1911 Carry Setups - Or just EDC setups overall.

[PDren000]

I've been perusing the EDC and carry threads on here and I've noticed a lot of folks mentioning using a full-sized 1911 as their carry gun. I'd love to see y'all's EDC setups with your 1911s. I'm in the process of getting a carry rig set up for mine with a holster from JM Custom Kydex, and then figuring out what kind of magazine carriers I'll use.

 

[Blackwarriorjammin]

1791 double mag pouch.

 

[KC1911]

Crossbreed holster makes carrying my full size 1911 a breeze

 

[three percent]

You'll bang it all around into everything everytime you sit down and stand up and it isn't comfortable.the older you get you'll realize it isn't practical to carry all day everyday .my two cents been there done that

 

[PDren000]

You'll bang it all around into everything everytime you sit down and stand up and it isn't comfortable.the older you get you'll realize it isn't practical to carry all day everyday .my two cents been there done that

I decided to go with a JM Custom Kydex Wing Claw 2.5 holster AIWB and it feels about the same as carrying my Glock, just a longer barrel. I'll probably be investing in JM stuff for any future handguns I get. Carrying in the front definitely makes it easier to conceal a full-sized grip.
For reference, I usually carry a Glock 26 in a Vedder lighttuck AIWB. The JM conceals a Government model just as well or better than the Vedder conceals my subcompact.

 

[three percent]

Only prob with kydex it will scratch your pistola over time.
I carry full size 1911's mostly during winter months and mostly during hunting trips but I never feel under gunned with my xds45 subcompact.just remember most altercations it's first two rounds that count and carrying a pistol that's comfortable that you'll have on you is most important.
It's tough appendix carrying a full size pistol.4" barrel or larger at 4:00 or appendix

Fyi the 1791 holsters are super nice.nice THICK leather but mine are OWB belt holsters.great company also.there snag mags are nice also.

I used to carry all steel 4"+ pistols in my early twenties and it was tough no matter the holster.
By the time your 60 yrs old you'll be carrying a 380.im not that old but I know how it goes.Lol but you'll come to find out if your going to carry EDC all day everyday you need something in the 3" barrel range to be comfortable and keep it on you.
A 3.5" officer 1911 would be largest a big guy could conceal comfortably

Most any leather iwb holsters work fine.don hume are great , last forever and cheap .

Good luck with it but it won't be comfortable carrying full size pistol but it's better than nothing

 

[PDren000]

Only prob with kydex it will scratch your pistola over time.
I carry full size 1911's mostly during winter months and mostly during hunting trips but I never feel under gunned with my xds45 subcompact.just remember most altercations it's first two rounds that count and carrying a pistol that's comfortable that you'll have on you is most important.
It's tough appendix carrying a full size pistol.4" barrel or larger at 4:00 or appendix

Fyi the 1791 holsters are super nice.nice THICK leather but mine are OWB belt holsters.great company also.there snag mags are nice also.

I used to carry all steel 4"+ pistols in my early twenties and it was tough no matter the holster.
By the time your 60 yrs old you'll be carrying a 380.im not that old but I know how it goes.Lol but you'll come to find out if your going to carry EDC all day everyday you need something in the 3" barrel range to be comfortable and keep it on you.
A 3.5" officer 1911 would be largest a big guy could conceal comfortably

Most any leather iwb holsters work fine.don hume are great , last forever and cheap .

Good luck with it but it won't be comfortable carrying full size pistol but it's better than nothing

To be honest, the very last thing I'm worried about on a defensive pistol is scratches. Finish wear is an expected thing over time, and I'd rather have the extra concealment and retention that a kydex holster provides. If I want a gun to be scratch-free, it won't leave the safe. I've carried subcompacts, single-stack micro-compacts, compacts, and full-sizes. I've found what matters most to comfortable carry is holster shape and holster placement, at least for me. Rounded edges, fills a natural void in the body, stuff like that.
I typically subscribe to the idea that you should carry the largest handgun you can effectively and comfortably conceal. With my build, that's a full-size, pretty easily. I have a subcompact that I use for specific times as well. I do have an OWB 1791 that I use if I'm out hiking, but as a general rule I don't carry OWB, it's much more difficult to conceal without looking like you're hiding a gun.
I'm not saying that a micro-.380 is a bad option if you have health issues or prefer a small gun, but I also know guys in their 70s who carry Glock 19s and full-sized 1911s. It's not a one-size-fits-all situation.

 

[4CERTN]

I carry a full-size, steel-frame Government Model 1911 in .45 ACP a lot. Almost exclusively, in fact. For me (and only for me, what works for me may not work for you) a requirement is quality gunleather including a quality belt.

I prefer IWB over OWB, but have good options for either. I took me a while and a bit of experimenting to nail all this down for myself. But what I have works very well for me, and has for years now.

Pictured is what is perhaps the “best” personal setup for me in terms of both concealment and comfort: a Summer Special IWB holster (this one from Erik Little’s Bruce Nelson Combat Leather “revival” but also available from Milt Sparks and other sources) along with a Milt Sparks IPD IWB dual-magazine pouch. My belt choice is a gunbelt from A&G Custom Gunleather.

 

[4CERTN]

An OWB option here: a Milt Sparks 55BN (one of very many so-called “Askins Avenger”-style holsters on the market and a single magazine pouch from Douglas Leather Company (the pouch also being a style offered by numerous makers).

 

[4CERTN]

My personal favorite OWB holster of all-time, the out-of-print (but still crafted by-request) Milt Sparks Roadrunner (also known as their “old-style 60TK”) and a Sparks S4C single magazine pouch. This holster is high-riding and forward-canted and can be problematic for some due to its angle; it works well for me.

 

[three percent]

Wow .very nice rigs
I wish I could comfortably carry an all steel 5" 1911 .hell even a commander 4.25"
Yeah I've played with them all myself.i gave up.
To uncomfortable but I'm glad it works for you and would rather carry a full size pistol if I could.just to uncomfortable for me.i work with a young guy who was determined to carry a Springfield xdm 10mm and only the 3.8 model needlessly to say he gave up on it printing and hanging out and he kept trying to tell me at first how wonderful it was and it didn't bother him.i knew better
I'm not always right don't get me wrong just my experience

I started out carrying a all steel pistol and bashed it into everything sitting down in restaurants,truck seat belt fasteners,digging into me.got old

I'll never have a EDC carry again that's not a single stack gun or a j frame revolver if I just had to carry a revolver.

But leather is definitely best I agree