All posts in Blackhawk gun holsters

Is your gun holster going to get you killed?

I remember hearing all of the stories about how AR15 rifle jam and that they need to be cleaned.  Well all of this is true but the complaining seems to be exaggerated.   All firearms will eventually go down if they are not cleaned or maintained which in my opinion is a better term, but some may last longer than others.    I have seem ammunition malfunctions occur in rifles where just the slightest burr on the bullet can cause a feeding problem and taking your gun apart or clearing the malfunction can be difficult.   The same type of thing can occur with any mechanical device, ever get your shoe on your foot all wrong and have trouble getting your socks pulled up?  Mechanical parts will eventually cease up or jam up at some point.

Gun holsters have become far more complicated anymore and with everyone and their dog putting on sights, laser or just night sights, you can end up needing a different holster unless you’re brave enough to tweak the holster yourself.  Recently we had a tactical team show up at our store and pick up some of the Blackhawk Serpa holsters we sell and asked them what they were seeing in the Law Enforcement Community after all of the recent  hoopla.  I already knew the answer to this but I sometimes like to test out the customers we have and find  out what their opinions were of this mechanical device.  The answer was, it’s a mechanical device and it can fail.

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Training with new gear and being consistent

There is no debate about firearms safety, you either follow the rules or you will have an accident.   The problem with fireams training is everyone has an off day, not everyone wakes up in the morning and is at 100% mentally there.  Everyone trips or falls at some point, every slips on the ice they didn’t see and not everyone can think straight until they’ve had their cup of joe. I’ve seen more accidents with Glocks than any other sidearm, but I would say that Glocks are the most reliable firearm I’ve seen at training courses.

One thing that I have seen happen with gun owners, is they juggle firearms around too much.  It really is not a good idea to switch up your holsters and firearms too often because mental lapses can occur.  This seems to be the problem people are having with the Blackhawk Serpa holsters that are getting on the news.  If you don’t use this holster all the time, you may have a problem keeping your hand in the same spot and you’re more prone to curling your finger and causing an ND.  I very much like the retention design and the strength of the holsters, but I would not let a novice shooter start out with  one.

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Gun holtsters for the M9 firearm

Every time we get an order for a Beretta 92 holster we pretty much know it’s a Military customer.   Since we deal with so many soldiers deployed over seas and have been an established business for 7yrs people are finding out about us.   There are some new finishes for the Blackhawk Serpa holsters but most people still stick with the Black versions.  One reason I believe the Beretta 92FS has survived all of these  years is that it for the most part is easy to  use for left handed shooters.   I don’t know what the percentage of left handed shooters are in the Country but it’s a fairly high number to market to.

We’ve been getting more and more traffic at our retail location and a shocking number of our customers are left handed.   We were not sure which gun holsters we should be bringing in, but we did order many of the left handed Blackhawk Serpa holsters for the more popular firearms.  Having ambidextrous magazin releases and charging bolts is very important because a left handed individual is really forced to re-learn mechanical movements that his body doesn’t want to learn.  With defensive shooting training, it is important to practice things that you find uncomfortable but starting out with gear that isn’t up to your primary hand movements just royally sucks.

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A good holster that protects and retains a firearms

There has been so much bad mouthing of the Blackhawk Serpa holsters, but there seems to be some sense getting to people’s heads that its now becoming an accepted reality.   There is always a certain amount of training one most achieve before they carry a firearm. There are plenty of things that one can avoid if they are taught to avoid them and it’s something that always is the result of ND.   I have seen too many people pushed off to firing ranges that had very little training before they started doing defense shooting and dumb things like trigger control meant making an ass out of themselves by touching off a round while holstering.  The one statistic I will have to state is that with everyone of those it was with a Glock.

The differences between having a few extra pounds of trigger pull on a firearm can also reduce this, but if one  has trigger control it’s a none issue.  I have been using Blackhawk Serpa holsters for years now and they are still one of my favorites.  Yes they can fail if they roll in the dirt or snow but all firearms can fail for the same reason.  I have recently been using the Safariland holsters that many LEO have recommended and I understand the differences.  The reality for those that are carrying a firearm is this, if you want firearm retention with a holster, the Blackhawk Serpa holster is still  one of the best  holsters to protect and retain a firearm.

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All that bullshit about gear causing accidents

I am a firearms instructor but do not teach more than a dozen students a year, but it still amazes me to this day that the same problems I saw on firing lines 20yrs ago still go on today.   The reason this happens is there are always new people walking up to the firing line and not everyone has the same starting point.  I admit that when I first started carrying a 1911 over 2 decades ago that cocked and locked hammer frightened me and at the time I felt like the gun was so close to going off that it was almost like carrying a bomb.   After that I remember looking at Glocks and then thinking “those things don’t have safeties” and then I finally came to the conclusion that ever one of those guns is ready to go off if you pull the trigger.

I have friends that have told me that they have seen 1911s shoot with the safeties were engaged and now that I think about it, I’d cry bull shit and say that it was more likely that somebody blamed the gun and not the shooter.   Blackhawk Serpa holsters are getting a bad rap these days even though the USMC just adopted the Serpa its primary holster.   Yes, certain types of guns or accessories can be cumbersome if there has been very little training.  This is something a firearms instructor needs to teach and another reason why it is very important that gun owners find the proper environments to instill these skills.

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Arguments about the Blackhawk Serpa Holsters are the same as the Glock vs 1911

I remember some of the biggest arguments against the 1911 were that they had a manual safety.   Then I started noticing that 90% of the Cops I know were putting their guns in Safariland or Blackhawk Serpa holsters.   What’s the difference?  There is no difference between having a safety on a firearm or a safety on a holster when it comes to deploying your weapon.   I don’t like the idea of having safeties on a concealed carry weapon because deployment in those situations means drawing a firearm from under clothing which in it’s self is another obstacle for you before you can get to the trigger.

I understand the flaws that are being debated and why many firearms instructors do not want those holsters in training classes, but some of the warnings are over reactive.   I have seen many news story of cops with Glocks shooting themselves and it wasn’t because they used Blackhawk Serpa holsters.   I use the Blackhawk drop down leg holster and am very happy with it.   I do not use them for concealed carry nor would I use a Safariland retention  holster.   The debate should not be about the equipment, but about the operator.  Some firearms and weapons should  not be in the hands of novice shooters because they may be more prone to hurt themselves like new shooters.

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Paddle holsters and Locking holsters

Fobus holster have been around for a long time and for roughly $20 they are a very good open carry or sidearm holster.  Recently there was a reminding wake up call to people that open carry after a CCW holder was shot with his own firearm at a convenience store after several youths pulled his gun.   We must always remind ourselves that there are some highly trained criminals out there that can spot 5.11 tactical pants from a mile a way, but many criminals are just looking for the easy life and not going to pull anything off if we don’t make it easy on them.

Locking systems have been around for a long time if you consider thumb break holster, but there are improvements like the Blackhawk Serpa holsters and the Safariland ALS.  Blackhawk Serpa holsters seem to be more popular for civilian gun owners and the Safariland for Law Enforcement and Military.   Each locking holster has it’s pros and cons and to each his own, but if you are an open carry CCW holder, a locking holster should become more of a priority for you.

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Open Carry Holsters and firearm retention

Recently there was a major news story about a guy that was open carrying a firearm that ended up being used against him.   A group of teenagers used his firearm in a robbery.   Apparently there was video of the 2 attackers standing behind the individual with the gun and pulled it from his holster when his back was turned.   While this crime was evil and the attackers should be put on death row, the stupidity of open carry in many situations just doesn’t click.  Here in Philadelphia there was a law abiding gun owner that was arrested for Open Carry when it was wrong for them to do so because it was legal to do in Pennsylvania.

It’s not smart to open carry for both of those reason, you can piss off a Cop that isn’t use to seeing it or you could get shot in the back by two 15yr olds that were unarmed until you turned your back.  If you are open carrying, firearm retention holsters like Blackhawk holsters and Safariland holsters are our biggest sellers.   It is very difficult to get a good grip on a firearm and release it at the same time unless you are the one wearing it.   The angle of retrieval can be in your favor.

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Beretta 92 vs 1911 and locking holsters

There has absolutely been a trend away from handguns with manual safeties for a very long time, but for some reason somebody is always trying to put one back on them.   The Springfield XD is probable the latest handgun that has a grip safety, but that still won’t cause you to not fire if you are are reckless.  Most negligent discharges occur when holstering firearms and if your hand is pushing down, which it mostly likely is, you still might set off the gun.  And now you have played your hands into Glock ownership.

The nice think about Sigs and Beretta firearms is decocking them after shooting and having a not so much safety, but just a heavier trigger which is somewhat of a buffer to prevent negligent discharges during holster ect.   The Beretta 92FS or M9 has a safety, but carrying with the safety off is far safer than carrying a 1911 with the safety off, the Blackhawk Serpa holsters seem to be a very good combination for the Beretta 92 handgun and the carrying them with the safety off gives you the above mentioned heavy first trigger pull and you won’t have to fumble a thumb safety then have to release the holster, and then get to the trigger.

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For CCW, reholstering is as important as holstering

As Rogue Elite has grown in bringing on more and more tactical and concealed carry products, there is a certain level of scrutiny even we gun owners hold on products.   There have been some that we thought were such bad ideas or the products had such a high return rate that we dropped them even though we were making a profit.  The AR15 tactical accessory market is loaded with such items.  Now that there are about 2 or 3 variations of firearms for every design, holster makers have some real work cut out for them these days.

When most of us took a concealed carry holster course, part of that course we dealing with what to do after a shooting.  Re-holstering a firearm after a shooting and before the Police shoot up is very important.  Some gun holsters are very difficult to do this if they fold up.   Leather holsters are known to do this once they have seen lots of use.   Kydex holsters are something to really consider for IWB even though they may not be the most comfortable.  The Galco Kingtuk holsters and Desantis holsters have some more comfortable IWB holster desings.

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