Appendix Carry IWB Holsters

When I saw the above ads in Guns & Ammo and in other gun magazines, my immediate thought that these kinds of holsters can "geld" the wearer in an instant. I, personally, would not use these Inside The Waistband (IWB) holsters if I had a concealed carry permit. This is called "appendix carry".

Naturally, these types of holsters are more appropriate for women, for obvious reasons. (Some could crudely say, "there's nothing to shoot off".)

An article also mention IWB holster dangers in Bravo Concealment:

The biggest risk of appendix carry is the impact that a negligent discharge could have on the gun owner. Negligent discharges can happen in any carry position, but when they occur from appendix carry, they could impact a critical area of the body that includes the groin and the femoral artery. A negligent discharge from this position could easily be life threatening. 

A secondary, but related, concern is where the gun points when holstered on in the waistband: Toward the groin area. This positioning would seem to violate one of the central rules of gun handling: Never point a gun at something you do not want to destroy. 

For individuals who want to use appendix carry, the risk of injury during negligent discharge and the direction the gun points are often deterring factors. But, should it be? There are some reasons to think that appendix carry is really not that dangerous, particularly for responsible gun owners who take the time to mitigate the risk. 

All gun handling carries risk. 

 To read more, go here.

Makin' Progress

Above, this is usually the distance the gelding keeps from me. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It's been a "homebody" day today. I've been sticking around home as some guys may be coming over to spray my pinyon pines for bark beetles. I have four. One of them looks to be on its last legs.

First, I did some tinkering in the garage. I tossed some boxes and unneeded stuff and did some rearranging.

After that, I watered the trees. We haven't had that much rain since late July here. It has been a mild monsoon season. But it won't be long before we start getting snow.

Once I was done watering, I took a break with a cigar and ice tea.

I decided to take a little ride on the mini bike and bring over some carrots to the gelding next door.

Above, today he came much closer to me. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today was the first time he started to walk over to me. But he was still hesitant. He almost was going to take the carrot from my hand, but backed off a little. But it was a good start for a formerly wild horse. So we're making progress.

Maybe next time he will take the carrot from my hand. 

Escaped Horse

Above, the gelding after he arrived in June. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My new four-legged neighbor got out of its pen yesterday. Fortunately, it didn't go far and is in a neighboring pen with other horses.

The episode was reported by the owner on our community Facebook page and it turns out that the horse is a gelding.

What's a gelding?

In a nutshell (from Wikipedia):

A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine, such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally-driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday working animal.

The owners have yet to start working him. They mentioned yesterday that he's "wild". It'll be interesting to see how they bring him back to his pen.