Anyone EDC the 4.5" XDM in .45 ACP?

[wmg1299]

My 9mm XDM Elite is one of my favorite range guns. I've got both 20 and 22 round magazines for the gun. These are awesome at the range, but they make the pistol difficult to conceal. I also picked up a 19-rounder, which fits in the XDM Elite if I remove the magwell. Even after downsizing, the grip is still a bit too long to easily conceal.

I came across an online Christmas Sale price on an .45 acp XDM with a 4.5" barrel that I couldn't possibly pass-up. The specs on the gun show that it uses the same 13-round magazine as the standard .45 acp XD and XD Mod.2 models. I've seen several 9mm XDM and XDM Elites at the range, as well as some of the newer XDM Elite Compacts in multiple calibers, but I've never actually handled the XDM .45 in person.

Have any of you ever used the 4.5" XDM .45 as an EDC? Is it fairly easy to conceal IWB without printing, or will it have to be more of a winter-carry gun that only conceals well beneath a jacket? I have never carried a .45 as my EDC due to the limited capacity of most concealable .45's, but I'm strongly considering carrying this one if it shoots as well as my 9mm.

 

[Pitdogg2]

I've got both 10mm and .45acp in 3.8"compact. Before my compact 10mm I had the full size 4.5" which I found the grip printed pretty noticable. The great thing about the 3.8" is you can use a full size mag and carry it in a holder and go to it should you ever find yourself in a "situation". My carry is the 3.8" and I carry two sleeved full sized mags in a mag carrier when I go on the road out of town. It really is the best of both worlds for me.
I carry OWB and the 4.5" liked to peek out more than I liked. If you have a good IWB that will not be problematic for you.

 

[Keystone19250]

For the most part I lately carry my XDM Elite 3.8 10mm in my Galco OWB leather holster, it conceals very good even with the extended mag.
I do carry my XDM 4.5 45ACP in a SafariLand Level 4 depending on where I’m going and doing however it doesn’t conceal at all based on the nature of the holster. It does fit in my Galco but a clean draw is difficult.

 

[Bassbob]

The barrel isn't what prints, it's the grip. 4.5" is too big for IWB. That couldn't possibly be comfortable. Get an OWB and wear a loose t-shirt and/or an over shirt.

OWB holsters I have that hold large guns close to the body are comfortable and conceal very well:
Clinger Holsters No Print Wonder
Muddy River Tactical

I'm sure there are others.

 

[TSiWRX]

The barrel isn't what prints, it's the grip.

^ This is what's true for me, too.

However, that said......

To begin with, concealment is never an absolute - for some folks, a little bit of printing or even an occasional flash of the holster/holster hardware or even the firearm itself isn't a big deal. For others, anything short of the complete disappearance of the firearm is absolutely unacceptable. @wmg1299 , for-starters, it would help tremendously if you can let us know what side of this sliding-scale you tip towards.

With a larger gun, the need for the support gear to leverage that grip closer to the body becomes very important. Typically, this means that the belt selected will need to be compatible with the holster/mounting hardware's "claw" or "wing" device (an extension at the grip side of the holster, designed to leverage the grip towards the body). More on belts in a second, but first, Harrison of Harry's Holsters has an excellent write-up on these devices and their best (typical) usage -

What is a Holster Claw?

Concealment claws can be a useful holster accessory but they must be used properly to get an advantage. Hear we go over the knowledge to properly use a claw.

harrysholsters.com

But the holster itself can both help (such as the built-in wedge of various top-tier modern IWB holsters by JM Customs and Keepers Concealment) -and hinder (such as fixed "sidecar" holsters [PHLster also has a great video on this, and I recommend that anyone considering a fixed sidecar holster first look at this video prior to purchase - but I would, as PHLster noted himself, first view the basic consideration videos below]) - the issue, too. Here, PHLster's video offers a wealth of information -

[ You'll note that he also mentioned that there needs to be considerations of belt type, and that counter to longstanding dogma, it's now been shown that in some instances, for modern IWB holsters, it's actually better to have a belt that is more conforming. ]

Concealed carry of a full-size handgun is definitely possible, given some thought and possibly some trial-and-error with respect to gear. I've seen athletic built men -from someone who is as small as Chris Costa to someone several size bigger- each totally conceal a full-sized handgun (with full-size WML and/or slide-mounted micro-RDS) to the extent that I wasn't able to even tell that they're carrying, with nothing more than a simple T-shirt overtop....

^ I've shown this picture here before, and I honestly can't say if Costa was carrying there or not, but his outfit for all six days of classes that summer was similar, and on at least one occasion - if not more - he was packing a full-sized S&W M&P with a Surefire X300U slung underneath. He was T&E'ing gear at that point, and I believe what he had was either the Armordillo X-fer or RCS VG3).

And while my daughter is not of legal age to conceal-carry, I did mock-up gear for her at one point recently, and showed her how easy it was for a woman of even her build -5'4" or so, 125 lbs., athletic, with very modest bosom- to easily conceal a full-sized handgun, even in the tighter-fitting clothes that the youth currently considers fashionable. We used for this demo my full-sized 4.5-inch XDm9 in a PHLster Floodlight holster that's in-turn mounted to her Volund Gearworks ATLAS-slim belt via DDC clips. Almost a mirror-copy of this gear setup was used by a young man I'd met at a concealment pistol class I took in the summer of 2018 - his slim-athletic build, combined with his height (6'2", minimum) meant that even a rather clingy UnderArmour shirt still allowed enough "drape" at his waist to allow him to conceal, to a surprising depth, a full Glock 19 "Roland Special," in that same holster, AIWB.

@wmg1299 , I think that starting this discussion off by letting us know just what level of concealment is acceptable for you would be a great beginning.

From there, we can then explore whether that's going to be a realistic possibility given your body build/shape, your preference in gear (as well as gear setup - i.e. the compromise between ride-height and grip leveraging versus accessibility, etc.), and your typical style and manner of dress.

 

[wmg1299]

@wmg1299 , I think that starting this discussion off by letting us know just what level of concealment is acceptable for you would be a great beginning.

I would describe my acceptable level of concealment to be a "reasonable" amount. I can accept if my gun prints in a way that experienced carriers recognize, but cannot accept a level of printing that lets everyone in the grocery store know that I am either carrying a gun or trying to hide something in my waistband. I have comfortably carried a Glock 19 at different times in my life, but it was fairly noticeable if I bent or turned certain ways.

I'm large enough that I don't think a 4.5" barrel would cause discomfort, but I am concerned that the hand-grenade style texture on the XDM might encourage my shirt to stick or get caught up. I'd be open to using an OWB or IWB holster, but would prefer for someone who has carried my exact gun in a certain holster to vouch for the holster's concealability. I know that different body types may cause different results, but quality holsters are starting to get a little pricey, and I'd like to avoid a $100+ gamble.

I knew that finding someone who had used the 4.5" barrel XDM as an EDC was a longshot, but I figured that it was worth a try. I appreciate the thoughtful responses.

 

[TSiWRX]

^ That does help, thank you for filling in some details!

I truly think you'll have much less trouble with the grip texture than you will with the overall grip length. Granted that I'm using my 3.8 Compact's truncated frame as a reference, but I've carried this gun as a true-EDC for now just over 10 years, and I've never had the grip texture be an issue.

If you can get that grip to rotate inboard enough, I think that you should be able to achieve your desired "reasonable" level of achievement, with the only stipulation that you're not going for excessively currently-trendy next-to-skin-tight cover garments. I think that if you can situate the heel of the grip to come before the protuberance of your hip bone at the 3-o'clock by either carrying forward of the 2- or back of the 4-, you may be able to make this work.

That said, that extra "poke" of even the 20-round magazine beyond the magwell may become an issue.

Indeed, the ideal would be if someone could take a couple of concealment pictures with either a 4.5 Elite or even the standard 4.5-inch......

 

[wmg1299]

My new .45 ACP XDM arrived at my FFL a few days ago, but it took me a bit to pick it up. I'm posting a few comparison photos between my 9mm XDM Elite and the XDM. The XDM's grip is definitely shorter, but not a tremendous amount, so I'll have to see if it make a noticeable difference in concealment. I'm a big guy with a fairly athletic build (6'05", 285 lbs.) which helps with concealment. The XDM-Elite printed slightly too much for my comfort, but the XDM may be a possibility.

If I shoot the XDM well on my next range trip, it may see some EDC duty. Even if it won't work out for EDC, I have a soft spot for double-stack .45's and think this one will see a decent amount of range time.