A few years ago at the pistol match held in conjunction with Tom and Lynn Givens’ Rangemaster Tactical Conference, I was midway through the final shoot-off and had beaten all my opponents…until I came up against Spencer Keepers. After the start signal, my pistol was just coming up on target when I heard Spencer fire. The dude smoked me.
I had been drawing from behind the hip using an open-front vest concealment, while Spencer was carrying at the appendix beneath a closed-front shirt. No question, appendix is faster when you have both hands free, one to clear the gun and the other to access it.
Spencer makes holsters, specializing in appendix carry, and no one makes better appendix holsters. You’ll find a link to Spencer’s shop in this article about him along with a link to one of my own articles on the pros and cons of this popular but controversial method of carrying a concealed handgun.
Young guys should consider. I am 76 and have about 100,000 reps of drawing from 3 o’clock. I won’t live long enough to make it worthwhile to switch. Also are training venues as hostile to appendix carry as they used to be.
Richard,
Give it a try. I have found it is a naturally fast draw. I don’t know why, but the first time I tried it, I was plenty fast. I think it is natural for our hands to be in front of us. Problem is, when I sit down, the poke in the leg is uncomfortable, so I still carry at 3:30. I really want to appendix carry, but it will require a holster that rides high.
The thing I really like about appendix carry is that I know it is fast when I am standing, and I think it is still plenty fast when I am sitting, which is most of the time. Imagine how you will need to get to your gun during a carjacking.
Question: what’s “the pedestal position” for your heels?
With that out of the way, one of the basic safety rules is to not point your gun at anything you wouldn’t want to destroy. Appendix carry seems to violate this principle. Especially when seated. Locally a man managed to sever his femoral artery by an accidental gunshot and bled to death in front of his kids. This involved a Glock in a pocket-multiple bad things there-but the basic idea is pretty much the same.
There was an article in a famous magazine where the author made the point that the gun in the holster is safe. OK, but getting it in and out of the holster involves the user. Even assuming consummate skill, if the adrenaline shakes are upon you post incident, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to try to holster the gun. You don’t want to be standing there holding it when LLEA arrives. There’s also the thing of possibly needing 2 hands to clear the gun. You might need the other hand for something else. Maybe if you’re not playing a gun game, you can use the thumb of the gun hand to lift the shirt, but it’ll be slower. But: you have to practice that way.
If I carry a pistol with an optic, it pretty much has to go in front of my support side hip. But, I need an open shirt/jacket to conceal it. However, if it somehow fires where it’s positioned OWB, the worst I’m going to get is maybe a crease wound and some powder burns. Pretty much the same as in the typical gun side carry.
I guess if someone is supremely skilled and willing to accept the risks, it might work for them. I can’t endorse it for numerous reasons stated in the article.