Appendix Carry: Day 1

I’ve been experimenting with appendix carry (aiwb) for a few weeks while walking the dog, or around the house, but until today I’d never carried aiwb out of the neighborhood.

The Gear:

The pistol carried, was a Gen3 Glock 19 that has been my main concealed carry pistol for several years. It’s basically stock, except for a set of Ameriglo GL-433 night sights, and a very slight undercut of the trigger guard. Today the pistol was loaded with 15+1rds of Federal HST 124gr +P ammo.

I spent a little time in the garage making a fairly deep riding aiwb holster that would allow the pistol to sit nice and low. It’s a simple taco design with a built in clip. Nothing fancy, but it holds the pistol securely, and in the correct position.

My Belt was the Two Fools Leather Goods Fat Boy Belt, which is phenomenal. It’s been my EDC belt for nearly a year, and I couldn’t be happier with it. I did have to rotate the buckle of the belt over to the 11:00 position in order to make room for the holster clip up front, no big deal.

How it Went:

I woke up at the crack of noon (it was my day off, don’t judge), and strapped on the belt and holster. walking around the house, taking the dog out, and making breakfast, I had no issues. Very comfortable, and easy to wear. One thing I noticed was that keeping the pistol up front creates a small void next to the holster that I believe would be a great place to add a small magazine carrier like the one that attaches to the G-Code Incog holster. With that in mind, I decided to head out and run some errands.

When I plopped down in the car, I found quickly that I needed to make some seat adjustments in order keep the pistol from digging into my belly too much. Not a big deal, but I wish I had thought of it before I sat down…

On the drive into town, I noticed that the holster was a little longer than the pistol required, and the extra kydex was digging into my leg a little bit. Once in town, I found that having the pistol up front helped my belt to sit on my hips more than usual, and kept from from having to adjust my pants as much as I do with my other IWB holsters, this was a pretty big win.

Concealing the pistol was a breeze. With just an undershirt and a button-up the pistol disappeared completely. With these same clothes, I begin to print pretty good when I carry on my hip.

When I got home, I immediately went to the garage, and with a utility knife, trimmed the bottom 1/4″ of extra kydex off of the muzzle end of the holster. A quick bump with some 600 grit sandpaper and all was well. I couldn’t believe what a difference 1/4″ made, but it really helped in the comfort department.

Thoughts Going Forward:

I’m not a 100% convert. At least not yet. While the pistol stayed in place, and was easy to conceal, there are two other things that I need to address before I jump completely on the appendix carry bandwagon:

1. Comfort. I believe that comfort will come with time. I’m losing weight, and 30lbs ago, I wasn’t even able to sit down with the pistol in the same appendix holster that I used today. While sitting was possible, I had to make adjustments to my car seat, or slouch in my chair a little to get relatively comfortable.
2. Holsters. I mentioned above that the holster I made is fairly deep riding. This helps to tuck the pistol closer into my body making it easier to conceal. The trouble is that I’m not able to get a full firing grip on the pistol while it’s in the holster. I do also have a Blade-Tech UCH holster that sits a bit higher, but it has it’s own issues.

Both of these problems will probably remedy themselves if I keep losing weight, which is the plan. I also believe that it will be easier with a smaller pistol, so I’m patiently waiting for the Springfield XDS 9mm to arrive at my FFL so I can put it through it’s paces, and add it to my concealed carry rotation.