XD Concealed Carry

[scurtis_34471]

+ 8 Million on "buy a good gun belt." The XD is a great gun, but it is not light. If you try to carry it on an ordinary dress belt it will pull your pants down. Get a good belt made for carrying a gun, preferably 1.5" rather than 1.25.

The CrossBreed SuperTuck is a great IWB holster. It is comfortable, durable and extremely adjustable. The same holster will also work with the subcompact, service or tactical 9mm or .40, which is kind of nice.

In general, I find OWB to be a LOT more comfortable than IWB. As long as you get a quality holster that holds the gun snuggly against your side, you can hide it with nothing more than an untucked button-up shirt. I wear an untucked, unbuttoned Hawaiian over a tucked T-shirt and it works great. Untucked T-shirts tend to print more, especially with the longer grip of the Service. If you want to go that route, you need to stick with a subcompact in an IWB holster.

[Mojoski]

Originally Posted by lance22

'Mexican Carry' is the term we use for carrying without a holster. It is not safe because the trigger is not covered. Some people do it but IMHO it is as negligent as it is unsafe.

In addition to being unsafe, in many states, like my home state of Georgia, it is also illegal.

Just say no to carrying without a holster!

As for how to conceal and carry, I love my belt from The Belt Man! And I love my Crossbreed Supertuck IWB holster, and I just posted a picture or two of how I wear the combination over in this thread!

[fyrfytrcwd]

Go with the MTAC. You can purchase the optional Kydex slide for the 1911. Mine's coming in a few days!

[DMTaylor]

I'm new to concealed carry as well. I've checked out every one of the holster types listed in this thread and I've got a couple questions.
First of all, I've tried to mock up my .45 compact inside my waistband to see which type of holster would work for me. I've tried strong side at 2:00 through 4:00 and it always seems to make an undeniable print on my shirt. At 5'7" and 165lbs, this may not be the carry for me. Not to mention that I have to loosen my belt a notch to get it to fit. However, with SOB (small of back) carry, everything seems perfect. I don't have to loosen my belt, it's more comfortable, it seems much more concealable for my body type, and it seems it would be just as easy to draw from a holster.
My question is, which carry is more recommended and what are the pros and cons of each? I hope this is on topic enough not to seem like a threadjacking.

Dave

[apollosmith]

I'm new to concealed carry also, but am currently of the same thinking as you - that small of back seems to be the most comfortable and most concealable location for me. I do have a Supertuck on order and will give it a try.

Disadvantages to SOB:
- It's a bit slower
- You usually cross yourself as you're drawing (don't wanna shoot yourself in the leg!)
- You can't keep somebody from grabbing your gun like you can strong-side carry
- A few people have reported back injuries from falling on the gun

[sloan1919]

Another Alternative is highnoon holsters. I sitting here with an XD sub in a "hidden alley" works well for me, very comfortable.

Sloan

[rgeliske]

Originally Posted by DMTaylor

I'm new to concealed carry as well. I've checked out every one of the holster types listed in this thread and I've got a couple questions.
First of all, I've tried to mock up my .45 compact inside my waistband to see which type of holster would work for me. I've tried strong side at 2:00 through 4:00 and it always seems to make an undeniable print on my shirt. At 5'7" and 165lbs, this may not be the carry for me. Not to mention that I have to loosen my belt a notch to get it to fit. However, with SOB (small of back) carry, everything seems perfect. I don't have to loosen my belt, it's more comfortable, it seems much more concealable for my body type, and it seems it would be just as easy to draw from a holster.
My question is, which carry is more recommended and what are the pros and cons of each? I hope this is on topic enough not to seem like a threadjacking.

Dave

First let me say that you have to dress to carry as well as get a good holster. That usually mean everything a littler larger in size. You need a strong stiff belt that keeps the holster close to your body as well as pants that are large enough to accommedate the thickness of the holster. You shirt usually has to be 1 size bigger and not form fitting. For summer wear button up shirts with square cut bottoms work better than golf/polo shirts, though you can still wear golf and even tee shirts with the right holster. Generally shirts that hang straight down from the arm conceal better than those that taper.

Small of the back carry does appear to work very well but it has a few draw back that are rather critical:

When standing straight the grip is concealed but should you have to bend the grip is exposed very easily.

The gun rides against you spine that becomes uncomfortable when sitting or driving in the car.

Should you fall against the gun you can do major damage to your spine.

It is difficult to draw when driving or seated.

You can easily be relieved of your gun from behind.

On hot days we tend to perspire most in the small of the back which is not really good for the guns metal parts.

[DMTaylor]

Thanks for the info. Some very good points have been made, indeed. I was looking at the Crossbreed SOB and IWB holsters. I've also been entertaining the idea of the PocketPager holster. With the Crossbreed "like it or return it" statement, I figure I can't go wrong. Perhaps on Friday I'll put my order in for a Supertuck, buy some accomodating pants, and see how it goes.

Dave

[DMTaylor]

This evening at work I showed a couple people the PagerPal holster. They were so impressed with the demo that I've just ordered two of them. I'll try one out when they come in to see if it will work for me as well.

Dave

[XD9OD]

As being a 6' 200lb guy i went thru about 2 holsters before i found something extremely concealable---the galco skyops. tuckable leather and it worked well with my 1.25" belt. just ordered the 1.5" Y-hook so i can use my black 1.5" belt with it and have a bit more concealability because my other belt was brown. looked ok, and as long as i draped my shirt out a little bit i was fine. i do carry behind my hip as well with the Matrix M7X holster too. it pulls the XD close to the body so i'm not really worried about a print. and ky is an open carry state so if the barrel shows i'm not worried when i use that holster.