I’m having a bear of a time finding a holster setup for my Glock 19 and could use some advice, especially from any skinny guys who carry G19s.
Background: I’m a thin guy, wear 29" waist jeans. I typically carry a full size 1911 in a VMII at about 3:30 location. When I cinch down my belt the gun hugs tight and melts away (that is, you can’t tell I have it on). I recently bought a Glock 19 kind of for the heck of it, but also to have an alternate carry gun for hot days in TX when I want to wear a t shirt or something thin. I also thought the G19 would be lighter and I’d kind of “forget” was there compared to my 1911. I tried a Raven rig and the Kydex wouldn’t bend at all so it didn’t work for me. I just got a Galco Royal Guard, which isn’t wide per se, but it does stick out quite a bit (thick). And I’m having trouble finding the right location on my waist where the cant of the holster is in the right spot to keep the rear of the slide, or bottom of the grip, from sticking out when under my shirt.
Any ideas of where to position the Royal Guard? I’m trying various spots and not completely satisfied with any of them. I’m sitting with it at 3:30 right now but not sure this is the best spot.
A recent instructor was a pretty skinny guy. He was also carrying a G19 appendix style in a Dale Fricke holster. Concealed really well, but looked really uncomfortable (at least to me).
FWIW, there are three kinds of people:
[ol][li] Those who’ve never tried AIWB but assume it will be uncomfortable.
[/li][li] Those who’ve tried AIWB with a poorly designed holster (which is the vast majority of AIWB holsters, I’m afraid) and/or placed the AIWB in the wrong place on the belt, and found it uncomfortable.
[/li][li] Those who’ve tried a properly designed holster in the right location.[/ol]
[/li]
Almost every single person I’ve met in #3 has gone on to adopt AIWB. Just yesterday I was with a buddy who’s just back from his umpteenth tour in Afghanistan and he insisted that because of his short stature and physique, AIWB wouldn’t work for him. I loaned him my Looper and bang, he was up & running.
Todd is right on–With the proper holster and positioning, appendix IWB carry does work for most people doing most activities. While I have used both, I generally prefer leather or leather covred Kydex over plain Kydex for IWB/AIWB. The only time I’ve found AIWB to be a problem, is when riding a bicycle, especially when carrying a 5" 1911…
Blinking dog,
I’m 5’11" and 170 lbs and I’ve been carrying a concealed pistol since '81. I’ve found the G19 very comfortable and easy to carry and conceal both AIWB and at 3:00 and at 4:00 IWB with FIST model 1K, High Noon’s Mr Soft or BladeTech’s IWB. These are all straight drop vs FBI. I prefer straight drops.
The rest is just picking the garment ie size Medium T shirts or polo’s are too snug to avoid printing. OTOH, button down shirts (tails out) generally work very well.