TexasCHLforum.com

Liberty wrote:
You really might want to reconcider getting a holster. A holster not only helps secure the weapon, it also protects it against damage and the trigger is protected against an unintentional activation accidental trigger pull. I assume your XD doesn't have a manual lever operated safety. This is particularly dangerous to carry without holster protection.

I spent six years in the Army and was authorized to carry a pistol concealed during part of it. I carried AIWBNH when I did. I have carried AIWBNH for over two years now and have carried that way during several week-long and weekend classes. I run a large ranch and carry that way all the time when working stock or doing field work, etc. I also have a day job and carry at work when I can. I am armed this way unless I am in bed.

Bottom line - it works for me. Millions of Mexicans can't be wrong either!

Here is why AIWBNH is superior.

1. The area between my pants and my t-shirt is just as smooth as the inside of a holster. There is nothing to grab or hook the trigger.
2. Many pistols can ND in holsters due to clothing getting between the holster and the trigger. This cannot occur in AIWBNH so technically, its safer.
3. I can do full flips and roundoffs with AIWBNH and the pistol stays put.
4. A holster can and will get hung up on stuff as can the pistol when you are moving in certain directions. Not so AIWBNH.
5. No one can come at me either from the front, side or back and easily grab my pistol unlike OWB and some IWB rigs.
6. I can easily access the pistol while sitting, driving, and being knocked to the ground.
7. I dont have a holster dangling when I visit the men's room.
8. Its very easy to rearm/disarm when I go to a client site or the gym or get ready to leave the house or have to work on heavy machinery.
9. Its a faster, more natural draw stroke when under physical attack or otherwise.
10. I can easily do an off-hand draw.
11. If someone does get the drop on you, they probably wont find the weapon if they search you.
12. Its virtually impossible to print or be made.


As for manual safeties, I consider them to be unsafe for conceal carry weapons or weapons that have to be drawn and used NOW because they can be forgotten or bobbled in a surprise situation. I have seen highly trained shooters bobble their safeties during high-stress FOF training or during mock physical fights and thus they lost the fight.

I do think manual safeties are required for weapons used during deliberate assault such as police or military teams when working in group.

I suggest you go get an airsoft G19 and carry in AIWBNH for a while and see what you think. Have someone punch you there, get up and do stuff with it. You will find that it is a natural place to carry the pistol and after a while you will love not having to carry a holster. If you are not in shape, then you probably wont want to try it.

Here is a real life situation where "Mexican Carry" paid off.

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_ac ... 133203.php


"About that time, Hector, a friend of the Wolfe Street renters, whose last name they would not reveal, happened to show up at the house.

Hector had never been to the house before and none of the other guests had any idea he was going to drop by for a visit, they said.

"When Hector showed up, (the robbers) walked him to the back room, too," Whitman said.

She said the two made Hector empty out his pockets and take off his shoes just like everybody else. What the two didn't realize was that Hector had a .45 caliber pistol tucked in the front of his jeans.

One of the attackers was in the kitchen area and the other in the front hallway when Hector began shooting.

It played out just like a scene from a movie, Whitman said.

"When the robber tried to rob (Hector), he emptied his pockets, then said, 'I don't know who you think you're robbing,'" she said Monday afternoon. "That's when he pulled out his gun and began shooting them."

Hector allegedly fired two shots at the suspect in the kitchen and three at the suspect in the hallway.

"He took both of them out before either had a chance to shoot back," Herd said. "It all happened so fast ... It's a blur."

The suspect in the kitchen was shot in the abdomen; the one in the hallway was fatally shot in the right side.

"After Hector shot (the robbers), we all crawled out the windows of the house, and (Hector) stayed inside to make sure we got out safe," Whitman said."

austin wrote:Millions of Mexicans can't be wrong either!

I once spent 6 years working in an urban emergency room. During that time, I helped treat the "victims" of a number of accidental self inflicted shootings. (I put "victims" in quotes, because when you shoot yourself accidentally, you are not a victim of anything except your own stupidity.) Some shot themselves with unsafe gun handling while cleaning the weapon, and stuff like that. But, during those 6 years here are the ones who shot themselves either holstering a pistol, or stuffing one down the front of their pants:

• Self inflicted gunshot wound from holstering their weapon - 1
• Self inflicted gunshot wound(s) from stuffing their pistol down the front of their pants - 6 or 7.

The one guy with the holster was a cop who was reholstering his .357 revolver and snagged the trigger, shooting himself through the thigh. He was actually a friend of mine. In the second group, with the exception of one guy who shot himself with a .25 caliber round, the rest were shot with .22LRs. All 6 or 7 of them were gang-bangers without a lick of sense.

The gang-bangers all put holes, not to mention power burns, in their private parts - in some cases multiple holes, as the bullet exited one "part" and entered "the one below it." Without exception, they all agreed when asked that it was the dumbest thing they had ever done, and that the pain was simply unbelievable. The only fortunate thing about it is that you most likely won't die from shooting yourself through the family heirlooms. However, you might wish you had died.

That's just my experience with the idea of carrying down the front of one's pants without a holster. I'm glad that you can do all those triple gainers and hoop jumping while carrying that way, and yes, I am in terrible shape (but working on that), but there just isn't enough money in the world to get me to carry a pistol in that manner even if I could. Of course, there is some value in learning from one's own mistakes; but there is even greater value in learning from the mistakes of others so that you don't have to experience their misery first hand.

Just my 2¢.

And as has been discussed before, it appears to be the opinion of many LEO's that good guys (CHL & LEO) wear holsters and thugs carry without benefit of holster.

Not that this has to affect anything, just a stated opinion.

I seem to recall a CIA method that involved a piece of string in lieu of a holster.

Well, austin, I'm glad you've had such remarkable luck so far. I don't think I'm quite so brave.

I would look into the crossbreed holster as well...I got one for my full size M&P and it works out pretty well

I'll add mine to the fray as well. A Beretta 92FS is about as big as you can get. See my signature line for my review of the M-tac I got from Comp tac. Its a great holster.

Well...I'm not a big feller and I don't have a problem concealing that big ole gun (full sized steel 1911 in a Milt Sparks Summer Special IWB on a 1 1/2" Beltman reinforced belt). I usually carry over a t-shirt and under an untucked shirt.
The problem I have is that the whole rig wants to migrate south and end up around my ankles. To solve this, I always add a pair of Perry suspenders over the t-shirt and under the untucked shirt. No one sees the suspenders. Everything rides nice, high and easy. Holster and weapon don't shift around at all. Not for everyone, but it works for me.

I weigh less than the OP and am a pretty skinny guy. I can conceal a XD subcompact easily with a crossbreed supertuck IWB holster @ 330 position. My shirt wasnt even that loose or baggy, if I can conceal a SC you can also. I was even able to conceal a service size XD that is until I bent over, the grip sticks out pretty good.

What is AIWBNH?

I think it's "appendix, inside the waist band, no holster". Of course, AIWBNH, could also be an acronym for something in spanish that means "stuffed in my drawers", but I don't speak spanish.

lrb111 wrote:I think it's "appendix, inside the waist band, no holster". Of course, AIWBNH, could also be an acronym for something in spanish that means "stuffed in my drawers", but I don't speak spanish.

Really?

Oldgringo wrote: What is AIWBNH?

Absolute Idiot Without Brains/Negligent Handling

Just my guess.

A holster provides so much that I cannot imagine carrying a gun without one. It keeps your gun in the same place, every time. It provides added retention in case of a struggle or, apparently, the back flips some guys like to do while carrying. Most importantly, it covers the trigger guard.

They say there are two kinds of bikers. Those who have gone down, and those who will.

Well, there are two kids of people who carry AIWBNH, those who have shot themselves, and those who will.

There are so many very good holsters available that I can't imagine why anyone would want to carry AIWBNH. I am a very small person, 5'7", 135lbs. and I carry my Colt Officers Model .45 ACP in a Milt Sparks Summer Special II, at 4:00 and it never moves and is very concealable with T shirt or outside shirt.

-geo

bryang wrote:There are so many very good holsters available that I can't imagine why anyone would want to carry AIWBNH.

AIWBNH is a great way to see your gun either go slithering into your pants or falling out on the ground during any strenuous activity (e.g., running, struggling with an assailant, etc.). It is favored by members of the criminal community because it is easy to conceal a sizable weapon that way, and the gun can be ditched quickly without leaving a holster as evidence they ever had one. LEO's are well aware of this. Folks who carry in quality holsters generally receive an initial "good guy" presumption during a contact, and folks carrying AIWBNH are looked at with considerable suspicion.

I can't see any upside to this method of carry for CHL holders who have a strong interest in making sure the gun stays where it belongs until needed, don't have a need or desire to ditch guns, and would lose the "good guy" presumption during LEO contacts if they carried their defensive weapons in this manner.