This goes back to the church security thread. Anyone with experience with a full sized gun concealed carrying? Looking to carry one morning a week, need a holster. Doesn't have to be perfectly comfortable or line/bulge free, just needs to be concealed and accessible with 1 spare mag.

Appreciate any helpful responses.

Full size, I'd go with either inside the pants holster or shoulder holster with a jacket over it. Hard to conceal a full size gun without wearing a jacket or overshirt over it.

I'm planning on a button up shirt over a Tshirt or a sweatshirt over a Tshirt. I'm okay with buying cloths to make this work

Depends on your build. I’ve appendix carried my Glock 20 and it’s just so long it digs into hip and the goods too much to sit comfortably for any amount of time. I prefer my leather kydex hybrid iwb at 3-4 o’clock. Or if clothing allows a good avenger style leather holster. I don’t open carry, just throw a sweatshirt or vest over it.

The Shadow is a little on the heavy side




OK my son runs a Shadow 2 in competition it is heavy , his is heavier than yours he said cokked and locked is the way to run

he said it is heavy but a good holster for it is for strong side https://www.tier1concealed.com/collections/iwb-holsters/products/t1-echo?variant=31311831007303

if you want to run appendix https://www.tier1concealed.com/collections/iwb-holsters/products/axis-elite?variant=17963595235399


yes you can get a big gun appendix you he just ran a G34 MOS from concealment appendix at league this week and if he uses 17 round mags it doesn't even print.

what he said is the shadow 2 has a short chamber be 100% sure it runs your carry ammo well , like minimum 50-100 rounds from your 2 mags before you carry mark those as your carry mags
they often do not like 147gr so 124 or 115

he said you need a very solid belt , possibly a Kore gun belt or Nex gun belt for strong side.

for appendix , Hunter Constantine carry belt this is what he carries the G34 on with 2 spare mags he is using a Carrey Concealment Bounty holster ( He runs this is for concealment competition not EDC)

A my late teens and early 20s I concealed carried a 7" red hawk 44mag in a shoulder holster. It was heavy and awkward but I was young broke and its what I bought for deer and what I had so I packed it. Some carry large guns but not many carry them very long.

I have been eyeballing a shadow 2 like that for 3 years plus but just haven't bit yet. Im sure its got to be very low recoil, nice single action trigger and a joy to shoot.

get the optics ready and keep your options open.

add more ounces with the brass grips and with the optic and it has very little recoil. he comes in at 55.5oz , 59 is the max for the division for an unloaded gun with empty mag

This has been my experience as well. I carried a Ruger P-85 concealed for years. That might not be considered full-size but it's a pretty big, pretty heavy chunk of steel. I carried OWB with either a strong-side or small-of-the-back holster. I preferred the strong-side because the small-of-the-back method made the pistol inaccessible when sitting.

I always wore an untucked button-down shirt when carrying. I even had my wife sew small amounts of lead shot in the seams on the bottom fronts to keep the wind from making my shirts flap and potentially exposing my weapon.

These days I carry AIWB with a pistol of the same caliber but less than half the size and weight of the old Ruger. With the holster I use I can conceal it with a tucked-in T-shirt.

Just shove it in your pants pocket and smile and wink at the ladies when they look at you.

Thank you Pete! Great info, ill run 50 hollow points through each magazine this weekend to confirm function.

Nice firearm

Thank you. My biggest fear is someone walking into church with a rifle. It's a large church with long open distances. I started trying to shoot my regular carry guns at 25+ yards and realized I was seriously limited. This gun is heavy, small but good sights, low recoil and supremely accurate, it's a range toy with a job one morning a week.

My main CCW is a Glock 32 carried in both an inside or outside holster at the 4 o’clock on my strong side. I also have a S&W 36 snub on the inside of my ankle in an elastic holster. I only carry extra ammo for my main pistol.

I see a VERY GOOD opportunity to explain to the wife your need for a new gun. I mean come on man!!! You're protecting the LORD'S HOUSE!!! Who could argue!!

Tell the wife it's necessary. You/re doing the LORD'S work!!

A glock 43 or 43x or a Ruger LCP or a SW bodyguard or shield.

I like full size also but in a church you will not have long shots and you need to be able to access and present with ease. A full size does not give this ability like a compact.

You're welcome!!

Instead of buying clothes to work around the problem, why not buy a better suited gun for the situation?

If it is a church carry situation, buy yourself a nice suit coat, a shoulder holster and your problem is solved…. I run the shadows little brother…. Great pistols imho.

Yep.

I can conceal a Glock 19x in the appendix position, in summer. I know I know, they say that’s not a full size, but let’s be real, it’s pretty much a full size.

And I’m not a very big guy.

But I’ve also got a box full of barely used holsters that didn’t make the cut.




As for making longer shots, get a red dot.

It’s scary what a guy can do at distance with a red dot.

Maybe go to a safer church?

Doesn’t matter what church or how safe you think it is, crazy happens. Just a little over a year ago in a tiny rural town here in Idaho, a flaming trans showed up to disrupt the service. Its only goal was to disrupt but it could just as easily have been a far worse scenario. And no one had any idea why that small church was chosen. The police escorted them off premises and trespassed them. The person had no association with the church or any of the congregation.

My CC is a Glock 48 and before that a Glock 22. I carry outside the waistband in a Blackhawk Serpa. In the cool months I wear a fleece vest or a sweater to conceal. In the warmer months a large, tall Hawaiian shirt. Not hiding the outline just covering up so it’s not noticeable at first glance.

I was joking.

Galco makes excellent leather gear for my 1911.
Cop tip: Get the widest thickest leather belt you can find and use, and cinch it up tight.

Why does it have to be full sized?

Spend the cash and get a belt made for carrying a gun. I finally did 11 years ago and it makes a madame improvement over thick leather belts i used to use. And im still using it thou its looking rough. Its an Aries and cost about 110 back then so I have got my money's worth.

The buck pulls tight no holes to hit exactly where you need it every time. The main part is dive webbing thick and stiff. You draw is very fast and positive without the hoster moving up a bit like with leather. Becuse its so stiff when you are using thr bathroom you gun stays put and doesn't flop over due to weight .




You can see its looking rough but thats many years of service. I am due for a new one for nice occasions.

I wear my gun belt ever day. This one is a ratchet style. Love it.

I bought a full grain leather cow collar, 2" wide I think, and modified it for a belt. Fit's most work pant loops and keep the fire arm from sagging.

X2 ratcheting gun belt is a must

If you have to unbutton. untuck, open jacket.... You would be better off buying some track shoes.

Pretty much my edc. Kimber 10mm

Appreciate the helpful comments. I'm going to order one of the holsters recommended on here and give it a try. Hopefully by next week I can report back on how it's working out. For this week the standby S&W M&P 9 compact will be in attendance

Step to 25 yards, shoot a compact then shoot a full size, there's a massive difference, atleast in my hands

Yes, that's right and you can also use it as a club. Here is what I use. https://blackpointtactical.com/shop/fo3-holster/

I like this! The idea is to look like you're NOT carrying a gun!

I know this, get a subcompact. Best if both worlds. Any handgun sucks at anything other than close range. All boils down to how much a guy wanta to practice.

I cant day enough about the alien gear holsters and their carry belt. Ive worn the carry belt (it is thick lewther with steel insert) every day for about 12 years and it still looks fine. Doesnt let the gun sag and it doesnt flex much if at all when drawing a gun against the resistance of the holster.

I have found carrying a full size hand gun to be very tiresome after any length of time, especially on any hip rig even with a good belt. I can handle a shoulder holster far better, but useless for warm weather. I've made the compromise to carrying a springfield xd in 45.. flat, much lighter and manageable for hip carry. I find I carry more often and have less frustration toting it for long periods.. FWIW..

just a thought , if your looking for more concealable but better shooting than your compact

it will depend on your hand size some how big of a grip you need to feel right and get a good grip

one of the reason people shoot longer guns better at distance is sight radius , that doesn't matter if you run an optic

you might consider a range that rents , you know you want to be 9mm , look at compact size guns with slide mounted dots , suddenly a compact as long as you can get a grip on it can shoot better than a full size for your ability to aim it still weights less so it might not be quite as fast on splits.
if your hand is a little large like mine I use a pinkie extension on the G19 mags

I just stuck the CZ 75 in a crossbreed iwb holster designed for my M&P, it doesn't feel unbearably heavy, access was good, it will print through a Tshirt but I usually wear a button up shirt over it (untucked).

I'm 6' 4" and weigh 250 lbs and am fairly trim, the minimal extra burden of carrying a full sized is one I'm happy to carry. I want something as close to a rifle as possible that can be concealed.

Looks like you're about to whiz on the wall, Donner.

If my backside was photogenic I would of been a model instead of a tree climber

As fare as accuracy at distance i know guys that can head shoot a man every shot at 100 yard every shot with their cary gun. They practice a lot at distance. Im not one of them. To me handguns are a weak close range defense tool and im happy being able to hold 4 to 5 inches at 25 yards and very little practice. Best i have ever shot was a mark 23 hk a friend had . I was bouncing a pop can down the range each shot at 50 yards. What a gun. To carry it it would be a winter time only gun its huge and heavy.

I went through stages with all guns at different times but started off with handguns at 18 when I got my first permit. Started with big heart revolvers duel pourpous for hunting and I could make 100+ yard shots. After some time I got a glock 23 and decided its much nicer to carry. Then I got smaller guns for more concealment 3 inch groups at 19 yards was good enough for me with the small guns. Different tools for different situations.

Today I dont have many handguns most have come and gone. Still have that glock 23, 2 kahra pm380s and a hand full of .22s.

Just a guesees going from my experience the novelty of packing the big heavy gun will wear off after a while. At least it did for me. Took 3 or 4 years and experience with something thinner and lighter.

My daily carry will remain a compact or a pocket gun. I can tell some people didn't read the thread which is fine, we're all busy I get it.

This gun will be carried 2 hours a week for a very specific purpose.

If you wear a suit jacket you can hang a short Uzi type long gun like secret service does....

the super sexy MP7 is the hot thing now https://www.heckler-koch.com/en/Pro...e%20guns/MP7?section=variants&s=true

many saw a few of them slide out of bags and briefcases at the Hilton a week ago

Oh if you get into brief case size stuff the PDWs get very interesting.

That said it is hard to beat out of holster time of an on person carried handgun , so then it is training to hit what you need too.

also it should be a team sport with a good zone defense.

Triple K makes a leather holster with a mag pouch. Spouse has one for his Ruger 40 cal.

You right first post says one day a week. Missed that or just conflated my past carrying large heavy guns use with yours and projected it to your situation.

I would go with sport jacket and shoulder rig under your left arm. If right handed since you will probably be seated a lot during church and the larger gun will print more and dig in to your soft body parts. May not be to bad for you being used to being uncomfortable and having your harness diging in daily though.
Is been 2 decades since I was doing trees daily and comfort has become a little more important than it used to be .
Beyond comfort its easier for me to get a gun out of a shoulder and ankle rig when sitting. Clearly you shadow wont go in an ankle rig but the point is the same.

Over 80 percent of ccw engagements take place at 3-5 yards.

Yep, that's why I normally carry a compact 9mm. This situation is different.

Depending on your church set up, I think this makes the most sense. We have a tech booth that runs video and sound for the service. It’d be a perfect spot for a guy with 300blk pistol in a bag. Just ran drills with my carry gun and my bedside 300blk yesterday. It’s no comparison how much faster and easier it is to make A zone hits, not to mention 30 rd mags and more power. A Sig Rattler is on my radar

this is why they say pistols are to fight your way to a rifle. they aren't wrong it is just difficult to keep a rifle staged in a good way.

it would be ideal to keep the threat on the outside with good door management and camera setups.
well placed large planters in key locations

anyone coming with something much bigger than a pistol should be easy enough to spot outside before they can make entry.

you also want to keep a very low profile because you can be certain not all your membership is going to be super chill with a long gun in the sound booth also if it makes it into the sanctuary you missed a bunch of opportunities to keep it out of the sanctuary

Again practice is the big thing here. If you dont drill you wont see a difference at all.

This won't help in your situation, but I bought my wife a CC purse. The thing is awesome , you can literally walk around all day with your hand on the trigger and know one is the wiser.

Do you guys have insurance in case you use your weapon?

I think I could pull it off, I am known as a trend Setter as seen here

You should try to carry the “biggest” gun you can.

Compacts and sub-compacts are tough to shoot accurately. More so under stress.

Yes, even at 5 yards.

What did you buy her?

You are a trend setter. I think all the rodeo clowns have started copying u

A concealed carry purse. It has a seperate compartment that you can reach in from either side. You can actually walk around with your hand in the compartment holding on to the hand gun and it doesn't really show.