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In close to 3 years of carrying always and not usually telling, I've left it at home on accident twice now. Both times have been using a hybrid leather/kydex setup from Theis Holsters (no particular blame is prescribed to Mr. Theis here, although I think the inherent design of the hybrid style was a small contributing factor). The first time was with my LC9 and was 2 1/2 years ago - I left it at home, but even after adjusting my holster a couple of times, didn't realize it until that evening as I went to secure it before going into my daughter's school. I had that moment of panic thinking maybe I had left it somewhere during the day - I called my wife and had her check the safe and sure enough it was there. I decided then that I wasn't going to let that happen again. Apart from the obvious 'discount double check' routine, I'm also sure that anytime I adjust my holster (much less frequent now than in the early days thanks in large part to a 'real' belt) I feel for the barrel or end of the frame. If I can't feel anything in the bottom gap between the kydex and leather then I have a problem.

These days I've been carrying an M&P9c and the other day I left without it. The thing I did better this time around is that I noticed it was missing once I arrived at my first appointment for the day. The dumb thing I did was I did a spot check in the mirror before I had left to check for bulges. As I leaned over a bit I remember thinking 'wow this shirt really hides it well'. I was off my routine in several ways that morning and just didn't holster up, but I should have noticed something was awry given that the shirt I was wearing was an untucked solid light colored golfing-type polo that if you're paying attention, the notchy rear sights poke out a bit. That and there's a big difference in weight between the invisible and real versions of my 9c. After that first appointment, I sucked it up and drove all the way home to get it. I was late for my next appointment, but I didn't feel like trying to guess right that day.

Lesson learned - I need to go back to robot-mode and check every bit of my load-out 2 or 3 times over before rolling out of the driveway in the mornings. The End.

My pistols (almost) never leave the holster. If I put the holster on, the gun accompanies it. It is a lil difficult to try to manage getting the holster in the right spot & latched up first thing in the morning, but I can typically do it w/o issue. The problem arises later in the day when I'm paying a visit to the WC, but now I've got wallet, phone, knife, etc in the pockets weighing down the pants. It's a tad bit more difficult then. Not impossible mind you, but noticeable. In the morning, I don't have all that stuff loaded up yet as per my routine.

That's what I like about appendix carry: I always know it's there. I'm with spolct in that the gun never leaves the holster unless I'm locking it up or attaching it to my under-desk gun magnet. In those cases, I have a MIC holster (kydex trigger cover) that goes on it. The PHLster Skeleton holster I have is a tad uncomfortable without my Glock 19 accompanying it. That, and I use the grip of my gun to get it into position before I snap the belt loop. So I guess the point I'm trying to make here is more people should try appendix carry because of the many benefits.

I've done this too. I have a crossbreed and it's almost impossible to tell the difference between having the gun in the holster or not. Hybrids are great, uber comfortable holsters but I guess this is just an inherant weakness. I'm still trying to develop that failproof check to prevent leaving home without it.

mr1337 wrote:That's what I like about appendix carry: I always know it's there. I'm with spolct in that the gun never leaves the holster unless I'm locking it up or attaching it to my under-desk gun magnet. In those cases, I have a MIC holster (kydex trigger cover) that goes on it. The PHLster Skeleton holster I have is a tad uncomfortable without my Glock 19 accompanying it. That, and I use the grip of my gun to get it into position before I snap the belt loop. So I guess the point I'm trying to make here is more people should try appendix carry because of the many benefits.

I'm trying to picture how that would work for me. I am a little, ahem, portly (though I am working on it) and I have a hard time imagining appendix carry without a nagging and constant nudge in the gut. I carry typically at 3-3:30 in a Crossbreed without issue.

Any thoughts on how appendix carry works on those of us that generously shade our belts?

mr1337 wrote:That's what I like about appendix carry: I always know it's there. I'm with spolct in that the gun never leaves the holster unless I'm locking it up or attaching it to my under-desk gun magnet. In those cases, I have a MIC holster (kydex trigger cover) that goes on it. The PHLster Skeleton holster I have is a tad uncomfortable without my Glock 19 accompanying it. That, and I use the grip of my gun to get it into position before I snap the belt loop. So I guess the point I'm trying to make here is more people should try appendix carry because of the many benefits.

Not too long ago, I hadn't given appendix carry much thought other than to dismiss it as a bad idea for most of the same reasons we've all heard. I've come around on it recently and have tried it with marginal success. I think that there are definite advantages and that it can be done comfortably, but I haven't found that sweet spot yet. I have a galco sof-tuk for my LC9 and M&P 9c, and it works fairly well but I find that my extra 15-20 pounds push the grip out enough that it kinda destroys the concealment factor in most of the shirts I currently wear. If I tucked my shirt in on a regular basis I think it would help but I haven't tucked for at least 10 years - I would have to replace (add to) my current black WT Instructor belt. Another option would be to bury it a bit deeper in the waistline, but that makes getting a solid grip tough given the extra belt material in that area. Long story short: AWIB isn't off the table entirely, but I'm a ways away from making it an EDC deal.