Appendix carry help

[bearcreek]

Holster suggestions?

https://www.anrkydexholsters.com

 

[bearcreek]

If you want to continue to be paranoid about how well you're concealing a handgun, my suggestion is looking at how you're training to draw a concealed handgun and whether you're more concerned about concealment (while painfully concealing your pistol) or what's actually gonna work should you ever need to employ your concealed carry handgun.

How much time have you spent training with AIWB?

 

[zdc1775]

I was always concerned with the comfort carrying so put off even trying appendix carry for over a decade, when I first tried it last year I quickly realized that it could be comfortable and was in fact the most comfortable way for me to carry, especially while driving or riding a motorcycle, as long as the holster either had a few specific parts or I added them myself. Here's what I did to make it work for me.

First, I bought a neutral cant adjustable ride height holster for the longer barreled version of the handgun I carried, I eventually replaced the handgun (Springfield Hellcat) with the larger version (Hellcat Pro) as well, placed it slightly to right of 12 o'clock, and adjusted the height to the point that the entire grip was about 1/2" above the belt line. Next I added a concealment claw and a foam wedge. Finally, I found that wearing my belt slightly looser and pulling my pants/belt up when sitting or bending solved 99% the issue of the holster digging into my pelvic joint.

This worked well enough with the "cheap" holster that I decided to spend the money on a Tier 1 Concealed Agis Elite and then added the wedge to that holster. This, in turn, worked so well with the Hellcat Pro that I even bought the same setup for my Sig 320 X-Carry with TLR 7. For the T1C's I set up the clips in the "Bravo" configuration.

I will also second the recommendation to watch the Phlster youtube videos for guidance on how to make this more comfortable for you.

ETA: I will also note that my concealed carry draw times decreased significantly, from ~1.9-2.1 seconds to ~1.4-1.6 seconds, when I switched from iwb at 4 o'clock to AIWB, but that depends on how much you have practiced your actual drawstroke.

 

[bassjam]

I have seen a couple of holster manufacturers point out that you do not need a longer gun, just a longer holster. They recommend getting the holster for the full length version of you r gun, even though the gun is compact length. You get te esame benefit when wearing it for carry.

Makes sense, although at that point why not just carry the longer barrel for better sight radius/velocity?

 

[21H40]

I keep mine low with the belt line as much as possible. There is pressure when sitting from the back of the slide and my extra gut, but no pressure on the bones or legs.



In the picture it looks like there's more overlapping the pistol because I was twisted, but I've found this decently comfortable and functional. This is a full size Glock 20. I do have to adjust when sitting in the car a little, but the barrel points away from my body while seated.

The holster is a $14.99 belt slide cheapo from WalMart. I got it as a short term option while I looked for something better, but it has worked pretty well and lasted over a year at this point.

 

[Old Dog]

How much time have you spent training with AIWB?

Personally? Not much. I understand the perceived advantages of AIWB, but have hundreds of hours training with strongside IWB. My comment was directed at the OP, recommending he may want to look at what his goal for AIWB is (i.e., better concealment over comfort vs. functionality) in response to this comment he made:.

I’ve been playing with appendix Carry, and it conceals much much better in that position, but dang does it suck sitting or bending over to pick something up off the floor. The muzzle end of the slide feels like it’s digging into my pelvic area something awful, even with a smith and Wesson shield.