First try at 4" K frame concealed carry. Not good.

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Guy B. Meredith

Guy B. Meredith

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Okay, I'm trying to use my 4" M66 for concealed carry and was targeting tuckable IWB as I usually dress tidy. I picked up a holster, selecting the leather loop option for belt.

The first day of carry in public was not good.

I'd seen favorable comments on holsters that have a single pivot/snap connecting the belt loop to the holster as cant is adjustable, but I find that is just not working.

I experimented with several ways of wearing the holster--cross draw, about 2, 4 and 10 o'clock. I can't wear it in back as the long barrel makes a strange bump about mid pocket. Don't like reaching back really well, either. In front I get uncomfortable with the muzzle just above the family jewels. Ditto cross draw.

It turns out that my body shape is best with carry just to the right of my suspender clip-about a 2 o'clock and a bit--with a cant of about 5 degrees.

The problem is that the loop does pivot about the snap setting so that as I walk the holster is changing position with gravity drawing the muzzle back in the direction of the family jewels. Not at all to my liking.

I am obviously going to have to put a lock on that pivot. I'm thinking a screw replacing the snap and a toothed lock washer to hold position. Maybe going to wide strap of some sort, maybe webbing. Any ideas?

In the meantime I'm waiting on deliver of a Desantis thumb break OWB scabbard for use with the type of clothes that I would normally wear untucked--jacket, etc.

I'm also strongly inclined to throw my budget to the wind and pick up a mouse gun like a 649 or KLCR, but I am concerned about the number of attacks on the public at a range of greater than 5 yards and feel better about the 4" barrel for that.
 
I have to agree on the 4" barreled revolvers/pistols aren't the greatest! I have a 4" Model #15 I've tried wearing in a Bianchi pancake style holster, too long, grip sticks out, too easy to spot. I've just decided to keep wearing the SP 101 in the same style holster, only this one has a 3" barrel, not noticeable at all.
 
30 years and 25lbs ago I carried a 4" M29 in a simple clip pouch IWB holster at 2 o'clock. Mostly I wore jeans and an untucked t-shirt and never had a problem. The holster needs to move a little so that when you sit you don't force the gun up out of the holster. As long as the trigger is covered don't worry about where the muzzle is pointed. You'll get used to it.
 
Other issues are dressing to conceal rather than making gun carry fit the wardrobe or preferred mode or style of dress. The "suspenders" suggest weight and body type issues and wearing pants too loose for IWB or any belt support. I would suggest a Galco KingTuk with body shield option and securing a double layer gun belt to suit. A 1 1/2" belt should suit. My belts are Galco.
 
Personally I don't even bother trying to conceal any revolver bigger than an SP101. I'm pretty lean and my clothing choice kind of prohibits it. It's fine with me. I never feel under gunned or anything.

If I'm carrying something bigger, I open carry.
 
It's a holster issue, not a gun issue. A 4" K frame is not hard to hide, with the right set up.
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^^This, although I used to believe otherwise. I've had great success carrying Model 10's and 64's and lately my Security Six. What I use is a Bianchi belt holster which keeps the revolver riding high and tight. With an untucked shirt it is almost impossible to spot because my arm automatically covers it. Try to use button up shirts as they are usually longer than a tee shirt.

It isn't as easy as carrying my j-frame but its easy enough that I've been doing it much more often these days.
 
I've always felt the 4 inch barrel is just a bit too long for successful concealment. In a gun as big as a K frame I much prefer a 3 inch barrel
 
Guy B. Meredith said:
In the meantime I'm waiting on deliver of a Desantis thumb break OWB scabbard for use with the type of clothes that I would normally wear untucked--jacket, etc.

I'm also strongly inclined to throw my budget to the wind and pick up a mouse gun like a 649 or KLCR, but I am concerned about the number of attacks on the public at a range of greater than 5 yards and feel better about the 4" barrel for that.
Click to expand...
That DeSantis holster is the exact one I use when I want to carry my 4" M686 and it works very well. Just be sure you have a proper belt that can hold the weight, not a thin "dress belt" that will pull down.

At the range I pocket carry a M442 all the time just to be sure no one can take my guns. It's not a problem where I live but since the range I shoot at is right near the highway you never know who will come by. One question, why will distances of more than 5 yards be a problem with a 2" revolver? A 4" revolver is no more accurate than a 2" revolver, it just requires more practice because it can be more difficult to shoot well. It's the shooter not the gun...
 
I've carried my Police Service Six concealed with little discomfort, but I could not carry it IWB. Instead, I carried it in an IWB-holster worn between the belt and pants. Still requires a long cover garment, though.

The grip on my Model 66 (a Taurus one) is too thick, though, to hide as easily. The Pachmayrs on the Ruger is easier to conceal.
 
I've tried carrying my later model 64, but I usually don't go back to it, mostly because I have better options. That doesn't keep it from being a viable option, though. I'd like to get a better IWB holster for it, because it's thinness gives it some CC potential, but I'd still mostly consider it a cold weather carry (lots of clothing). I can't exactly see how it would work with shorts and a T-shirt. Sitting down isn't option. Not a comfortable one, anyway.
 
I've always felt the 4 inch barrel is just a bit too long for successful concealment. In a gun as big as a K frame I much prefer a 3 inch barrel
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That's why the perfect K frame carry gun is the 2.5" 357......
 
I sometimes carry a S&W Model 15 four inch in a Bianchi #3 pistol pocket IWB holster.
I wear in the cross draw position.
What really makes a difference is the grip. I found an old Uncle Mike/Butler Creek boot grip for the K frame. Much thinner and shorter than even the Magna wood OEM's.
This setup is as easy to carry as the 2.5" Model 19 I used to own.
 
I carry a 4" Ruger GP-100 (equivalent in size to a S&W L-frame) year-round as my EDC gun. As others have said, the holster makes the difference when carrying a larger revolver. The holster I carry is a Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake holster. I ordered mine with the removable IWB loops, so I have the choice of carrying IWB (my preference), OWB, or cross draw all from the same holster. The concealability of the holster combined with the compact grips I put on my GP-100 makes for a combination that prints less than when I carry my Glock 26.

DSCF6130_zps32302556.jpg

DSCF6265_zpse0fe6bcf.jpg
 
As long as the trigger is covered don't worry about where the muzzle is pointed.
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Uh, I live by the 4 basic rules of safety and really take "Never point a gun at anything you don't want to destroy" to heart when that "anything" is part of my anatomy. :what:

I wear the suspenders because after 67 years I became weary of the two alternatives of either constantly hitching up my pants and retucking every time I bend or stretch or wearing a belt so tight that my hip bones bruise. I'm a little over 5' 9" at 165 lbs without my boots on. I'm also trying to set a fashion trend. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the ideas.

I will have to spend some time with a 2" barrel and see whether I can feel confident at any real distance with that. I do know that a brief session with an LCR and my .38 spl competition loads was a very pleasant surprise. Some research and comparison of bullet velocity at distance might be in order. Just making a hit is not the whole picture.

A pancake seems like a good solution as appears to fill up the voids around the gun for a more natural look and fit. Not many manufacturers are doing tuckable IWB for 4" barrels, though.
 
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I've always felt the 4 inch barrel is just a bit too long for successful concealment.
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I don't doubt that many agree, but my feeling is that when seeking perfection in concealment you can wind up with too small a caliber of a short gun that requires real skill to hit anything, especially under stress. A short gun in a big caliber is either loaded light or is a sonofabitch to shoot. The compromises creep in from all directions.
 
Your model 19 has a positive hammer block safety in addition to another one that rebounds the hammer (and firing pin) back into the breech face and blocks it there. Neither is disconected until the trigger is fully rearward and held there while the hammer falls.

To endanger your body parts :uhoh: you would have to pull the trigger through a full stroke while the revolver was still holstered. Possible in theory I suppose, but highly unlikely. So unlikey that I don't worry about it. In any case practice drawing with the trigger finger held straight and not wrapped around the trigger until the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction.

A good belt is as necessary as a good holster, and the belt loop on the rig should exactly fit the belt. If the holster positions the gun so that the back of the cylinder is even with the top of the belt or slightly higher the 4-inch barrel shouldn't be a problem.

To aid concealment, change the stocks to some that are slimmer and rounded at the bottom.
 
Pancake holster is the only way I can carry a 4" K frame and have it be anything like a comfortable experience.

I usually carry a 642, but I also have a 3" K frame round butt and it is much easier to conceal than a square butt 4".
 
I carry a 4" barrel revolver concealed most of the time. The ones I conceal easily are a S&W modle 10, S&W 686, Colt Python, and a S&W model 28. I use a Bianchi pancake style for all but the 28 with I use just a simple S&W field holster. A 4" barrel can be concealed but it is a combination of holster, belt, and clothing.
 
It's a holster issue, not a gun issue. A 4" K frame is not hard to hide, with the right set up.
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I agree.

I'm more or less the same size as the OP. Concealing a 4 inch K frame is extremely easy given a high quality holster and a good quality belt.

I have no problems concealing much larger revolvers than a 4" K frame with a Simply Rugged (like pictured earlier in the thread) IWB holster, and a good high quality stiff leather belt.

The hardest part to conceal is the grips. On a revolver that's an easy thing to swap to make it more carry friendly.
 
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