I guess I should say, I cant carry it IWB comfortably without printing excessively. I don’t wear skinny jeans by any means, but my clothing is rather fitted. Fitted straight leg jeans with a V neck Tee shirt for example. Even the PPS prints slightly but not to where it screams gun!
The 19 and 26 are too thick for me (personal choice, it may not bother someone else) to conceal comfortably every single day, it honestly looks like I have a tumor growing out of my hip with them on, very noticeable. For me, 6 to 8 rds +1 is enough fire power for most situations I could imagine getting into for where I live and my daily routine, so the trade off in capacity for comfort was one I’m willing to make…and like I said, the PPS is a gun you can still shoot well, so I don’t feel like I’m giving up anything in the accuracy department.
Not to derail, but tdoom, your choice of dress is the culprit not the gun. I’m bigger than you, but manage to hide a government model, with ease, with the Blade-Tech IWB and a buttoned-up, untucked shirt. No it’s not always comfortable, but carrying requires adjustment and sacrifice. I choose full size guns and thus, adjust accordingly.
I am going to be the oddball and say CZ 75 compact or CZ PO-1. I have had Glock and HK, I do not shoot any of them better than CZ. They are a bit more heavy than the poly guns, but I like a bit more heft in a smaller pistol because the weight reduces felt recoil. You might give them a look.
I have been carrying a weapon on duty for 20 years and just as long off duty. My only words of advice would be is to find out what weapon you shoot well and feel comfortable with and go with that. I have carried a 1911, Berretta 92, Glock 22 and 27, Taurus titanium 5 shot snubby, and a Keltec 380. I carry one of the full size weapons 98% of the time in a Crossbreed IWB holster with no issues. I bought the .380 a while back thinking I would start carrying it on quick trips to the drive thru for beverage refills, but last year I was in line and a two local turds were scoping out the place. My heart sank when I realized all I had was a pocket gun w/6rounds and there were two turds getting ready to knock off the drive thru. I was actually more comforted by the fact that I was mentally prepared to run over the turds with my truck (justified deadly force is justifed, whether by firearm or alternate method)than confront them with a mouse gun. Because of that incident, it is duty (size) gun off duty for me. There is no “magic” holster that I’m aware of to make carrying comfortable. Choosing to carry concealed is going to dictate your choice of clothing style-no such thing as running shorts and a tank top anymore with a full sized weapon. The best solution I have found is the Crossbreed IWB holster, but I’m sure other guys have their favorites too.
Carry belts are often overlooked in my experience. I prefer the 5.11 Instructor Belt. I used to wear a leather carry belt from Simply Rugged, but it stretched too much over time. Instructor belts like that from 5.11 and The Wilderness go along way to securing your firearm and other belt-mounted gear.
G19, the perfect balance between carry and a real shooting gun!
If you want to carry, you might not be able to wear the same fitted clothes. Just a fact. You could look at Kahr guns. No experience but others like them and the are thin profiled.
My first attempt to carry concealed was a Commander XSE and it was too heavy and too bulky for my frame, I’m 6’3" 180 lbs. I then moved down in size to the Kahr PM9. It was light weight and thin perfect for IWB, OWB or Pocket carry. I just did not like the limited round count of the PM9. I then tried a G19 and found that it was almost as concealable as the PM9, I had to change my holster position a bit and wear slightly longer shirts but it works great now. My point is that it’s going to take some trial and error before you figure out exactly what works for you.
Looks like I’ll be getting a Glock 19 in the next few weeks. My clothes aren’t extremely tight, so I think I could pull it off. I’ll have to decide on a holster and belt, too, but I’ll figure that out as I’m familiarizing myself with the pistol.
