Triangle Tactical Podcast and Blog on Guns, Gear, and Competition Shooting
A couple months ago I posted about my first day of carrying appendix, and since then I’ve been carrying this way more and more.
I started out with my Glock 19, but since the Springfield XDs 9mm arrived, it has become my primary carry gun, and it rides in the appendix position much better than the Glock 19 ever did (smaller, thinner, all that.)
Since starting this experiment just a couple months ago I’ve accumulated a bunch of holsters: some with more cant, some with none, and some at different ride heights. I ordered a G-code Incog holster for the XDs 9mm, which should be arriving in the next couple of days, look for a full review of it in the coming months.
I’ve found that the deeper the pistol rides, the more the grip is pushed into my side making the pistol easier to conceal. The downside of a lower riding pistol is that I’m not able to get a full firing grip on it until it is somewhat out of the holster. This is no good for me as I prefer to get a full firing grip on a pistol while it is in the holster, so I’m still trying to get just the right amount of cant with just the right ride height. Getting the grip to tuck in tightly to my body has been somewhat of a crux for me. I’ve spent a bunch of time in the garage playing around with different things, and I’ve come up with a design that incorporates a wing into the holster that tucks the pistol tight into my side.
Safety:
Appendix carry has some inherent risks over other methods of carry, most importantly when carrying in this position there are times when the holstered pistol is pointing at parts of your body that you really don’t want to lose. I’m very cognizant of this, and I’m still not comfortable with it, but in order to make it “more safe” I’ve made a personal rule to never holster a hot pistol into a holster that is already in my pants. The pistol gets holstered, then the entire holster and pistol gets inserted and threaded onto my belt as one unit.
I’m not convinced that appendix carry is 100% for me yet, but it does offer some advantages over behind the hip carry, while bringing other things to consider into the mix as well. I’m going to give it some more time before I decide if it’s totally for me.
The G-code stuff is very well made! Looking forward to the Incog review as I was think about one myself. Did you get a magazine pouch to go with it? I have seen the incog and single magazine pouch connected together to make one nice little package.
I skipped on the mag pouch, it was more that I was willing to spend on a holster that I’ve never held in my hands. If I like the holster, I’ll order the mag pouch down the road.
You may want to look @ keepers Concealment. I havent got one but folks like his AIWB holsters. Here is a link to a thread on PF: http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?4022-The-Keeper-New-Favorite-AIWB-Holster/page7
Very interesting. I’ve made similar, but nothing with the wedge. I’ve got to look into that, thanks.
So, I had a good look at these, and when you really look at all the features they are incredible. I wish he had a website so I had an idea what prices are…
Lucas,
I appendix carry a P238. I recently attended Kathy Jackson’s Self Defense Training course. She is Cornered Cat at http://www.corneredcat.com. She taught me the safe way to holster my gun while in appendix carry.
The way you do it if you are a right handed shooter is to step the right leg back. With your left hand, raise your shirt and lean your upper body back. This creates an angle for the muzzle to point into the ground. Then just holster your weapon with index finger away from the gun and your thumb on the slide or hammer.
Hope that helps you to feel more comfortable with it.
Thanks Maria, that looks like a good strategy. I’ll give it some practice.