I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that I haven’t put all THAT much effort into getting concealment of a larger gun to work better for me at this point than I currently have. I’m 5’8” and currently 230lbs so I have a bit of a “tactical shelf” in the front. Thanks to when I gained a lot of my weight earlier in my life (2000-2006) my pants probably sit lower than they should which also gives me a bit of a “tactical muffintop” around the love handles as well.
I’ve asked around a little bit on what I could do and a lot of the advice I’ve gotten is “lose weight”, “buy pants that fit”, “buy a shitload of holsters and try everything out”, and “pull your pants up higher”. Losing weight is easier said than done. Having said that, I know how to lose weight as I’ve done it before going from 300lbs in 2006 to 200lbs in 2011. Buying a shitload of holsters is easy I guess, but expensive. Sometimes I can’t always drop $100 or more every paycheck just to try everything out. Buying pants that fit as well as pulling my pants up higher is the tricky part. If I pull my pants up higher they WILL NOT stay there as whenever I start moving in ANY direction (yes, including just walking forward) the pants will immediately start dropping down to where I typically wear my pants. If I buy pants that go up that high they won’t stay up. If I lose weight and give myself the extra room that way then my pants still won’t stay up. So I almost have to lose a ton of weight again in order to buy pants that’ll go up higher in order to reshape any shelf that I have. Maybe someone else has gone through this before and has some pointers that I haven’t heard before that’ll help.
What I’m ultimately interested in though is finding some sort of holster that gives me the adjustment that I need until my weight comes down to where I need it to be (around 200lbs or less). I THINK at this point that adjustment is reverse cant. That would give me the ability to hide the gun at around 1:30-1:45 between my hip bone and centerline while keeping my pants where they currently are.
The gun I’m trying to conceal right now is a G19, but am seriously tempted to move to a PX4C as I compete with a pair of 92s in USPSA and typically pocket carry a J-frame. I can get away with a G19 at around 3:00-3:30, but I have to wear something fairly big/loose in order for it to not print like a Heidelberg press. I’ve tried a G17 JMCK 2.5 wing claw. It doesn’t appear to have the reverse cant option and going centerline I’d need a wedge the size of a shoebox to keep it from rolling out. I can kind do a 92 at 12:30 with a JMCK 2.0, but I need to have my pants above the navel in order to do that. Sitting down it looks like I’ve got a 2x4 that’s trying to kiss my nipple.
I’m just looking for some help from someone who might have similar experiences. If I literally MUST buy every single holster just to find something that works, then I’ll do it, but that sucks complete ass and it’s no wonder why the market at large wants slim guns that disappear under tight fitting T-shirts. Sorry for the frustrated rant and thank you in advance for any help anyone can provide.