IWB Holster Question

[Pro2A]

I always see these IWB holsters with the shirt tucked in. How do you retrieve your gun quickly if your shirt is tucked in? It defeats the purpose doesn't it?

Maybe i'm missing something

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[njeske]

I always see these IWB holsters with the shirt tucked in. How do you retrieve your gun quickly if your shirt is tucked in? It defeats the purpose doesn't it?

Maybe i'm missing something

it definitely slows down the draw, but with practice it only takes an extra second or so. i personally have tuckable IWB holsters but don't tuck in unless i need to wear a tucked in shirt. ankle holsters don't really work for me, so tucking in my holster is better than not carrying at all.

[SammyIamToday]

I always see these IWB holsters with the shirt tucked in. How do you retrieve your gun quickly if your shirt is tucked in? It defeats the purpose doesn't it?

Maybe i'm missing something

You pretty much pegged it. It does slow you down and its much less convenient. However, it does leave you with a gun in a situation where you must have a tucked in shirt. The devil is in the details after that, I'm sure.

[friesepferd]

lots of people need to have their shirts tucked in!
It does of course slow the draw a little, but if you practice with it, like everything else, its very reasonable.

[katmandoo122]

Having a gun tucked in is better than having a gun at home. My draw is less than 1 second longer from a tucked position than from a draped position (long shirt draped over but not tucked).

Having said that, the issue for me is less the delay than the potential for a snag as I pull the shirt out, which is why I am careful when I tuck it. Makes going to the can a bit longer than I'd like.

[Thumper]

It gives your off hand something to do while it's waiting!

Seriously, if the shirt is tucked in or hanging over, the draw is basically the same. No slower if done right. Unless you open carry, you always have to get your cover garment out of the way.

[Harold Green]

It does add a little time to the draw, but drawing from an under an open shirt takes longer than drawing from open carry. So, it’s just a matter of degrees – how deep your concealment has to be vs. how long it takes you to present your weapon. It’s been my experience that drawing from under an open shirt takes maybe a half second longer (or less) than drawing from open carry, and drawing from a under a tucked shirt takes maybe a half second longer than that.

The key to making this work for you is developing a standard draw stroke you do the same way each and every time you draw, and then make very minor modifications to it to accommodate special circumstances like drawing from under a tucked shirt. You need to practice your draw stroke enough that it becomes automatic and engrained into muscle memory.

Here’s the draw stroke I use.

Step One – Grip:
Your dominant hand assumes a shooting grip on your gun. This needs to be the same grip you’ll use when firing your gun. You shouldn’t have to adjust your grip on the gun after assuming your initial grip.

Your support hand comes to an open-handed position on the centerline of your torso someplace between your belly button and your nipples. The heal of your hand is pressed against your body centerline. This keeps your support hand out from in front of your muzzle during the remainder of your draw stroke and helps facilitate the establishment of a two handed grip later in the draw stroke.

Step Two – Clear/Rotate:
Your support hand stays where it’s at on the centerline of your torso.

Your dominant hand draws the gun straight up and out of your holster (imagine trying to hit yourself in your dominant side armpit with the but of your gun). Once clear of the holster, rotate your gun to bring the muzzle to horizontal (pointed at the threat) while holding your gun tightly against your ribcage. The muzzle should be back far enough that someone in a very close confrontation could not grab it and disarm you. You should also be able to fire at the threat from this position and at any point through the rest of the draw stroke.

Step Three – Catch:
Your dominant hand slides your gun along your ribcage to your centerline until you can catch it with the support hand and form a two-handed grip. Keep the muzzle pointed at the threat.

Step Four – Push:
Keeping your eyes on the threat push your gun forcefully as if to strike your opponent while maintaining your gaze on the threat. Bring your sights up into your line of sight, change focus to the front sight, and press the trigger.

Here’s the modification to this draw stroke needed for presentation of your weapon from under a tucked shirt.

In Step One, prior to coming to your centerline, your support hand reaches across, grabs a hand full of shirt from directly over the gun, and pulls it up toward to a high position on your centerline as your dominant hand establishes a shooting grip. Let go of your shirttail as your gun comes up into the catch position. The rest of the draw stroke is the same as above.

[jpdeuce]

I don't understand how people tuck their shirts in at all with an IWB. I've got what I think is a pretty nice one (Crossbreed Supertuck) but it would prolly take me 10 minutes to get a shirt tucked in right where it wasn't obvious something was there. Not to mention the extra printing I'm sure it would do in the 4:30/5 o'clock position.

Maybe it's just my build (5'9" 160 athletic) but I'm not sure I could tuck and get away with it. Again, if I took the extra 10 minutes or so to make sure the tuck was right and looked normal.

[jofrdo]

Practice, practice, practice.
I find that untucking the shirt with the weak hand tends to pull the shirt fabric laterally, leading to entanglement with the gun's grips. Untucking straight up with the dominant hand is cleaner, then holding the shirt clear with the weak hand while the strong hand draws. It really does take longer than other concealment forms. I prefer to carry an IWB with an untucked shirt covering the gun, but use IWB's to preserve my ability to tuck when necessary.

[gunthorp]

A well tucked shirt over the IWB at anything more than the 3:00 position (right hand strong) is best untucked by ripping the shirt up using both hands. Then the grip may be acquired while the weak hand holds the shirt up pressed to the strong side ribs.

The fastest untuck can be accomplished with the weak hand only if the shirt is bloused over the gun, and a very small portion of the blouse is tucked slightly into the fore and aft clips while leaving the blouse around the gun at the belt line. A slight blouse on the weak side will even out the look. This method is just as fast as pulling up a sweater, loose t-shirt, loose polo shirt, etc.

Because I carry IWB at 4:00, I've found that it's just as fast and avoids snagging cover garments if you use the strong hand to do the pull up and use the weak hand to hold the garment as the strong hand then plunges for the grip.

Thankfully, cold weather is here, and the faster open front garments can be worn over OWB's or untucked IWB's. I sew a bit of weight to the bottom hem on both sides of the opening. The weights help keep the garment from flashing open in the wind. When the strong hand sweeps the coat open, the weight makes it sail past the exposed grip.

[TexasGeezer]

If you do tuck your shirt when wearing a "tuckable" IWB holster, how do you do it?

A. Bottom seam of shirt outside of holster, between holster/gun and pants?

B. Bottom seam of shirt inside holster, between body and holster/gun, with a bloused portion of shirt draped over the top of gun and then slightly tucked between holster/gun and pants?

C. Explain, please - (these are the only two methods I can think of.)

[mocarryguy]

I don't understand how people tuck their shirts in at all with an IWB. I've got what I think is a pretty nice one (Crossbreed Supertuck) but it would prolly take me 10 minutes to get a shirt tucked in right where it wasn't obvious something was there. Not to mention the extra printing I'm sure it would do in the 4:30/5 o'clock position.

Maybe it's just my build (5'9" 160 athletic) but I'm not sure I could tuck and get away with it. Again, if I took the extra 10 minutes or so to make sure the tuck was right and looked normal.

You have the same issues I do with this style of carry. Takes forever to get it right. I am thinking a new show on TV, much like all the "style" shows on. It could have men and women of all sizes showing how to hide a gun on one's person. It would be a big hit...Now, where to get some $$'s..

[Ron]

I have tried tuckable with little success. My solution is that when I must wear my shirt tucked, I carry my S&W 642 in a Mika pocket holster. Better to have only 5 shots then to not carry at all.

[sarlady]

I sew a bit of weight to the bottom hem on both sides of the opening. The weights help keep the garment from flashing open in the wind. When the strong hand sweeps the coat open, the weight makes it sail past the exposed grip.

This sounds like a good idea. Sorry that this is a bit off topic, but you caught my attention. Could you please elaborate? I'm not quite clear on this. Do you only add the weights to heavy clothing like over-coats or does it work with other garments?

[gunthorp]

The tuckable, especially when combined with velcro clips that are hidden by the belt, is a very concealable option for your primary defensive tool. I use the Versa Max II, the CTAC, and my favorite, the Crossbreed Super Tuck Deluxe. I reserve pocket carry for a backup. Another stealth option is the Smartcarry. It takes time, practice, and patience to fine tune these carry methods, but I believe it's worth the extra effort for hot weather or business dress occasions.

As far as weights sewn into open front garments, light shirts require light weights, sports jackets need only an ounce or two, and heavy cold weather coats require nothing at all. Lead sinkers or wheel weights suffice. Clip some weight to the bottom front corner on the strong side and experiment.