Find Your Fit: Where to carry and tips for carry positions

Ask anyone who carries a gun on a regular basis, and they will tell you they have “the box”.  What’s in the box you ask?  It’s the result of trial and error - purchasing and trying out holsters that you think will work for your given body type and mission, but end up missing the mark.  In this article we will cover the topic of “where” to put your pistol, but also the “why” and some “how” technique when it comes to the two main locations where people choose to carry a pistol, whether it’s for competition or for self-defense.  Previously we discussed holsters and the must have qualities of holsters, check that article out and make sure you are not compromising safety when deciding the where and how we discuss in this article. The two main body locations that people use to carry a pistol are carrying strong side and carrying appendix.

Strong Side Carry

Strong side carry means locating the pistol towards the shooter's strong side hip.  For example, if you are right handed, strong side means around or close to the right hip.  It is common to discuss the location by referencing the body as a clock, where your navel is 12 o’clock, your right hip would be 3 o’clock, your left hip would be 9 o’clock, and the small of your back is 6 o’clock.  Strong side carry is typically 2 o’clock to 4 o’clock for a right handed shooter, and conversely a left hand shooter's strong side would be considered 8 o’clock to 10 o’clock.

When carrying strong side, there are a couple of choices of what type of holster you would use depending upon your mission.  If you are a competitor, chances are you will be carrying outside the waistband, commonly referred to as “OWB”, meaning the holster is not concealed and many times the holster will be offset, as to not hug the body giving the shooter quick access for a fast draw.  Some competition holsters do not fully enclose the pistol, allowing the shooter to rotate the pistol quicker.  The type of competition and organization rules dictate what location and type of holster is allowed, so be sure to read up on any rules for the competition type you might be doing.

When concealed carrying a firearm on the strong side, generally you will be using a holster that is placed inside the waistband, commonly referred to as “IWB”, of the pants and only the grip of the gun is exposed when the cover garment is removed.  The holster stays concealed within the pants..  A strong side concealed holster typically is a bit wider, has a curve to match the hip curve and has multiple belt clips to secure the holster to the pants and belt.  When concealed carrying on the strong side it is important to find a holster that fits you well (comfortable), keeps the firearm from printing, and allows quick access.

When carrying strong side, there are considerations that need to be made for clothing choices.  Some people carry strong side and conceal with their shirt, while others use a vest or jacket to conceal.  A person who is doing this may decide to use a OWB holster that rides close to the body since a vest or jacket is much looser than a shirt.  Just remember, if you remove that coat or jacket, your firearm is no longer concealed!

Competitors will generally pick their holsters to achieve the fastest draw possible, but the holster is not the only concept that facilitates a speedy strong side draw.  Competitors will experiment with different techniques to quickly get the pistol out of the holster.  The two main techniques utilized by competitors for a fast draw are called the “snatch” draw and the “scoop” draw.  Let’s cover those two draw types.

Snatch Draw

A “snatch” draw is more prevalent, especially for someone just getting started in competition.  It means the shooter is quickly using a downward motion to get a full firing grip with their strong hand, ensuring their hand is high on the tang of the pistol, the thumb is around the back of the pistol and the fingers are fully engaged around the grip of the pistol, and the pistol is drawn upward out of the holster.

Scoop Draw

A “scoop” draw is adopted by many competitive shooters as it tends to be a bit faster, and in competition, every tenth of a second to a shooter is key for a fast stage time.  The scoop draw requires the shooter to only engage the strong hand fingers around the grip, and the thumb remains on the strong side of the pistol for the actual pulling up portion and then the thumb will be moved behind the pistol into its normal shooting grip position.  The firearm is pulled up at the same time the fingers are engaging the pistol, and there is no pushing down of the firearm like there is with the snatch draw

If you have a TitanX or an X10 Elite, using the Holster Draw Analysis drill would be a great way to determine if there is time savings between the snatch or the scoop draw for you.  Also, make sure to review the trace view and see whether either of them has a smoother trace, especially at the beginning of the draw.

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For concealed carriers, the snatch draw is recommended.  The scoop draw can be a challenge because the holster and grip of the gun is very close to the body.  This will result in the need for a full firing grip as the gun is drawn to prevent clothing or our body from knocking the pistol from our hand if using a scoop draw.

Appendix Carry

Appendix carry is where the holster and pistol are located generally near the belly button or between twelve o’clock and two o’clock for a strong right hand (near your appendix), or ten o’clock to twelve o’clock for a strong left hand shooter.

An appendix holster is generally narrower and may only have one belt clip to secure it in place.  Most appendix holsters will be made fully of  kydex resulting in a minimal footprint to facilitate less printing.  They might have multiple adjustment holes for the belt clip to adjust the cant and ride height so that you can ensure that you can get your fingers around the grip of the gun easily to build your master grip.  An appendix sidecar holster is an option that is wider to accommodate an extra magazine and you may find the wider holster with the sidecar conceals better.

There are other holster types like a belly band or the PHLster Enigma that divorce the holster from the waistband and belt completely, giving more range of attire that you can wear, just ensure that the trigger guard is completely covered by kydex.  Holstering a pistol into any cloth or stretchy holster without a solid kydex guard covering the trigger is unsafe and should not be considered.

Like strong side carry, there are some different techniques used to draw the pistol, specifically around how to reach for the gun, and the strong side thumb position during the draw.  It seems that you just reach for the gun, right?  Not necessarily.  There are 3 specific techniques that instructors talk about when reaching for the grip - the stab, the slap, and the circle.

The Stab

The stab draw is very similar to the snatch draw described earlier in this article.  It requires the shooter to approach the pistol from the top and aggressively push the strong hand down when grabbing the pistol and “bouncing” the gun out of the holster.

The Slap

The slap draw is where the shooter’s strong hand moves to the pistol from the front or strong side of the pistol, in essence slapping the pistol to engage the grip with the strong side fingers.

The Circle

The circle draw is a bit different where the hand approaches the grip with a circular motion and the hand appears to slide up the grip of the gun, almost a blend of the slap and the stab together.

Similar to investigating the snatch vs the scoop draw, utilize the Mantis technology, especially the Holster Draw Analysis drill to analyze whether the stab, slap or the circle draw from appendix work best for you.

When drawing from concealment, whether appendix or not, you need to obtain a full firing grip with your strong side fingers on the pistol before the pistol is removed from the holster.  The question you need to determine is if you are going to place your thumb in its firing position between the pistol and your abdomen, or utilize what is called the “claw” grip.

With the claw grip, instead of placing the strong side thumb on the support side of the pistol immediately upon the grip building to draw, the thumb is placed on the back of the pistol, or to the support corner of the pistol while pulling the pistol upwards.  Then once the pistol is fully out of the holster and the support hand grip is building, the strong side thumb drops down to its normal shooting position.

The Big Debate - Appendix vs Strong Side

Let’s address the elephant in the room.  Is appendix carry better than strong side for a concealed carrier?  The answer…it depends.  Some people, especially men, feel like appendix carry is not for them and tend to carry strong side.  Some people say they feel “unsafe” or the gun is pointing at their body all the time in the appendix position.  

In regards to the safety rule that says “ALWAYS Keep The Gun Pointed In A Safe Direction”.  Regardless if it’s strong side or appendix, if your holster meets the must have qualities we discussed in our last article, then a holster is considered safe storage of a pistol, even if it is loaded.  A holstered pistol is “not pointed”.  The time where safety is paramount, and most people tend to shoot themselves, is the re-holstering process.  It is imperative, regardless of carry location, that you put the pistol into the holster safely.  This may be easier for you carrying appendix, or it may be easier for the strong side, it really depends on your body.

Another argument for strong side carry is abdomen size.  Having a larger belly doesn’t necessarily mean the pistol may print more up front vs strong side.  This has been addressed by many reputable people online via YouTube.  One great resource for understanding what location might be best for you and your body type is the PHLster Concealment Education webpage.  It provides lots of educational materials and videos to help you find what placement works best for you.

Why might appendix carry be more favorable?  Where are your hands most of the time?  Our hands tend to be doing something near our mid-line or our belly button.  This will generally facilitate a faster draw time as the arms and hands have a shorter distance to travel to reach and present the gun.  This is not saying that strong side draw can’t be fast, it can, but it does require more movement to obtain the gun from a strong side holster.  Here is another great use of either the Mantis X10 Elite or the TitanX to run the Holster Draw Analysis drill and do some comparisons.

 

A common misconception is that carrying appendix prints more, but in reality, appendix carry allows for great concealment.  When carrying strong side, the grip of the pistol tends to print when the person bends over or rotates because it is near the hip, where there is less body that the pistol is up against.  That being said, appendix carry might take some location adjustment to be comfortable to bend over, sit and squat and not have the gun poking into you.

Other Less Common Locations

Obviously, there are more locations that a pistol can be carried in.  Off body carry is more popular with women than men due to women’s purses, but there are sling bags and fanny packs that are specifically made to conceal carry a pistol  If you choose to carry off body, the purse or pack must have a specific compartment with a holster that only contains the pistol, preferably a holster that covers the trigger guard with kydex.  

There are two big pitfalls to off body carry, namely speed of the draw if your hand is not on the grip of the pistol in the pocket, but most of all the risk of either misplacing or forgetting the bag or pack when it is removed from the body.  Carrying off your body requires the utmost care in ensuring that the purse or bag does not get into the hands of an unauthorized person, whether that’s the criminal ripping it off of you, or a small child being curious digging into a purse.  An off-body purse or pack must never leave the body, especially in public places, including using the restroom or putting a purse in a cart.

You might hear of someone carrying a small pistol on their ankle, but think about the speed and attention it would take to draw a pistol from an ankle holster, as well as how much the size of the ankle would dictate the size of the firearm that can be carried there.  Generally a pistol that is carried on the ankle is not the primary carry gun, it is usually a backup gun (BUG).

One location that needs to be discussed is carrying a pistol at 6 o’clock or commonly referred to as small of the back.  The back is the furthest place from where your hands will be, requiring more time to draw the gun.  While drawing most people will end up flagging themselves or other people during the drawing process.  There’s also a large risk of damaging your vertebrae or kidneys if you were to fall backwards and land on your pistol.  Finally, contrary to belief, the small of the back tends to print even more than carrying appendix or strong side especially while bending over, the shirt tends to get tight and the firearm prints.

How Do I Figure It Out?

Be curious and investigate thoroughly.  Utilize web resources, especially the PHLster Concealment Education page to help determine the where and how of carrying a pistol.  Then, maybe see an instructor or borrow from others to try holster types in different locations.  Once you find your where, use your phone and take video or pictures of yourself or use a mirror to see what your concealed carry setup looks like to a third person, because your view of how the gun looks on your body is misleading.  

Use the Holster Draw Analysis drill for the common locations and draw options and look at the data to see if speed or efficiency is compromised at all.  The decision you make of where you carry and how you draw is highly personal and purely yours, and may change as you evolve in your shooting journey.