Dressing up for Church carry

[bwframe]

I was a bit shocked tonight to find my G43 in a DeSantis pocket holster fit so nicely in the front pocket of the Vertx jeans I was wearing. I have been sitting at my work desk for hours, without any discomfort. It's not a real quick draw, but it will come out while sitting.

I'm sure I must have tried the G43 in my old Levi's and it was a poor fit, if at all. Can't believe this slipped by me?

I'm not real fancy like a lot of the rest of you. My wedding and funeral cloths are black jeans. The G43 may well be my new church deep cover pistol?

 

[XbigcheezX]

If someone has a link to this discussion please post it. I searched but didn't see anything. We have passed a concealed carry policy at out church. Most people won't take advantage of this and that is fine. For others it won't change much. For me, as someone who has appendix carried for more than 10 years now it is going to be a change. As an elder at the church I can not dress how I would to make appendix carry viable. From what I can see the best course of action would basically be dress like a police detective. During the summer months this is probably going to be a bit uncomfortable but I get cold much easier than I get hot so it will be doable.

So is there anyone here who carries at church and dresses well? By that I mean no untucked shirts mainly. If so, give me a quick rundown of how you do it please? BTW, I will probably use OWB not IWB as I just got a bunch of dress pants that fit and really don't want to by a bunch more in a bigger size.

Curious what kind of policy change your church passed, did they not allow it before?

I live in Gary, IN. Not a terribly violent part of Gary, but still a part of Gary, which has some problems. The part I live in is called Miller, a beach community in the NE corner of Gary on Lake Michigan. Even though we are a little separated from the main city of Gary that you often read about in the headlines, we do have occasional incidents often related to those elements in our neighborhood less fortunate or making poor choices.

Last summer our church front door window got shot out during a late night altercation in front of the church, some kind of drive-by/pedestrian thing (no arrests, nor investigation). Police were called, they did zero investigating, and we were at a loss.

After a couple of weeks, when we realized the police weren't looking into it, we did our own investigation. There were at least two firearms involved, a shotgun with buckshot rounds, and a 9mm. We were able to recover one round from a stud in the church, and pellets from the interior entry area. We also observed multiple strikes along our building and our neighboring building, about 19 in total. We also found some shell casings on the northbound lanes in front of the building. Our best guess is occupants of a vehicle recognized someone walking on the street (probably going to or from the local liquor store) and decided to go after them. No blood, no incident reports, just the aftermath we found a few days later.

We did not know at the time if the church was being targeted, or continued to be at risk. We cancelled Wednesday bible studies, hired security to monitor the church during service. We lost a few members because of the incidents, just didn't want to risk their family to be members of our church.

The incident led to a fundraising effort and installation of a 10 camera security system around our 129 year old church (first church in Miller, Indiana). It also led to us taking security more seriously and I guarded the door for the next 6 months during service.

Nothing has happened since then. Bible study is back on Wednesdays. Helped the pastor apply for his permit, and even been out shooting with a few members who have never held a gun before. We no longer pay someone to watch the front door from the street.

I decided to OWB carry now, for multiple reasons. Ease of access, deterrence, but mostly comfort. The most important reason in my opinion was I had to be comfortable carrying all the time, because something could happen at any time.

I searched everywhere for a holster that I liked, the most important element being retention. I also wanted to be able to slip it onto my belt after my belt was on (which I could not find). I couldn't find anything meeting all my needs and went with a Lockleather holster because of it's adjustable retention. I have to feed it onto the belt when getting dressed, but it's retention is amazing and I never feel it. https://urbancarryholsters.com/orde...BCFDRaI__yKrokrG0BivgP5ZTDW1STMxoC0wcQAvD_BwE

FWIW, I carry a Sig P238 380 with a 7+1 capacity. It's not the heaviest caliber, nor the deepest magazine, but it is a newer design similar to a 1911 single action in terms of operation and has excellent accuracy. I have enough confidence in my ability to stop a threat with it. Previously, I carried an M&P 40, then a Walther PPK/s 380 (was heavy). The reason I went with the p238 is that I wanted a smaller, lighter firearm that I would be comfortable carrying 24/7, but was still deadly accurate. Bigger, and heavier guns just made it feel like a chore to carry around all day, so I never carried. By going smaller, I feel more comfortable and it makes it easier to conceal carry when feel it is appropriate (like when shopping at Costco).

 

[cedartop]

Curious what kind of policy change your church passed, did they not allow it before?

I live in Gary, IN. Not a terribly violent part of Gary, but still a part of Gary, which has some problems. The part I live in is called Miller, a beach community in the NE corner of Gary on Lake Michigan. Even though we are a little separated from the main city of Gary that you often read about in the headlines, we do have occasional incidents often related to those elements in our neighborhood less fortunate or making poor choices.

Last summer our church front door window got shot out during a late night altercation in front of the church, some kind of drive-by/pedestrian thing (no arrests, nor investigation). Police were called, they did zero investigating, and we were at a loss.

After a couple of weeks, when we realized the police weren't looking into it, we did our own investigation. There were at least two firearms involved, a shotgun with buckshot rounds, and a 9mm. We were able to recover one round from a stud in the church, and pellets from the interior entry area. We also observed multiple strikes along our building and our neighboring building, about 19 in total. We also found some shell casings on the northbound lanes in front of the building. Our best guess is occupants of a vehicle recognized someone walking on the street (probably going to or from the local liquor store) and decided to go after them. No blood, no incident reports, just the aftermath we found a few days later.

We did not know at the time if the church was being targeted, or continued to be at risk. We cancelled Wednesday bible studies, hired security to monitor the church during service. We lost a few members because of the incidents, just didn't want to risk their family to be members of our church.

The incident led to a fundraising effort and installation of a 10 camera security system around our 129 year old church (first church in Miller, Indiana). It also led to us taking security more seriously and I guarded the door for the next 6 months during service.

Nothing has happened since then. Bible study is back on Wednesdays. Helped the pastor apply for his permit, and even been out shooting with a few members who have never held a gun before. We no longer pay someone to watch the front door from the street.

I decided to OWB carry now, for multiple reasons. Ease of access, deterrence, but mostly comfort. The most important reason in my opinion was I had to be comfortable carrying all the time, because something could happen at any time.

I searched everywhere for a holster that I liked, the most important element being retention. I also wanted to be able to slip it onto my belt after my belt was on (which I could not find). I couldn't find anything meeting all my needs and went with a Lockleather holster because of it's adjustable retention. I have to feed it onto the belt when getting dressed, but it's retention is amazing and I never feel it. https://urbancarryholsters.com/orde...BCFDRaI__yKrokrG0BivgP5ZTDW1STMxoC0wcQAvD_BwE

FWIW, I carry a Sig P238 380 with a 7+1 capacity. It's not the heaviest caliber, nor the deepest magazine, but it is a newer design similar to a 1911 single action in terms of operation and has excellent accuracy. I have enough confidence in my ability to stop a threat with it. Previously, I carried an M&P 40, then a Walther PPK/s 380 (was heavy). The reason I went with the p238 is that I wanted a smaller, lighter firearm that I would be comfortable carrying 24/7, but was still deadly accurate. Bigger, and heavier guns just made it feel like a chore to carry around all day, so I never carried. By going smaller, I feel more comfortable and it makes it easier to conceal carry when feel it is appropriate (like when shopping at Costco).

Glad to hear things are quiet now. I live in MI so unless the church gives specific permission, it is illegal to carry in church. Most churches never address this so even though people do carry there, they are breaking the law by doing so. Different churches handle it different ways. Myself and my shooting partner (a retired county deputy,) put together a policy that we though would pass the voters.

 

[XbigcheezX]

Glad to hear things are quiet now. I live in MI so unless the church gives specific permission, it is illegal to carry in church. Most churches never address this so even though people do carry there, they are breaking the law by doing so. Different churches handle it different ways. Myself and my shooting partner (a retired county deputy,) put together a policy that we though would pass the voters.

Was not aware of those restrictions in MI. Great you were able to get the policy passed and god bless.

 

[Bugzilla]

Just get a loose fitting sport coat and all is good!

 

[jb142]

If someone has a link to this discussion please post it. I searched but didn't see anything. We have passed a concealed carry policy at out church. Most people won't take advantage of this and that is fine. For others it won't change much. For me, as someone who has appendix carried for more than 10 years now it is going to be a change. As an elder at the church I can not dress how I would to make appendix carry viable. From what I can see the best course of action would basically be dress like a police detective. During the summer months this is probably going to be a bit uncomfortable but I get cold much easier than I get hot so it will be doable.

So is there anyone here who carries at church and dresses well? By that I mean no untucked shirts mainly. If so, give me a quick rundown of how you do it please? BTW, I will probably use OWB not IWB as I just got a bunch of dress pants that fit and really don't want to by a bunch more in a bigger size.

I carry a 5 shot snubnose 38 in my front right pants pocket with an inside the pocket holster.

 

[cedartop]

I carry a 5 shot snubnose 38 in my front right pants pocket with an inside the pocket holster.

Thanks for the response. I consider a 5 shot snubbie to be a get off me gun not suitable for protecting others. I have trained with snubnose revolvers and shoot them ok, but would never pick one as a primary weapon when I might need to be offensive.

 

[wcd]

I was a bit shocked tonight to find my G43 in a DeSantis pocket holster fit so nicely in the front pocket of the Vertx jeans I was wearing. I have been sitting at my work desk for hours, without any discomfort. It's not a real quick draw, but it will come out while sitting.

I'm sure I must have tried the G43 in my old Levi's and it was a poor fit, if at all. Can't believe this slipped by me?

I'm not real fancy like a lot of the rest of you. My wedding and funeral cloths are black jeans. The G43 may well be my new church deep cover pistol?

Pretty sure fancy is not a requirement by any means.

Depending on the day it’s either 511’s or boots and jeans I do not recall anyone ever having issue. If someone is all that concerned about making a fashion statement perhaps they need to revisit their priorities.

 

[tomcat13]

Just get a loose fitting sport coat and all is good!

View attachment 166397

All can say is WOW!