Monday, June 29, 2015

Thoughts on appendix carry


Recently there was a bruhaha when Larry Vickers and Mike Pannone banned AIWB carry from their open classes(public classes). This came after some incidents and it was probably not the only two cases involving the AIWB carry.

The major problem with the AIWB is that in case of a mistake, bullets can travel through important areas, much more than the traditional belt carry. Your penile region is located nearby, and femoral artery is not that far away. Compared to that, traditional carry at 3 o'clock has less chance of hitting vital areas.

The pros of carrying AIWB are,
- excellent placement for fast draw
- good concealment

Cons are.
- not the best for several body types
- bigger injury in case of negligent discharge

There are ways to mitigate some issues regarding comfort and it involves some experiment with holster and its placement. If the AIWB method works well for you then it should not be discouraged, provided you are capable of not hurting yourself.

However, there are some differences one should consider before getting indignant about  AWIB ban in classes. In traning classes, a shooter will holster multiple times during the tranining. In case someone uses their CCW, they will most likely holster once or only a few times.

As number of repetition increases, complacency sips in. It is the instructor's job to make sure students are safely handling guns. But it is also(if not more) important that the student is aware of his action. Unfortunately, chances of Mr. Darwin visiting increases with repetition.

Appendix carry has been around for a long time. It is not something that came out of thin air. However, considering there were a lot more of side carry instead of appendix carry, one has to wonder why.