All posts tagged leg holsters

What to train with and how much money do you want to drop on a holster?

gun holstersI have a large number of guys that are detectives or just got hired for a job, and sometimes even first time concealed carry holders that don’t have the slightest idea of what they want.   People come in here and ask me “do you have anything for a Glock 26” and point to the holsters I have thinking I’m going to point them to a holster.   I then bombard them with “inside the waist” or “outside the waist” “do you want a leather or kydex?” “Righted or left handed?”   It not until i start talking about which hand holster they want do they give me any sense of knowing what to say.  I don’t think you can compare holster shopping to anything else because it’s not like shopping for tactical pants or gloves.   With crime like home invasions and a slow economy people that have money think more about protecting their homes and assets.

I  think Kydex probable outsells leather now but with so many people putting lights on their guns it made shopping even harder.   Our quick fix or go to problem solvers are the Elite Survival Systems holsters but gun holsters like Fobus are the starting point for the majority of our new gun or concealed carry permit holder.  They are very easy to put on and work well with most belts.  I do highly recommend people get a good gun belt like a Desantis leather belt, Blackhawk pistol belt or a Wilderness belt.   They are much easier to use than putting on a belt through or snap on holster.   Getting into retention holsters is another level but sometimes people have to have the right starting point and only an experienced shooter will be the source for good  info.

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Nylon holsters from Blackhawk

Nylon holsters are always a good starting point for people to understand what it’s like to carry a firearm.   I have several of the older Uncle Mike’s gun holsters that I picked up at gun shows and they are all holding up.   The only reason I don’t use them is because I don’t find them to lock onto my gun belts as well as they should, so I’ve moved on.   To this day that is still one of the major reason I pass or fail a gun holster.   The gun angle or how deep it sits is a personal preference, but clip on belt holsters better be secure or they get an F.

I’ve picked up several of the Kydex holsters from Galco and was not very happy with them for the same reason I did not like some of the Uncle Mike’s clip on holsters.  The Blackhawk holsters like the Hip holster are pretty much the same.  If it works for you then use it, but they aren’t going to be the most secure.   Some of the Elite Survival holsters are better thought out and made in the USA so give them a shout.

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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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Blackhawk vs Fobus holsters

At first I thought it was an absurd comparison, but we’ve had a lot of people walk into our shop and ask us which one was better.   I’ve always viewed Fobus holsters as competition or training type holsters but not really a duty holster.   I won’t say they are fragile, but there is something about them that just makes me thing they are kind of an introductory holster.   For about $20 you can get a paddle holster for just about any medium or large frame semi-auto and that is probable the number one reason people get them.   Most CCW holders don’t carry large size frame autos so Fobus gun holsters don’t really get used  for ccw as often.

I personally don’t think locking systems are a good idea for CCW, but for duty work, military work and open carry, they are probable the best holster you can have.    Blackhawk holsters are a great open carry holster because with open carry you have no obstruction to getting to your holster so finding the release button should be a non issue.  If you are carrying with a vest or under a shirt or sweatshirt clearing the firearm from a garment can be tricky enough, but trying to find a release button and the possibility of snags already in play, you are increasing your chances of not retrieving the firearm.

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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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Even if you don’t want to wear a Serpa Holsters

If you were not aware of this, let me fill you in, the Blackhawk gun holsters are one of our biggest selling holsters, but a less known fact is that their magazine holders are the best thing you can use for CCW or duty use.   There is a time and place for Nylon gun holsters and magazine holders but they are not very practical for concealed carry purposes or for use in competition use.   I’ve had a few magazine holders that were either extremely uncomfortable, they rattled too much when I moved or they just didn’t hold the magazine at all.   I’ve never lost a magazine before but I’ve had them fall out of magazine holders that did not have any kind of retention.

Magazine retention is something you’ll have to decide on for yourself, but I am not a fan of carrying spare magazines in pockets or in nylon holsters if I am carry a firearm.  The Blackhawk gun holsters that I use are  normally in use while training on a Carbine course, but the blackhawk single stack and double stack magazines are always in use.   You can hang upside down with a loaded magazine and you won’t loose the gun mag,  and if you need the mag there is nothing to clear before pulling it.   There are a few color options as well as the Carbon Fiber magazine holders for you to look over.

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tactical gear and accessory ordering online

I’ve been doing a lot of product evaluations and we’ve been scouting the tactical apparel and accessories industry since the NRA Convention in Pittsburgh.   We pretty much brought in new gun holsters and apparel for the CCW holder and we’ve already been well immersed into what most military contractors use.   Some of the new Smith Elite Optics have a really popular turbo fan goggle that have been flying out the door and we’ve already been taking orders to blow out the next shipment.   A great many new customers have been dropping in and calling us on the phone asking who are we because they’ve never heard of us before but we have been showing up in gun magazines and conventions for the last several months.

Most of our new customers are finding us on the internet through search engines and many times it’s because they found us after bad experiences with a few other companies.   It’s somewhat shocking that some of the highest ranked businesses on Google and Yahoo are companies that have an F rating with the better business borough.   Gun holsters are hard to find in many gun shops and now that there are so many new guns like the Ruger LCP,  Galco holsters, Blackhawk holsters and many more have to keep up with what is being put out.  You gotta be real careful who you do business with and that’s one reason we’ve thrown up a facebook page so that our customers knew who we were and that we respond to our customers questions and needs.

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Glocks 17 holsters and safety

I view the Glock pistol as an unsheathed knife.  When you pull a knife or a sword you better pay attention to where your blade is because it will cut you.   I am not big fan of manual safeties on handguns because the closer you are to a bad guy the less time you’ll have.  On an AR15 it’s whole other story.   I am also not a big fan of carrying firearms around with empty chambers.   People gotta realize that when bad things happen, you don’t have all the time in the world and giving yourself one more thing to do before you can defend yourself is a bad idea.   I recently did an audit of all of the friends and family members that I know that carry firearms and the vast majority of them have never been in a really hostile situation.

I, unfortunately have too much experience in those regards and I completely understand what “stress” is in combat or hostile situations.  I never got into the whole CCW thing just for being a cowboy.   I’ve seen evil and I know the dark side of what humanity can do and it’s not just about defending our lives, it’s also about defending the innocent.    I think there are some good designs out that may be at higher safety level than Glocks, but the Blackhawk holsters that I like the most for Glock firearms is the Serpa.   The Level II tactical holsters lock the gun in place, you hear it click and you don’t have to worry about thumb breaks or guns flying out of the holster because there is nothing to retain it.

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Ankle holsters how will you know it will work for you?

One problem I have run  into and some of our customers have asked about is how do they know if a holster will work for them.   The answer is the obvious one, you gotta put it on and try it out.   The majority of our customers are responsible, but we’ve had people walk up to us and lift a shirt or a jacket and  show us what gun they are carrying, and if I didn’t know they were customers, I would probable have pulled a firearm on them and yelled “Freeze”.   I saw a funny quote at a gun shop that warned shoppers to not expose firearms because there would be severe consequences.

 

Finding a gun shop that actually stocks gun holsters is a chore.   Many gun shops in my neck of the woods only stock the big sellers, which are usually paddle holsters or tactical holsters.  Finding good concealed carry or CCW holsters is hard.   I went shopping at several gun shops that stocked Galco holsters, but not a single one had a place for me to try on an ankle holster and the clerks seemed annoyed when I asked.   The best way to shop for holsters is to find a distributor that has a good exchange or return policy.   That way if you know it doesn’t feel right you can just return it.   Holster packaging seems to be designed for holsters to taken out and put back in, there’s a reason.

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Are there bigger 9mm than the Beretta 92FS?

I’m trying to think here, but I can’t think of too many.   The Sig 226 is the closest firearm that I can think of.   There are always trade offs between firearms and if you want the power of a +P 9mm with 15rds,  you really can’t beat the Beretta 92FS.   The gun has a long enough history of being proven to be reliable, and in my many years of owning a shooting them, I have never had any problems with it.   Finding used 92FS magazines is easy and there will probable be as many of them laying around 20yrs from now as there are 1911 magazines.

I have a few family members that have served in the Military and each and every one of them has mentioned that the gun is so darn big.   If you are carrying a loaded M9 pistol, and you are 5’6″  I can understand the gun is probable big for you, but do you really want to do guard duty with a Walther PPK when guarding the entrance of a base?  Having a good gun holster like Blackhawk holsters or a Galco shoulder holster might help offset weight.  I have no idea why the US Military is still afraid of putting hollow point ammunition in sidearms, but the 9mm +P does not have a good reputation.   Private contractors are a different story and it seems that the 92FS still has a good reputation with them.

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