Big guy, carry position options.

Heya y'all!

So I have a Springfield XDS I'm trying to carry. I have an Alien Gear IWB Cloak Tuck 2.0 but I'm finding where the Internet tells me is the 'ideal position' (4 o'clock or so, right before my back pocket) is just uncomfortable for me. I had a rotator injury this year that I rehabbed from but I'm finding reaching back that far just isn't working for me. By the same token, 3 o'clock over the hip feels like it may be uncomfortable.

I do have a good belt! (Hanks belt, the Amish ones, the CCW belt) But I'm wondering, for a big ol' boy with a gut, is appendix carry even an option? I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest. Should I just move it around on the hip until I find something that works, or give up and just pocket carry with a good pocket holster?

Well, I am also a large mammal, and I've found appendix carry to be just downright uncomfortable. The shorter the barrel, the more the comfort, but I've found nothing anywhere near acceptable for me with appendix carry.

I know it's all the rage right now, but I can't stand it, and I'm not ok with where the gun is pointing when I re-holster in appendix carry (especially since it appears that the most likely time for a negiligent discharge tends to be during re-holstering).

One thought would be to alter the cant of the holster if you're moving it forward of the 4:00 position. The more forward the holster goes (e.g., 3:30, 3:00, 2:30, etc.), the less cant you should have...at least if your shoulder is giving you issues. When I say "less cant", I mean less tilt so that the grip moves more towards being horizontal instead of being tilted upwards.

I've found that if I have a lot of cant in a holster and move it forward of 4:00, then my shoulder has to bend more to get a firing grip on the gun. So less cant might help with your shoulder issue.

The downside to reducing the cant on your holster is that the grip might print more through a cover garment, but since you're working with an XDS, I'd be surprised if there was any printing even if the cant was totally level.

I'd make pocket carry a last option, at least for a primary firearm.

Sounds good. Thanks!

The other option I was thinking that I'm also leery about was canting the firearm on the left-front, say around 11 o'clock, angled for a cross-body draw. But there there's all kinds of sweeping issues too there.

Well, if it works better for you, I'd consider cross-draw.

I've messed around with it myself, and there are some advantages, especially if a lot of your time is spent sitting. I think cross-draw can be a little quicker in some circumstances, and a little easier to clear from under a cover garment.

There are ways to draw from a cross-draw where you're not necessarily sweeping everything within a 180 degree arc in front of you.

It's not for me, but if that's the only option other than pocket carry I would take a serious look at it.

Beta, how do you like the Alien Gear? I read a couple of intrawebz warriors getting all moist over that holster. The neoprene backing does seem to make sense.

I actually dig it a lot. I see a lot of Internet bashing on the quality but I think that's the case of a small company getting huge business in a short period of time and QA slips anytime you try to ramp up production like that. I think by now they have it squared away.

I checked mine and there was no cracking of the Kydex, no scuff marks, the neoprene was uniform and stitched well, and so on. The neoprene is mega comfortable and the shell is great. All in all I think it's great quality to be honest.

You can grab an Allen wrench and just customize the heck out of it - drop it down way low on your belt, up high, cant it at whatever degree you want and there's four or five bolts that can control how the Kydex itself grips the weapon. Mine had a tiny bit of play around the trigger guard that I wasn't comfortable with so I fiddled with it until it was nice and super snug.

Better yet it's like half the price of anything else and for a few bucks I can get a shell for my 1911 or anything else and just swap it out on the carrier!

Now the downside - I ordered Sep 23 and it shipped Nov 5. So you're looking at a good ramp time to actually getting the sucker.

Now we can talk mag carriers, IWB options are mega expensive. Listening to the Gun Dudes did hip me to the Mag Holder though and I have one of those, it's pretty awesome - horizontal mag carrier along your belt line.

Charlie Foxtrot wrote:Beta, how do you like the Alien Gear? I read a couple of intrawebz warriors getting all moist over that holster. The neoprene backing does seem to make sense.  

Kathy Jackson and the Hod are very high on the SnagMag holder. It carries the mag vertically like a clip knife in the weak hand pocket. After playing with it, that's the way I think I'm going.

I have one of those on my holiday wish list, along with a SHTF Gear Horizontal Magazine Carrier, Gen 2
(another horizontal belt carry mag holder) and a Tucker and Byrd IWB Single Mag Pouch (IWM, Texas leather crafter.) to try out.