First a little background:
I've had my little PM9 for a while now and it's been great as a pocket gun with the homemade pocket holster I made for it. The problem is I carry so much stuff in my pockets that sometimes the bug can't go with me and I just stick with my primary. Then a couple weeks ago I went to Florida for a family vacation and decided to bring my wife's snub nose .38 special. It's adorned with Barami Hip Grips so that it can simply be slid into the waistline sans holster. This was my first extended session of appendix carry with any firearm and it wasn't as intolerable as it would seem.
The ease at simply stuffing the gun in my waistband at the easily accessible 1:00-2:00 o'clock position and heading out without worrying about tucking or the gun sliding down my pants all without having to wear a belt was a revelation. In Florida my attire was always ultra casual with a t-shirt and shorts which is ideal for "stuff & go", but at home about 94.8% of the time I'm in pants with a tucked in shirt. The hip grips aren't tuckable and besides the snub stays with the wife. That leaves me with my PM9 and an idea.
About Appendix Carry:
Appendix carry isn't nearly as widely used as strong side carry for a number of reasons. First, it requires a gun with a very short barrel and grip, both as thin as possible. In front of your hip, if your gun has too long a barrel it'll jab your leg like crazy when you sit down. Trust me, it's not fun. Some guns that could work are: Kahr's subcompacts, any of Kel-tec's line, the Walther PPS, Taurus' subcompacts, J-frame sized snubs, and probably any 3" 1911. Some folks can get away using double stack subcompacts like the Glock 26, but they're significantly thicker. Second, not everyone's body type will work with a gun in that position. This is not to say that you can't have a gut if you want to appendix carry, but if it's spilling over your belt then it definitely won't be comfortable. Lastly, there is the common fear (mostly among men) that appendix carry places the weapon dangerously close to the family jewels. My belief is that with the right weapon, holster and proper training (ie muzzle control, finger placement, etc.) appendix carry is no more dangerous than any other form of carry.
The pros to appendix carry are significant. You have quick easy access with optional access with your weak hand if necessary. It takes less shoulder articulation to draw from your centerline than from past the 3 o'clock position strong side. It is also much easier to draw while seated from this position when driving. If for some reason your strong hand has become disabled you can still reach your firearm with your weak hand. For concealed carry purposes, you have constant awareness of your gun's concealment. It's much easier to lessen the chance of being "made" because of inadvertent exposure with the gun directly in front of you than to your side or behind you. If being able to tuck in your shirt is a requirement than that always adds an additional layer difficulty to quickly accessing and drawing. The solution is simple; practice, practice, practice.
My Homemade Appendix Holster:
A few months back I bought a few sheets of kydex to play with. I'd seen a couple tutorials online showing how easy it was to form it and I thought I'd try my hand at it. At the time I had a Kel-tec P3AT and tried making a holster for it. My attempt was mildly successful in that it could hold the gun and protect the trigger when worn, but it was very rough and totally uncomfortable. I sold that gun and tossed the holster in a box. My next pocket gun purchase was my PM9 and when I thought about trying out appendix carry I dug out that first kydex try and realizing that there might be enough kydex there to reform it around the PM9 I figured why not try.
Kydex is cool stuff and short of cutting it into shreds it gives you multiple tries to reshape it however you want. I wanted the kydex to cover fairly high on both sides of the slide, not only as a sweat shield against my skin, but also to ease reholstering. Many other kydex designs like to trim it low on the belt side and if the whole holster is worn low on the waist sometimes the pants or belt will slightly cover the holster opening. My Crossbreed can do that at times as you'll see in the video below. I also used a separate clip so that a shirt can be tucked over the gun. You might recognize the clip, it's actually scavenged from a Comp-Tac CTAC holster that came with the PM9 from the previous owner. It's a 1.25" clip which works great since it almost completely hides behind my 1.5" belt. The extra holes drilled into it are from experimenting with different clips & attachments at different times. The design is kind of a cross between the Comp-Tac's 2 O'clock and the Ehud Appendix Carry Holster. With a gun as light as the PM9 there's no worries about the single clip attachment being sufficient to support the weight. I've worn this holster in workout shorts and as long as I tighten the drawstring I haven't had any problems with the holster pulling out on the draw. Having a single attachment point in this position also helps in that the gun has a little bit of leeway to rotate when sitting down or twisting which helps in the comfort department.Speaking about comfort, which is probably at the top of the list of desirable traits, this holster ranks a solid 7.5 out of 10. I rounded off all the edges I could, but because kydex is so stiff it can still poke at times. Unlike my Crossbreed which can at many times be forgotten when being worn, you can always remember you're wearing this holster. That's really not a bad thing, but it could be more comfortable. I could see a leather version having more give, except it could never be as thin as kydex and unless it had a reinforced mouth (more thickness) it would quickly collapse after the draw.
As you can see in these pictures concealment is quite good. Even from the side because of the tucked in shirt and small size of the gun there's no discernible bulge. At times the bottom part of the clip may peek under the belt, but it's not very noticeable and easily overlooked (you can see it in the video below).
Below I included a short video showing both this holster and my Crossbreed SuperTuck in use. Appendix carry is good way to carry your primary or even your bug. Give it a try.
2 comments:
Dude! You need some sponsorship from manufacturers. You are like an everyday Joe Shmoe, like the rest of us. I find your insight very similar to me and the rest of my friends. I think you are hitting a BIG target market. Most gun reviews are old, old, old as dirt, backwoods hill billies. Not you. I bet you work with a computer every day....like the rest of us!
Bravo. Keep up the good work and keep posting in the forums, even if it is a cut and paste. Put your blog link in your forum signature line. This will draw more traffic to your sight. (That’s how I found it.)
Appendix carry has always been controversial; I think this is because people keep getting shot by their own guns when attempting to re-holster. Just the other day a man was showing off his semi-auto pistol and upon re-holstering the trigger caught on the holster, or shirt, they are not sure which, and shot the man in his femoral artery. The man bled out in minutes and died before they could perform surgery.
My personal opinion regarding appendix carry is that it makes me very uncomfortable; not because of the firearm or holster poking me, but because anytime a loaded and cocked firearm, even if it is mine, is pointed at my groin area I am very uncomfortable. You see at any time anything can go wrong. That is just the way life is. We can practice safety meticulously every day, but there always comes a time when we become lax and that is when accidents happen. So even though I am now past thinking about child bearing I still find myself quite attached to my body parts, especially that area.
I will stick to hip carry in the 5 o’clock area I.W.B. That way if I have an accidental discharge it isn’t as likely to hit me but go straight into the ground. So realistically how often are you going to have to “Quick Draw” your weapon? Likely as not never so putting yourself at risk of shooting yourself accidentally just makes no sense to me. Just sayin’.
Appendix Carry Kydex Holster
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