Concealed Carry

[roashooter]

I carry a S&W 686....if I cant get it done with six.....5 more aint gonna help

[dontcatchmany]

OP,

You should be left handed and look for holsters (or at least several years ago when I was looking for several holsters) and ways to carry...lol! There seem to be more left handed holsters available now for some weapons that were not available 5 years ago.

I mostly pocket carry a Sig P938 in a galco or a nylon holster....ambidextrous. I can shoot right handed so I sometimes carry in the right pocket. Glock27 goes in a Josh Hume leather pocket holster (I think I am going to get one for the Sig P938)

In winter I sometimes use a kydex owb paddle holster (fits 4 of my pistols) or depending on weapon owb leather paddle holsters that were custom made locally for 4 pistols.

Being left handed I do not like holsters that slide on to a belt. I learned to put on a belt the right handed way (think gig line) and if I want to take a belt holster off I have to take the belt off because of the buckle. Never could learn to put the belt in starting on the right side. Have not looked into snap on holsters.

For owb I carry in the 8/9 o'clock position.

And, as stated, I have a couple of boxes with holsters that did not work out.

[Brit]

As my carry, and IDPA gun is the same gun! I have two set up the same way. Glock 19, TruGlo night sights, extended slide lock release.

Holster is a Glock Sport holster, cheap, and weight less! You have to trim it to suit. Left side, spare G17 magazine, plus same Glock cheap mag pouch, one for magazine, one for flashlight. Holster sits at 3-30 outside the belt. Under Florida Shirt. No one ever thought they had too much ammo, after a gunfight. Sixteen plus one, ready to go is OK.

Wilderness Frequent flier belt, nylon. 1"X 1/2" not cheap, last's for ever.

[FireForged]

I carry a S&W 686....if I cant get it done with six.....5 more aint gonna help

Perhaps you can qualify that statement a little bit. If more wont help.. please paint that picture for us.

[raimius]

I find that somewhere between 3 and 5 o'clock with an IWB holster works well for me. Appendix carry conceals well and is pretty comfortable, but I have reservations about the muzzle pointing at my crotch/femoral artery most of the day! (3-5 would be a grazing hit to muscle, most likely, if a discharge occurred during draw/holster, by comparison--I train not to shoot myself, but you get my drift.) A good belt is a MUST. I vary between a Crossbreed and a simpler straight Kydex holster.

As to firearm, I find a subcompact semi-auto that I can still get a full grip on works well. It is just large enough to draw easily and shoot well, but small enough to conceal easily.

[TRX]

I recently got my CHL ... What is a good middle ground between being able to draw quickly vs being comfortable enough to carry everyday?

In my experience, maybe 10% of people who start carrying do so more than a year. Many of them don't even make it a month.

The first rule of a gunfight is "bring a gun." If the gun and holster are uncomfortable, they'll wind up getting left a home more and more often, until you go from "always" to "when I think I might need it" to "I wonder where I put it?"

If the gun isn't reasonably comfortable to carry, chances are you won't carry it long. Therefore, I rate comfort over speed of draw. Shooting situations seldom occur instantly; crank your situational awareness up a bit and give yourself time to draw if you need to.

Practice probably counts for more than the difference between the type of holster and location.

There was a surveillance video last year, an off-duty Chicago policeman and his wife in an elevator. They were descending to a parking deck. It was winter, and the guy was moving his gun from his waist inside his overcoat to outside in a coat pocket, which in my opinion was an entirely reasonable thing to do. He fumbled the gun, lost it, grabbed at it (which we all know not to do, but the reflex to save an expensive piece of equipment is hard to override) and managed to shoot himself when he grabbed it. Not fatally, fortunately. The point was, it sure didn't look like he was used to dealing with a gun and an overcoat at the same time. "Don't be that guy." Practice with any clothing you might wear.

Some people can use almost any holster. Some people have to search for one that they can live with. If you have problems carrying, they're probably holster-related. It won't take long before you find out what you *don't* like. It you have a local gun shop they might have used holsters for a decent price. And they show up on eBay and Gunbroker often. What a holster looks like is irrelevant; nobody else should be seeing it.

No holster or carry position is perfect. You have to decide what tradeoffs you can live with. Generally, you find out by spending more money on holsters than you expected...