Small of back carry is, shall we say, less than ideal. Travis explains why.
Some methods of carrying a gun are objectively better than others. Most carry positions and styles offer some benefit. One method might be faster to draw, one might maximize concealment, and another might be more comfortable. With that being said is one carry style or position that should be avoided at all times. It’s called the small of back carry, of SOB carry, and should be avoided at all costs.
What’s Small of Back Carry?
Small of back carry positions the gun in line or nearly in line with your spine. Small of back carry is essentially the opposite of appendix carry. Depending on the shooter’s dominant hand, it places the weapon behind your back and positions it to the left or right. It’s been a method touted by some as superior, but I don’t think it’s all cracked up.
To be fair, I will present the supposed benefits of the design. Many SOB advocates claim it’s easier to conceal and creates less of a lump than strong side carry. It supposedly offers the same benefits as appendix carry.
Additionally, advocates of small of back carry claim that in the event of a mugging, you can pretend to reach for your wallet and instead grab your gun. Sure, I guess that could work, but carrying this way means you are choosing a carry method based on one specific scenario instead of being a versatile method of carry.
That’s about where any supposed benefits end. Now, let’s talk about the downsides of small of back carry.
Why It Should Be Avoided
When it comes to concealment, there doesn’t seem to be any major issues with SOB, right? Right tuck it under a shirt and call it a day, right? Well, sure, that works. However, let’s say your shirt rides up and over your holster and gun. Since it’s behind you, you are less likely to notice the fact that your shirt is sitting on top of the gun, revealing your mohaska to the world.
Another major difficulty comes from drawing. Speed doesn’t seem to be a concern if you pretend to draw your wallet while drawing your gun. When we take small of back carry to the real world, we see that there are numerous difficulties in drawing readily. It takes lots of movement to access your gun, and it’s tough to do anything fast with your arms behind your back.
Small of back carry can be slow to draw and nearly impossible to reholster safely. You can’t see the holster, so reholstering safely can be difficult. Drawing from a seated position is nearly impossible. Good luck accessing your gun in nearly any seated position outside of a stool.
Finally, the last and most important reason to avoid small of back carry is the chance of falling. If you fall rearwards, you will likely land on your gun. A firm piece of metal driving itself into your back can cause serious damage to your lower back. Even if you don’t get into a fight, you can still fall, and falling on your gun will suck.
Better Alternative – Appendix Carry
We all agree we are going to ditch small of back carry, right? Good, great, not let’s talk about good alternatives. One good alternative is to check out appendix carry. Appendix carrying a firearm in a Rogue holster from Crossbreed is a great way to go. Appendix carry offers you an awesome level of concealment.
On top of great concealment, you can draw rapidly and with absolute ease. Appendix carry offers you the fastest draw from concealment available. You can draw from nearly any position, including seated positions. Plus, you can look at your reholster, adding some additional safety to your carry method.
Also, you can’t fall and harm your spine by carrying appendix. Well, you can, but the gun won’t cause additional damage when you fall on your back. Appendix is all around the better option for concealed carry. So ditch small of back carry and embrace the modern method of concealment.
What do you think? Let us know below!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine gunner who served with 2nd Bn 2nd Marines for 5 years. He deployed in 2009 to Afghanistan and again in 2011 with the 22nd MEU(SOC) during a record-setting 11 months at sea. Travis has trained with the Romanian Army, the Spanish Marines, the Emirate Marines, and the Afghan National Army.
He serves as an NRA-certified pistol instructor and pursues a variety of firearms-based hobbies.
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©MTC Holsters, LLC and CrossBreed Holsters Blog, 2022.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Travis Pike and the CrossBreed Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Opinions, opinions, Everyone has one. I find SOB 1911 carry which has the barrel parallel to my belt is a great option when dressed in a jacket and going out for the evening. Just another opinion.
You leave out one disadvantage of appendix versus small of the back. An accidental discharge, which I have read of a couple over the years, will cause more damage by a firearm placed on the front compared with the buttocks. The knee and thigh with major artery are exposed in a front downward discharge (whether withdrawing or re-holstering) while a rear side downward shot would only risk the outer muscle of the buttocks.
Another big disadvantage to SOB carry is that you sweep yourself on the draw. I still carry at the 3 o’clock position. I find AIWB to be very uncomfortable and even painful.
I’ve been carrying SOB for 2 decades with my Bersa .380 Thunder Plus. I carried a Sig 229 for over a decade before that, right side hip. I run drills often, always have, and yep, hip was a little fast (<.5 seconds). I have no problem re-holstering, practice makes perfect. Appendix is massively uncomfortable for me, as I have a bit of a gut (working on it, lol) and SOB is far easier to conceal than side. I've never "fallen on my gun" and God willing never will. But the fact that Crossbreed doesn't make a SOB holster seems to be more of the issue than the rather non-objective reasoning used in the article. The most important thing (according to most experts) is to have a concealed carry method that is comfortable and easy enough to get you to CARRY ALL THE TIME. Practice that carry, whatever it may be, so that you are proficient with it. My Bersa is so comfortable that I have forgotten to take it off after being home for hours. It goes in the small of my back the way my wallet slides into my back pocket; it's naturally how I get ready to leave the house. So instead of discouraging a type of carry to justify Crossbreeds preclusion of that style holster (by the way, almost ANY IWB can be a SOB, just get left hand draw instead of right if you're right handed, and visa versa for lefties), I would encourage everyone to find something that works for you and your situation (body type, gun type, etc.) and practice it often, get proficient and don't ever become an unarmed victim because you gun is still at the house.
Disagree. You have to have small tight waist to effectively conceal carry appendix style. If you are the least bit thick around the middle the appendix carry is very uncomfortable. SOB is not a quick draw. It ultimate concealment. Quick draw is for cowboys. It’s a good way to eat a bullet thinking you are Wyatt Earp. Falling argument is a BS argument. I expect falling frontwards doesn’t hurt? Situational awareness can eliminate a lot of concerns about drawing from a sitting position. I carry dictated by the circumstances. I always felt I could survive a shot in the ass as opposed to blowing my ball off.
Everyone needs to know their body before choosing a carry style. There is no one size fits all and this article fails just like every other in not identifying this reality.
If you have any arch in your back where your butt and your mid-back curve then you will not only print but you will look like your pregnant. No amount of wedges, like Tier1 sells, is going to help.
I have no fat 5’9” 150 lbs and have a small arch in my back. I can tuck my butt in to make my back straight but obviously cannot do that all day long.
Word to the wise.
It seems to me that the parts of the body that is swept by the muzzle in appendix carry is a really big deal, from femoral artery to that thing that guys really enjoy having.