I saw this video as well. Good info for those considering AIWB. I especially like how he holsters prior to clipping the rig in place, which adds another layer of safety.
Should I Appendix Carry?
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
Jimbo
Elite
You have to do what works best for you, and you then have to make it work. I'm glad you have found a way that works for you.
cico7
Custom
No my butt pushes it out a bit so it is not in a straight line. However (didn't say but) a twist could change all of that.
That's me too! Carry at 2 o'clock and my natural padding of the legs pushes the barrel away from my leg.
Appendix carry it is just not happening, even with an unloaded 3" barrel.
HayesGreener
Hellcat
NO!
Talyn
SAINT
Only after you have it removed to make room for the handgun.Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled "Should I Appendix Carry?" and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/should-i-appendix-carry/.
Your freedom to choose, and glad it works for you. I would never carry appendix.
Folks always underestimate the chance of ND. Humans have mental lapses, are under pressure, and make mistakes. I’m 56 years old, have been driving legally for 40 years, and have totaled a car in a crash….out of hundreds of thousands of miles driven. It only takes one time and mental lapse. Experienced pilots still crash planes. Etc.
SaltyMonkey
Professional
A few years ago? No absolutely not. Today;Yes.What’s changed?
1. The subcompacts on the market (Hellcat, Sig,365, etc).
2. My awesome dad bod physique, it’s much easier to hide under my belly.
3. While driving it’s much easier to access.
1. The subcompacts on the market (Hellcat, Sig,365, etc).
2. My awesome dad bod physique, it’s much easier to hide under my belly.
3. While driving it’s much easier to access.
Last edited:
Jimbo
Elite
Today I decided to try appendix carry. I figured, what the heck, I can't get my Beretta out of my pocket very fast when I pocket carry it; and appendix carry would make for a fast draw if I'm in the car; so let's give it a try.
To get myself accustomed to appendix carry, I took the bullet out of the chamber, and I put the gun on safety. I removed the holster from my belt, holstered the gun, and then reinstalled the holster onto my belt.
Be honest with you, it was very comfortable carrying like that. The gun naturally fit in the indentation where my leg joins my torso.
I figured that I would carry just like that for several days, with no bullet in the chamber, and with the safety on, just to get used to it.
As I walked around the house, thinking about where that gun was pointed, I couldn't do it, not even with no bullet in the chamber and with the safety on.
Back to the Ruger in the pocket...
To get myself accustomed to appendix carry, I took the bullet out of the chamber, and I put the gun on safety. I removed the holster from my belt, holstered the gun, and then reinstalled the holster onto my belt.
Be honest with you, it was very comfortable carrying like that. The gun naturally fit in the indentation where my leg joins my torso.
I figured that I would carry just like that for several days, with no bullet in the chamber, and with the safety on, just to get used to it.
As I walked around the house, thinking about where that gun was pointed, I couldn't do it, not even with no bullet in the chamber and with the safety on.
Back to the Ruger in the pocket...
conax
Master Class
I see those young fellows on the you tube holstering loaded, striker fired pistolas down the front center of their jeans and it always makes me cringe. They carefully keep their fingers away from the trigger guard, but that doesn't calm me down. Sooner or later someone's going to get little head decapitated.
Being portly (fat) I don't consider that carry position even possible for me, and that doesn't bother me at all. I love having a pistol in my coat pocket. A pocket holster it shall be.
Being portly (fat) I don't consider that carry position even possible for me, and that doesn't bother me at all. I love having a pistol in my coat pocket. A pocket holster it shall be.
ghosttwofive
Custom
Absolutely correct, same here sir.
ACIinventor
Elite
Yes. But you've absolutely got to use a good holster that keeps the trigger protected. My experience using appendix carry was with 3 inch 1911s and VersaCarry's Zerobulk holster. There is a lot of body movement involved with going from the seated position to standing back to seated, etc. A good holster has to keep the handgun in place. A manual safety or a long/heavy DAO trigger may be a better option but as long as the trigger is protected by the holster, you're good to go with virtually any handgun.Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled "Should I Appendix Carry?" and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/should-i-appendix-carry/.
Sld1959
Hellcat
Agreed. I tried appendix and thoroughly disliked it. Went back to 4 o'clock and hipnpocket carry. I will even carry a dual speed loaders pouch in cooler weather which bulges and prints under a sweatshirt a bit, never gotten so much as a glance from anyone, at least no one's mentioned it, and a lot I know would.
Thorgrim
Alpha
I carry AIWB daily - by that I mean I carry an XD/M Compact inside my pants' waistband in a Clinger holster, clipped over my gunbelt. I do not carry centerline or nearly so like a lot of the combo holster/mag-carrier rigs that are all the rage, your appendix isn't behind your navel.
The XD/M solves the reholstering safety problem if you learn a simple re-holstering technique - as you holster, keep your forefinger and middle finger along the right side of the gun and your thumb along the left to help control where the muzzle is pointed, and strictly keep all parts of your gun hand off the grip safety. This is easily done by using the heel of your hand on the gun butt and your thumb on the back of the slide to push the gun into place firmly so a Kydex holster "clicks" as it should.
If the grip safety isn't depressed on a gun in proper working order, it cannot fire. This is the reason I didn't buy a Hellcat, although it would be ideal for me; I'd give up a couple of rounds of magazine capacity in order to get a thinner gun and the Hellcat quickly became known for "shootability", but I will not give up the grip safety when it's the only effective manual safety on the gun. Anything that intrudes into the trigger guard (like the officer's windbreaker jacket toggle in the infamous Youtube video) enough to depress the trigger during reholstering will also depress the "flipper" as well. The "flipper" is basically an additional drop safety, it offers little or no protection from an accidental trigger press.
The XD/M solves the reholstering safety problem if you learn a simple re-holstering technique - as you holster, keep your forefinger and middle finger along the right side of the gun and your thumb along the left to help control where the muzzle is pointed, and strictly keep all parts of your gun hand off the grip safety. This is easily done by using the heel of your hand on the gun butt and your thumb on the back of the slide to push the gun into place firmly so a Kydex holster "clicks" as it should.
If the grip safety isn't depressed on a gun in proper working order, it cannot fire. This is the reason I didn't buy a Hellcat, although it would be ideal for me; I'd give up a couple of rounds of magazine capacity in order to get a thinner gun and the Hellcat quickly became known for "shootability", but I will not give up the grip safety when it's the only effective manual safety on the gun. Anything that intrudes into the trigger guard (like the officer's windbreaker jacket toggle in the infamous Youtube video) enough to depress the trigger during reholstering will also depress the "flipper" as well. The "flipper" is basically an additional drop safety, it offers little or no protection from an accidental trigger press.
I tried to jump into the AIWB craze and couldn't do it comfortably so I went back to the 4:00 strong side carry I've been comfortable with for a long time. I've been converted though and AIWB is the only way I carry now. The right holster (one specifically made for appendix carry) and belt make all the difference, and of course your body type may dictate that AIWB just isn't right for you. The ability to draw in almost any position, especially in a vehicle, and the concealability of AIWB are good selling points too. I use a Nex ratcheting supreme appendix carry belt and Tier 1 Concealment rig and I'll probably never go back to the 4:00 position for concealed carry. As for the concern of shooting your junk off, I've been heavily taught to keep your booger hook off the bang switch since I was a kid and it was enforced even more while I was a Marine grunt, so my trigger discipline is pretty good. If I ever have to reholster while carrying appendix it is a deliberate, safe, and slow action. Normally the handgun and holster is put on and taken off as 1 piece.
jumpinjoe
Hellcat
I've tried the AIWB carry several times to no avail. I just can't seem to get it where it feels right. Now in all truth, I'm actually left handed so my carry is actually opposite of the actual AC. I don't think it's the side that matters though.
What I've found to work best for me with anything I've ever carried is my strong side, OWB, as far to the front as possible (actually pushed right up to the left front belt loop), with a forward cant of about 10-15 degrees. With either my Hellcat or my PF9 it fits really nice right up into my little bit of love handle and hardly ever prints even with a summer T-shirt.
Everytime I've moved it to anywhere behind my side, say like 7 or 8 oclock, or even to 9 oclock, and even with the cant, it will print pretty plainly with most any shirt except a long tailed casual or semi-dress shirt with the tail out. Not only does it seem to print but it also gets into the seat back in the truck or when sitting at a restaurant, etc, when any further back than 9 oclock.
What I've found to work best for me with anything I've ever carried is my strong side, OWB, as far to the front as possible (actually pushed right up to the left front belt loop), with a forward cant of about 10-15 degrees. With either my Hellcat or my PF9 it fits really nice right up into my little bit of love handle and hardly ever prints even with a summer T-shirt.
Everytime I've moved it to anywhere behind my side, say like 7 or 8 oclock, or even to 9 oclock, and even with the cant, it will print pretty plainly with most any shirt except a long tailed casual or semi-dress shirt with the tail out. Not only does it seem to print but it also gets into the seat back in the truck or when sitting at a restaurant, etc, when any further back than 9 oclock.