shield20 ~
I've carried in the appendix position for over five years now, in an IWB rig. The number of days I've gone unarmed I can count on one hand. The number of people who have "made" me I can count on one finger (that was my mom, hugging me unexpectedly around the waist). Cross-draw and appendix are nearly identical in how concealed the gun is, so all I can say is that from my experience this is a very concealable method of carry.
Of course, I wear women's clothes rather than guy's clothes, but I think most people would acknowledge that women's clothing is generally more problematic for concealment.
(Thinner materials, tighter fits, and guys look at a woman's overall shape whereas few people notice a guy's overall shape.)
Depending on the weather, I conceal my firearm with zippered fleece vests, or loose buttoned vests, or pullover sweaters, or cardigans, or pullover sweatshirts, or zippered sweatshirts, or untucked loose tee shirts, or untucked camp shirts, or tight tank tops under loose overshirts. Sometimes I use my holster's tuckable feature, and wear a loose but tucked-in blouse or tee shirt -- sometimes with an open vest, sometimes without.
Some methods of concealment are slower than others, of course. But from most of the untucked options, my draw for an A-zone hit at 7 yards is consistently better than 1.8 seconds, measured by an electronic timer. From the tucked options, it varies from there up to 2.5 seconds. Again, these are consistent times, not some occasional fluke time I got once. I'm not even sure what my best-time-ever from concealment was. They are mostly two-hand draws.
One hand draws are slower but not impossible with any of the options I use. One hand weak hand draws are slower but not impossible with any of the options I use.
This is what I do to draw from appendix carry. Most of this should be applicable to cross-draw provided you don't get left/right mixed up.
To draw while wearing a zippered vest or jacket, I simply yank the zipper down with my left hand and then fling the cover back with my right. For a pullover, I grab the loose material over the gun with my left hand and pull it up while drawing with my right. Of course, you can always treat a zippered or buttoned garment the same as a pullover -- provided the material is cooperative. I've tested just about everything I wear.
For one hand draws, I have two options. Option one is to pull up the material with my right hand until it is near my armpit, slam my elbow down to hold it in place, and then draw the gun while keeping my elbow as close to my side as possible. This sounds slow but is surprisingly fast. The other option is simply to snake my hand in, draw, and then snake the drawn gun back out the same way my hand went it. This is slower but sneakier, and I think the sneakiness might be a good thing sometime.
Weak hand draws are similar. If I have a zipper and it is only halfway up, I can draw by reaching in behind it without disturbing my outer clothing. Or I can pull the zipper down and then draw. With a pullover, I can pull the material up with my left hand, again pinning it under my right elbow, then draw with my left hand. Or I can snake my left hand into position, get a complete grip on the gun, and snake the gun back out again.
Buttoned shirts or vests I simply treat as if they are pullovers. But in extremis, I can simply yank them open hard and let the buttons fall where they may.
Carrying in front of the hip isn't for everyone. But it is definitely a viable technique.
pax
I've carried in the appendix position for over five years now, in an IWB rig. The number of days I've gone unarmed I can count on one hand. The number of people who have "made" me I can count on one finger (that was my mom, hugging me unexpectedly around the waist). Cross-draw and appendix are nearly identical in how concealed the gun is, so all I can say is that from my experience this is a very concealable method of carry.
Of course, I wear women's clothes rather than guy's clothes, but I think most people would acknowledge that women's clothing is generally more problematic for concealment.
(Thinner materials, tighter fits, and guys look at a woman's overall shape whereas few people notice a guy's overall shape.)Depending on the weather, I conceal my firearm with zippered fleece vests, or loose buttoned vests, or pullover sweaters, or cardigans, or pullover sweatshirts, or zippered sweatshirts, or untucked loose tee shirts, or untucked camp shirts, or tight tank tops under loose overshirts. Sometimes I use my holster's tuckable feature, and wear a loose but tucked-in blouse or tee shirt -- sometimes with an open vest, sometimes without.
Some methods of concealment are slower than others, of course. But from most of the untucked options, my draw for an A-zone hit at 7 yards is consistently better than 1.8 seconds, measured by an electronic timer. From the tucked options, it varies from there up to 2.5 seconds. Again, these are consistent times, not some occasional fluke time I got once. I'm not even sure what my best-time-ever from concealment was. They are mostly two-hand draws.
One hand draws are slower but not impossible with any of the options I use. One hand weak hand draws are slower but not impossible with any of the options I use.
This is what I do to draw from appendix carry. Most of this should be applicable to cross-draw provided you don't get left/right mixed up.
To draw while wearing a zippered vest or jacket, I simply yank the zipper down with my left hand and then fling the cover back with my right. For a pullover, I grab the loose material over the gun with my left hand and pull it up while drawing with my right. Of course, you can always treat a zippered or buttoned garment the same as a pullover -- provided the material is cooperative. I've tested just about everything I wear.
For one hand draws, I have two options. Option one is to pull up the material with my right hand until it is near my armpit, slam my elbow down to hold it in place, and then draw the gun while keeping my elbow as close to my side as possible. This sounds slow but is surprisingly fast. The other option is simply to snake my hand in, draw, and then snake the drawn gun back out the same way my hand went it. This is slower but sneakier, and I think the sneakiness might be a good thing sometime.
Weak hand draws are similar. If I have a zipper and it is only halfway up, I can draw by reaching in behind it without disturbing my outer clothing. Or I can pull the zipper down and then draw. With a pullover, I can pull the material up with my left hand, again pinning it under my right elbow, then draw with my left hand. Or I can snake my left hand into position, get a complete grip on the gun, and snake the gun back out again.
Buttoned shirts or vests I simply treat as if they are pullovers. But in extremis, I can simply yank them open hard and let the buttons fall where they may.
Carrying in front of the hip isn't for everyone. But it is definitely a viable technique.
pax