i've been trying appendix carry for a few weeks...

Not exactly directed as a response to this, but to keep on theme: I don't understand claws. Yes, they do seem to push the grip side inward, thus mitigating some printing on that end, but the net result is the slide end pushing out instead. Equal and opposite reaction. Can't push the handle in AND the slide end unless the claw were to somehow bend the pistol. Maybe I'm too skinny for a claw to work properly and need to hit that creatine.
If I understand correctly the claw works with the wedge, so it pulls the handle in while the wedge helps keep the slide from printing.

PHLster had a great series of video's on what wedges do and also how claws help. Not everyone needs either but they can help. I don't have any of their holsters but knew they had a lot of information.

I have to keep the pistol below my "tactical shelf" the wedge keeps the slide/top in while the claw brings the grip in a well.
 
Not exactly directed as a response to this, but to keep on theme: I don't understand claws. Yes, they do seem to push the grip side inward, thus mitigating some printing on that end, but the net result is the slide end pushing out instead. Equal and opposite reaction. Can't push the handle in AND the slide end unless the claw were to somehow bend the pistol. Maybe I'm too skinny for a claw to work properly and need to hit that creatine.
I doubt you're meaningfully skinnier than me.

The goal of the claw is to lay the entire pistol as flat as possible against your body. Obviously, every body is different, so some pistols will fit better against some bodies. Without the claw, the pistol is often tangent to the body, with the butt sticking out. With the claw it's basically chordant.
 
With most holsters the belt clip ends up being the pivot point, usually at the barrel/slide and not on the grip end of things. The slide is never really going to be able to rotate out and print unless you have some crazy cant setup, but the grip definitely can, and when the grip does it’s more pronounced because of how far away from the pivot point it is.
 
I doubt you're meaningfully skinnier than me.

The goal of the claw is to lay the entire pistol as flat as possible against your body. Obviously, every body is different, so some pistols will fit better against some bodies. Without the claw, the pistol is often tangent to the body, with the butt sticking out. With the claw it's basically chordant.
I guess that's the problem. It doesn't do this with me. It makes the holster lopsided favoring the grip end close to the body, but as a result, pulls the slide end away from my body. So I get printing on the other end. I've had to remove them from my holsters to get it to lie flat.
 
I guess that's the problem. It doesn't do this with me. It makes the holster lopsided favoring the grip end close to the body, but as a result, pulls the slide end away from my body. So I get printing on the other end. I've had to remove them from my holsters to get it to lie flat.
Interesting.
What belt are you using?
Where on your body is it?

I could see that happening if you're closer to your sides, where your body is rounder.
 
You guys are comfortable appendix pointing your chambered striker fired pew pews at your family legacy? I would carry in such a place something hammer fired only like a 642 that has a Olympic weight factory trigger. Or an exposed hammer DA/SA gun like the HK P30 stuff or FNH FNX, something you could keep your thumb on the hammer as you stuff it in for that warm fuzzy feeling. Even with the best kydex holsters, the odds of your nuts getting blasted isn't 0%.
 
You guys are comfortable appendix pointing your chambered striker fired pew pews at your family legacy? I would carry in such a place something hammer fired only like a 642 that has a Olympic weight factory trigger. Or an exposed hammer DA/SA gun like the HK P30 stuff or FNH FNX, something you could keep your thumb on the hammer as you stuff it in for that warm fuzzy feeling. Even with the best kydex holsters, the odds of your nuts getting blasted isn't 0%.
My ancestors are Irish, polish, jews, and more. My family legacy is the butt of all jokes. Even if it "went off," it would probably miss.

Seriously though, like I've said every time you've asked this, do what's right for you. I have no concern carrying a modern, striker pistol in a modern holster, following simple safety protocols.
 
You guys are comfortable appendix pointing your chambered striker fired pew pews at your family legacy?

Absolutely, if I were afraid of a negligent discharge from my CCW I wouldn't be carrying it.

I would carry in such a place something hammer fired only like a 642 that has a Olympic weight factory trigger. Or an exposed hammer DA/SA gun like the HK P30 stuff or FNH FNX, something you could keep your thumb on the hammer as you stuff it in for that warm fuzzy feeling. Even with the best kydex holsters, the odds of your nuts getting blasted isn't 0%.
Or, you know, take the holster off to re-holster. This isn't a race, you don't have to blindly stuff a gun in your pants and risk shooting your foot off because you look cool.
 
You guys are comfortable appendix pointing your chambered striker fired pew pews at your family legacy? I would carry in such a place something hammer fired only like a 642 that has a Olympic weight factory trigger. Or an exposed hammer DA/SA gun like the HK P30 stuff or FNH FNX, something you could keep your thumb on the hammer as you stuff it in for that warm fuzzy feeling. Even with the best kydex holsters, the odds of your nuts getting blasted isn't 0%.
A good quality Stryker fired gun is just as safe as an SA/DA or a revolver. I don't know understand why the Stryker with 3 redundant safety mechanisms makes one more uncomfortable. To make the boom you have to pull the trigger. The gun shouldn't be coming out of the holster unless you need it to defend yourself. If you aren't you shouldn't be exposing the trigger outside the holster, take the holster and gun off then remove the gun from the holster in a safe manner.
 
I can't do it.
Yeah print way less but hard to sit
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I can carry at 4 and forget I am carrying. Print a little more but at this point I don't care much about printing since no one notices anyways
 
There is a procedure for holstering appendix. Fully lift shirt, push your hips forward a little, look straight into the holster as you carefully push gun in.

If you do it correctly the barrel should never be pointed at any part of your body.

IMO it is much easier to muzzle yourself at 3-6oclock. Once properly holstered it’s not going off.

Get a good holster, and play around with wings/wedges until you get it right.

If you’ve got a bit of fat you may need to run the holster as low as it will go, but if you get it under the “fat line” it will conceal really well. Avoid pointy beaver tails if you’re a bit round.
 
Try a Tenicore velo 4.it seems to be the most comfortable aiwb setup I have tried.If it doesn’t work you can send it back so your holster drawer doesn’t get any fuller
 
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Just got this in the mail the other day. Keepers concealment cornerstone for g17, I'm using it for my 19 because I like having a little extra length to help prevent the top from rolling out. If it came in a 34 length I would have got that. I like the split discreet carry clips, I can straddle a belt loop if needed and their the lowest profile clips as far as printing goes. They're a bitch to put on and off but once they're on they aren't coming off on accident. One thing that could be a pro or con depending on preference is there is no wing claw. It's molded into the holster. It does a good job of pulling the grip into the body, it's not to aggressive wich is nice but there's no way to custom fit it. Over all I'm happy with it and will keep it, it's a really nice holster. I still think the JM custom wing claw 2.0 is my favorite AIWB holster, plus JM customs pistol select is tough to beat.

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This is the JM custom wing claw 2.0. The clips being so far apart helps reduce printing, the center of the gun is going to be the thickest part. After many experiments with wedges I've settled on using a piece of mousepad instead. It adds some comfort but doesn't give any hotspots or pressure points that I found I got with wedges. The nice thing about his wing claw is if you look there's a screw so you can remove the part that hits the belt and leave the bracket in place and still get some inward rotation of the grip if you're getting too much with the tab installed. On smaller single stack guns I've found this to be helpful.
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If we're getting into specific gear, I'm a big fan of the Vedder Light Tuck.

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Do you have a picture of the other side of this holster? I’m looking for some thing that’s more flat some of the recesses for the slide release stick into me so bad that I can barely carry most of the Kydex holsters I have.
 
Do you have a picture of the other side of this holster? I’m looking for some thing that’s more flat some of the recesses for the slide release stick into me so bad that I can barely carry most of the Kydex holsters I have.
Look at my post above, velcro top to bottom and use a mouse pad. None of these kydex holsters are going to be flat on the body side, they all mold around the contours of the gun.
 
Do you have a picture of the other side of this holster? I’m looking for some thing that’s more flat some of the recesses for the slide release stick into me so bad that I can barely carry most of the Kydex holsters I have.
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and i don't hate it. some might remember i had to move the position of my holstered pistol from 5 to 3 o'clock on the right side because of a back issue. the holster was creeping towards the front anyway so wtf, lets try it. i've read all the pros and cons that usually get posted when someone mentions appendix carry, the big one being "you'll shoot your nuts off", that sort of stuff.

i'm a big guy, very big some might say. never thought i'd be able to pull it off but you don't know until you try. you know, i like it. i have no interference with any activity. my two main concerns were sitting, would it poke into my thigh, and while driving, would i be able to move my foot/leg to the brake quickly without it interfering with that movement. don't know why that was a concern but it was. so yeah, it's working for me, very comfortable, out of the way really, and i think the position conceals better under a tee shirt. and being in front like that, it seems to be a better and natural position for my hand to go to when i draw. i won't lie, i do get a little nervous right now when i take it off my belt. fiddling with the belt clip to get it off...suddenly, becoming a eunuch is a concern and not on my agenda.

i'll see what happens in the next few weeks, if i continue to keep it there. i know it's no big thing but it is a topic that only has 2 distinct opinions, either pro or con with no middle ground. i'm a big fan of not switching things up with my carry gun. same gun for 10 years, and a there's been a gun at the 5 o' clock since forever until recently. muscle memory on something important like this is key i feel. same position, same gun feel when i go for it. that all changes when you change something...gun, holster, positioning, it all matters. so i best get to the range and work with it for a while.
So after a few weeks how has your set up been working for you? I was playing around with some different size wedges for one of my holsters and remembered this thread.
 
Here’s my wedge jobs. Both work.

The white wedges I had to superglue after a while. They’ve sorta warped themselves into the right shape over time.

I like having velcro a bit better, but either way works.

I need to get a T1C holster for the sig. Expensive though.
 

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Here’s my wedge jobs. Both work.

The white wedges I had to superglue after a while. They’ve sorta warped themselves into the right shape over time.

I like having velcro a bit better, but either way works.

I need to get a T1C holster for the sig. Expensive though.
Nice, one thing I've learned over time is that I've had the best results using a large wedge and then trimming it down so it's thinner and rounded on the body side. I like sticking with the Velcro instead of super glue so I can make a few different wedges to see which one works better. all my appendix holsters have the Velcro loop, not hook attached to them. With some guns I skip the wedge and just go with one or two layers of a mouse pad. Sometimes a wedge is just a bit too much. That's the awesome thing about dedicated AIWB holsters, you can really custom tailor them to fit your body if you want.
 
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