Concealed Carry Corner: Does Size Really Matter?

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about some of the best carry items to check before the summer season hits full steam. If you happened to miss last week's article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to look at another common point of contention when it comes to a perfect carry setup. So many people say the size of your gun will directly affect how comfortable a carry gun will be before fatigue kicks in. Let's take a closer look at trying to answer the question: Does size really matter?

Common Struggles With Carry Guns

One of the most common issues I see when it comes to carrying a handgun is choosing the wrong gun for your needs or body type. Whether it's the fact that someone can only afford one handgun to train with and carry or a lack of knowledge, so they carry the gun they shoot the best. While situations like this happen, it's best to have a designated handgun that you specifically carry every day. Going to the gun range and training with that specific carry gun. While it's completely possible to force a certain handgun to work if it's the only option, the most common issue people have is suffering from fatigue, where the skin becomes irritated over time due to friction and the holster moving around. Irritation can also come from “hotspotting”, where your belt can irritate the opposite side of your body to where your gun rides. For people who carry strong side on their hip, it will be the opposite hip that begins to become irritated to the point where the belt begins to dig into the skin, creating discomfort over time.

The other major struggle is printing or accidentally showing the concealed firearm. Printing is when your shirt or cover garment shows a clearly defined outline of your concealed firearm. The whole point of carrying a concealed handgun is having it be concealed for a reason. In certain circumstances, depending on your state, printing can be taken as a momentary brandishing. Florida laws are some of the best examples where even momentary printing can draw the attention of police. When carrying a handgun, you have to ensure your gun is always concealed, no matter the weather or situation.

Weight Is The Issue Not Size

When it comes to being comfortable long-term while carrying a handgun, the real culprit is how much your handgun weighs. Having an all-steel or metal-framed firearm can speed up how fast you become fatigued, rather than the overall size of your handgun. Looking at the Glock 43X versus the longer Glock 48 variant, both feel almost identical to carry, with the Glock 48 having a longer barrel than the smaller Glock 43X. Everyone likes to stress about overall size, but the weight of a handgun will make you fatigue and become uncomfortable faster than anything else.

Carrying something like a full-size 1911 is certainly possible, but without a sturdy belt or solid holster, carrying a steel-framed handgun can make you incredibly uncomfortable compared to something lighter of equal size, like a Glock 17 or even the Glock 19. I personally love to carry either a full-size 1911 or my SIG Sauer P226, but it does take a sturdy holster and belt for the best results. If you look at larger carry guns like the Glock 48 or P365 FUSE, the size will be larger than micro carry guns, but the overall weight won't be dramatically more, even though the size of the handguns is larger.

Balance Is Key

Just like everything else in life, picking your handgun of choice is a balance that takes a number of factors into consideration. Whether it's overall size, weight capacity and the amount of accessories installed, all the factors will certainly play a role in how easy it is to concealed carry a given handgun all day long. Something like my Glock 48 will be a much easier gun to conceal than, say, my loaded up 1911 with a red dot and weapon-mounted light. Both are concealable with the right gear, but the smaller polymer-framed handguns will just be less of a struggle to comfortably conceal. Keeping in mind the overall weight and size of your handgun will allow you to effortlessly carry no matter what.

Overall Thoughts

Some people will just start carrying whatever gun they want without looking at the weight aspect and start leaving it at home when they think it's “too big,” when in reality it's just too heavy. Without the proper holster and belt, you may struggle to carry a larger gun, but out of everything, weight will always be a much bigger factor than a handgun's size for concealed carry. Looking at aspects like printing and how easily you can carry a certain gun on your body is also something most people don't always get right from the start, with a bit of practice required to figure out what fits their body best.

What do you guys think? Does size matter when it comes to carry guns? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below. If you have questions about carrying or guns in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.

TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK