I Love Appendix Carry, But You Have to do it Right
Jon Stokes 06.06.18
A video that’s circulating in gun circles has stirred up the appendix carry debate again. The video is in the top of this TTAG post in which the article rails against AIWB (appendix inside waistband) carry.
You should definitely watch the video, not that you’ll really learn anything new, but it does serve as a useful reminder that no matter how ‘operator’ you are, and how much you do things by the book, at some point, when you least expect it, Mr. Murphy is gonna have his way with you.
Read the editorial, too, because it’s as good a case as you’ll find against re-holstering a striker-fired gun in an AIWB holster.
Note how I qualified that: Re-holstering a striker-fired gun.
I carry AIWB, and in a minimalist trigger guard holster, no less. But I do two important things to mitigate what would otherwise be an unacceptable amount of increased risk.
First, I only carry DA/SA guns this way, specifically SIGs. That hammer digs up into my gut, and while it’s not pleasant I have gotten used to it. That feeling of the hammer also gives me an added element of safety, because the trigger is not going to creep back without the hammer moving right up into my stomach, so I’ll feel it when it starts to creep.
Second, I never re-holster the gun with the holster still in my pants. I pull the holster out, put the gun in it (pointed in a safe direction), and then put the holstered weapon inside my waistband.
For my body type, AIWB offers by far the best concealment. I can comfortably and totally conceal a SIG P229 with an extended mag in a t-shirt and jeans. It’s great, and it doesn’t mess with my back when I’m sitting down.
But I’m not going to carry a striker-fired gun this way, and I’m also never going to re-holster any gun in a way that involves pointing it at my body while I’m inserting it into the holster.
AIWB is a great carry style if you take care to be safe about it. Sure, Mr. Murphy is gonna get to me, eventually, but he’ll have to pick another route than a 9mm pill to the groin.
