FED LE Appendix Carry

[172driver]

More of a curiosity question than anything, seeing as I'm in the final stage of hiring with one of the alphabet soup agencies, anyone know fed policy on appendix carry?

[runcible]

It's a wholesale non-issue\non-register for all of the orgs I'm aware of. There are quite a many that are ~90% AIWB outside of overt taskings.

[Dark Star Gear]

We've got a lot of federal LE who use our stuff.

[TGS]

Its going to depend entirely on where you go.

No policy at my agency, I carry AIWB both on and off duty.

[Kyle Reese]

We've got a lot of federal LE who use our stuff.

Guilty. I am uniformed on the job but off duty it's AIWB all the way.

[vcdgrips]

"Its going to depend entirely on where you go." QFT

I would also add that during your probationary period, it is highly likely you will carry it where you carried it at the academy ( strong side 3-4 o'clock for a rt hander), in the issued/approved holster. Period. End of subject. Full Stop.

I have worked with over a dozen fed agencies. Other than UC narc/VC guys who were often carrying felony appendix as in just shoved down their pants, I can count the number of AIWB guys on one hand over just three agencies ( FBI, DEA, ATF). All three were BTDT kind of guys with prior LEO/MIL etc. who were shooters well beyond the 4 quals a year.

[172driver]

Yea I figured nothing besides issued until after probation. As an intern, I saw one guy carry appendix with one of the trigger guard clips, but he was an above average shooter and a 'gun guy'. Everyone else could care less about guns or concealment methods. Thanks for the info guys.

[HCM]

There is no "fed" policy. There are over 80 federal agencies with LE personnel and each has its own policies.

Within the bigger agencies, each office usually has an SFI or PFI who is the lead / program manager. They may or may not be amenable to you carrying appendix. At a minimum, they will have a say, about how you carry during Training and Qualifications.

As a trainee, you will be carrying strong side OWB like all your classmates.

Some agencies require you to use only approved holsters, some require a holster with at least one active form of retention.

Even if you are working in plainclothes, you may need to dress in a way which is not amenable to appendix carry. Depending on what you are doing, soft body armor may also be an issue with AIWB carry.

[DMF13]

As has been already stated, each agency will have it's own policies.

My first fed agency allowed for almost anything as long as you had shot a qualification with the holster within the last year, and at that qualification a FI had determined it was "safe." FIs had widely varying ideas on what was, and was not, "safe." The policy also specifically allowed for strong side hip, crossdraw, and shoulder holsters. Small of back carry was prohibited, and there was no mention of appendix carry. I hated qualifying when some idiot would show up with a crossdraw or shoulder holster, as invariably they would sweep everyone on their weak side, but since the policy specifically said those types of holsters were allowed, the FIs were powerless to stop it.

My second agency required you use either the issued holster, or that the lead FI in your office approve the holster you purchased. The FI in my office would not approve any concealment holster that didn't have a thumb break. He would not have allowed appendix carry on the range.

My current agency has lots of people who carry appendix. The policy does not prohibit it, but FIs can prevent someone from doing anything at qualifications/training that is deemed unsafe. For example most of us will not allow someone to use a shoulder holster, or crossdraw holsters (see my comments above). So if a particular FI feels it's unsafe to use appendix carry, then you won't shoot quals or train appendix. However, the policy is you must qualify with the holsters you use, so plenty of people that carry appendix just move the holster to 3 O'clock for qual day. I have done that in the past.

There are some basic common sense requirements in our policy for holsters (ie must completely cover the trigger, allow for one handed reholstering, etc), and again an FI must inspect it, but if it meets those basic common sense requirements it will be approved. In two years of instructing I've yet to have someone try to use a holster that couldn't meet the requirements. Our policy only addresses concealment holsters. I've haven't seen anyone try to use anything other than the issued Safariland ALS holsters with their tac gear.

Again, that's just the policies I've lived with, but as HCM pointed out, there are dozens of agency, all with dozens of variations on what's "in policy."

[Prdator]

We've sold a BUNCH of holsters to most all the three letter folks. Many of them have bought them with there own dime.