Are you thinking about carrying a full-size pistol? Are you curious about the benefits of carrying a larger gun? Perhaps you just wondering for yourself how to conceal carry a full-size pistol? Regardless of what you’re looking for in regards to conceal carrying a full-size pistol, we got you covered.
It is important to understand the benefits and cons of choosing a large gun so that you are going to be able to keep it concealed and discreet.
With a full-size pistol, it’s important to maintain a high level of discretion. You want to carry the gun in a concealed fashion and remain conscious that you do have a lot more gun in a full-size pistol. It’s important to consider the type of clothing you wear and try to dress around the gun.
You’re not going to be able to wear any skin tight clothing if you want the gun to actually be hidden. You’ll also want to consider your body type. If you are a bigger person you might want to carry the gun at the 3 o’clock position and if you have a leaner body type it might be better at the 4 o’clock or 5 o’clock position.
You will also need to determine what kind of carry you are doing in general and which holster will work best for you. If you are carrying on the hip, make sure you get a hefty gun belt!
Benefits Of A Full-Size Pistol
First, it’s good to consider if you even need a full-size pistol before going out and getting one. Obviously, a bigger gun is going to carry a larger round which is going to have more impact than a smaller round simply due to higher velocity and increased energy.
Other benefits involve better accuracy, so if you’re a new gunman a bigger gun can actually be easier to use.
A bigger gun also has less recoil due to the weight of the gun. This will allow you to maintain more control of the gun so you can hit successful follow up shots if it’s necessary.
Another aspect is simply the larger magazine cartridge that a full-size pistol will have. Those extra rounds without having to reload could very well save your life in a high-stress situation, so it’s important to consider.
This video will show you the ultimate overview of the benefits of a full-size pistol:
What Should You Wear?
Now that you’ve decided to carry a full-size pistol, let’s take a look into your wardrobe! Especially if you’re carrying a large gun you’ll be more inclined to acquire clothing that works around the gun.
We would advise using dark and nondescript colors. Darker colors help hide the gun by not casting a noticeable shadow onto the surface of lighter colors. This will reduce the chance that you are printing, which means the outline of the gun is printed into your shirt and giving away the fact that you’re carrying a gun.
As far as the actual clothing, it depends on your style. With a full-size pistol you would definitely consider wearing a jacket. Also, if you choose a type of carry that involves being on your hip it’s a good idea to make sure the jacket is long enough to cover the entire firearm.
Any sort of loose pants, including business pants, are going to work to conceal the firearm. As a side note, if you have an inside the waistband holster then it is sometimes a good idea to consider getting your pants one size too big to account for the mass of the gun.
Your Best Concealed Carry Options
As for carrying, you have a myriad of styles to choose from. These include an appendix and strong side hip carry, the ankle carry, using a shoulder holster, or even off the body carry where it’s in a pack or a briefcase.
We would really recommend the ankle carry for a full-size handgun. It just wouldn’t be very comfortable carrying on your ankle every day.
Off the body carry is usually not recommended unless you can be absolutely sure that nobody who is unauthorized will be able to get their hands on the gun.
With carrying appendix or strong side carry you will choose between two different types of holsters. One will be outside the waistband (OWB) and the other will be inside the waistband (IWB) holsters.
For concealment purposes, an IWB holster is really useful so that even if your jacket rides up from sitting down, your pants will cover the large majority of the gun.
Your Holster And Your Belt
It’s important to get a high-quality belt when you are working with a full-size handgun. With the extra weight from the handgun, your belt is going to really need to up to the task. A dress belt that’s not specifically for guns will not be able to hold the weight over time and will inevitably break.
You will also want to ensure that the holster is going to last long term for your gun. If it stretches or morphs the leather in any way then you want a different holster that’s made of higher quality material.
Kydex holsters work well for full-size handguns because they are strong and durable, yet they are still lightweight. They also will generally have a sweat guard to keep sweat from getting on your gun.
Your Physique
If you’re having trouble concealing the gun without it sticking out and making prints in your shirt it might be good to consider your physique. If you’re smaller than the average person or larger you will have a much harder time concealing the weapon. It will basically display itself on your hips for everyone to see.
As long as you simply tone yourself and get into shape you will find it much easier to conceal the gun along the contours of your body.
That’s It!
Now you know how to conceal carry a full-size pistol confidently and correctly! You will choose if you want it full size and then ensure you have the proper dress and proper equipment to carry the handgun!
You also understand the style of carrying that is going to suit you best and how to find the products that will match your carrying style. You’ll be able to carry that 1911 around securely and discreetly from now on!
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