Ruger American Compact 9mm for CCW?

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Kytrarewn

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
Messages
4
So I've been shooting all my life, but only recently have I considered going down the path of carrying a concealed weapon, and my only pistol at present is a 4.3" barrel full-sized DA/SA.

The problem with that pistol is that holster selection is... limited at best, and its length combined with my own girth means that it cants quite noticeably when in an IWB and is not terribly concealed. I've been a fan of Ruger for a long time, and have rented and liked both the full-sized and compact versions of the RAP, and have found that the single-stack subcompacts (G43, Shield) are not comfortable for my particular handshape (I don't have particularly large or small hands, there's just something about firing them that feels unstable and different from shot to shot, which doesn't inspire confidence).

Does anyone carry an RAP in an IWB? Which holster did you go with? If you're a large (read: fat) male, do you have any pictures of the gun under your clothing? Is it comfortable to sit with it in the holster for prolonged periods of time? Comfortable in the car?

Thanks for all the advice.
 

FergusonTO35

Hunter
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
2,420
Location
Boonesborough, KY
Hey friend. I am generously proportioned myself and find that the compact double stack autos are not comfortable to carry IWB. They conceal just fine, the problem is that they are not comfortable. I can carry one no problem in a paddle holster, covered by my coat or shirt. I do carry my Glock 42 IWB but really I prefer paddle or pocket carry as it's more comfortable and I have to take my gun off to go in to work and then put it back on at the end of the day while sitting in my car. If you anticipate having to put the gun on and off during the day IWB probably won't be the best for you.

Have you thought about ankle carry? I find it is quite comfortable and you can draw pretty quickly with practice. Also, your leg is not where most people would expect you to draw a gun from. The Desantis Apache for the Glock 26 would probably fit the RAP just fine, it is adjustable and stretchy. I use it for my S&W 637 and Glock 42. If you do go IWB, I will say that a quality holster makes all the difference in the world. My favorite is the Bianchi 100 Professional. It is very comfortable and keeps the pointy parts of the gun from digging into you. The soft leather Tagua is another good one.
 

tacticalreload

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
77
Location
Florida
While I'm not huge, I'm certainly not skinny. And I think that there is often something that folks forget to consider... not everyone has the same tolerance for tightness of clothing. I, personally, don't like tight waistbands or belts or shirts. I usually don't wear hats or watches or necklaces. I just am not all that fond of feeling restricted by things I wear. Because of this, I find IWB annoying no matter what I'm carrying... not because of how the gun presses on me or how it prints, but rather because of how I have to cinch up my belt in order to hold the gun up regardless of how heavy or light it is.

I'm pretty sure that most people can carry far more gun than they think they can. Whether they are willing to do so is the real question.
 

Kytrarewn

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
Messages
4
I have strongly considered ankle carry, and it seems like a pretty good compromise overall, given that I can't really foresee not just handing over the wallet or whatever if I'm in a situation that would benefit from a quickdraw or whatever, as opposed to having the ability to retrieve a means with which to defend myself in something like a terrorism situation. Same thing goes for the "fanny pack" solution.

On the other hand, I've also found that I can't get comfortable shooting the pistols that can reasonably be ankle carried (like the Shield/G43/LCP), so I feel like some form of IWB is probably the best option. I usually wear fairly baggy clothes and could PROBABLY get away with carrying on a paddle, so that's something to consider as well.

AlienGear offers some sort of deal where if you get two holsters, you get a pretty significant discount. I'm leaning towards maybe going that route and grabbing their IWB and their Paddle for starters (but, of course, first I need to firmly decide which firearm I'm going to go with between the P320 Subcompact and the RAP Compact).

Apparently Hogue and Pachmayr make sleeves for the Shield/G43 to increase the grip profile. The guy at the LGS didn't mention these and just nudged me in the direction of the PPS M2 when I mentioned that I was looking for something a tad thicker to increase my comfort level with the grip. Do these make a noticeable difference?
 

James

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
21
Kytrarewn said:
So I've been shooting all my life, but only recently have I considered going down the path of carrying a concealed weapon, and my only pistol at present is a 4.3" barrel full-sized DA/SA.

The problem with that pistol is that holster selection is... limited at best, and its length combined with my own girth means that it cants quite noticeably when in an IWB and is not terribly concealed. I've been a fan of Ruger for a long time, and have rented and liked both the full-sized and compact versions of the RAP, and have found that the single-stack subcompacts (G43, Shield) are not comfortable for my particular handshape (I don't have particularly large or small hands, there's just something about firing them that feels unstable and different from shot to shot, which doesn't inspire confidence).

Does anyone carry an RAP in an IWB? Which holster did you go with? If you're a large (read: fat) male, do you have any pictures of the gun under your clothing? Is it comfortable to sit with it in the holster for prolonged periods of time? Comfortable in the car?

Thanks for all the advice.
I have been carrying a gun in an IWB for close to 10 years now. I started with a 5" Kimber 1911, carried a couple different XD's, a Glock30, a Ruger LCP 38spl, a Ruger SR40, and now carry a Ruger American in 45acp. All these guns were carried in an Alien Gear IWB except for the 38spl. The SR40 and the American were both carried in the latest model of the Alien Gear IWB which has a good neoprene backing which is very comfortable even after 12-14 straight hours of carry.

When i carry the SR40 i also carry 2 extra magazines in the Alien Gear carriers which gives me a total of 46 rounds. When i carry the American 45 i carry 2 extra magazines which gives me 31 rounds.

Now that that is said i will tell you i'm no small person either. When I started carrying i weighed 330 lbs. I have sense lost back down to 250, but in all that time i never had a gun fall out of the holster or had one bit of trouble either getting the gun out or back in. I carry every day from 10 to 16 hours in comfort and have never had anyone catch me with showing i was carrying.
 
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