Former Delta Force assaulter and firearms trainer Larry Vickers has come out strongly against appendix carry in his shooting courses, especially for users of certain handguns:

Heads up for anyone attending a pistol class taught be me – I am banning use of appendix carry holsters in my classes

I know of two different students in two different classes taught by two different instructors who have shot themselves reholstering – I don’t want my name added to that list

If an individual wants to carry concealed that way that is fine by me but an open enrollment class with 15-20 different skill level shooters and upwards of 100 draws and reholsters is an accident waiting to happen when you add in a pistol like a Glock or M&P

This will go into effect immediately – if you are planning on attending a class in the near future and this affects you and you need a different holster please email me via my website and I will get you squared away

Thanks for your support

*Update; a number of people think this means I don’t support appendix carry – that’s not the case. You are free to carry however you want – however I feel in an open enrollment class is it not appropriate so therefore in the future I am not allowing it. If this means you don’t want to attend one of my classes, or I’m ‘scratched off your list as an instructor’, or you won’t buy anymore of my products ( all comments this thread) then that’s fine by me – in my position all that goes out the window once one student shoots themself in the genitals – all the Facebook bickering in the world won’t fix that.

Unfortunately, many folks in the firearms community have very thin skins and tend to get their egos wrapped up in their guns, their gear, and their technique… even if they don’t have the level of skill and experience to justify using a given gun, gear, and technique combination.

If you are using a hip-mounted, outside the waistband holster and have a negligent discharge while re-holstering, you might get a “training scar,” with a bullet creasing the outside of your leg, or even striking your knee or ankle.

The ante is upped when using an inside the waistband holster, and upped even higher when using appendix carry. One wrong move resulting in a negligent discharge when attempting to holster in an appendix holster could result in a shooter removing genitalia,  or worse, striking the femoral artery, resulting in a wound that is almost impossible to treat in the field, and which frequently results in death from exsanguination in a matter of minutes.

Mr. Vickers  notes that his open enrollment courses has students of widely varying skill levels, with gear and guns of different quality as well.

Ensuring that his students are safe shows that Larry Vickers is a diligent instructor, and cognizant of the fact that pushing the “in thing” without his students first having a firm grounding in the basics is a recipe for disaster.