My first open carry experience

Not sure if this belongs here, but thought I would share. After much deliberating I finally decided to open carry today. I must admit I was a little nervous, and almost left my pistol in my car a few times. When I went into the first store I carried in, two people noticed but all they did was smile and sell me crickets. Burger king had no problem with it, and Kmart was closed, but the people in the parking lot just went about their business. I swear, what I thought was going to be a trip of massive nerves turned out to be nothing at all. Now if only I could convince my mom that open carry is not going to make some thug shoot at me, I will be all good.

See what happens when the sky refuses to fall?

It's like almost anything else, it gets easier the more you do it. I've carried openly into gas stations, banks, grocery stores; the only times that I've deliberately covered up is when I'm with others and I don't want to risk them being inconvenienced or when I need something from a specific place where being asked to leave would place an inordinate hardship on me.

Yeah like I said, I was suprised, especially when a soccer mom saw me and simply informed me that Kmart was having technical difficulties. I need to get a pistol for conceal carry, cause a 1911 does not lend itself to being concealed easily.

Finn Machumail said:

Yeah like I said, I was suprised, especially when a soccer mom saw me and simply informed me that Kmart was having technical difficulties. I need to get a pistol for conceal carry, cause a 1911 does not lend itself to being concealed easily.

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It conceals as easy as anything else. I usually just throw it in the arm rest console in the car and leave it there but when I carry concealed, I use a Smart Carry or an IWB tuckable and either way you can't tell I'm carrying. 1911A1 5" barrel. How tall are you?

Fisherman said:

It conceals as easy as anything else. I usually just throw it in the arm rest console in the car and leave it there but when I carry concealed, I use a Smart Carry or an IWB tuckable and either way you can't tell I'm carrying. 1911A1 5" barrel. How tall are you?

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I am a touch over six feet tall, I just don't see how the 1911 would be easily concealed. If you can point me to examples I would appreciate it, as that would save me money from having to buy a second pistol, not that I mind buying guns or anyhting.

Finn Machumail said:

I am a touch over six feet tall, I just don't see how the 1911 would be easily concealed. If you can point me to examples I would appreciate it, as that would save me money from having to buy a second pistol, not that I mind buying guns or anyhting.

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Look at the Crossbreed Supertuck or the Galco King-Tuk. I am 6' 4" and skinny as a rail. I can conceal a full size 1911 with a decent IWB holster, no problem. Good luck!

I'm 5'10" and about 150lbs, I conceal a 4" 1911 in a semi-loose t-shirt without a problem. The key is a good IWB holster. Such as the crossbreed that was mentioned, or a Milt Sparks VM2(or variant). Usually the custom leather has a decent wait time, but it's well worth it. For a lot more information on concealed carry, www.concealedcarryforum.com is a great place to look. Started there when I decided to carry and found a wealth of good information.
The 1911 is a very slim weapon when compared to a lot of other semi-autos because of the single stack magazine. If it's held close to the body, it is very, very concealable, you'll be surprised what a good holster and belt can do. Good luck!

wobbles is dead right. the 1911 is already a pretty thin gun. if you change out the factory grips for slimline grips, you can make it about 3/8 of an inch thinner. i consider that a pretty sizable difference.

a 1911 is more concealable than one would think.

If you ever need extra info, on youtube there is a lot of good info.....the videos from "pullnshoot25" are very good, IMO....

thebigsd said:

Look at the Crossbreed Supertuck or the Galco King-Tuk. I am 6' 4" and skinny as a rail. I can conceal a full size 1911 with a decent IWB holster, no problem. Good luck!

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Having some experience with these, I'd also recommend the MTAC by Comp-Tac. Personal preference here, but I prefer the MTAC over the Crossbreed because the belt clips are more innocuous on the MTAC.

For reference, I'm 6'4" also and skinny as heck (bout 180 pounds) and i can conceal a double stack Glock no problem in my MTAC.

Finn Machumail said:

I am a touch over six feet tall, I just don't see how the 1911 would be easily concealed. If you can point me to examples I would appreciate it, as that would save me money from having to buy a second pistol, not that I mind buying guns or anyhting.

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Like a couple have said, there are some Youtube vids that you can watch. Just go to Youtube and search for conceal 1911 or something like that and you'll find some. My IWB is made of Kydex and is leather lined. This makes it silent. In fact, it's called Silent Thunder from Tucker Gun Leather. I find that it comes out of the holster smoothly and quietly and that's what I was looking for. The tuckable part is important to me as well. I don't like going around with my shirt tail out. Looks sloppy. I can jerk my shirt out and draw my gun as fast as anyone can raise his shirt up and draw and I look good doin' it. And I keep myself regular. LOL

I think the next holster I get for concealment will be one with two clips instead of one though to spread the weight evenly for more stability. It'll also have to be leather lined and tuckable. I called Crossbreed and they don't make a leather lined tuckable. Too bad because I like their company.