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Those who carry CCW .357's, how are you concealing them? Aren't IWB a tad uncomfortable?

I have used a Clip-Draw on J, K, and L-frames. Obviously more comfortable with a J, but workable with 3" K and L frames. If you are taller than me, and most are, 4" should be doable.

http://www.clipdraw.com/

I just got through walking 3 miles with a 3" SP101 in a Milt Sparks Versa Max II. It is very comfortable.

Back in 1970 when I bought my first two handguns...a S&W M19 and matching M18...they were all I had. Most of the time I just slipped the 19 IWB behind the left hip butt forward... Since that time that is almost how I always carry a defensive firearm and is where my Commander is right now.

The only K-Frame .357 Magnum S&W I have left is a 3" M65. I don't carry it all that much but when I do it goes in the same spot. If I caried it often then the hammer would be bobbed... The grips are Pachmayer Compacts and they keep the gun from sliding at all...

Bob

Carried a S&W 19-2.5" in a Desintis IWB for several years.

Very comfortable.

Virgil B.

I have three 3" Smiths I carry regularly: a M65 357, a M66 357, and a M696 44spl. They all ride very comfortably in an IWB kydex holster or a leather pancake, both by FIST. Truthfully, the IWB (which looks remarkably like Cheyenne's VersaMax) is probably more comfortable. I like kydex a lot for IWB because it's so thin and impervious to sweat. The M65 also has an Alessi Talon it sometimes prefers.

I much prefer my 3" Smiths to my 4" for carry, but I'm a relatively small guy.

That SP101/ VersaMax is a good lookin rig Cheyenne!

+1 on the clip draw. I have them on my M60 and my 640 357 Mag.

Thanks for bringing this up Barkoff. I'll be carrying my three inch Custom Shop modified 65 Smith today. DAO, factory bobbed hammer, Hogue grips.
Leather, as always, by Sam Andrews, including this nifty speed loader holder. The speed loader rides on the belt, the holder folds around it.

I use a Milt Sparks IWB holster for an N-Frame S&W with 4" barrel and I find it to be very comfortable

Ruger sp101 iwb Done Hume holster.... Fantastic gun and holster combo

2 1/2" model 19 Smith carried in a pancake holster.

Outside your waistband? So some of you carry OWB with a long shirt, no printing problems? I would rather go OWB because here in CA some places I hike I will still need to conceal. I'm worried that long uphill walks will get uncomfortable with a IWB.

I'm looking at the Galco Fletch, it rides high and I like the way the cant it to keep the grip next to the body...anyone have any thoughts on the Galco Fletch?

Mannlicher Love those grips I am wondering do they make a set like that that would fit a Ruger BH for my 41. Thanks Cheers NC

This isn't going to help you much - but I carry a 3" model 60 in an Alessi Hideout IWB with pull-through snap. It's very comfortable and it's one of my favorite holsters. Conceals very well under an untucked shirt - especially with a "boot grip" on the revolver. Sadly, I understand Lou is no longer with us and I don't know if anyone picked up his designs.

I also just got a very nice field holster for my 4" Security-Six, made by a good friend of mine. The reason I mention this is that the forward-canted rig that holds the butt close to my frame actually conceals surprisingly well under a light jacket or long vest - and being an OWB design, it is extremely comfortable. So, what I'm getting at is unless you're into tight clothing, it isn't that hard to hide a small to medium revolver.

This also might not be much help but my S&W M&P 340 357 mag is my BUG and stays in my front left "offside" pants pocket in a Don Hume 001 pocket holster.

Alan

I've got a Fletch for my Springfield 1911 and another for my Smith M&P Compact 9mm. They are fine holsters and exceedingly comfortable. They do hold the weapon out from the body and will not conceal as well as an IWB or just sticking your gun in your pants. The latter, IMO, is very underrated as far as pure concealment. I think the main reason for concealment holsters is retention and reliable placement of the gun for a draw. Also they are less likely to snag and hang up. Blackhawk makes some very comfortable and minimalistic IWB holsters that are so cheap you literally might as well buy one to try. I've also got a Bianchi for the 1911. It is a horsehide OWB holster on the order of the Fletch, but is flatter and better on the concealment portion of its mission. The Fletch far exceeds it on the draw portion though. The same can be said of the Triple K basketweave pancake holster I've got. It conceals well for OWB but the Fletch is a better draw.

If I were you and the primary mission was hiking, I'd get the Fletch. It gets as hot or hotter around here than about any heat you will experience short of Death Valley. You put on a pair of cargo shorts with a good quality t shirt stuffed into them. A medium-weight belt holding the Fletch and then a short-sleeved, loose fitting collared shirt with the tails out will conceal this rig well. If you put it back behind your hip bone, you probably won't even need to button it, but if you button a couple of buttons, it will be well-concealed.

The Fletch is muy comfortable.

I daily carry my 65 in a Simply Rugged Sourdough with inside-out straps. My local leather gal solved my Chicago screw issue with the suggestion of using a little fingernail polish to lock the screws. I carry it OWB when I'm woods tramping. I would recommend the system. I don't wear the inside-out straps the way SR shows because I found it too thick but worked around it.
I wouldn't call it super comfortable with a good sized gun stuck in my pants but as Clint Smith says 'carrying a gun is supposed to be comforting not comfortable'. I like having a 'real' gun on me.

I've carried this pre-warning Ruger Security Six in a Wm. Gordon Davis OWB holster over many a mile for many a year out in the boonies... and sometimes in the city. It is very comfortable and I've never had any problem concealing it under a shirt, untucked at the waist.

Davis is no longer making the holster in the picture.

Were I to buy another holster for the Ruger, I'd buy a Simply Rugged pancake.



One of the secrets to "concealment" is to buy a good, sturdy matching leather belt with the holster when you order it.
L.W.

+1 on the belt. Dress belts are too pliable to firmly support the weight and torque of a pistol.

Yep - get a good belt. My preference is a double-thickness belt from Milt Sparks, but Cabelas' 1-3/4" Garrison belt will do in a pinch for field work.