Carry - The ''O'Clock'' choice

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Yo Chris...Happy Birthday!!!!!!

I favor rear pocket carry most of the time...However when carrying an OWb it tends to be at 4o'clock...

SOB rigs are messes waiting to happen...Some love them, some love to hate them..I just cant get into them..



A thread about holster's and not ONE cheap plug from everyone's favorite holster maker/horror movie fiend!!...I must be watching the Spongebob Squarepants movie to much with my 3 yearold :what:
 
9 o'clock for the same reason. I notice the butt of the gun sticks out more when I have it at 8 o'clock.

In case your wondering, I am left eye dominant, right handed and shoot left handed. :confused:
 
I carry a snub nose with a Hume high ride with a forward cant and a thumb break. I like about 2:45 to be picky about it. Just forward of 3 o clock and it tucks right up and dissappears. I have carried an N frame in the same position but I have to use a wind breaker or fairly baggy jacket to hide it right.

I picked up an English special forces shoulder rig real cheap a few years ago. It is for a High Power. The holster sits vertically under my left arm, it has a spring built into it to secure the pistol. It is real comfortable but I could never get it to ride properly until I went across my chest with one side of the retaining strap. That brings on another problem of hiding the strap.

IWB was something that I could never get the hang of. I just don't have the build for it.

A good belt brings out the best in the holster designers work.
 
P95Carry
I know it's a bit late, but, happy birthday. Better late than never, huh.

Anyway, I carry a Steyr S series IWB at 4 O'clock or OWB at about 3:30. I have bought most of my pants a little two big so that stuffing a gun in my waistband help to hold them up. I had my Highnoon Hidden Alley modified with a FBI cant so that the grip rides along my side instead of sticking out. For the most part I find that IWB comfortable enough. I trade off a lot more concealability for a little less comfort of the OWB. I go OWB when my gut has grow/pants have shunk and/or the shirt I have put on will cover it sufficiently.

I have tried , but it just is not comfortable, but if I'm going to be out walking, mowing the grass, riding my bike ect... I will carry 6 O'clock in a belly band type holster.
 
Pax, have you found that barrel length is critical for appendix carry? I know I have. The Mak or the 3" M-65 are the largest guns I can carry in that position. Anything longer and the barrel just gets in the way.
 
Between 3:30 and 4:00 usually in either a IWB or OWB. Sometimes with my Kahr PM9 I have moved it to 1:30 - 2:00 it is short enough not to dig in too bad.
 
trebor ~

A short barrel probably is critical with appendix carry, but frankly I've never actually tried to carry anything longer than my Glock 26 in that spot. The other guns I use are just range guns, and working from the holster with them means OWB at 3 o'clock.

pax
 
Pax...

While we don't share the same shape(or gender for that matter), my S&W6906 rides in the same spot as your glock. I'm 6' and 225lbs. currently and it seems to disappear with just jeans and a semi-baggy t-shirt. It isn't the most comfortable spot, but I can get to it quickly, nobody knows its there, and I don't have to check to see if it's there. It does require adjusting when I get in the car but I don't think people notice.


Bill
 
I always wonder (and accepting your chosen habit of years) how that far round behaves when driving and sitting
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I’ve actually found that farther around back works better when driving. 3 o’clock tends to get tangled with the seat belt buckle. My build may have something to do with it, I have a long torso with relatively short arms and a fanny big enough that when it is all the way back in the seat there is still a bit of a hollow at the small of the back.
 
I find 3:30 and about 5:00 to be most comfortable for me. Easier to conceal for me at about 5:00 but the draw is a little slower. For sitting 3:30 is more comfortable but the lump at 5:00 is easy for me to get used to.
 
I started out carrying at 4:00, but about a year ago I shifted to 3:00 and I discovered several things;

  • 3:00 conceals better (especially if you bend over and when seated on a bench or backless chair)
  • 3:00 allows me access to my gun while driving.
  • when the wind blows my gun is less likely to be uncovered because my arm is at my side
  • After some timing and experimenting I find that I can draw faster from 3:00 then 4:00, and my drawstroke is more "correct" (more like what you learn in shooting school)
  • along that vein, drawing and shooting from a retention position is much more natural when drawing from 3:00 (less tendency to swing out and around as you draw)
  • people are less likely to bump into my gun a 3:00


But this is a classic YMMV thing ... and everyone's body is shaped differently so I'm sure some of you will find that 4:00 or 9:00/crossdraw works better for you.
 
I've already Sent my sentiments to Bonnie being married to a really old guy now. :neener:

IWB - hey if Smoke can post 3:45 - I can post 3:57 right? Has a nice ring to it don't you think? :p

Now gonna get fussed at. I have to Improvise, Adapt and Overcome MY particular needs and circles where I travel. NOT a good idea to have only a holster on person when the gun is safely secured - got it? ;)

Now just a few hours ago two folks were shot in their vehicle at an area I often travel. Where I am now, I hear shots all the time. So car access is important. I mean just getting to and fro I watch and take certain routes.

Inside my tucked shirt about 2:30 so I can access my 'niche' gun with my right/strong hand. Crossdraw if you will. NO I don't like it, not my favorite CCW method. I am able to unbutton my oxford shirt while in the vehicle for faster access.

Ya'll didn't read that - right? ;)
 
I used my car seat as a way to tell how far forward of 4:00 I need to carry. It varies depending on what gun I am carrying. I often carry IWB but I am finding it more and more uncomfortable as I get fatter. If I lost a few pounds around the middle, it would creat the hollow areas in my back and sides that are better for gun carry. Damm them Chinese Buffets!

For car carry, cross draw is best but if you have a seat belt on, you are better off keeping the gun out of the holster or in a shoulder holster. Pocket carry in a car is probably the worst of all. If I am driving through a bad part of town, I often stick the gun under the right side of my right leg.

To be honest, I am finding that I am carrying a gun on my person less and less. My job is such that it is impossible and ill advised to carry a gun on me. I also don't feel the need to have a gun at work. On personal time, my S&W 642 is almost always in my glove box. If I am going somewhere even slightly dangerous, I either put it in my coat pocket without a holster or I use my clip on IWB holster. I would say that I carry a gun on my person about 5-10% of the time I am out. If you include glove box carry as CCW (as the law does), then I carry about 25% of the time since I am in my car alot.
 
IWB 4:00. 3:00 pinches when sitting. Sparks Summer Special and Kramer IWB's. I had to carry in a shoulder holster for about 6 months about 15 years ago and it never felt comfortable. I also buy pants that are 2" larger in the waist because of the IWB carrying habit. You will know that I'm unarmed if you see me holding my pants up....
 
If it's OWB, 3 oclock is comfiest and most easily accessable for me. IWB, 4:00 fits just about right. I'd prefer 3, but it just doesn't conceal well that way, so I sacrafice a little comfort forr good concealability.


-James
 
Thanks for further responses.

James I think there is certainly a correlation here when comparing IWB and OWB. Does seem that 4 is very popular for IWB and of course I guess that's logical re the pressure on iliac crest of pelvis.

With OWB the pressure there is hardly an issue, plus as others have noted as well as me - here we have a good position for elbow ''presence check'' and also shirt/wind problem control. I find too the slight pressure of grips under lower rib a good reminder of presence.
 
As a maker of leather gun hide'n thingys I can say most people I talk to that have done this for a while prefer the same thing........especially with Med to Large S'Auto's. 3-3.30 OWB and 3.30-4.00 IWB.

The cant and rd ht. should allow you to draw the gun naturally and smoothly and not put the gun too low or high.

I fit the same criteria as most of your other replies thus far. OWB 3.30 IWB 4.00...............

Shoot well............OH Ya, Happy Birthday................:D
 
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