The typical person appendix carrying is also a law-abiding and licensed concealed carrier, rather than someone looking to skirt the law of the land. Last year, we know at least one woman was killed because she chose to carry her gun in her purse. Getting it in and out of that position can under certain circumstances…same with any holster. I agree with Frank Sharpe in general. I might have a few extra pounds around the midsection, so I’d always assumed … You may have heard that holstering a gun in your waistband (also known as appendix carry, or AIWB) can be a bad idea. There is no more danger with appendix carrying versus any other position. Is appendix carry (AIWB) dangerous for concealed carry (CCW)? I said that he should consider some apparently hitherto unconsidered factors. Never. As we go about the normal tasks that make up our daily schedule, our hands tend to be located closer to the front of our body. The other big criticism of appendix carry is that it’s inherently unsafe because there’s no way to re-holster the gun without pointing it at yourself. No different than your loaded pistol sitting on the passenger seat of you car, in a case, pointed at you. It works especially well when the covering garment is a t-shirt, sweatshirt or buttoned shirt that is worn with the shirttail out. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to this method. your femoral artery, groin, knee, foot, etc. This carry manner is named due to the gun being worn in the front of the waistband, which on the right side is close to the appendix. [For the record, 9 out of 10 times I’ve got the semi-auto at 3 o’clock … so overall I’m still okay w/ my odds on this, given my consideration and strict focus]. Reference a comment left by Frank Sharpe on our recent story about the Appendix carrier who suffered a negligent discharge and bled out. We rehearse dealing with arriving officers in our courses. On the other hand, sometimes we make adjustments and solve problems in order to reap the benefits of the activity. by Sheriff Jim Wilson - Here are some of the more important factors to consider before stuffing your pistol into a holster in the front of your waistband. Appendix carry violates one of the primary rules: Don’t point the muzzle of a loaded firearm at anything you don’t want to shoot (destroy) – e.g. Good luck and stay safe by practicing safely every time there’s a gun around you. I haven’t banned it, but I strongly encourage new students NOT start there. A professional trainer can help you learn to protect yourself in a safe and efficient manner, and help you decide which defensive handgun and method of carry is best for you. Rotate the damn holster to the side. Appendix carry is nothing new although it has become a current topic among those who carry concealed. Contrary to what you see in movies and on television, frontiersmen did not wear their cartridge belts and holsters when they came to town. When the cops come after a defensive shooting and I’m under effects of body alarm re-action? I don’t have an answer, just throwing it out there. Drawing from the small of the back involves a longer arm motion, as well as tucking the hand behind the back. I appreciate the thought about crowd situations, but where I live – if I’ve popped somebody it’s pretty unlikely I’m going to be standing in the middle of a hostile/unpredictable crowd when the cops arrive. If Small of Back Carry Is This Problematic, What Are The Alternatives? Still coming down on side of convenience and comfort for quick trips when I’m “not carrying a real gun”, but I totally understand and respect your position on this. But I don’t think he’s being realistic. I think the gist of what he’s saying is that it’s better to not have a (probably) fatal or near fatal consequence to a ND, as opposed to the normal risks associated with a ND for those of us who don’t AIWB. .” The fact that I disagree with your choices doesn’t mean I’m against your making them. Thankfully, most ND’s don’t rupture a major artery or there would be a lot fewer gun owners out there. It does require the utmost level of attention, consideration, and proper training. Should You Get Involved When a Stranger is Attacked? But we are pretty damn thorough in the time we have with our students, and an attempt is made to work through such issues, if in no other way than giving the students pause to think about each choice they make and what the ramifications of those choices are. To appendix carry, place your holster and gun in the front of the waistband. E-mail your comments/questions about this site to:NRAFamilyInsights@nrahq.orgYou can contact the NRA via phone at: NRA Member Programs1-800-672-3888, To advertise on NRA Family, visit nramediakit.com for more information, Privacy Policy   •   Contact Us   •   Warnings   •   FAQs   •  © 2021 National Rifle Association of America, Women On Target® Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. Hammer Women Of Distinction Award, Women's Wildlife Management / Conservation Scholarship, National Youth Shooting Sports Ambassadors, NRA Outstanding Achievement Youth Award Presented by Brownells, National Youth Shooting Sports Cooperative Program, Our Top 10 Most Stylish Concealed-Carry Purses, How To Choose a Concealed-Carry Pistol Instructor, 4 Best Concealed Carry Positions: Pros Vs. Cons. Geez. The simply act of having the pistol holstered in that position does not violate any of the 4 rules. I don’t want to shoot myself at all, and I especially don’t want to clip an artery, so, I chose a holster that can only go on my body when it has been pre-installed on my pistol. I’ve “solved” the problem in my life by employing a VanGuard II holster. Revolvers, single action or double action, will not easily fire when your finger, or the holster, comes in contact with the trigger. It’s obviously not convenient to practice 100 drawstrokes with out on the range, but for daily carry it might actually be “safer” than normal IWB/open top holster carry anywhere else on the waist. And, in the case of many striker-fired autos (the Glock, S&W M&P and the Springfield XD, to name a few) the safety trigger can very easily be manipulated, either by the trigger finger, the holster or shirt. However, it’s a small price to pay considering a real possibility of having a very bad. Frank Sharpe on August 25, 2015 at 8:52 am, Indirect Action on August 25, 2015 at 5:42 pm, Frank Sharpe on August 25, 2015 at 9:06 pm, Indirect Action on August 25, 2015 at 10:25 pm, Frank Sharpe on August 26, 2015 at 6:45 am, Frank Sharpe on August 26, 2015 at 9:12 pm, Frank Sharpe on August 26, 2015 at 7:09 pm, Frank Sharpe on August 26, 2015 at 8:43 pm, Frank Sharpe on August 30, 2015 at 10:10 am. On-body re-holstering has only ever been done for holsters at 3 or 4 o’clock. Although I’m risking the AIWB still, I applaud everybody here for highlighting the risks and dangers so people can make educated decisions. This entry was posted on August 25, 2015 at 3:35 pm and is filed under Blog. “Safe Appendix Carry” is clearly an option.Only you can decide if this method is a good choice for you, but you should be sure to approach the question with logic and rational thinking, with a clear understanding of the concepts and techniques involved. Holsterless carry is dangerous, and should … It is up to each of us to be properly informed and educated. That would technically be gall bladder carry, but one digresses. Because of its more central positioning, there is less travel time for both hands. BravoBelt Belly Band Holster (Soft Belt) Price: Under $30. I never said he shouldn’t do it (although I don’t). Typically, the “blue guns” are used as a training tool by firearms instructors. We’re all students – so keep thinking and keep learning! The person who simply buys a handgun and straps it on is just asking for trouble. I strongly suggest to start out using a ‘Blue safety gun’ because they’re extremely close to weight, balance and detail with the model of the gun you already own. That isn’t limited to AIWB: Holstering a pistol is universally dangerous if you’re careless. If you screw up your holstering, there’s a good chance you’ll die. And, with the striker-fired gun, you'd better be sure that nothing comes in contact with that trigger. I’d suggest that if those shooting themselves in the ass were doing so with expanding hollow points, we might be seeing a higher number of fatalities/severe damage, as expanding and fragmenting bullets will take turns and experience odd penetration patterns when they contact meat and bone. Keeping my “muscle memory” pure on this is a safeguard against getting confused under stress. My $0.02 on AIWB carry of my snub-nosed revolver, in a holster (reserved for those short local trips when I don’t feel like carrying a gun): As John mentioned, some of us defend the practice by NEVER re-holstering on-body. No more than he will if you own a gun and don’t store, handle, operate, train with, and clean the correct way EVERY time. But, let’s look at what we know – we may be able to find one (maybe two, but this was the first one I’d heard of) death attributed to the femoral being clipped during an apex re-holster this year. Well, that’s only true if you do it wrong. your femoral artery, groin, knee, foot, etc. Truth be told, most people who wear an IWB holster anywhere on their waist point the muzzle at a small portion of their hip or ass when they re-holster. Proper technique requires that the finger not enter the triggerguard during the draw until the muzzle is pointed downrange (another one of the absolutes of gun safety), and violation of this rule is what causes people to shoot themselves. At Incognito Concealment, we’re confident we have the right holster for you. Tulster has a wide range of products with different features. One statistic that I’ve never seen compiled is the type of ammo most people shoot themselves with when they experience a negligent discharge. That being said, I waiver on the fence with this method of carry when used with an inside the waistband holster. In the first place, you won’t do it unless you’ve practiced it. It is only to point out that every handgun design has its own manual of arms. That sort of an ND is definitely life threatening. A large percentage of unintentional self-inflicted gunshot wounds seem to happen when someone is inserting a gun into the holster. Concealed carry in general — no matter how you’re carrying — is inherently dangerous if its done incorrectly. Appendix carry is also a natural position for carry for the same reasons, as is cross-draw appendix carry. Speaking of concealment, for most shooters with the most common body types you can get away with concealing a far larger pistol, and do so more comfortably, carrying AIWB in a proper holster than you can in other positions wearing even light attire. Appendix carry, when performed with the right holster and a trained hand, is perfectly safe, and that includes your Glock 19 handgun. This argument should have been over ages ago. With your brand new AIWB holster, before you put your gun in the holster put the safety gun in. . Appendix carry, in and of itself, is no more dangerous than any other carry technique when one is properly trained and armed with a handgun that lends itself to this method. Appendix carry is where you place a holster and gun in the front of the waistband. “JC” covered my main objection to the “I always take the holster out, reholster the gun, then reinsert the holster”, which is that you’re not going to do that after you’ve shot someone, when your hands are shaking and you’re trying to get the gun out of sight before the responding officers mistakenly shoot you. Appendix carry just has higher stakes … And if that weren’t true, there wouldn’t be all those accidents where people shoot themselves in the ass, leg, or calf working from standard holster positions, e.g. As far as the adrenalin/excitement factor with the police arriving, set the pistol on the ground, the car hood, or drop it and step on it. With practice, one quickly learns to use the support hand to clear away the covering garment during the draw stroke. Appendix carry is often maligned. This will accelerate to becoming acclimated with your holster while you draw and re-holster it. Appendix carry means either (a) I have a big chunk of metal under my seatbelt which concentrates force into a smaller area and can be bad, or (b) I have to move my lap belt off my hips where it's designed to ride, which is also bad. How about we be adults and take responsibility for our actions? One of the advantages of appendix carry is that it can provide for a very fast pistol presentation, assuming that one has practiced sufficiently. And the thigh injury is just as potentially deadly as the apex ND, but we just don’t have very good stats on any of that. For this reason, I only use appendix carry with certain handguns, namely revolvers. Of course there are many other manufacturers out there so hit the Internet. Instead, they just shoved their old sixgun into their waistband in front of their hip bone and covered it with their coat. So right off the bat when discussing appendix carry, we have to get this out there: a mistake when carrying AIWB can have dangerous consequences. I have. I carry one gun appendix in this manner. It takes a lot of attention and technique to avoid that. Appendix carry violates one of the primary rules: Don’t point the muzzle of a loaded firearm at anything you don’t want to shoot (destroy) – e.g. This argument should have been over ages ago. With that said, as an instructor I feel compelled to offer a bit of advice. If the trigger guard of a pistol is covered, it’s considered cased. Tex Grebner. Negligent discharges are real and is appendix carry right for you? I'm sure it can be done, but you'd really have to work at it and, in the case of the SA revolver, you would have to be reholstering with the hammer cocked – a move that no one in their right mind should consider. I’m not saying any of those accidents are acceptable, I’m just wondering at what point we might be over emphasizing a risk factor…. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Ever. There are potential problems in life with everything we do – some reach a risk/reward tipping point that results in us choosing not to engage in that activity. The police are going to disarm you and confiscate your gun anyway. Holstering a Loaded Gun Is Dangerous. You want look for anything that will develops into a BAD habit. And thanks for the tip – I will add “place it on the deck” and step on it to my dry fire / blue gun practice sessions! And a lot of that depends upon what you are carrying and what your level of training is. This can happen with any form of belt carry, but there is a perception that the risk is greater with appendix carry because the muzzle comes close to your femoral artery and some of your most valued body parts. Appendix carry is one of the most amicable positions to a one-handed draw, even from concealment. The most common position is half way between the distance from the hip bone and waistband button. Darwin will watch over you if you use appendix carry. That said, the modern practice called “appendix carry” differs from that of “toting a belly gun.” Today, appendix carry is done with a holster instead of merely inserting a pistol into the waistband. But, … Guns.com asked each holster maker their opinions on whether this mode of carry was a dangerous or risky option. The best thing is still to reholster the gun, and AIWB makes reholstering, in my opinion, a very dangerous proposition. Rather then carrying a gun on the side or in the back. Then start carrying as you would with a real gun, and in your house at all times continue for at least a couple of weeks. Judging from his reply, he saw my point. In this video I discuss why the appendix carry is dangerous, what can go wrong, when a negligent or accidental discharge is most likely to occur, and some easy tips to ensure you never have an accident. The reason why some believe that appendix carry is dangerous is mostly due to where the pistol is located, rather than any inherent danger. So far I haven’t had a student not take my advice in their first class with us. The most serious disadvantage of appendix carry occurs when one has a negligent discharge while drawing or reholstering. We’re not perfect, nor will we ever be. The gun goes in the holster, then the whole assembly clips into place. 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