Need High Ride Owb Help

[Deanimator]

I'm working on the pattern for my first OWB holster, for my 4" S&W Model 29.

What I want is a high ride rig for winter carry under a sweater or hoodie.

I've never done an OWB and am looking for advice about how high up you can get the holster and maintain stability. I'd like to keep the bottom of the holster no lower than the top of the front pocket of my jeans.

Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions or experience regarding high ride OWB concealment holsters for fairly large, heavy revolvers?

Thanks.

[gregintenn]

Pancake!!!!

[TwinOaks]

Worth a 1000 words.

The other thing to consider is the belt. A flimsy belt ( cardboard centers from box-mart) will do a poor job of supporting the weapon, no matter what kind of holster it is.

[troop]

I'm working on the pattern for my first OWB holster, for my 4" S&W Model 29.

What I want is a high ride rig for winter carry under a sweater or hoodie.

I've never done an OWB and am looking for advice about how high up you can get the holster and maintain stability. I'd like to keep the bottom of the holster no lower than the top of the front pocket of my jeans.

Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions or experience regarding high ride OWB concealment holsters for fairly large, heavy revolvers?

Thanks.

i always try to spilt the trigger guard with the belt line. the further down you make the belt line, the higher the holster will ride. the problem however is that the less of the trigger guard you have behind the belt the more your holster will lean out away from your body thereby protruding outward through your clothing. the ideal way to make it for what you may be looking for is a horizontal or semi horizontal just outside the center of your back. it'll be stable and stay close to your body while riding high (at the belt line level.) hope this helps. i'm sure others have some ideas as well.

Tony

[katsass]

I'm working on the pattern for my first OWB holster, for my 4" S&W Model 29.

What I want is a high ride rig for winter carry under a sweater or hoodie.

I've never done an OWB and am looking for advice about how high up you can get the holster and maintain stability. I'd like to keep the bottom of the holster no lower than the top of the front pocket of my jeans.

Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions or experience regarding high ride OWB concealment holsters for fairly large, heavy revolvers?

Thanks.

FWIW: The first thing that strikes me is that you are trying to make a rig that is concealable in your 'normal' attire. One of the first things you learn when you get serious about concealed carry is that you "dress to conceal"....not the other way around. A sweater or 'hoody' most likely won't fit the bill for a Model 29. It's large, and not too easily concealed with a belt holster....unless you make some adjustment to your attire. I personally carry a 3" Model 24 (the 24 and 29 are both 'N' framed) in a leather 'carry' vest with an inside pocket holster, this during the wet and cold weather. In warm weather it's a different (smaller) gun......if carrying concealed. Mike

[olliesrevenge]

Although it's not quite the size of an N frame S&W, I sometimes carry a Glock 20, 10mm in a high riding OWB pancake I made myself, concealed under a loose shirt or vest. Here are my thoughts on high ride OWB's

When you put the pistol's center of gravity (COG) above the beltline, there are two things that can work to make it a stable carry system.

1) having a decent portion of the barrel end below the belt, to act as a bottom lever arm below the belt, to offset the lateral tipping action the pistol is prone to because the COG is above the beltline.(See attached pic)

2) The rigidity of the belt and holster are such that they can support the pistol in the absence of a bottom "lever arm".

From what I see in GreginTenn's pic, there is a good 3" of barrel poking out below the belt line (Nice holster BTW Greg), to act as an offsetting lever arm to prevent the top end from tipping out. IMO this enables that holster to work in spite of the fact that he appears to be wearing it with a single thickness belt.

If you want to go higher (reducing the size of the bottom lever arm) you have to resort to belt & holster rigidity to pick up the slack. IMO, the following are your remaining options...

-Use a very heavy double thickness belt, maybe even kydex reinforced. (Note: IMO kydex reinforced belts are all about creating resistance to the "lateral tipping action", & not much else)

-Use heavy leather for the holster, IMO using double layer lined construction increases rigidity.

- Use a pancake design, the extra width of the belt slots (as opposed to an Avenger style) resists the lateral tipping action.

- Use a pancake design with an additional tunnel belt loop sewn right where the gun is carried.

- Ensure the belt loops are snug to the belt.

- Increasing the rear muzzle rake will also help you get the muzzle higher for a given COG location, if you can live with the angle.

There are probably others.

My .02

HighRide.bmp

[Big O]

FWIW: The first thing that strikes me is that you are trying to make a rig that is concealable in your 'normal' attire. One of the first things you learn when you get serious about concealed carry is that you "dress to conceal"....not the other way around. A sweater or 'hoody' most likely won't fit the bill for a Model 29. It's large, and not too easily concealed with a belt holster....unless you make some adjustment to your attire. I personally carry a 3" Model 24 (the 24 and 29 are both 'N' framed) in a leather 'carry' vest with an inside pocket holster, this during the wet and cold weather. In warm weather it's a different (smaller) gun......if carrying concealed. Mike

Agreed.

I carry full-sized pistols, mostly OWB, and, as I like to put it, I am willing to commit all manner of fashion crimes to facilitate this.

High-ride is a good idea, but it has its limitations. I think it'll allow you to use a cover garment that's simply loose, instead of loose AND long.

[Shorts]

When building a high ride holster, be aware that actually drawing the gun may present a challenge. Depending on your torso length or shoulder problems/limitations a high ride can hurt that a lot. Also, the cant will play a huge role, not only in the draw stroke but also exactly how high you can get it to sit without flopping over, which now gets into what the other said about where to place the gun/holster on the belt.

Anyway, it can be done but you might have to make some compromises on the design.

As for the clothing, there's no problem wearing hoodies or a sweater. Just practice your draw when wearing all your types of clothing so you're certain you're able to get shirt tails out of the way. Since I've gone to an IWB I haven't really looked back. But when I did carry OWB it was in cooler climates and I could wear a big jacket a lot of the time.

[TwinOaks]

Guys have the advantage over women when choosing to carry OWB. We aren't EXPECTED to have any fashion sense.

[katsass]

FWIW: Years ago (1960?) there was a two piece rig called (I believe) a 'semi-shoulder' rig. A few officers I worked with tried them. In actuality it needed three pieces. The first piece was a belt slider, quite wide and reinforced, that came up about 2 to 3 inches above the belt. On it were the female sides of a pair of "pull the dot" snaps. The second piece was the holster, a break-back cross draw with matching "pull-the-dot" snaps on a reinforced backing attached to it. In actuality you also needed a very supporting belt (sold separately). You could get them for almost any S&W wheelgun. In initial wear the were OK, but soon started to pull out from the body. They went off the market. Too high for too much weight above the belt. Mike

[RobDude30]

The first holster I made was a very high ride for my CZ 75 compact. While the name says compact, it really isn't and it is very heavy when loaded with 15 rounds. I used to carry this holster a lot and it works fairly well on a thick belt. Obviously it is very top heavy, but it does not lean much with the belt kept snug. It hides pretty well under a loose shirt. I recently made an avenger style holster and I use it almost exclusively now.

[Tac]

Apart from the stitching issues in the holster I have pictured, it rides very well and conceals under a shirt, sweatshirt or hoodie easily. It is for a .45 ACP caliber N-frame S&W 625 (same frame size as a model 29). It has a 4 inch barrel as well. I kept the trigger guard just above the belt line and it doesn't have a tilting problem when worn with a good belt. I am 6'01" tall, so I don't have issues with the high ride and the draw stroke with this holster. If the barrel where much longer, I might.

I agree with what everyone has already posted. Too high is problematic, a good belt is required and dressing to conceal is a must (fashion sense be damned!)

Good luck with your search.

-Tac

[Shorts]

(fashion sense be damned!)

Good luck with your search.

-Tac

Re: High Ride OWB - generally speaking guys are more comfortable wearing this arrangement than women are. Guys have taller torsos and the ribs aren't as bothered by the butt of the gun like women usually are.

Women are bothered by other kinds of butts too - horse's butts, donkey's butts, their own butts etc

[Deanimator]

Apart from the stitching issues in the holster I have pictured, it rides very well and conceals under a shirt, sweatshirt or hoodie easily. It is for a .45 ACP caliber N-frame S&W 625 (same frame size as a model 29). It has a 4 inch barrel as well. I kept the trigger guard just above the belt line and it doesn't have a tilting problem when worn with a good belt. I am 6'01" tall, so I don't have issues with the high ride and the draw stroke with this holster. If the barrel where much longer, I might.

I agree with what everyone has already posted. Too high is problematic, a good belt is required and dressing to conceal is a must (fashion sense be damned!)

Good luck with your search.

-Tac

I'm leaning toward something of this nature. I've got the basic holster body the way I want (it covers more of the gun than yours). I can add extra material on the butt side to give me room for a belt slot. Where's the other slot on yours? Is it sewn on separately, or is it folded over from the top and sewn?

Thanks

[Tac]

I'm leaning toward something of this nature. I've got the basic holster body the way I want (it covers more of the gun than yours). I can add extra material on the butt side to give me room for a belt slot. Where's the other slot on yours? Is it sewn on separately, or is it folded over from the top and sewn?

Thanks

The back belt loop is sewn on seperately, before the body of the holster is folded over, glued and sewn. It might be worth mentioning that with the seperate belt loop, you will obviously have to line it up to be straight with the trailing loop in the holster body, or it will add cant to the holster. Good luck. I think you will get what you are looking for with a design along the lines of this one. It works for me.

-Tac

[jc3persons]

I'm working on the pattern for my first OWB holster, for my 4" S&W Model 29.

What I want is a high ride rig for winter carry under a sweater or hoodie.

I've never done an OWB and am looking for advice about how high up you can get the holster and maintain stability. I'd like to keep the bottom of the holster no lower than the top of the front pocket of my jeans.

Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions or experience regarding high ride OWB concealment holsters for fairly large, heavy revolvers?

Thanks.

[jc3persons]

great looking holster and am betting that not your planned belt for carry,,if like me just had to put on as quick as you finish,,,looks like it would work better in my fav carry place,,behind on right side,,,nice looking!!!!