{"id":6902,"date":"2018-03-27T13:33:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T17:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/?p=6902"},"modified":"2021-07-30T11:23:23","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T15:23:23","slug":"can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We are often asked if there is any way that an appendix inside the waistband (AIWB) holster can work for the more generously proportioned gentleman who wishes to carry concealed. The short answer is &#8220;yes, it can!&#8221; In this video, we get some sage advice from holster maker and AIWB expert <a href=\"http:\/\/keepersconcealment.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spencer Keepers<\/a> to find out how. Or you can scroll down to read the full transcript.<\/p> <div class=\"entry-content-asset\"><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async><\/script><\/p> <noscript class=\"idle-load\"><div class=\"wistia_responsive_padding\" style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\"> <div class=\"wistia_responsive_wrapper\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;\"> <div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_j3qwced55r dnt=1 videoFoam=true\" style=\"height:100%;position:relative;width:100%\"> <div class=\"wistia_swatch\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;transition:opacity 200ms;width:100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/j3qwced55r\/swatch\" style=\"filter:blur(5px);height:100%;object-fit:contain;width:100%;\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" onload=\"this.parentNode.style.opacity=1;\" \/><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div><\/noscript> <\/div> <hr \/> <p>CHRIS: Two years ago, we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/carry-appendix-inside-waistband-aiwb\/\">published a video<\/a> about the basics of appendix carry. Since then, we\u2019ve received a ton of questions about some of the finer points of this method of concealed carry, so I thought it might be time to re-visit this topic.<\/p> <p>In case you\u2019re not familiar with the term appendix carry, also called AIWB, we\u2019re basically talking about carrying a concealed pistol inside the waistband at about the 1 o\u2019clock position for a right handed shooter, which happens to roughly coincide with the location of the appendix. People have carried pistols this way for as long as handguns have been in existence, but it\u2019s become a lot more popular in the last decade or so. Appendix carry is not for everybody, but I think it\u2019s got a lot of advantages and most of the perceived disadvantages can be mitigated with a little bit of education on the topic.<\/p> <p>Some of the more common questions we\u2019ve gotten about appendix carry have to do with whether it\u2019s a safe way to carry, or how to make it more comfortable and I will be covering those topics in the near future, but for today, I want to get into a question that I am actually completely unqualified to answer and that is how is it possible for bigger guys to pull off appendix carry?<\/p> <p>So for this one, I will defer to my friend Spencer Keepers, the foudner of Keeper\u2019s Concealment holster company and also one of the best shooters I personally know. I got to hang out with Spencer this past weekend at the 20th Anniversary Rangemaster Tactical Conference in Little Rock, Arkasas where he was presenting a lecture on appendix carry.<\/p> <p>SPENCER: How do bigger guys carry appendix? Well, you know, I&#8217;m a pretty big guy. I&#8217;ve lost a little bit of weight, but I&#8217;m still 6&#8217;2&#8243; and 300 pounds. Really, the way that works is, you need a holster that has enough length to put more gun below the beltline than above. What I&#8217;ve done is I&#8217;ve lengthened the bottom of the holster just a little bit and that allows more leverage below the beltline than above.<\/p><p><\/p> <p>CHRIS: What Spencer is talking about here is the tendency for your gut to push the butt of the gun away from your body. If the muzzle of the gun and the holster are too short, the gun is going to want to tip outward. That will make the outline of the gun more visible through your clothes, and it might also cause the muzzle end of the holster to dig into your body, which is really uncomfortable. I think this leads a lot of people to believe that their gun is too long for appendix carry, but counter-intuitively, a lot of times a longer holster will actually stabilize the gun which makes it more comfortable and will prevent it from tipping out like that.<\/p> <p>Another part of the solution that Spencer is a fan of is the foam wedge. And I really like these too, I use them on all of my holsters. He\u2019s got velcro here at the base of the holster where you can attach a wedge-shaped piece of foam. You can play around with different shapes and sizes until you figure out what works. The wedge pushes the muzzle away from the body, and tucks the grip in toward the body. And really, unless you have really baggy clothing or washboard abs and your stomach is completely flat, I think it\u2019s tough to pull off an appendix holster without some kind of wedge. If your holster doesn\u2019t have this feature, you can always add it using velcro tape from the hardware store and some of those the gel-based shoe inserts. A lot of people have had good luck with that.<\/p> <p>Besides the wedge and holster length, there are few other important factors Spencer mentioned.<\/p> <p>SPENCER: The other real key for big guys &#8212; really for appendix carry in general &#8212; is that I have an infinitely adjustable belt. Very small amounts of belt tension make a huge difference. So when you&#8217;re looking for a holster for anybody for appendix, you want to try to find one that has ride height and cant adjustment. And guys, we&#8217;re living in great times right now, there are a lot of good appendix holster manufacturers out there.<\/p> <p>CHRIS: Even though he\u2019s got his own holster company, Spencer recognizes that finding the right holster is a very individual decision and having multiple viable options is a good thing. A few other holster makers he suggests looking at are Dark Star Gear, JM Custom Kydex, and LAG Tactical, which are all companies I\u2019ve had good experiences with as well.<\/p> <p>Whether you\u2019re a big guy, or you\u2019re built more like I am, if you\u2019re going to try appendix carry, it\u2019s really important to get a holster from a company that understands appendix carry and how to do it comfortably and safely and in a way that allows the gun to be easily accessible. So make that choice carefully. Be on the lookout for more appendix carry info coming very soon and the next time you need ammo, be sure to get it from us at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\">LuckyGunner.com<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are often asked if there is any way that an appendix inside the waistband (AIWB) holster can work for &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[274,47,21,112,352,17],"class_list":["post-6902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toolbox","tag-aiwb","tag-concealed-carry","tag-handguns","tag-holsters","tag-keepers","tag-self-defense"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes? - Lucky Gunner Lounge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you&#039;re a big guy, can you still use appendix carry? We have some tips to help you carry appendix, even if with a little bit of a gut.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes? - Lucky Gunner Lounge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you&#039;re a big guy, can you still use appendix carry? We have some tips to help you carry appendix, even if with a little bit of a gut.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lucky Gunner Lounge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-27T17:33:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-30T15:23:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"944\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Baker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Baker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/\",\"name\":\"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes? - Lucky Gunner Lounge\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-27T17:33:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-30T15:23:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7\"},\"description\":\"If you're a big guy, can you still use appendix carry? We have some tips to help you carry appendix, even if with a little bit of a gut.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg\",\"width\":2160,\"height\":944},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/\",\"name\":\"Lucky Gunner Lounge\",\"description\":\"Reliable shooting advice for regular people.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7\",\"name\":\"Chris Baker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Baker\"},\"description\":\"Chris Baker joined the Lucky Gunner team in 2011 and, among other roles, serves as the editor of Lucky Gunner Lounge. Chris has a broad interest in all types of\u00a0shooting activities, but he's most passionate about firearms as tools for personal protection. Prior to working for Lucky Gunner full time, Chris taught basic handgun skills and concealed carry permit classes to a diverse range of clients in his home state of North Carolina. He is a Rangemaster-certified Shotgun and Advanced Handgun Instructor and NRA Handgun Instructor. His ongoing pursuit of knowledge in the shooting world has included over 500 hours of professional firearms and self-defense training from instructors like Ken Hackathorn, Tom Givens, Ernest Langdon, Craig Douglas, Gabe White, Darryl Bolke, Wayne Dobbs, Chuck Haggard, Claude Werner, John Hearne, Jim Higginbotham, Kyle DeFoor, and Randy Cain,\u00a0among others.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/author\/chris\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes? - Lucky Gunner Lounge","description":"If you're a big guy, can you still use appendix carry? We have some tips to help you carry appendix, even if with a little bit of a gut.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes? - Lucky Gunner Lounge","og_description":"If you're a big guy, can you still use appendix carry? We have some tips to help you carry appendix, even if with a little bit of a gut.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/","og_site_name":"Lucky Gunner Lounge","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris","article_published_time":"2018-03-27T17:33:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-30T15:23:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2160,"height":944,"url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chris Baker","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Baker","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/","name":"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes? - Lucky Gunner Lounge","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-27T17:33:59+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-30T15:23:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7"},"description":"If you're a big guy, can you still use appendix carry? We have some tips to help you carry appendix, even if with a little bit of a gut.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/aiwb-work-lounge.jpg","width":2160,"height":944},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/can-appendix-carry-work-big-dudes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/","name":"Lucky Gunner Lounge","description":"Reliable shooting advice for regular people.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7","name":"Chris Baker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg","caption":"Chris Baker"},"description":"Chris Baker joined the Lucky Gunner team in 2011 and, among other roles, serves as the editor of Lucky Gunner Lounge. Chris has a broad interest in all types of\u00a0shooting activities, but he's most passionate about firearms as tools for personal protection. Prior to working for Lucky Gunner full time, Chris taught basic handgun skills and concealed carry permit classes to a diverse range of clients in his home state of North Carolina. He is a Rangemaster-certified Shotgun and Advanced Handgun Instructor and NRA Handgun Instructor. His ongoing pursuit of knowledge in the shooting world has included over 500 hours of professional firearms and self-defense training from instructors like Ken Hackathorn, Tom Givens, Ernest Langdon, Craig Douglas, Gabe White, Darryl Bolke, Wayne Dobbs, Chuck Haggard, Claude Werner, John Hearne, Jim Higginbotham, Kyle DeFoor, and Randy Cain,\u00a0among others.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris"],"url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/author\/chris\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6902"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9669,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6902\/revisions\/9669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}