Dressing up for Church carry

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  • cedartop

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    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.
     

    cedartop

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    ​Look into a bellyband style rig.

    Thanks for the suggestion. I should have mentioned as head of the security team, no inefficient methods of draw are going to be acceptable. No pocket carry, no tuckable holsters, no cellphone holsters, etc. Legitimate pistol with legitimate carry method only need apply.

    Edited to add. I suppose I should put some hard numbers to the above. It needs to be a gun and carry method that you can reliably make hits on a 4"X6" target at 7 yards in 1.5 seconds or less.
     
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    STEEL CORE

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    A good IWB I guess depending on weapon choice, seated, standing, patrolling positions, where will your group be?
    I just carry as I normally do, and make sure its concealed.
     

    cedartop

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    A good IWB I guess depending on weapon choice, seated, standing, patrolling positions, where will your group be?
    I just carry as I normally do, and make sure its concealed.

    Carry as I normally do would be the way to go if I could. I actually have no armed complement to the team yet besides myself and may not end up with one. People become a lot less interested when they find out there is a lot more to it than just strapping on a gun. I do have good communication and medical elements in place though so that is important.
     

    cedartop

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    Buy a good quality light weight blazer or sport coat

    That is pretty much what I figured it would come down to. Not being big into fashion I really only have a couple and they are mostly suitable for cool weather use. I hate shopping for clothes but it looks like that will have to happen.
     

    red_zr24x4

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    At our church the security team is all armed.
    For myself, I carry 2 ways . OWB Sig 226 untucked shirt( how most of the team carries). Or IWB Glock 43 with a tucked i shirt.
    I'll just say most of the time no one wears a suit or jacket to our church.
     

    cedartop

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    At our church the security team is all armed.
    For myself, I carry 2 ways . OWB Sig 226 untucked shirt( how most of the team carries). Or IWB Glock 43 with a tucked i shirt.
    I'll just say most of the time no one wears a suit or jacket to our church.

    Thanks for the response. Yes, if I end up with any armed team members they would not have to meet the same "dress code" I do unless they were also Elders which at this point doesn't seem likely.
     

    red_zr24x4

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    Why does it have to be concealed?

    At our church, most people know that we carry, but there are some older people that don't. The older crowd mostly don't think guns should be in church.
    Hell, I've been fighting for a year for them to get an AED because we have so many older people.
     

    eddiehelm

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    Not sure how you normally dress but you mentioned dressing nice. Sport coat or a suit makes it pretty easy to carry just about anything. I AIWB with a tuckable holster most the time but I saw you No Goed the tuckable option
     

    cedartop

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    Not sure how you normally dress but you mentioned dressing nice. Sport coat or a suit makes it pretty easy to carry just about anything. I AIWB with a tuckable holster most the time but I saw you No Goed the tuckable option

    It depends. Dress pants, shirt it depends on the season and whether or not we are having communion. (Always a tie then) You are right, it will just have to come down to always wearing a coat. No biggie, it's not like I have to do it all day long. Some of the older members wear a suit every Sunday.
     

    BiscuitsandGravy

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    Buy a good quality light weight blazer or sport coat

    That is pretty much what I figured it would come down to. Not being big into fashion I really only have a couple and they are mostly suitable for cool weather use. I hate shopping for clothes but it looks like that will have to happen.

    Ebay is your friend here. :yesway:

    Summer carry, tucked in shirt w/o a blazer is a pain for me. Went with a .380 in my pocket this morning at church. If I wore a blazer then standard IWB.
     

    eddiehelm

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    On the plus side it will allow more options for a carry gun. I usually carry a g43 or lcr but a sport coat would make it possible to carry something that’s easier to shoot. What’s your carry?
     

    cedartop

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    On the plus side it will allow more options for a carry gun. I usually carry a g43 or lcr but a sport coat would make it possible to carry something that’s easier to shoot. What’s your carry?

    My normal EDC is a G19. I have been practicing with a Sig 365XL lately. I have about 1,000 or so rounds through it so far. Not convinced yet.
     

    fullmetaljesus

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    I don't know how you dress. And with the restrictions you keep adding I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for here.

    Do you wear a sport coat of suit jacket type thing? Can you do a shoulder holster?

    If your church does the hug your neighbor thing or hugs in general that may be a bit awkward. But it seems it would give you any pistol option you like with a good chance of concealment.
     
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