Summer Carry

With summertime right around the corner, a lot of people change their Concealed Carry set up during the summer months.

Some people switch from Outside The Waistband with heavier cover garments in the winter to Inside The Waistband for carrying in summer with lighter clothing such as wearing just a T-Shirt or tank top.

Either way, now is the time to consider how you are going to carry during the summer, unless you are in a hotter climate like Florida or California where your carry is probably the same year-round, but for the rest of us that have seasons, now is the time to decide and plan ahead.

The main factors that prompt a change during the summer will be your preferred clothing and carry options, which will dictate the size of gun you can carry and the type of holster you will need.

 

In the summer most people are either wearing a light shirt, T-shirt or polo shirt, so for that reason Inside The Waistband is going to be the best option for summer concealed carry but you will have to compromise on firearm size to be able to conceal it without printing. 

However, one option that allows you to carry a larger firearm during the summer is if you wear an open buttoned over shirt over your t-shirt and use that to conceal a larger firearm outside the waistband. 

 

Whichever gun you choose to carry a lot of people like to carry Outside The Waistband during the summer as it is more comfortable, and they wear a light cover garment like a Hawaiian style over shirt to assist with concealment.

 

 

Hawaiian over shirts are great for a few reasons.

They’re light and comfortable, allow you to carry outside the waistband and the pattern helps mitigate printing as they act as a camouflage of sorts by breaking up the outline of your gun with the pattern. 

Fishing shirts with prints on them are also great!

You don't have to break the bank either as, if you aren't obsessed with wearing a high end brand, stores like Walmart have a great range at very competitive prices! The shirt pictured above is only $14.99 at the time of writing.

Now you can carry a bigger gun and print less - a win-win situation! 

One thing to watch out for is that the length of your shirt can also influence how well you conceal your firearm. Before you leave home, check yourself in a mirror to make sure your shirt and pants cover your gun. Make sure you look at yourself from every angle.

Also, if you aren’t used to wearing an over shirt, practice your new draw stroke to make sure you can clear your cover garment as you draw your gun from concealment, so lots of dry fire practice is in order if you switch from IWB to OWB with a cover shirt! 

If you are forced to carry inside the waistband, for example you can only wear a tucked-in polo shirt to work, then carrying a smaller gun inside your pants during hot summer days is a lot more comfortable than a larger firearm.

When it comes to the Micro-Compact summer carry guns all the options below are 9MM. We don’t feel like you should have to compromise stopping power to carry a smaller gun and with today's modern striker fired micro compact guns you can still get a great capacity in a great caliber without having to downgrade to a .380 or .22 or low capacity gun.

For a long time because of the reliability and reputation of Glock, the Glock 42 was everyone’s favorite Micro-Compact  for summer carry.

Although it is very compact at only 5.94 inches long and 0.83 inches wide, but the main drawback was the capacity at only 6 rounds with the standard Glock 42 magazine. 

When Sig Sauer dropped the P365 it blew everyone away being a 9MM with a 10 round magazine which baffled everyone as nobody thought that was possible having so many rounds in such a small gun.

It comes in at only 5.8 inches long and 1 inch wide and comes with the standard 10 round 9mm magazine. It even has the option of an extended 12 round magazine, which extends the grip slightly allowing your pinky finger to get onto the grip and carry 2 more rounds so that you have a fairly high capacity gun in a Micro-Compact package. 

Some people didn’t like the snappiness of the original P365 and were adding compensators to the gun, so Sig listened to their customer’s feedback and came out with the Sig Sauer P365XL which helped solve these problems. 

It has a slightly longer slide and is 6.6 inches long and 1.1 inch wide with a 12 round magazine and shoots softer than the original P365 - so no compensator is needed!

But not to be out done, Springfield then “one-upped” Sig and came out with the Springfield Hellcat.

The Springfield Hellcat is a Micro-Compact that has a staggering capacity of 11 rounds with their standard 9MM magazine and 13 rounds with an extended magazine! At only 6 inches long and 1 inch wide it is a high capacity small package perfect for summer carry. 

So in the age of the high capacity micro compacts the Glock 42 has been left behind. 

Other slightly older popular options are the Ruger LCP II which comes in at only 5.2 inches long with a 6 round 9mm magazine and the Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard only 5.3 inches long but like the Glock 42 it comes with a 6 round 9MM magazine. 

All are great options and reliable firearms from reputable manufacturers. 

Pick a concealed carry weapon that fits your body and clothing. If you’re not sure which gun will work for you, visit your local shooting range to rent and try several models. 

Moving on to your choice of pants during the summer, many people go from wearing jeans or pants with a belt to wearing shorts which can of course be difficult to carry with. 

Cargo shorts and khaki shorts are a great option for the summer, as they are light and comfortable but usually have good strong belt loops to allow a carry belt, allowing you to mount your holster to the belt.

  

Jean shorts or “Jorts'' as some people call them are a great carry option if it’s not too hot. 

An outfit like this with a plaid print short sleeve button up shirt over a T-Shirt and denim shorts is a great carry outfit for the summer. 

These Wrangler Denim shorts available at Walmart are affordable at only $19.98 at the time of writing and should support your gun and holster just like regular jeans which is what a lot of us carry with. 

Walmart have a good range of summer shorts that are competitively priced if you need to switch up your wardrobe.

Most popular in summer are of course gym shorts which don’t have a belt to attach your holster to. 

However we do have holsters that have Discreet Carry Concepts clips or Ulticlips which allow beltless carry with a tightened drawstring.

So having decided on the gun you want to carry, whether you want to carry Inside or Outside The Waistband and what type of clothing you want to wear you can choose your holster.

Some fabric holsters are not ideal for summer as they will cause you to sweat and absorb that sweat, one of the reasons we love kydex holsters is they do not collect heat and sweat when against you inside the waistband.

If you want to know more about Kydex holsters then check out our blog “Why Kydex” for the full low down of the pros and cons of Kydex holsters.

You can find the perfect holster for your summer carry at Holster Central as we have a wide range of IWB and OWB Kydex holsters, both Quick Ship and fully Custom made.

If you decide to carry a smaller gun inside the waistband our Tuckable holsters are a great option so that you can tuck your shirt in when carrying and our Athletic Wear Tuckable holsters allow you to carry in gym shorts or sweat pants with no belt! 

 

We use reinforced plastic clips, steel belt clips, full-length sweat guards, anti corrosion hardware to combat any sweat and other features to keep you comfortable through long days.  

Another thing to note is if you add a modwing claw kit to your holster, it will help eliminate printing through your clothing so that the grip of your gun is not visible through your shirt. 

Our Custom made holsters come standard with the modwing attachment installed and you can add it to any of our quick ship holsters seperately. 

The modwing claw attachment angles the grip toward your body, so that it doesn’t press against your clothes causing the outline of your gun to show. 

By choosing Holster Central, you get great customer service along with your durable holster that should last a lifetime!

All of our products come with an unconditional lifetime guarantee and are manufactured from the best materials in the United States, so we rarely need to replace items. 

When you have the right gun, holster, and clothing, you can carry a concealed weapon in all types of weather!

Are you going to switch from a Full Size or Compact gun to a Sub or Micro-Compact this summer? 

Let us know in the comment section what your planned set up is going to be this summer.