I didn't at first think I was going to be able to use my CTac Minotaur for tucked concealed carry while at work. However, for the past few days I have been working with different combinations of concealment using my CompTac Minotaur and my daily carry XD45 Service pistol.
Where I work, concealment is an absolute must. I am not allowed, by company policy, to carry a firearm.
That being said, this is not a post to give any reason for any of you to do as I have done and go against company policy. I am in no way condoning this action, I simply choose to do so because of reasons not necessary to this post. But my choice does present me with the necessity to always remain concealed with minimal to no printing while in certain areas (around upper management).
Also, necessary to my job, I am required to wear company apparel which consists of my own supplied choice of pants (jeans or khaki style casuals) and company issued logo t-shirts or polo style shirts. Winter jackets are also issued and makes concealment a lot easier for four or five weeks a year.
Shirts must be tucked at my job. Tee-shirts and polos make tucked concealment a challenge with a large pistol. Button down shirts are difficult enough but they are not as body-clinging as polos and tee's are. Fortunately our polo's are black and high quality thick cotton material.
Here is my solution, and today, it worked very very well! I am now 90% confident I can carry at work and after the rest of this week of concealed carry I will be 100% confident or fired. Whichever comes first . . .
My solution:
As said before, CompTac Mtac Minotaur holster. J-clips for now. Soon to be standard 5 position clips.
XD45acp 4" Service pistol. No extra mag at this time. One step at a time here.
The Beltman 1.5" bullhide belt. A good sturdy gunbelt is a must with a large heavy pistol.
One size larger pant waist size. Makes restroom visits a little easier and is definitely easier on the gut for us "larger" guys.
Polo style shirt, dark in color and heavy fabric. Forget tucking a tee shirt if its white. Black guns show through the white cloth. In either case, dark tee-shirt or polo, it
MUST be at least two sizes larger than your usual. I use a large normally but now I have 2XL in their place.
The Mtac Minotaur is very tuckable. If you look at it and pull out on the clips you will see a lot of space is available between the kydex holster portion and the inside of the clips. This is where you will tuck your shirt tail on your carry side between the gun and the waistband of your pants. When tucking in before you leave for work or wherever you are going, just stuff that big ol' shirt tail down inside your pants and down between the holster and your waist band. After you button, zip and belt everything down, start pulling the shirt tail out of your waistband until you get plenty of over-sag all around.
You dont want to have sag only on your gun side. This will look too odd.
This is why you need a much larger shirt to gain a lot more shirt tail. You will need this extra length so you can still remain tucked but yet have a lot more shirt that you can pull out of your waistband so it will kind of "billow" out and look not-so-neatly tucked. This means not tight to your body too! The shirt will billow out at the waist and give you lots of room for the butt of your pistol. This also will prevent printing in almost every position.
I chose to wear a t-shirt as an undershirt, tucked into my undershorts, just for comfort from the holster against my body/skin for 10 hours of carry.
A buddy of mine, who does contract work for our company, came by my office. I asked him if I looked different than normal. He said not at all that he could tell. I walked around, acted normal and did other office type things. He could not tell I was carrying and he is himself a CCW carrier.
I made several intentional visits to the offices downstairs and around all of my immediate managers. While I did make efforts to try to keep my gunside profile turned from their direct view, I could not always do this. Still, I was never made and never felt as if anyone suspected. My next addition will be the new standard clips from CTac so I can get a little more cant from my Minotaur holster. That is mostly a comfort adjustment not a concealment issue though, but should also add some level of extra concealment.
Today was successful and confidence building to say the least! I am finally happy with my choice of holster for concealed carry at work.