Concealed Carry Corner: Dressing For CCW As A Young Shooter
Dressing for CCW as a young gun owner was a struggle for me. I’m 27,so I will admit I’m growing closer to the age of comfortable pants and fashion you would find in your dad’s closet rather than a cool trendy millennial. I remember when I turned 21, the concealed carry market was geared towards the 50- and 60-year-olds who loved rocking the cherished CCW vest that looks like a fishing vest. I thought it was terrible then and honestly, it never got cooler, it’s still awful!
CONCEALED CARRY CORNER: Dressing For CCW As A Young Shooter
In the Beginning
I remember starting out trying to conceal guns I had no idea where to start. I thought baggy clothes and layers were the best way to go. After that, I must have gone through every carry option possible to try and find the best method to conceal. I really didn’t enjoy carrying Inside the waistband because every holster I had dug into me or cut me. Once I decided against it, I totally wrote off inside the waistband for a few years. Thankfully I woke up and found out IWB carrying is one of the best ways to conceal a gun comfortably. For me, It took trial and error to figure out what works when it comes to concealing a firearm under your everyday clothes. There are still some general rules that I live by when trying to decide what gun will work with your clothes.
Concealment Starts with the Gun
Usually, the number one factor in figuring out how to dress is the size of the firearm you’re trying to conceal. Wearing a form fitted graphic T-shirt with a Glock 34 isn’t going to happen. You’re not John Wick and this isn’t a movie. Try to keep the size of your carry gun in mind when looking at things to wear. The larger the gun, usually the more work it’ll be concealing it. I think one of the best tools people who carry don’t utilize is professional button-up shirts. I usually like checkered or striped shirts that aren’t super tight. They usually break up the pattern of anything you may be carrying really effectively. Solid colors tend to enhance shapes under the shirt where patterned shirts tend to minimize the number of shapes under your shirt. Trust me being kind of chubby, I know this from my college days of trying to pick up ladies. That effort was usually a massive failure, but it gave me background knowledge for carrying a firearm. Ultimately, I call it a win!
Concealment Companies
There are some awesome companies out there now that tailor to concealed carry mindset but are inconspicuous. Two companies that do a fantastic job at this are Vertx and Viktos. Both sell clothes and gear to help the average person conceal a firearm easier with various products. I always encourage people to go check them out and see what’s new in their lineup. When you start carrying a firearm and gear, there has to be a mindset shift from “does this look good on me” to “will this work with my firearm and everything I carry.” I have been in Eddie Bauer’s dressing room more than once trying out my IWB holster with the pair of jeans I am trying on. I always encourage people to try things out at home or in the fitting room to figure out if it will be big enough to fit your concealment needs. Your clothes need to fit your gun in a holster, spare mags, and whatever else you decide is necessary to carry.
Try Before You Buy
The idea of shopping for clothes with carrying a gun in mind may seem crazy at first, but trust me when I say it’s a must when shopping. I have made mistakes in the past, where I bought something only to realize my loadout doesn’t work with new clothes. If you plan ahead and try to take these things into consideration, it’ll give you more options for daily carry. Keeping your loadout in mind when shopping will create a healthier mindset for you in the long run.
The Importance of Carry Belts
One of the biggest mistakes people make is with carry belts. I still make this mistake even today sometimes! When it comes to carry belts always remember to buy a belt strong enough to support your carry gun and gear. The second thing to remember is to always buy a size bigger when picking up a carry belt. Your holster, spare mags, and anything else you carry are going to add weight. You need to have a belt big enough to fit everything. If you plan ahead it makes you feel more comfortable during the day. I have been using the Blue Alpha Gear Hybrid EDC belt with a mini cobra buckle. I’m very happy with this belt and I plan on doing its own write up in the near future. There’s a ton of different options for carry belts whether its Nylon or leather. There are pros and cons to each, but it’s important to have a belt designed for concealed carry.
It Gets Easier With Time!
It’s important to think about how you dress and to figure out what gun works best for a given time of year. Being able to conceal carry is a huge advantage to someone wanting to ensure their own personal safety. The upside of being new at dressing around your gun is that the majority of people in society are going among their day and won’t notice if you have a little bit of printing on a T-shirt. I would try to conceal the gun 100%, but if you’re still learning, keep in mind most people aren’t looking at you or trying to figure out if you have a firearm on your person so take a deep breath and always try to learn more!
TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK
I'm an avid shooter and love educating whether it's at my job or in the shooting community. I'm an average joe that really loves talking with other people about firearms and other passions.I'm active on Instagram on @fridgeoperator.
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Pocket carry especially in summer seasons and tropic locales is an effective option. As well, discretion is critical. There is the assumption that 'all' gun guys are conservatives and 'all' the antis and non gunners are lefties. Not an absolute. But Leftists often especially when in the electorial outs are mean spirited and vindictive enough to "Out" ccw carriers to publicly embarass and and inconvenience pistoleros taking for granted that they are striking back at the hated enemy. Doxing and SWATting are their known pass times more often than by rightwingers. So re read this article and take the good advice.
The biggest mistake I see extremely often and not addressed in this article, is that all gun belts are not made for the same purposes. Most gun belts are WAY TOO STIFF for concealed carry. They may be fine for duty carry or OWB carry on the range all day, but they're terrible for all day carry with IWB or AIWB carry. For most concealed carriers, their gun belt is too thick and stiff, but they have been brainwashed to think that "a stiff belt is a good belt, and the stiffer the gun belt, the better!". NO!! You're doing it wrong. At worst, you will have back pain, leg pain, hip pain, some of which can turn into serious long term issues. At best, you will quickly spend your day being uncomfortable. Good luck doing that all day, sitting, driving, running, lounging, etc. For the average concealed carry citizen, you don't need a super stiff duty belt. You need a concealed carry belt that is meant for *concealed* carry.
What that means is, you need a belt that fits the following criteria:
1. Belt is not overly stiff, and can still flex and bend in the right places with varying body movement, while still being able to support a gun, spare mag(s), knife, etc.
2. Can be worn comfortably all day long no matter what you are doing.
3. Has a small and low profile buckle - what's the point of concealed carry when your gun belt has a giant, heavy, bulky, and snag prone buckle that will print and draw attention to that region? Forget the Cobra buckles, you are not an operator, you are not on duty, and it's overkill for concealed carry.
4. You also want a belt that is "infinitely" adjustable, ie, don't bother with belts that use prong and hole, it will limit you to how much you can adjust. Since belt holes are finite, they typically only adjust 1" at a time. What if you want to adjust half an inch, a quarter of an inch, etc? With prong and hole style belts, you are limiting yourself and can only move up or down by 1 inch increments.
Perfect example to this: Sometimes I (rarely) don't carry a spare mag, sometimes I tuck in an undershirt, sometimes it's a thick undershirt, sometimes it's a thin undershirt, sometimes I don't wear an undershirt at all, sometimes I carry a defensive knife, sometimes I don't. You get the idea. All of these changes mean that it is more or less material within the belt, which means that the size needs to easily adjust to fit whatever you decide to wear that day.
Very few gun belts offer all of the above. That all being said, I'd recommend checking out the Graith Specialist, the Megingjörð by V Development Group, or the Foundation Belt by EDC Belt Co. The Graith is my personal favorite, but they all are great belts.
Finally, and most importantly, train often with your carry set up exactly how you would wear it if you were going out of the house. What you think might work in your head one way can end up being totally different in reality. You will realize new issues that need correction once you actually train with how you will be wearing it. If you can't live fire train to your exact carry setup, then dry fire practice at home to make sure it will work as intended. Make adjustments as needed so that your carry set up will work just as you expect it to in a real life situation.
Example: when you pull up your shirt to draw your gun, does the shirt get stuck on the mag carrier, or knife, preventing you from removing enough shirt to get a firm and solid draw on the handgun? If so, adjust accordingly, and keep doing it until it's perfect.
Are your shirts too stiff (slim fit) that you can't easily and consistently remove enough shirt to get a good draw? Etc..
Those are just a couple of examples. You don't want to discover these issues in the middle of a gunfight. Always train with your exact carry setup so that, God forbid, if the time comes, you will not have any inhibitions.