One factor to always bear in mind. If you carry OWB and have an AD you “may” shoot your leg or foot. Same with pocket carry (plus knee). Painful but usually not life threatening. With appendix carry, an AD has a very good chance of hitting a femoral artery. I used to run EMS. An injury to a femoral artery is serious business. Unless you are in an ER when that happens, you’re dead. If you are comfortable with that level of risk, that’s ok with me, but I would beg you to please, please be VERY careful, for your sake and the sake of those you love. At this point we still live in a free country and you can carry as you please. You make your choice and take your chances. Remember that no one ever plans on having an AD, yet they do happen. We humans tend to be very fallible creatures and we all make mistakes. FWIW, many (many) years ago I tried appendix carry. I could never bring myself to carry with a chambered round, and I wasn’t physically comfortable with it as well. Quickly abandoned that mode and went back to OWB. As noted above, lots of folks like it and find it comfortable. Different stroke for different folks
A shoulder holster is muzzling innocent people around you:
and you can very easily flag part of your body on the presentation from holster:
Photos from Aliengear.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t carry in a shoulder holster, just pointing out there are risks to every way you carry.
@Dwayne I certainly respect your opinion and value your input as an EMS, but I again wonder if anyone can present objective data comparing injury and/or death from AIWB vs OWB/IWB/Shoulder carry. Your statement is still based on subjective opinion and as a counter-example I again submit that the only personal example (purely subjective as well) I have of an ND killing someone is a femoral artery shot from 3 o’clock OWB. I certainly am not making the claim that AIWB is more safe, but I’m opining that without hard data, people should not make the claim it is less safe either. I think everyone should safely explore their options with competent training and then make an informed decision for themselves. We should be careful not to deter someone from taking a path of learning by presenting opinion as fact that may negatively affect their journey.
Yes, there are apparent risks with appendix carry. This goes for all types of ways when carrying. Here’s the thing about a bullet once it enters the body. No one can accurately predict what is going to happen with it or where it will end up at. As @JustinK stated a 3 o’clock OWB ND can result in the femoral artery being struck. I have heard of an incident where someone carrying at the 5 o’clock position who had a ND the bullet ended up in their chest cavity despite the firearm not being pointed in that direction. When we choose to strap a loaded and ready to fire weapon on our body we accept all of the risks that come with it. I will admit that one style of carry may or may not be better than another depending upon all criteria involved. One of these criteria is our own comfortability with it. If you are not comfortable then don’t do it period. That doesn’t make your opinion better or making it the only way something can be done.
I typically carry anywhere between appendix to 1:30 position. For my body build and clothing options I prefer to wear this works best for me to conceal effectively. No, I did not start with carrying a round chambered like this. I practiced drawing and holstering from these positions daily until I was comfortable before clambering a round. I still practice this to keep the muscle memory. I know the inherent risks of my choice and am perfectly comfortable with my choice. When you decide to carry know the risks involved and be comfortable with that. Otherwise think twice before strapping a loaded firearm to yourself.
Humm. Six shot snubby with hammer over an empty chamber? Cant get safer than that. Dont need two hands to jack the slide like on a pistol when carrying with empty chamber.
Just pull the trigger. Personally I dont worry about it with my revolver because of the hammer block and the longer heavier trigger pull. No one needs to rush when reholstering. I’m not reholstering until the situation is safe to do so. I will even unclip the holster from my belt and reholster away from my body and then reinsert it in my waistband. That eliminates the clothing issue. You will never see that at a high priced, former Delta Force instructored course (been to several.) It’s two to the chest and one to the head and it’s a race to see who holsters first until the instructor sets them straight. And the class members are all active military and police. Slow down. Take your time reholstering.
There is a lot of territory between the left outer seam of my jeans and the right… certainly more inches than I’d like. Not much of it is femoral artery… so with respect, and without data to indicate what the relative risk is, I’d challenge the “very good chance” part of that. Depending on where I carry, and the cant, my muzzle may not be even close to in line with the femoral artery. With the carry corset, my cross draw appendix puts the extra padding at the side of my thigh in line, but nothing structural or arterial.
^^ Yep.
Yes, the fact that no matter how you sit or stand you’re pointing a loaded gun at some portion of your body.
No matter how careful you are when holstering or drawing unless you’re arching your back to an extreme degree you are handling a loaded weapon that is pointed at some part of your body as well.
That depends on the shoulder rig. If it is vertical you’re not flagging anyone and while you have to be more aware than with a hip carry you can quite easily draw and reholster without flagging any part of your body.
Examples of vertical carry shoulder holsters.
I like vertical shoulder holsters😊-don’t care for the horizontal as you are indeed pointing a loaded weapon at everyone behind you.
While I respect your opinion, and you are certainly entitled to it, it’s still just an opinion based on subjective experience. As such it shouldn’t be given as hard, objective fact which could cause uninformed people to not educate themselves and make an informed decision of their own. If there is hard data to accompany that opinion, then I would love to look into that to further my personal knowledge and perhaps change my opinion. I would argue that I quite often see and correct people, both new and seasoned, who flag themselves in the hip on reholster at 3-5 o’clock due to complacency whereas most of the people I see AIWB are making a slow and conscientious reholster. Because that’s my subjective experience is it now a hard fact that that position is far less safe? I’m not saying that’s the case btw, just making an example. I think it’s important how we present our information especially on a platform that people look to for training and guidance. Appendix carry has been around for a very long time and I know a lot of very competent and trained individuals who carry AIWB(from military, medical, professional, etc backgrounds). Many of whom would likely not do so if it was a proven fact that the style was inherently more dangerous. It all comes down to training, practice, and keeping yourself from becoming complacent. In the end a ND can be dangerous to you or others any time it were to occur
^^^ This. Facts have data to go with them. Opinion is fine but should be presented as such. As Authorities teaching people a skill with genuine risks, its imperative we be very clear in presenting the two differently and accurately.
I’d be very interested in seeing anything that looks like data.
… um… You may not be, but some of us have hips.
Not me in the photo, but you just tell me shes not muzzling important parts.
My point being… there are risks to be considered and choices to be made, and very few absolutes.
No argument from me but which poses the greater danger? The possibility of a grazing wound to your outer hip or a direct impact to your groin/upper inner thigh?
@bulldog Look what you started. Lol.
Have you formed a verdict yet based upon the variety of options and opinions?
Let’s talk anatomy…
If I carry in the shoulder rig in the picture, my muzzle is pointed directly down into the top of my left pelvic bone and femur… narrow ribs, wide hips… the blue line is where the danger zone is:
I carry cross draw appendix most of the time, which puts my firearm roughly here:
So I agree with this:
And for me, with my build, the cross draw appendix is the one that’s pointing the dangerous end at outer thigh, not major structures.
Which takes me back to the point … All bodies are not created equal, you have to consider the risks, and make your choices. Appendix is not categorically unsafe. Like everything we do, you have to consider thoughtful.
Cross draw hadn’t even come up in the discussion. As you should know by now I’m a big fan of CD particularly for someone who spends a lot of time in the sitting position.
When we discuss AC the presumption is that it’s carried muzzle down/horizontally rather than CD unless otherwise specified.
From today…
From 2 days ago…
So the topic was brought up in the discussion 2 days ago… by you. However you may have been just having fun with the subject. And that is fine by me. I guess I am ignorant about the meaning of “… however for a BUG.”. Could you please enlighten me on that phrase? I have tried unsuccessfully to Google any results.
Please know that I respect your opinion. I have learned a lot from your expertise and experience. Do not consider this a personal attack. I think this is a VERY healthy debate for the entire community and thankfully everyone is acting like adults (the opposite of what I have found on other forums).
EDIT: I received a message for BUG. Back Up Gun. Learn something everyday.
BUG is a Back Up Gun when you carry more than one gun. It’s in a secondary draw position - for example some carry an ankle bug.
I’m loving @Zee’s mad drawing skills!! 
I definitely have my personal preferences when it comes to carrying. But when I’m in a classroom as an instructor you aren’t going to hear my preferences. I teach based on the material, research and students questions.
For example, I’ve discussed my gun preference here because it’s what works for me. If someone asks me about Glocks I’m going to tell them they’re a very solid gun and they should definitely try one - and a variety of other guns to find one that they really like and shoot well.
I think we all understand that appendix carry can be dangerous if done wrong. Anything with a firearm can be dangerous if done wrong.
@Dawn Thank you for the answer. When I served I was only issued one gun. But I had the best defensive tools available: advanced electronics, cash, pocket clutter, cash, a Rolex, several passports, and lots of cash. It’s funny how you can do so much using such little space. 
I’m personally opposed to it. I just don’t like where the barrel points, if you know what I mean. It’s also not as comfortable for me as the 4 o’clock position.