Concealed Carry Vests?

[redneck]

Anyone have anything they like?

I prefer belt carry but work outside and have a lot of layers on when the temps get down to zero.

Pocket carry used to be OK if I remembered to clean the hay chaff etc. out but Carhart has made the pockets a lot smaller on their bibs this year.

Cinch makes a vest with a zippable hidden pocket. I like that you can wear the vest unzipped without exposing the gun but not sure how much it flops around or how good the interior holster is? (also not sure I want to wear a $100 softshell to weld in )

Some other brands just have a pocket/holster stitched into the lining of the vest. Seems like you would have to keep the vest mostly zipped all of the time.

Would be interesting to see what vests people are using or if you have another suggestion for extreme cold weather carry.

 

[westernrover]

I don't know the answer to your question. I suppose I would wear a separate carry garment over another piece for insulation. I carry a heavy firearm, so I only use a cover garment and not for carry. The problem I have with a lot of vests is they're not long enough to cover. An untucked flannel shirt works fine for cover, but most of the vests are shorter than an untucked shirt.

 

[Jimster]

Some vests scream, “I’m carrying a firearm, shoot me first.”

 

[Lo-Profile]

Must "biker" vests have a inner concealed carry pocket, most have more than one pocket inside.

 

[nettlle]

If you go into a gun store like Cabela's, or Bass Pro you can see folks cruising around in Concealed Carry Vests. They are not hard to spot. If you are dead set on OWB an over shirt is much less conspicuous and a Concealed Carry vest.

 

[westernrover]

Mas Ayoob hosted a video on the "shoot me first vest" on the Wilson Combat channel, but the OP doesn't seem to be about concealed carry vests at all. The way I read it, the OP is looking for an outer garment to hold the firearm, not just conceal it under, because winter layers cover a belt gun with too much.

So, I gather this is not about the "shoot me first vest," but about what is essentially pocket carry.

 

[Mercy Me]

I too have worn the Kakadu vest. I don't wear if often but have had no problems with it EXCEPT they have the single most irritating tag I've ever had the misfortune of encountering. I cut it out leaving a gaping hole where it was but since no one can see it I'm good to go. Tag was attached with very irritating nylon thread.

 

[redneck]

Mas Ayoob hosted a video on the "shoot me first vest" on the Wilson Combat channel, but the OP doesn't seem to be about concealed carry vests at all. The way I read it, the OP is looking for an outer garment to hold the firearm, not just conceal it under, because winter layers cover a belt gun with too much.

So, I gather this is not about the "shoot me first vest," but about what is essentially pocket carry.

Exactly right, I don't need a cover garment that has all been hashed out and ten months of the year I have covered.
When it is 0 deg F and I have to work outside for 10 hours I will have on base layers, a heavy shirt, a 1/4 zip, and a heavy coat over my carhart bibs. Its a 3 step process to get to a gun on my belt. Traditional pocket carry doesn't work out great because carhart has made their pockets smaller on the bibs and coat pockets tend to fill with barn dirt quickly.
My interest in the vests is to have a dedicated outer layer with a dedicated pocket for carry.

 

[bassjam]

I have a couple vests with zippered outer pockets. Ones a patagonia wool vest and the other is a prana but I can't find either on their websites anymore. I don't regularly pocket carry like that, but I have once or twice when like you I'm bundled up. Even my 20 year old Carhartt insulated bibs have pretty small pockets, I can fit my lcp inside them but it's difficult to pull it out, especially if my fingers are a little numb.

 

[jmorris]

I have only used vests for concealment at IDPA matches.

 

[hso]

Anyone have anything they like?

Nope, and I tried a lot.

If you're carrying for varmints on the farm about anything with a zip pocket will do.

If you're carrying for self-defense then carry the same way every time so that you never have to put thought in where the firearm is and how to draw.

 

[Armored farmer]

I have one from Legendary Whitetails.
It has velcro panels inside against your ribs, on both sides. The holster is substantial nylon with adjustable thumbsnap retention and velcro backed. (Which also works inside my HPG chest rig)
I like it fine and have carried that way on road trips. I do keep my weapon on my person at all times, so I'm not taking the vest off. It works fine, conceals well....but not a total solution .
My trusty LCP fits perfectly in the vest pocket of my Carhartt work vest and gets carried there daily at work.

 

[Bob Willman]

A friend who passed a couple of years ago, almost always wore bib overalls. He had a pocket sewn inside the bid to hold his gun. We discussed it, but I never saw it and it was not obvious from the outside. Full disclosure, he was not a slim fellow.

NRA Benefactor

 

[Old Dog]

Some vests scream, “I’m carrying a firearm, shoot me first.”

Aside from the fact that the OP seems to be asking about a type of vest that incorporates interior "holster pockets" or stiched-on interior holsters, the whole notion to me about the "shoot me first vest" seems something that a lot of folks in our community tend to way over-think.

Now, if you're in line in your big flagship downtown bank's lobby, waiting to see a teller (who does that anymore?) and five seasoned, former military, tactically-trained bank robbers (as depicted in Michael Mann's classic flick Heat) roll in clad in body armor underneath suits, carrying full-auto Colt Commandos or SCARs, and one of these guys notices you standing there all aglow in your tan 5.11 vest replete with the twenty zipper and velcro pockets over your 5.11 cargo pants, Oakley Gascans propped jauntily over your head, maybe, just maybe, you'll receive a little bit of special attention for a moment. Good luck.

Clad similarly at your range for an IDPA event, no one gives you a second notice. At a commercial range or a company picnic, maybe some vets or old cops might roll their eyes a bit,

Otherwise, 99.9% of the community doesn't care what you wear in public and would only notice you if you're wearing a Santa Claus costume in mid-July.

On topic, I have experimented with a Coronado Leather vest with an interior "CCW" pocket providing for a (rather high, almost like from a horizontal shoulder holster) cross draw of a small auto. Just never felt comfortable with it; edges of the pistol did "print" through a bit and the draw was dirt-slow. Terrific leather, beautiful vest.

I have a couple Columbia vests (and a nice old Filson safari vest), lightweight with a lot of pockets, but nothing that I can keep even a lightweight J-frame in.

For me, it's belt carry with a vest used only as a cover garment.

 

[Jimster]

I was only trying to be humorous. I often fall quite short. The nuances of conversation is often missing when writing.
I’ll try to stay in my lane more often.

 

[JTQ]

I've never used them, but there is the ScotteVest people. They have a variety of vests and jackets with bunches of pockets.

SCOTTeVEST: It’s not Rocket Science. It’s Pocket Science!

It's not Rocket Science. It's Pocket Science! We started with vests and now we use our Pocket Science in jackets, hoodies and so much more!

www.scottevest.com

 

[trackskippy]

Do you wear your normal pants under your bibs? They were/are always the outer layer for me in the winter, over my pants and sweatshirt/fleece and anorak. I just always carried my gun AIWB as normal and the gun was always well protected but still very easy to get to.

 

[.308 Norma]

For me, it's belt carry with a vest used only as a cover garment.

That's the way it is for me too. And this time of year, in this part of the country, it works great because my vest (under my coat) adds another layer of protection against the cold. Besides that, my gun is still covered when I remove my coat while I'm inside - like when I'm in church on Sunday mornings.
I actually have tried a couple of genuine concealed carry vests, and I just never got used to carrying that way - probably because I've carried my handguns (concealed or not) tucked behind my right hip for 60 years or thereabouts. One of my concealed carry vests is a relatively expensive "Coronado Leather" vest too. It's been hanging in the closet for probably 15 years now. BTW, I usually wear an XL vest, but when I'm ordering a heavy-duty work vest (like a canvas vest from Shaeffer Outfitters) that I know will double as a "cover" garment, I order an XLT so that it will be long enough to cover my carry gun.

 

[redneck]

Nope, and I tried a lot.

If you're carrying for varmints on the farm about anything with a zip pocket will do.

If you're carrying for self-defense then carry the same way every time so that you never have to put thought in where the firearm is and how to draw.

Work varies for me from being home on the farm where varmints are the most likely problem to going out alone and doing welding or repair work where I might have 5000 dollars worth of tools with me in a strange place. I always have the same gun in the same holster strong side on my belt but when you have bibs over that, and then 2 shirts and a welding jacket, or an arctic weight coat on top it is very hard to get to the belt gun. An LCP fits in just about any pocket, but not necessarily secure and it collects a lot of dirt.

 

[redneck]

Do you wear your normal pants under your bibs? They were/are always the outer layer for me in the winter, over my pants and sweatshirt/fleece and anorak. I just always carried my gun AIWB as normal and the gun was always well protected but still very easy to get to.

The belt gun is always there but it is pretty hard to get to with a coat zipped. An LCP in a pocket holster in an unzipped pocket collects a lot of dirt.

Maybe I'm just a bigger wimp than most but I wear a lot of layers. We had a stretch where the high temp didn't get over 15 degrees for almost a week and I still worked close to 60 hours that week and was outside 90% of the time.

 

[nettlle]

A vest to me is no different than open carry. Bad guys are looking for signs of carry. A vest probably to me is the most inconspicuous of them all. If it was all about comfort for sure a vest. OWB in the cold months with a cover. IWB with a tucked shirt. Most comfortable? Not necessarily.

 

[ms6852]

I once bought a jean type jacket from the NRA store that was made for conceal carry. Only wore it once, was just too bulky and stiff. I felt like the kid in the Christmas Story where his mother covered him with so many layers of clothing he could not move. I would check out the NRA store and see if they sell jean vests made for conceal carry.

 

[trackskippy]

The belt gun is always there but it is pretty hard to get to with a coat zipped. An LCP in a pocket holster in an unzipped pocket collects a lot of dirt.

Maybe I'm just a bigger wimp than most but I wear a lot of layers. We had a stretch where the high temp didn't get over 15 degrees for almost a week and I still worked close to 60 hours that week and was outside 90% of the time.

Collecting a lot of dirt and crap pretty much everywhere on your person is just something that you deal with when you work in those type environments. Not a whole lot you can really do about it. The warmer months were always the worst for me and the gun and holster always had to be dealt with at the end of the day. You just get used to doing it. Winter was always easier, and in a number of ways, just because you wear more clothes.

I think regardless what you wear, you're going to have to weigh access against how bad the crap loads up. Zipped or buttoned pockets will likely be your best bet, but tend to be harder to get at and you'll still have crap in them at the end of the day. In the summers, I found a Smart Carry holster to work the best of any of the others for keeping the gun clean, and it was still very easy to get to the gun, but layers of clothes makes that more of an issue, and less of a choice.

If you can easily slip your hand behind the bibs and under your coat or whatever at the waist, an AIWB holster at 1 o'clock or so works really well and is still easy to get to. But you need to be comfortable with that sort of carry. It also works well in the sort of environment you're working in, as you're not rolling around on the gun when you're down on the ground and crawling around in and out of and under things.

This is all just part of the fun carrying a gun on a daily basis. Good luck figuring it out.







,

 

[hso]

Work varies for me from being home on the farm where varmints are the most likely problem to going out alone and doing welding or repair work where I might have 5000 dollars worth of tools with me in a strange place. I always have the same gun in the same holster strong side on my belt but when you have bibs over that, and then 2 shirts and a welding jacket, or an arctic weight coat on top it is very hard to get to the belt gun. An LCP fits in just about any pocket, but not necessarily secure and it collects a lot of dirt.

I've been thinking about your question and the conditions you describe for work. Carhart makes insulated vests in all sorts of temperature ratings (we used to just look at "red" vs. "black" insulation for how warm Carharts were) and many of them come with an inside pocket at chest level. An FR Carhart vest would not look out of place when you're working and can be altered by a good alterations shop to make the interior patch pocket a reach-in with a velcro tab or snap to keep the pistol protected.

I know you were looking for an off the shelf ready to order solution, but too many "gun vests" scream "Shoot me first!" and would be too fragile for your working conditions. Modifying a work suitable vest is the only thing I can think of.

 

[drobs]

I personally hate shoulder holsters, I find them uncomfortable on my neck and shoulders. However, it sounds like a shoulder holster over your clothing under your Jacket would be the best way to carry.

Another option would be to wear belt (a long belt) over you bibs and carry OWB Cross Draw. I own a couple heavy Carhartt jackets. I find they make OWB strong side difficult to access. However I could unzip the front (top down) and access a cross draw or shoulder holster carried pistol.

Tip don't buy a cross draw holster, just use a no cant / vertical draw holster worn on your off side / in front of your hip with a compact sized pistol.

Something I look for but have difficulty finding - Jackets with 2 way zippers. Unzipping a coat from the bottom of the zipper up, allows faster access to your OWB strong side holster.