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View Full Version : AIWB-duty belt dichotomy



jlw
03-23-2015, 10:00 AM
For any of the peace officers here that carry concealed using AIWB but strong side hip when wearing duty gear have you ever experienced any negative issues such as reaching for the wrong place on a draw or a re-holster? What steps have you taken to mitigate or remediate this?

BehindBlueI's
03-23-2015, 10:17 AM
What steps have you taken to mitigate or remediate this?

I carry the same way all the time*. It's the 100% best way to mitigate this. I've got way too much time and training in strong hip draw to go changing things up. I don't want to pat myself down when I'm surprised, and the chance of having to do so is more than zero. Even now that I'm plain clothes I stick with strong side hip.

*except when running or bicycling, when I wear a "fanny pack" designed to hold a gun.

Ptrlcop
03-23-2015, 10:33 AM
I have not 100% switched to AIWB for off duty. However here are my thoughts. The motion of drawing from concealed is so radically different than drawing from a duty holster that I don't think "muscle memory" applies. For me AIWB is a method where I can more reliably clear my cover garment and have much greater speed.

I'll throw another kicker in there.. In my current position I carry concealed strong side OWB in a raven holster at work and often switch to a Vanguard carried AIWB when I'm off.

When I am using my duty belt it's an AlS on a high ride belt loop and when doing swat stuff it's an ALS on a drop UBL.

The only thing I do is a few practice draws when I put on different rigs. If I am in a situation where I can't practice full draws I just practice getting a master grip in the holster. I could see a problem if you never practice or only practice one method.

taadski
03-23-2015, 11:21 AM
There have been a bunch of discussions on here and elsewhere about the issues (perceived and otherwise) of having multiple draw strokes/carry locations so I'm not going to comment too much on that except to say I believe that less variance is probably better.

Regarding the question at hand; I'm not sure my solution is going to be particularly helpful but part of the way I mitigate the issues is by carrying a BUG in appendix on duty too. :cool: I realize that's not going to be something everyone can or will do. But it works very well for me. I carry on duty in a 6360 and off duty in AIWB. Same pistol. Duty BUG is a compact single stack version of my duty gun in a tuckable holster at 1230.

I do the great majority (probably 80+%) of my training from a duty holster identical to what I carry at work. This includes my (gamer intensive) dry fire routine, and the majority of my live fire too. In addition I'll spend probably 15 minutes a week or thereabouts doing focused work out of my appendix rig and with that, I can do a pretty good job of maintaining consistency and draw speed from that location.


t

jlw
03-23-2015, 11:37 AM
There have been a bunch of discussions on here and elsewhere about the issues (perceived and otherwise) of having multiple draw strokes/carry locations so I'm not going to comment too much on that except to say I believe that less variance is probably better.

Regarding the question at hand; I'm not sure my solution is going to be particularly helpful but part of the way I mitigate the issues is by carrying a BUG in appendix on duty too. :cool: I realize that's not going to be something everyone can or will do. But it works very well for me. I carry on duty in a 6360 and off duty in AIWB. Same pistol. Duty BUG is a compact single stack version of my duty gun in a tuckable holster at 1230.

I do the great majority (probably 80+%) of my training from a duty holster identical to what I carry at work. This includes my (gamer intensive) dry fire routine, and the majority of my live fire too. In addition I'll spend probably 15 minutes a week or thereabouts doing focused work out of my appendix rig and with that, I can do a pretty good job of maintaining consistency and draw speed from that location.


t

You hit on something there that is very relevant to what I am considering. BUG is what I am primarily considering going AIWB, and it would be with a small auto.

taadski
03-23-2015, 12:11 PM
In my experience, bud, it's very viable. There are some issues with regard to different uniform shirts and how well they function "tucking". And there are some issues with holster selection to be aware of (see below) but it has been my go-to solution for a bunch of years.

Many of the fancy-dancy new style AIWB holsters we all know and love (because they tuck the pistol into our bodies so well) can cause issues with too much pressure (camming into the groin) when they are riding outside of the ballistic vest. Comfort-wise I'd prefer the gun to be beneath the panel for these reasons, but then access is compromised pretty significantly. My solution in this regard is using an old floppy first generation AIWB rig that doesn't conceal for sh*t with normal civi garb, but works really well in this role.


t

60167
03-23-2015, 12:30 PM
I've been lurking over a year now. The idea of AIWB for a BUG location has me interested enough to register. Do you have pics of this setup?

Thanks

taadski
03-23-2015, 01:00 PM
These are a few old photos I had posted up for a similar discussion on another forum a number of years ago, but they should give you an idea...



http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/utf-8BSU1BRzA1NzkuanBn.jpg


http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/utf-8BSU1BRzA1NzguanBn.jpg


http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/photo-7.jpg



http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/image.jpg

EM_
03-24-2015, 08:58 AM
I have to use a couple of different modes as dictated by mission, dress, and weather. I have an article from SWAT by Scot Reitz in which he said something similar about having to carry on his strong side hip for duty, appendix-ish for off duty, but in court sometimes having to wear a shoulder rig. He stated if one remained switched-on enough than it shouldn't be an issue. I don't have the article in front of me so I'm hopefully remembering it correctly. Perhaps Nyeti or John Hearne could weigh in if I'm off-base with regards to Mr. Retiz's teachings in that regard.

Then again in Tom Givens' book he recommends keeping the gun in the same spot as often as possible. Both are gents I have the ultimate respect for and my go-to people when I want to know an pros opinion on a matter, so there ya go.... :confused:

To address the OP; it hasn't been an issue for me.

Erick Gelhaus
03-24-2015, 03:24 PM
Neither Nyeti nor John, but I've been present on a couple occasions when Uncle Scotty has repeated what he wrote regarding different carry positions. Up to this point, I haven't had an issue with using different locations - strong side hip on-duty, AIWB off-duty, & off-side front pocket for a BUG. Working through the mechanics of grip acquisition and initiation of the draw seems to have mitigated any concerns.