Sidearms & Scatterguns OWB Holster for Concealed Carry?

[Destmiker]

I've really tried to like IWB holsters, but I have to confess that I usually default to carrying a Glock 43 or a S&W 442 in a pocket holster. I know carrying a gun is supposed to be comforting versus comfortable, but I just can't come to terms with IWB holsters.

I'm looking at trying OWB concealed carry in order to carry a more effective handgun - specifically a Glock 19 (Gen 5 with RMR). The CompTac Warrior holster looks like a reasonably concealable option and I've had good luck with CompTac to date. I know there are cover garment considerations for OWB, but you have to make clothing adjustments in order to carry IWB too - I'm not sure which method requires more compromises.

Any feedback from those of you who carry concealed OWB is appreciated and any feedback on the CompTac Warrior would also be greatly appreciated.

 

[Unknown]

I too tried IWB and regardless of which size trousers I tried, IWB made my trousers feel either too tight, or pulled off to one side. OWB has been my default for decades as a result. The primary considerations for comfortable OWB carry are:

1. Buy a good quality holster that properly fits your pistol and is designed for CCW rather than for IPSC shooting.

2. Buy a high quality STIFF belt. The wider and stiffer the belt, the better it will distribute the weight around your waist.

3. Oddly, balancing out the pistol with a magazine or two on the other side makes your trousers ride with less sag to one side.

4. Some people add suspenders to their trousers along with the belt so they don't have to tighten up their belt so much. But, having a loose belt
usually causes the pistol to flop to the outboard more, making concealing things more difficult.

5. You will want to start looking at shirts that hang out over your pistol. Photographer's type vests seem to always say "I have a gun", where over
size shirts usually say "I'm fat, Hawaiian, or want to be comfortable". Practice how to reach across your body and pull your shirt away from the
holster so you can have a smooth draw.

6. Often buttoning up button #3 and 4 on your shirt will help keep the shirt closed. Count buttons from the top down. You still need to practice
the draw stroke after yanking your shirt up. I pull my cover shirt (T shirt or oversize shirt) up to my shoulder to get it well clear of the gun.

I prefer a 1.75" belt (try Beltman for belts) and friction fit holsters that have smooth leather lining. If you go cheap on belt or holster, you will become frustrated, and eventually end up buying better gear. The "buy once, cry once" rule really fits here. Some of the newer Kydex holsters are very good and I own some, but Kydex vs leather is purely personal preference and either one works. I am lucky as I finally learned how to make holsters that have all the features I want, in the color I want, with the draw stroke angle I want.

FWIW, I had to carry concealed at work for decades, so between carrying at work, and off duty, I was carrying something about 80 hours per week and on weekends. The butt of the pistol is the hard part to conceal, not the length of the slide. A Glock 19 sized pistol, or Para-Ordnance P-13 size pistol is actually not difficult to conceal. You should always have at least one extra magazine. Sure the extra ammo is nice, but it is more because magazines are simple devices that can fail, and having an extra is just a good idea...just like a spare tire.

 

[texas_vet00]

Look at Hanks Belts and a Milt holster...

 

[Destmiker]

Thanks Unknown - great answer with lots of good info

 

[TroutBear]

Wright Leather Works has excellent OWB; very pleased with the two Marshall ones I have.

 

[AA7364]

I carry a VP9 at work, for plain clothes events in a Kaluban Cloak. It sits pretty tight to the body and doesn’t ride super low, so it’s not too tough to conceal. Holster is also plenty snug on the pistol, so I’m never worried about it coming out when I don’t want it out.

 

[RIS]

I highly recommend RJ Grizzle, I carry a Dan Wesson VBob in his “High Country” OWB under a T-shirt all the time. He makes beautiful, highly concealable holsters. And I second everyone else’s opinion on a true gun belt... It makes all the difference

 

[davsco]

i really like the bianchi consent 125 owb for my mid-size glocks (32/23/19). leather exterior, kydex interior, nice smooth draw, conceals pretty good at 4:30 or so. and yes a very stiff belt is mandatory imo for cc, got my stiff leather belt at a gunshow years back.

 

[pmclaine]

Buy a Beltman horsehide....

https://www.thebeltman.net/collections/gunbelts

and a Garret Industries Silent Thunder OWB

http://www.giholsters.com/category-s/362.htm

You will find peace.

 

[FS1]

For a compact or sub compact try the Kydex CompTac Warrior or for leather the Desantis mini slide. I have both and both are great. The Desantis seems to fit tighter to the body. I use the Warrior for vp9sk and the Mini Slide for USPc 9.

Too me a sidearm is like an AMEX, never leave home without it.

 

[308pirate]

Winthrop Holsters: http://www.winthropholsters.com/ makes high quality, reasonably priced OWB and IWB holsters

 

[HoustonB77]

OWB is much more comfortable like others have said. I use Nelson leather OWB holsters and armourbelts.com leather belts. Both work great for me.

 

[101stinfantry]

I like the Black Dog Concealment holsters, but like everything you may, or may not.

 

[308pirate]

I absolutely HATE kydex holsters for real world concealed carry. They are uncomfortable as fuck IWB for more than 5 minutes and every single OWB one I've tried makes the gun's grip print like raging boner in a speedo.

They're fine for the range and games like IDPA. Otherwise it's leather or nothing.

 

[pmclaine]

I absolutely HATE kydex holsters for real world concealed carry. They are uncomfortable as fuck IWB for more than 5 minutes and every single OWB one I've tried makes the gun's grip print like raging boner in a speedo.

They're fine for the range and games like IDPA. Otherwise it's leather or nothing.

Three reasons why you may have had that experience....

A. Your fashion sense has you wearing spandex form fitting tops
B. Your love handles exceed the circumference of your belt
C. You havent tried a Garret Industries OWB Silent Thunder

Could be A and B and in addition to belt hangover we have an awesome set of man boobs going on.

 

[...]

i concealed for a long time with a Bravo concealment OWB holster....i was never able to carry IWB comfortably.

really any owb holster will work so long as its tight into the body and rides decently high enough.

and unless you are trying to conceal a Desert Eagle under a tight shirt....dont worry about printing, it is WAY less important than most people think it is.....when people see a bulge on your belt line, they assume its a phone......also, no one walks around staring at belt lines looking for shit.

 

[308pirate]

Three reasons why you may have had that experience....

A. Your fashion sense has you wearing spandex form fitting tops NOPE
B. Your love handles exceed the circumference of your belt NOPE
C. You havent tried a Garret Industries OWB Silent Thunder CORRECT

Could be A and B and in addition to belt hangover we have an awesome set of man boobs going on.

 

[101stinfantry]

I have kydex, Leather, and leather/kydex hybrids, they all work.......some better than others. Despite marketing hype, holsters are pretty simple.

 

[Inifinty]

I will carry the glock 43 OWB in one of these.

https://pyntek.com/products/x80

And carry a spare mag with +2 Vickers mag extension in a front pocket with one of these.

https://theneomag.com/product/neomag/

It makes for a pretty comfortable arrangement, even if sitting all day. If I were to go somewhere where there was high likelihood of being a crime victim then I'll upsize to a full size handgun with the same type of high rise OWB holster.

ETA: I've found that kydex in the kryptek typhon pattern blends in fairly well with most blue jeans. Being OWB this helps disguise the bottom of holster should it ever peek out from under a shirt.

 

[308pirate]

On the subject of ride, I don't buy any OWB holster unless the belt loops are high enough for the top of the belt to be even with the back of the trigger guard (where the trigger guard meets the front strap of the grip.

That makes the holster ride a little bit lower than those "high rise" holsters but that design also pulls the grip of the gun the tightest against my side.

 

[PBWalsh]

Just got a Bravo Concealment holster for my G26. It hides it better than my Alien Gear IWB holster and actually has less width added to my hips.

 

[MCSO1357]

Love my Milt Sparks 55 for leather carry 1911, I also have Raven Concealment kydex for all of my pistols.

 

[Unknown]

The lower the pistol sits in the holster, and the higher your belt is toward the top of the holster (generally) the better that holster will be at pulling the butt of the gun into your side to assist concealment and reduce the tendency of the pistol to flop around on your belt. The issue is that in order to gain a decent grip on the pistol before starting the draw stroke, the holster has to allow full access to the grip, and this precludes putting most pistols too deeply into the holster.

I saw a holster design that used a metal belt loop on the front of the holster for your belt to pass through, and the placement of that loop did a fabulous job of pulling the pistol tight against my side. Unfortunately, I don't know who made the holster.

 

[308pirate]

Conceals better than any kydex OWB holster known to man and cost less than most of them: https://www.winthropholsters.com/pancake-outside-the-waistband-holsters/

 

[powdahound76]

Who needs a holster? Just tuck it in your pants a go.

Pic taken from another Hide member to share with the un-enlightened......

p

 

[Unknown]

I have a friend who did that on the other side with a 1911. He wanted to carry it Mexican carry (no holster, just dropped in his pants) hammer down on a loaded chamber. I told him it is hammer down on an empty chamber, or cocked and locked. We argued.

About a month later he called me from the hospital. Apparently, when he shoved the gun into his pants, the slide moved enough to cock the hammer. During the day, his shirt got bunched up in the trigger guard pushing on the trigger. Later that afternoon after he took a piss, he went to straighten his shirt, adjust his trousers...normal stuff guys do after taking a piss at a urinal. AS he was straightening things, he bumped the grip safety and the gun fired.

Bullet went in the top of his ass cheek, out the bottom of his ass cheek, re-entered at the top of his right calf, and stopped at his ankle bone. A Remington 185 grain hollow point, and it didn't deform in the least...except for the rifling marks on the bullet, it looked unused. I told him he was lucky it didn't expand, and also quit carrying that ammo because it doesn't expand.

 

[WATERWALKER]

These days I'm using a DSG Arms Alpha holster for personal carry. I'm carrying a Gen 4 Glock 22 w/ a light & as big a pistol as it is, I forget it's there most of the time. However, I do notice if it's not on my side. I'm 6'3 so I can get away w/ carrying a full-sized pistol. I choose to carry OWB because I'm so used to carrying my duty pistol in the same position that I don't want to induce a training scar. I've been carrying concealed everywhere I go for years so it's not an issue for me.

 

[Dougie308]

I use a Kydek one from Gunfighter for my FNX 45 T with an RMR. I like it a lot.

I've really tried to like IWB holsters, but I have to confess that I usually default to carrying a Glock 43 or a S&W 442 in a pocket holster. I know carrying a gun is supposed to be comforting versus comfortable, but I just can't come to terms with IWB holsters.

I'm looking at trying OWB concealed carry in order to carry a more effective handgun - specifically a Glock 19 (Gen 5 with RMR). The CompTac Warrior holster looks like a reasonably concealable option and I've had good luck with CompTac to date. I know there are cover garment considerations for OWB, but you have to make clothing adjustments in order to carry IWB too - I'm not sure which method requires more compromises.

Any feedback from those of you who carry concealed OWB is appreciated and any feedback on the CompTac Warrior would also be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dan M]

Have been using Raven Concealment’s Phantom and Perun OWB for G19 and 19X for work .They tuck the pistol close to the body and as long as you have dressed around it correctly, they hide the pistols extremely well. I prefer Kydex for OWB. The off duty/back up Shield is in a DeSantis Cozy Partner leather IWB...hides nicely.