Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about some important things to consider when thinking about summer carry. If you happened to miss last week’s article, be sure to click the link here to check it out.  I had a few of you reach out to me on social media talking about overall handgun sizes especially when it comes to handgun width. I thought this was a great addition to last week’s article since carrying can be different for everyone based on their body type. Let’s take a closer look at what’s really important about size when it comes to carrying concealed.

Concealed Carry Corner @ TFB:

• Concealed Carry Corner: Must-Have Items For Summer Carry
• Concealed Carry Corner: When Things Completely Break
• Concealed Carry Corner: The Major Problems With Lightweight Pistols
• Concealed Carry Corner: Buying Or Building Your Carry Gun

Overall Size Vs Thickness

The two biggest factors when looking at your next carry gun are the overall size of the firearm along with its overall thickness. Depending on your body type, either the overall size will be hard to conceal or the thickness will bother you. Typically for me, I fall into the category of trying to find a thinner-profile handgun, especially in the summer months.

With my body type, I can conceal larger firearms since Im a taller stocky guy but smaller built or really thin guys have a tough time concealing a longer framed handgun. For most of those guys, something like a smaller Glock 43 is the best route to go since it has a shorter frame which allows their body type to conceal it easier. For bigger stocky guys like myself, the overall length of the frame isn’t the issue since there’s more mass to help conceal it.

My Personal Choice

For me, having a thinner profile handgun to carry is significantly more comfortable than a traditional smaller double stack. For years, the Glock 19 has been the classic all-season carry gun, but during the really hot parts of the year, even that can start to feel heavy after a full day of working in 90-degree weather. After picking up my Glock 48 and installing the Shield Arms 15-round magazine, I have the same capacity as the Glock 19 in a much thinner package.

With this updated design, the Glock 48 has become my favorite summer gun since it has the length to establish two points of contact with your belt and leg making the overall carry experience very comfortable. Width and the overall size are important factors to take into account when you’re looking at a new carry gun but length is also a factor to take into account.

Length Isn’t Always Bad

There’s a general idea out there that shorter handguns are more comfortable to carry all day and that’s not always necessarily true. We can take a look at my standard P365 versus my Glock 48 as an example. Between the two, the P365 has an extremely short barrel making it barely go past my belt line. If you’re new to carrying, this may seem appealing but in reality, it actually offers less stability to your carry gun. This is because there’s no second point of contact with your body. The only contact is the belt clip on your holster with the firearm which can shift and move since there’s only one point.

Even having something slightly larger like a Glock 48 or P365 XL will allow you to have a slightly larger area for the barrel to make a second point of contact with your leg offering you more stability. It doesn’t take much to give you additional support when it comes to barrel length, again I understand not everyone can conceal longer firearms easily. Something like a P365 allows you to carry an XL slide on a smaller 10-round frame allowing you to have a short frame with a longer slide allowing that second point of contact to occur. This trick for having a longer slide won’t be for everyone but it’s certainly good to consider when thinking about your next carry gun.

Pick What You Are Confident With

There are so many different ways to approach carrying a concealed firearm to the point where it can be complicated trying to figure out what’s best for you. At the end of the day, you can typically adjust your clothing and carry position to accommodate the handgun you decide on. If you are on the fence about a particular model or style of handgun, it’s always good to try and rent or at least borrow the model from a friend who may have one just to see how it feels in the holster or even how it shoots. I always encourage people to get any experience with their gun so they have a rough idea of what it’ll be like to live with it daily.

Overall Thoughts

When carrying in the summer months or living in a warmer region of the country, it’s important to keep the overall size and width of your firearm in mind when looking for a new carry gun. For me, it’s important to find a handgun with decent capacity while keeping the overall profile thin which is why I enjoy carrying the Glock 48 so much. Others will be worried about how long the frame is if they have a smaller body type. Everyone is different but it’s never a bad idea to have the best possible firearm for your body type.

What do you guys like to carry when it’s really warm out in the summer months? Do you keep things simple or do you still carry larger firearms with baggy clothing? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, but be sure to keep things respectful. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.

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