Learned something new on xmas eve about CCW...

[Madcap_Magician]

You can also just do a normal IWB holster. Tuck the shirt behind it. Most of the inadvertent exposure from wearing a sport coat or suit coat is from either the vent or the coat riding up while sitting down, exposing the bottom part of a belt holster. If you wear IWB between 3-5 o'clock, even without a tuckable holster, 85% of this problem goes away.

I use a holster that can be tucked around a dress shirt for IWB carry. I rarely wear suits and when I do, I don't wear a jacket with them. It is already too hot in Alabama to have a jacket over a dress shirt and undershirt. Even with a tuck able holster you have the tell tale sign of typically seeing the hooks of the holster poking out to go around your belt. A holster company I use has hooks that hide behind a belt.

https://www.whitehatholsters.com/velcro-brand-fastener-clips/

I jury-rigged a solution to this that I like better. I wear suits or sport coats on a regular basis. I kluged together holster parts from Black Arch Holsters and some belt loops I had lying around, and now I have a tuckable holster that connects to a brown snap loop on my belt with a split ring attached to it, and a snap link key fob in nice leather hanging down from the split ring. Looks fine in business casual tucked in with the belt loop plainly visible, because the belt loop looks like its purpose is to hold the key fob. In a suit it's fine as well.

I'd really like a fancier version where the belt loop is integral to the key fob, one of those deals where there is a round, vaguely pan-shaped piece of leather that prevents the keys from contacting your pants.

I should have thought about it in my initial post, but I'll join the chorus of folks that have mentioned having your coat tailored for CC. Whenever I buy a new suit or jacket, I just tell 'em I need it cut to carry a concealed pistol. In AR (& in many other states, I'm sure), this really isn't a big deal for the clothing store or tailor. They'll just fit the clothes with you carrying.

Even in Minnesota this seems to be entirely normal. Every men's tailor I've talked to, local shop or big chain, has said they have tailored suits and coats around guns many times.

 

[rpenmanparker]

Does it really matter if you unintentionally uncover the gun for a very short time? Are the laws that severe?

 

[rpenmanparker]

I wonder how many folks here expressing dissatisfaction with the coverage from a suit jacket actually have a jacket that fits. That would do wonders toward concealment, side vents or not.

 

[Mizar]

Does it really matter if you unintentionally uncover the gun for a very short time? Are the laws that severe?

I can't speak for the US because I'm not a resident, but my personal preference is people to not know if I carry - I like to keep it as "low profile" as I can.

 

[Choctaw]

I can't speak for the US because I'm not a resident, but my personal preference is people to not know if I carry - I like to keep it as "low profile" as I can.

Same here. I wear a coat and tie every day. In addition to a full size service pistol, I also carry a badge, magazines, handcuffs and a radio (sometimes) on my belt. All of this I easily conceal under my coat of choice. It isn't hard to do. What is hard is trying to convince my wife on weekends that I would really like to stay home. That's a tough one right there.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I find wearing a jacket is the easiest way to conceal.

If I plan on wearing the jacket the whole time, it's OWB at 3 o' clock or a vertical shoulder rig.

My favorite blazer jacket is split in the back once, not twice, but I have other jackets that are split for the saddle.

The size of the grip of the gun may be a factor, can't speak for everyone.

 

[Kendahl]

Does it really matter if you unintentionally uncover the gun for a very short time? Are the laws that severe?

It does matter in some states. Even where it doesn't, there are idiots who call 911 at the sight of a gun. Maintaining concealment avoids the resulting hassle.

Pocket holsters work well if you are willing to carry a small enough gun.

 

[FL-NC]

Does it really matter if you unintentionally uncover the gun for a very short time? Are the laws that severe?

Believe it or not, in Fl, YES. OC is illegal except in limited cases, that mostly involve hunting/fishing/shooting activities. Which is a difficult sell in a restaurant in Tampa.

 

[FL-NC]

You know, "dressing up" is not only a fancy-restaurant/funeral/wedding sort of thing, but it's simply to show respect for you and those around you. And wearing a suit does not always have to mean that black/dark blue business style commotion almost everyone is imaging - hello guys, there are colors, fabrics, different styles... Just be creative.
As for the fit - I'm a fat guy, 5.9 feet, 209 pounds (with all the regrets, excuses and etc.), but this is something I found to be pretty much universal: regular fit suit true size, regular fit shirt true size - just forget about "slim fit", no matter how well you think you look. Pair that with regular fit trousers, but a half to full size bigger. Now, get a decent tuckable holster. Don't worry, you'll get used to it... Shoulder holsters I find comfortable, but printing too much on the back and disturbing the line of the jacket.

P.S. And please, PLEASE, do polish your shoes properly and forget about boots (cowboy, or whatever - just don't. It's repulsive.), snickers, casual shoes, or (God forbid) that abomination called "squared toe"... Plain old Oxfords are fine, really!


P.P.S. Can you tell that I'm wearing a Browning Hi-Power, spare magazine, pocket watch, pocket knife, a pipe bag and a tin of tobacco? I hope not...

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Thanks all the same for the fashion advice, but that's just not how things are done 99% of the time in this town of less than 8,000, or for that matter, in MOSt of the Sunshine State. No disrespect to you, or diversity in general.

 

[Dibbs]

You could always opt to live dangerously. Dine with your wife, friends, and family in that extremely
dangerous upper-end restaurant without a firearm, for a couple hours.

 

[FL-NC]

You could always opt to live dangerously. Dine with your wife, friends, and family in that extremely
dangerous upper-end restaurant without a firearm, for a couple hours.

Call me paranoid, hypervigilant, or brainwashed by the experiences of training and living in dangerous places, but there are too many things in places like that a bad guy may want. I don't even like to be seated near the cash register or at the counter at waffle house- too close to what a bad guy wants, back is to the door, and my piece can't be accessed surreptitiously. Most bad guys and other amateurs get tunnel vision and/or only focus on what they are after and what is immediately in front of them. Those close to me are familiar with my "eccentricities".

 

[Mauser lover]

P.P.S. Can you tell that I'm wearing a Browning Hi-Power, spare magazine, pocket watch, pocket knife, a pipe bag and a tin of tobacco? I hope not...

View attachment 818271

HA! I knew you were joking when I read that you had a bagpipe hidden under there!

Which made me read it twice, and find that you didn't have a bagpipe under there. Which, to be quite blunt, disappointed me just a little bit.

But no, I couldn't identify all the things you had in the picture. However, it is possible that there is a slight bulge on your right hip that is visible. If I knew that you were carrying and were forced to guess where you were carrying, that would be my guess. But no, I don't think anyone would look twice at you suspiciously.

 

[Mizar]

Mauser lover, I cheated a little bit - I'm left-handed.

 

[Browning]

In such situations I just pocket carry.

That's my default it would be socially embarrassing for the pistol to be seen and I actually care mode. Trouser pockets are large and are up to the task if you're wearing a suit.

I'm much more comfortable in regular restaurants though (think steakhouses in TX where getting dressed up means a plain white starched shirt and new jeans without any holes or stains on them). Personally I think the whole dress up in suit thing is from a different era. I actually own one. Just haven't worn it in 9 years.

 

[FL-NC]

In such situations I just pocket carry.

That's my default it would be socially embarrassing for the pistol to be seen and I actually care mode. Trouser pockets are large and are up to the task if you're wearing a suit.

I'm much more comfortable in regular restaurants though (think steakhouses in TX where getting dressed up means a plain white starched shirt and new jeans without any holes or stains on them). Personally I think the whole dress up in suit thing is from a different era. I actually own one. Just haven't worn it in 9 years.

I see nothing wrong with being minimalist and utilitarian. Most of the time in Fl., a suit is just dumb. A long sleeve shirt buttoned to the top, and a jacket? There's a reason people come here from up north to vacation in the winter, (hint: its not for winter sports) and some of them actually refuse to leave. Ever. I have no idea what purpose a tie serves. And all for the purpose of "appearances".

 

[Mauser lover]

I have no idea what purpose a tie serves.

Oh, the tie is easy! It is so you can carry IWB cross-draw, leave one of your buttons undone so you can reach inside your shirt easily, and nobody can tell you left it unbuttoned!

 

[Mauser lover]

Mauser lover, I cheated a little bit - I'm left-handed.

So that's your secret to hiding the bagpipes!?

 

[Mizar]

Only lame, ordinary and boring smoking pipes, sorry! I feel like I betrayed you...

 

[shafter]

I'm flabbergasted that concealing a Smith and Wesson Shield under a suit coat is any kind of issue at all.

 

[FL-NC]

I'm flabbergasted that concealing a Smith and Wesson Shield under a suit coat is any kind of issue at all.

Maybe it's just the unfamiliar equipment. Not the gun, the suit coat.

 

[CapnMac]

P.P.S. Can you tell that I'm wearing a Browning Hi-Power, spare magazine, pocket watch, pocket knife, a pipe bag and a tin of tobacco? I hope not...

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Well, that's just cheating.
You could be carrying a 40w pulse rifle and nobody is going to notice with that level of accessory on your arm.

 

[scaatylobo]

Went with the family on Xmas eve to an upscale restaurant. Actually, a world famous upscale restaurant, where you wear coat/tie. Now we are in 2 situations that are unfamiliar to me- an upscale restaurant AND a suit. As in almost all situations, I am CCW my S&W shield 9. Several months ago I switched from SOB cary to a thumb break pancake style, in order to improve access and presentation time. My son informed me that because of the slots (or whatever they are called) in the bottom of a suit jacket, that it is very easy to CCW in this fashion, sit down, eat dinner, get up, and find that you are now open carrying. The obvious solution moving forward (to me) is to continue to wear my unbuttoned carhart work shirt or flannel shirt, and in the future "dine" at waffle house. What I am looking for is the strategy ( or tactic) to explain this to my wife.

I CCW a Glock 23 in ALL manner of dress wear.

And in a suit jacket I just "check my 6" as I stand to assure my CONCEALED gear is just so = concealed.

Just a matter of dressing to CCW.

I loved the expression that is attributed to Clint Smith ' a gun is supposed to be comforting,NOT comfortable".

I find I can do both,99% of the time

 

[FL-NC]

I CCW a Glock 23 in ALL manner of dress wear.

And in a suit jacket I just "check my 6" as I stand to assure my CONCEALED gear is just so = concealed.

Just a matter of dressing to CCW.

I loved the expression that is attributed to Clint Smith ' a gun is supposed to be comforting,NOT comfortable".

I find I can do both,99% of the time

I think this is the solution. That means I either have to "practice" this technique for the 1 or 2 times yearly it would apply (not likely) or just try to remember next time. Another reason to love untucked dickies or carhart work shirts and similar apparel- they just WORK.

 

[rpenmanparker]

With appendix carry I fail to see how side vents in a well fitting suit jacket would contribute to exposing the gun at all. If the gun is carried to the rear of 3:00, and the vents are splayed open because the jacket is too small, well that would be different, wouldn’t it? As Groucho Marx famously said in his role as a quack MD in the movie “A Day at the Races”: “Does it hurt when you do that? Well then don’t do that.”

 

[AZAndy]

On the contrary......I find carry in a sport coat much simpler than any other time.
Owb
or iwb

Mr. Farmer, is that Harris Tweed? I like a wool jacket for concealment purposes-- the robust non-slinkiness covers well.