by Pat Cascio, Survival Blog:

Carrying concealed is no easy task, if don’t do it properly. We’re taking a close look at some clothing and accessories today that aids in concealing your handgun on a daily basis.

Conceal With The Best, Not Necessarily Easiest

I’ve always looked for the best, not necessarily easiest, method of carrying a handgun concealed, as most of the work I’ve done in law enforcement and in private security/private investigations have called for working in “soft clothes” rather than a uniform of any type. I’ve lost track of the number of times over the years I’ve spotted a “concealed” handgun on someone. That telltale bulge under their shirt or jacket, or even spotting the “concealed” handgun, is not good. You don’t want to draw attention to the fact that your are carrying, period!

Letting Everyone See Is Stupid

Long story short, I had a distant cousin who was on the Chicago PD. He never got above the rank of patrolman in his entire career. When he was off-duty, drinking in a bar, he took great delight in taking off his jacket and sitting on his bar stool so everyone could see his little S&W Model 60 .38 Spl snubby tucked in his waistband. That was stupid!

Full-Sized Handguns

Needless to say, the bigger the handgun, the harder it is to conceal. However, with the right clothing and holster, many full-sized duty handguns can be concealed fairly well. Now, we’re not talking about a Desert Eagle .44 Mag handgun. There is no right way to conceal that, nor can I think of a reason for packing such a huge handgun. Much of my life, I carried a full-sized 1911 .45 ACP pistol, or the slightly smaller Commander 1911, and on many occasions I carried a duty-sized 9mm from S&W. Yep, they all concealed fairly well with the right clothing and a good holster that held the gun tight and close to your body. In my golden years, I rarely carry a full-sized handgun these days, except when testing handguns for articles. Even then, I can conceal those big handguns.

Experience With Shoulder Holster and Suit Jacket

I used to carry a full-sized S&W Model 586 .357 Mag revolver in a shoulder holster, when I was doing PI work back in Chicago. In short order, I discovered that the horizontal shoulder holster, while comfortable, didn’t conceal that big revolver very well, not even under a suit jacket that I bought one size larger with the hopes of it concealing that gun better. It didn’t. So, I went to belt holsters, a hi-ride belt holster, that kept that big gun high and tight to my side.

Photographer’s Vest and Inside the Waist Band Holsters

Not too many years ago, I used to wear a “photographer’s” vest or a “safari” vest. It worked great concealing even full-sized handguns. However, after a couple of years, it seems like the entire gun-packing public was wearing these types of vests, and you could spot those folks easily. So, I stopped wearing one of those vests. I’ve never ever cared for inside the waist band holsters, not even in my younger days when my girth wasn’t nearly as large around as it is these days. I just never found those holsters comfortable at all.

Covering Garments and Accessories

These days, there are a lot of different types of covering garments one can wear to conceal a handgun, as well as accessories, like a woman’s purse with a hidden pocket inside of it with a holster. During the winter months, I usually wear a light fleece jacket, and it has a hidden holster built into the left inside of it. It is advertised as being able to conceal a full-sized 1911 handgun. Not quite. First of all, a gun that big is heavy, and I found that the jacket “tilted” to the left side.

Then, the holster is built a bit too low. A smaller, light-weight handgun worked perfectly in that fleece jacket, something like a .38 Spl snubby revolver. And, in that case, that was my back-up handgun to the main handgun on my right hip. Whenever I’d go out dinning, I’d just pull that jacket down to my waist and it covered my handgun on my side. It’s a good idea of a concealed garment, but it wasn’t perfect.

Conceal Carry Shirts

As you can see in the photos with this article, I have displayed several button-down short-sleeve shirts. I don’t like long sleeves; I never have. They are all used during the warmer weather, along with several more not in the pics, to cover my handgun on my right side. I don’t button these shirts down but just leave ’em open. Plus, I wear a t-shirt under these button-down shirts, and my handgun stays concealed nicely. Several of these types of shirts are made specifically for concealing a handgun. The green plaid shirt is from Propper, and it has slits on either side at the bottom of the shirt with magnets sewn in that you can easily pull apart and draw your gun if the shirt is buttoned and untucked.

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