Due to some new constraints in my life, highly discrete carry under tucked in shirts may be necessary. I like smart carry for some applications, but think accessibility could be better with a bellyband. There are a bunch of options. Any standouts that others here use a lot with good results?
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".
DB, I have tried every conceivable belly band option and could never find one that I could feel comfortable with. I have ultimately resorted to carrying the 340 M&P in the strong side pocket in the Safariland 27 pocket holster (your recommendation). I also run a second 340 on the ankle. With the belly band and even the smaller shoulder holsters like the one Ken Null makes I could never get a good draw with the pistol. On some occasions I will use the smart carry, but I have found the pocket carry to be the most covert and convenient for me. My dress code for work is either a suit or khakis and a tucked in shirt and my clientele would freak if they knew I was carrying a gun.
Former belly band user. I switched to the smart carry and never looked back. It just worked and concealed far better for my dress requirements which are similar (dress shirt tucked in to khakis). I also found that while the draw is a little wonky, it's not really any slower then the belly band. I used the galco belly band but what I found is my gun would slowly be pushed out of it, which would cause it to print. I'd constantly be pushing it back down into my waistline (I carried the band around my waist in the appendix position. Guns were a glock 43 and late a shield.Originally Posted by Dagga Boy
I remember reading about Tiffany using a belly band (maybe Galco) with a kydex insert for the pistol. She reported that it worked very well. I'll try to find the article.
ETA: Here it is http://frontsightpress.com/2016/02/band-of-druthers/
Last edited by Irelander; 10-26-2016 at 11:07 AM.
I have used both a Galco belly band and Smartcarry variously for years at a time. In my experience, access is kind of a wash. The bellyband rides higher so that more of the grip is above the belt line, but it is also covered by the tucked in shirt. The Smartcarry has the grip below the belt line, but I don't have to pull the shirt out of the way, because the shirt got tucked in underneath the Smartcarry. I was therefore able to get a more consistent drawing process down with the Smartcarry, not having to account for minor but potentially problematic variations in shirt tucking over the bellyband.
Also, as has been pointed out by others, I felt like the bellyband did not stay in place as well as the Smartcarry. Moreover, minor adjustment of any shifting of the Smartcarry is more discreet, as it just looks like you're adjusting your junk (which, if noticed, is not a strange thing for a fellow to do), whereas adjusting the bellyband if necessary probably would stand out as looking more peculiar.
Therefore, I have come to prefer the Smartcarry, overall.
Last edited by nalesq; 10-26-2016 at 11:32 AM.
Based on the Tiffany endorsement of sorts, I went ahead and ordered a G&G bellyband. The added benefit of Predator being able to do kydex for that rig made it easy. The low cost made this fairly easy to try.
Big picture I am seeing a possible change to Smart Carry with a pocket J for immediate access to the J to counter the tougher draw of the Smart Carry.
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".
I've used a setup similar to Tiffany's and after reading her article I dumped my caveman version to adopt her better version. I have a friend that has used JJ Racaza's 5.0 holster for a few years. He is in an NPE, (teacher in a public school system that is rabid anti-gun in a rabid anti-gun city), and has never had an issue while working around females that see him regularly. Those that know, will know that is the ultimate test of your concealment gear. Women notice EVERYTHING. Particularly if they see you day in and day out. He's been at the same school with the same staff since 2013. Never been burned. I have tried his 5.0 and it's nice but I prefer the modularity of Tiffany's setup.
"There is magic in misery. You need to constantly fail. Always bite off more than you can chew, put yourself in situations where you don't succeed then really analyze why you didn't succeed." - Dean Karnazes www.sbgillinois.com
Ditto to Paul's remark about women noticing stuff. This is the single hardest thing to get across to people (like most full time firearms instructors) who don't have to operate full time in an NPE where you around women and dressing nicely is a must.
My solution has been for years is the bellyband. I use this one:
http://www.crossbreedholsters.com/category/belly-band
I am not a fan of anything else Crossbreed puts out, but this thing is solid. In the original version, the gun had a tendency to flop forward if you were not wearing it under pants with a stable waistband (like sweatpants/board shorts), but they fixed that on the second version by having a velcro-ed flap go over the gun. Now it is a really good and stable platform that I use for when I am in workout type clothes, as well as in dress clothes. With the ability to adjust the holster, I can almost completely replicate my normal AIWB holster carry with the bellyband under a tucked dress shirt. Is it as fast? No, but pretty close and the draw motion is identical to the normal concealed draw.
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Galco Underwraps, almost every weekday for the last 18 years in an NPE. I have sewn in various Kydex and Leather holsters to the pocket they come with, and that was the solution to being able to reholster.
I remember reading about Tiffany's experiences and thinking I should try it. I have a cheap Undertech Undercover belly band and a kydex G34 holster that I hacked up as a project and never finished. Maybe I'll adapt the holster to the belly band and give it a try.
Dugga,
You going AIWB with the belly band?
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