All posts tagged IWB Holsters

Inside the waistband holsters?

I remember when I finally realized that there is no such thing as a perfectly comfortable way of carrying a firearm, you just learn how to adjust to carrying it.   The people that have no complaints about how they carry a firearm probable don’t do a lot of physical work because for those of us that are physically active are going to feel the guns press up against us especially if they are medium or large frame.   It is funny to say though that the most comfortable gun I can carry is not the smallers, but its actually the thinnest, the Colt 1911.

More people I know carry firearms on belt holsters and not IWB and I have to say that that is partially because they are too fat to put a gun in the belt. The Desantis holsters that I have been using recently are the Sof-tuck holsters.   I will report back after I use them for awhile.   One of my biggest issues lately with the IWB holsters is they become flimsy and do not hold their form and re-holstering firearms can actually become dangerous if the holster does not all the gun to go in easily.   There are reasons to be able to quickly re-holster a firearm after a fight so that  you can lay low until the police arrive and not be standing there with a gun in your hands.

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Physical work and concealed carry

I still to this day do not know how I have hurt myself but there were times that I was carrying IWB and bruised my hips and couldn’t carry the gun for awhile.  I think it was possible from driving in a car for a long time and had the seat belt kind of squeeze the gun up against me a  little more.   That is still to this day the most annoying thing about driving is having to put a seat belt on and carrying a medium or large firearm on your belt.

I much rather carry on a shoulder rig, but that is not a very good CCW method in warm weather and the should harness can be a dead giveaway.   Galco holsters makes the nicest leather holsters and the Miami Vice Classic should holsters looks the best when when wearing a suit and tie.   I think  the real reason everyone is moving towards pocket carry as an option is there is really very little discomfort for every day carry.

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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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The Importance of pocket holsters….

There have been many times where we have thought we could just wing it when it comes to using firearms and skip cleaning it or carry it in a pocket without any kind of a holster.  I have never been a big fan of carrying firearms in a coat or a jacket because there are just too many things that can go wrong.   Years ago, it may go down as our favorite crazy customer, was a time when a guy picked up a Woolrich Elite lightweight vest and after putting various firearms inside the vest pockets, called us up and told us that the gun still printed and we were a fraud company for sell a vest that was suppose to conceal a firearm.

That level of knowledge or lack there of, is pretty common in every area of society, but I wonder if that guy still gets made if his guns spin around or when he reaches for them they aren’t there.   With all of the gun holsters out there, something like the Desantis holsters, especially for the pocket holsters like the LCP guns, which seem to have become incredible common you still should have any pocket gun in a pocket holster. Lint, and other things can cause problems and reducing the chances of excessive movement is very important.  It will cost you $20 or less for the most part.

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CCW holsters can become complicated are they worth the hassle?

We recently had a few guys being deployed to Afghanistan that were looking to get Molle vests but they heard about an Elite Survial quick detach one that is coming out.  These guys all knew what it was like to get into situations where you have so much stuff strapped on you that it can be life threatening if  you get snagged on something or need to drop the load and move somewhere.   It’s also a comfort thing to some degree because if you can take it off quickly you aren’t wasting time.   The same goes for getting the stuff on which is why quick release gear sells faster.   Shoulder holsters can be very comfortable to wear especially for large autos but they are hard to get in and out of.

When it comes to waking up everyday and putting on a gun, nobody that CCWs for a long time is going to want to spend extra time with the hassles of clip things here and there and make adjustments.   The Galco Kingtuk holsters are a good idea and more comfortable but for every day carry they are little bit of a hassle to get on and off every day.   I will say that I use them for social environments and not for work because of the comfort levels but thats something for the buyer to decide.   Galco glock holsters  and Galco 1911 holsters are outstanding leather holsters.

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Do you own that gun that’s hard to find a holsters for?

In a recent conversation about some of the new pocket guns from Ruger like the LCP and the LC9, many people are calling us up asking us if we have ANY type of holster for their guns.   Gun holsters have just gotten far more complicated in recent  years and even the guys  in the military have to go through some research to buy a holster.   Guns are sold with rails, without rails, some handguns have lasers on them and others want to keep a light on them.    You literally could have 3 or 4 of the almost identical holsters with just slight variations depending on how it is configured.   There are always customer holsters for those with the money to fork out, but not everyone wants to spend $80 on a holster.

One reason to stick with a handgun for CCW that has been out for awhile is getting replacement parts, gun grips, gun holsters and even ammunition might be a good idea.   Blackhawk holsters are probable our biggest selling holster, but they don’t have the versatility as a nylon holster maker like Elite Survival does.   Elite Survival has Made in the USA on their products but might be a little bit above Uncle Mike’s gun holsters and Blackhawk nylon holsters   or even the Blackhawk Omega holsters.   If you are looking for IDPA or a duty holster, the USMC has now adopted the Blackhawk Serpa Holsters as their primary retention holster.   I believe it replaced the M12.

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Holsters that don’t cut it

I have a long list of things about various holsters makers that I don’t like and really wish they would fix, but it just doesn’t seem to happen.   I still don’t get these clip on IWB holsters that pop off of you when you bend down and get up.   I guess some people are as flexible as I am at my age, but I’ve tested a few IWB holsters this year after carrying a Glock 26 for a few months and 2 of them failed the first day i wore them.   Even with a good gun belt you can still have failures with IWB belts.   I believe I saw an instructor at Gunsight tell me that he sees failures with IWB holsters at almost every one of his training classes.

The failures usually occur when you draw your gun from your holster in a manor that you don’t normally do when you are moving slowly and something makes the clip hop off the belt.   The next thing you are doing is point a holster firearm at a target and you won’t be able to get to the trigger.   I have a pile of  Galco holsters and some of them are really nice and others just don’t cut it.   The Stow-n-go holsters are very comfortable but once you draw your gun, it’s very difficult to get them back in and that’s not a good thing.   Being able to holster your firearm after an incident is very important.

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The balance between design and size

In the firearm community there are some very well known facts, but they don’t always get the spotlight that they should.  One of them is about the reliability of shorter versions of the 1911 style firearms.   Sometimes the more you deviate from a reliable design, the more you deviate from reliability.   I see an awful lot of people go for smaller, compact or sub compact versions of a firearm and the limp wristing and an ammunition tolerances seem to decline.  The lighter the slide, the more likely the gun is not going to handle the same volume of fire, may need more gun lubrication and most likely will be more prone to limp wristing.   One of these examples I have seen time and time again are with 1911s and the Springfield XD models.  The standard size firearms are extremely reliable, but the other shorter versions are not.

When it comes to gun  holsters, I recently found that although I like certain gun holsters, it doesn’t mean I like them for every gun I own.   Most recently I was ordering a restock on the Don Hume gun holsters and I ordered several of the Don Hume Jit holsters for every gun that they made them for.   I have never used one for a Glock 19, but I thought I’d give it a try.    A j-frame, or Sig 239 work really well in these holsters because they are smaller and thinner than a Glock 19, but the Glock 19 that I tested them out on felt kind of flimsy.    I was looking at this  holster as a CCW option, but it really did not hold up against my body like the other firearms did.

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More praise for the Blackhawk Serpa Holster

I recently got a customer phone call about the Blackawk level II leg holster.   This is our number one selling leg holster and there’s a reason why.   For many of the guys running competition shooting, this holster gives you free upper body movement with a carbine without having too much gear on your chest to snag a rifle sling.  Many of the rifle slings that you really should use on an M4 Carbine should be quick detach.   It’s nice to be able to secure a firearm to you, but bad things can happen when you can’t get your gear off.   Ask an EMT or medical technician about getting seat belts off of injured people and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

There is a quick detach mechanism you can install on your holster, but it’s a little hard to explain it without doing a video explanation.   One good thing about the Blackhawk holsters that I use is that I can swap anyone of them out on my drop down rig depending on which sidearm I want to use.  The one thing I have noticed about this type of leg holster is the flexible yet hard back keeps your gun in place when you are moving.  Some of the nylon versions of these holsters will wobble when  you walk and that might be a problem if your gun is not in place when you reach for it.

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Somebody needs to make a decent pair of denim CCW pants

I’ve seen a few companies attempt to do it, but nobodies done it right.  Woolrich Elite made the 4909 Denim jeans, but the color and cut was not very popular although the idea was good.   I know Woolrich has since discontinued the jeans, but they were pretty close to doing something really good.   Eotac which was basically a newer version of everything that Woolrich Elite had out did a better job, but it still could have been better.   There were more than a few complaints about the thighs being too tight on many of the early productions.

I believe there were only 2 production runs on the Eotac 205 pants, and the latter made the changes, but it still wasn’t quite right.   The other issue was although the side zipper pockets were liked, the back pockets were over done and they looked too much like tactical pants from the back.  If there was just a ID pocket, they would have almost been perfect for CCW.   The  5.11 covert pants were just horrible for CCW.   CCW pants really should just mean big pockets and comfort for carrying a firearm, not this hidden pocket crap all around the inside of the pants, which made retrieving gear almost impossible.  What’s the point?

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