the grip and so I assumed everyone was looking at it! The maker of the holster says that the wearer is in the worst location (looking straight down) in terms of concealment, and I believe he's right. I never told my wife I was armed and she never said anything, so I assume that if it were noticeable, she would have said something.

Here's my 2 major concerns with this holster.

1)it presses on my *ahem* 'stuff', constantly making me want to readjust
2)when sitting down, my pistol is now aimed across the room.

I wear loose pants so that shouldn't be the problem, I think that the problem may be that I'm used to a combination of loose pants and boxer shorts, therefore any contact is uncomfortable. I'm sure time will fix this one.

in sunday school, we sit in a circle. During the course of the class, I realized that my pistol was trained on the woman sitting across from me. :shock: Yes, the safety was on and no I wasn't fiddling with the gun, but I was still a little unnerved training both my weapons on her (OK, you knew there had to be a joke in here somewhere right?! :lol: )

Do the big 4 rules apply when a weapon is holstered? My IWB is normally oriented so the pistol is facing the ground, I can't think of many realistic situations where it would be trained on someone unintentionally. This is obviously not the case with the smartcarry...any thoughts?
tehlump
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Post by tehlump »

I emailed the owner of the company. Here is his reply. I knew what the answer would be, but he had a unique perspective that I hadn't thought of!
And if you're on a floor above the ground floor, the muzzle is probably going to be pointing at someone's head a lot of the time, as it will in any holster ever designed. The fact that nothing can gain access to the trigger (including your fingers) when the gun is in the holster and you're wearing the holster means that the gun will not fire until you draw it and pull the trigger, that simple. Go to http://www.smartcarry.com/cocklock.htm and read the article by Robert Boatman that was in an issue of Concealed Carry Magazine, as it addresses this very issue. Thanks for carrying in SmartCarry®!

Regards,

Charlie
I guess the most important part of the equation is that whatever holster you choose, make sure that it secures the trigger of the firearm.
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HighVelocity
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Post by HighVelocity »

[img]Do%20the%20big%204%20rules%20apply%20when%20a%20weapon%20is%20holstered[/img]

No. If it couldn't be pointed in an unsafe direction when holstered then horizontal shoulder rigs would be banned.

I'm thinking the reason you're uncomfortable is the gun is way to big for smart carry. Try a smaller gun.
sensei
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Post by sensei »

Loosen up the belt. Sounds to me like you are wearing ihe belt too tight. I use one at church and do not have this problem.

Ray
tehlump
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Post by tehlump »

HV-the owner of the company has pics of him on the website. He makes a point of showing the customer that he carries a full size 1911 in the SC. After looking at the pictures, I assumed that a)my pistol is smaller than a full size 1911 and that b)I'm physically larger than him, so I should be able to conceal a larger pistol better.

Sensei-I'll try to loosen the belt further. When wearing it, I noticed that I didn't need to wear my belt as tight. The SC website correctly indicated that the holstered pistol would support your pants. What type of pistol do you carry in it? What do you think about the size issue HV brought up?
Scott Murray
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Post by Scott Murray »

Pleated pants help also. Without the pleats, my Sig P239 makes the slight bulge the Smart Carry web site warns about. With pleats, it disappears completely.

Scott
sensei
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Post by sensei »

I have carried my G-30, G-26 and most of the time I carry my Kahr PM9.
The Kahr is smaller and therefore more comfortable but all are workable.

as stated, pleated pants help but I use blue jeans and no one has ever noticed. You are the only one that will be aware you are carrying.

Ray

P.S. Just to be clear: The belt I'm talking about loosening is the belt on the Smartcarry itself. I like mine loose altough I have read where some wore theirs tight. Try it both ways and see which works best for you.
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Charles L. Cotton
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Post by Charles L. Cotton »

I have medium Thunderwear that I use on very rare occasions. I've learned that it's actually more comfortable with my Commander, than with shorter guns like a Colt Officer's ACP or Glock 27's. I know this sounds strange, but the longer slide/barrel doesn't pinch "things" when I sit down, as do the shorter barreled guns. A few times I've tried to sit with the Officer's ACP and shot back up quickly when certain "things" got pinched! People sure look at you funny when you do that. :lol:

Regards,
Chas.
KD5NRH
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Post by KD5NRH »

Charles L. Cotton wrote:I have medium Thunderwear that I use on very rare occasions. I've learned that it's actually more comfortable with my Commander, than with shorter guns like a Colt Officer's ACP or Glock 27's.
Try the large; I've got one for my GM that's pretty darn good concealment with pleated-front pants, and I also adjust it with safety pins for my Bersa DuoTone. The smaller weapon makes for less printing in flat-front pants, and the extra holster material seems to keep everything aligned for better "pinch-proofing."

Now, if I can just convince Springfield to make an XD in 10mm, I'll have a real challenge for this holster :)
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Charles L. Cotton
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Post by Charles L. Cotton »

KD5NRH:
Thanks for the tip, I'll try that. There are times when Thunder Wear is just what the doctor ordered.

Chas.
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