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REALLY appreciate all of the thoughts and ideas guys. It does mean alot to me. Thank you (and thank you in advance for more thoughts that will surely get posted heh).
Moving to a smaller firearm is something that I dunno if I'd be comfortable with. I chose my carry weapon very carefully based on what my perceived level of comfort and needs were. Not gonna start a caliber war, but I won't carry a 9mm. A smaller weapon in 40/45/357/etc - maybe. Would be the joy of learning how a new-to-me weapon acts (particularly adjusting to the new recoil and sight picture).
Pocket carry I'm a bit unsure of. Sure, the weight of the firearm is somewhat buffered by friction of the pocket against shirt/undies/skin ... but the weight is still hanging off the belt area of the pants. Kinda like having a lot of change. Which would make it not too different than any belt-based rig. In particular, an IWB setup where the leverage will be similar.
NE Bull: weak side carry would mean a new holster, just a heads up. Can't just spin your belt around heh. It's something that makes me quite nervous though. I dunno if I've ever really put effort into trying a two handed weak hand. Single weak hand I'll practice just cause, but not two handed. I learned a new keyboard layout (Qwerty -> Colemak) in about 3 weeks. Wonder how long it'd take to learn to weak hand a weapon.
Is your problem just joint stuff, or musculature ?
Dan: off body. I do have something of a fanny pack like thing. It's not really a fanny pack, but it's... kinda ? Anyhoo, it's got an concealed area for a firearm. I had bought it for use here at work when a coworker and I would do for walks. Change into shorts + wear that thing.
It's.... somewhere. I'll have to dig around and see if I can find it and take pics.
These days, the Wilderness Safepacker would just be mistaken for as a phone protector
abbafandr: any particular things ya did to note shoulder carry safety stuff ? Sure, I can watch myself draw in the mirror and try to figure out how to properly do it to keep the muzzle in a 'safe-ish' direction at all/most times etc - but that's far different than someone simply showing you once or twice with pointers on what to be conscious of.
I've talked to someone else that shoulder carried for a long time and they mentioned that you do start to dip to that side etc. I wonder if I'd be trading my current problem for another one down the road ?
shooter: Suspenders!
Haven't worn them in 30 years. But they might help more evenly distribute the weight, especially if they're cross suspenders or something like that. I'll step into a walmart tonight and see what they have etc.
I don't mean to go on any kind of offensive rant. And this isn't directed at anyone. It's maybe.... just some insight.
For anyone who hasn't had back / disc pain: what used to be comfortable, or ya wouldn't give a second thought to, or is as simple as 'breathing' - back/disc/nerve pain makes you re-learn EVERYTHING in your life.
For me, it took a few months to learn how to simply stand up "correctly". I have a swivel office chair here at work. I sit in the corner of an L shaped desk. To leave, I have to "go" to my right. How would most people and I normally get up, push off with their left leg to spin the chair a bit and reach out with their right leg. Plant their right food and push out of the chair with their arms while spinning their torso / hips to bring their left leg in front of them.
Just a normal way of getting up from a swivel chair if you have to turn to the right.
It took me forever to learn to just fully turn in the chair, and stand up "straight" with both feet pointing directly in front of me. No twisting motion at all. Stand up fine and all is great. Deliberate movements.
With the twisting motion that any normal person would do ? I get several "pops" and I stumble as my left foot hits the ground due to the acute pain.
I carry loose change in my left pocket and keys in right to try to balance the weight of my pants.
When leaning forward on something (such as the tables at the cafe), I'll try to push my shoulders back in to rotate / bring my chest up. This way the curve of the lower back is
not humped but rather concave compared to my shoulder blades.
Leaning forward / down 4 inches while standing to flush the toilet can be an adventure some mornings. Similarly, using toilet paper where ya just gotta twist a bit or maybe lift just one leg a bit is fun acrobatics if your back is mad at you that day.
This is NOT meant to sound derogatory: Kinda like how young children don't understand why grandpa can't run or jump etc.
