You might need to go further back than 3-4 o'clock with more cant, maybe.
Pretty good advice...I carry at 4 o'clock with no trouble drawing...but here are a few thoughts.
For a true 3 o'clock position, I find that the OWB holster has to be almost up and down...no cant/tilt whatsoever, and with some drop to it to allow me to draw without the gun ending up in my armpit as it clears. This is for a 3-4" auto and service length revolvers. The drop, say 2" from the bottom of the belt loop to the top of the holster mouth gives you that much more room. Check out some of the El Paso Saddlery Border Patrol types on their site for examples...expensive but the quality is first rate. The down side for a 2" or greater drop, is that the gun muzzle is very low, and you need a long tailed coat or shirt to hide it.
The farther back from 3 o'clock the holster hangs, the more cant/tilt is needed. For a 4 o'clock (FBI) carry position, the cant is considerable. This position is farther back allowing your normal arm position to draw without coming straight up. Like scratching your butt...
note that as you reach back, your hand/finger position changes and the cant allows for a firing grip on the gun without flexing your wrist. It's perfect for me in that position: Good arm extension, a firing grip while the gun is still in the holster & it's not so far back that it's hitting the seat back in a car, truck, 4x4 or saddle cantle.
Too, the 4 o'clock is covered by most shirt tails in my wardrobe. And the tilt required to give a good, firing grip on the gun
without flexing the wrist, helps to minimize the muzzle position below the belt line...ie. making it easier to conceal.
The downside for either 3 or 4 o'clock carry positions is the seat belt attachment point for most any car. If you need the gun, and are strapped in, it's going to be a hassle to get to it. Even when released, the belt's female attach point sticks up and hinders your presentation, requiring some body movement to make the gun accessable.
All in all, a shoulder holster, or maybe a cross draw type makes use easier from a strapped in car seatbelt, depending on the height of the seatbelt. I don't like AIWB carry, no matter where I'm seated or standing. The gun's muzzle direction during carry and the presentation are the reasons. Other's find it acceptable however. A shoulder rig has some of the same objections: muzzle direction being the prime one. My #2 son carried his Beretta in one of our shoulder rigs, with 3 mags on the opposite side, plus a 5" blade combat knife while flying teams up into the Kush...the thought being if the acft went down, and he was lucky enought to get out of the pile-up, he'd only have what was strapped to him until pick up. A shoulder rig, made sense with the lap belt and shoulder harness in his bird. The gun on one side with the knife and mags on the other balanced nicely and he made up a number of them for the special ops teams at his base.
To the OP, if you can deal with the gun's inaccessibility while in a car due to seat belt requirements, the 4 o'clock would be my choice. Most guys carry the bulk of their weight in the stomach area, and that right, rear carry position may make sense from that standpoint. Short of that, I'd opt for a shoulder rig and make the necessary wardrobe changes if necessary.
HTH's Rod
