All posts tagged Safariland

Levels of concealment in close contact situations

I never thought about this all that much  until the first time that it happened.  In the Advent of cell  phones it’s actually easier and easier to get away with  now, but it can be a problem in unfriendly territory.  Many first time CCW holders start out with a paddle holster and a large size auto, but slowly transition to IWB.   IWB may not be the most comfortable for everyone, but there are problems that can come up with OWB in office, weddings, social environments.   There are gray areas where CCW may not be acceptable, but not illegal, and you may have problems.

I am speaking from experience here and not about what happened to me, but what happened to a friend of mine.    A women he worked with brushed up against him in a door way and hit the side of him where the firearm was.   She felt a clunk and then pushed up against the part of his body where she felt the gun holsters protruding area and start to say “what the hell is that” she kept poking and prodding him until she broke out into a cold sweat and realized it was a gun.   You’re average citizen isn’t going to look for a CCW, but if they find one, they may announce it.   It’s not just about hiding the gun from sight, sometimes concealment means not being able to find it in close contact situations.

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Getting picky about gun holsters is the norm

We get so many phone calls asking us basically asking us to tell people how to dress themselves when they get out of bed in the morning.   Maybe 5% of the questions we get asking about tactical clothing and concealed carry clothing are about how someone will look in the clothing once they put it on.   The same goes for gun holsters.  People often ask us how they feel and how well they are made and all of this really comes down to your personal preference.  I can give you a calorie count for every food item you eat, but you gotta tell me if you liked eating it.

Going through your house and pick out the type of clothing that you can wear all year long is probable impossible for you unless you live in a desert or the North Pole.  Just like we need rain coats when it’s raining and winter coats when it’s snowing, we need gun holsters and clothing for changes in weather and seasons.  Most people don’t carry a shoulder holster when they are living in t-shirt and flip flop land and nobody is going to tell you that you have to wear a leather holster in 100F temperatures.   You have to find what feels right and works for you and then think about another scenario for the other things.

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The FN 5.7 as a defensive weapon

I first saw the 5.7  in all it’s glory with what I would consider to be AP ammo.   I heard a few people mention that they thought that this gun should be illegal, but ballistically it couldn’t do anything that the much more common M855 or SS109 could do.   Yeah I know that a criminal might prefer a handgun to defeat a police officers armor, but the last Police Officer killed here in Pennsylvania was killed with an SKS with standard ammo and a 30rd magazine that actually jammed.   The SKS can take detachable magazines, but I have never seen them hold up as well as the AK family of guns with these mags.   The 5.7 has the ballistics of something close to the 22 magnum, and even though that is not a very powerful stopping round it is as effective as the person carrying it.

I don’t know of any reliable 22 magnum semi auto guns, I know a few pocket revolvers that were fun to shoot, but if you want a small and light semi auto with similar 22 magnum ballistics and has a much  higher capacity, there’s nothing wrong with packing the 5.7 FN.  I think there are better calibers for duty officers, but there are a number of gun holsters like the Blackhawk Serpa that can be had for this gun.  Unfortunately the piece of crap that killed our soldiers at Fort Hood used this firearm arm very effectively, but hopefully anyone reading this will know that every firearm used in the hands of a good and law abiding citizen is an asset to society.

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Tactical clothing and gun holsters

I recently took a swing by several big gun shops and picked up a few products from tactical clothing companies that I was unfamiliar with.   I do think that many of the top tactical clothing companies are much better than the stuff that was being made years ago.   Clothing manufacturing has gotten better in many regards.   I have several BDU pants from Army Navy stores, but I just can’t stand wearing them anymore.   The hand pockets are too small and the BDU pockets are too flimsy.    If I want BDU pants,  The Eotac Style 201 Pants are the way to go.   If I want to wear denim jeans, I’m going to go with one of the tactical jeans from 5.11, Woolrich Elite or Eotac.

One thing I didn’t like about the 5.11 jeans was that the hand pockets were not any larger than my regular jeans which completely eliminates the possibility of pocket carry.   I had a j-frame 38 Special in the pocket and the handle was showing.   I find this to be a real short coming even though the internal pockets that can stow guns or magazines.   I find these pants to be concealed carry friendly to some degree, but they really were missing some features.   I don’t like the fact that there isn’t spot in the right side at about 3 o’clock that would be gun holsters for most right handed individuals.   Even though I think some of the 205 jeans are a little over designed with the rear pockets, I think pocket carry is really important for CCW wearers and the 5.11 jeans isn’t for that.  The 5.11 jeans can hold your wallet or money, but that’s about it.

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New CCW holders and training

Even though I would have to acknowledge that I am above average in training, I would rather spend my afternoon working with a new shooter or a new CCW holder than train with fellow SWAT Team students all day.   There is something more that I get from seeing a Civilian learn responsible ways of handing a firearm and basic defensive shooting skills.   In some Countries like Israel and South Korea, there is mandatory military service and every young man and women gets training to understand that there are threats against their Country and that it’s up to them to pass on the information they learned to every succeeding generation.

I have seen some really bad instructors in all of my years of sitting in on classes and most of them were overzealous in teaching.   I don’t think it’s good instruction to freak people out when they are new to handling firearm in certain situations and being a CCW holder doesn’t mean  you need to train to storm the beaches of Normandy with your Blackhawk Serpa gun holsters.   Learning how to move away from an attacker or barricade yourself in your bedroom with a firearm and knowing where the safest postions are can be life saving training that every adult family member should know.

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Don’t burry your weapons under clothing

I think there is a point that people really can get carried away with the CCW point of view.   There were a few wacky incidences that occured over the years where a gun owner got himself or herself into a gray area and really invited trouble.  The whole open carry debate can be a powder keg amonst many on our side of the aisle, but not invited problems is something we should be trained to think about.   Don’t put yourself in a situation where the method in which you are carrying is going to make you stand out.   For example, we have a lot of customers that carry full size autos that want to carry their firearms in jackets and they always want to know which vests or jacket it will work in.    If this is what you want to do, go ahead and do it, but if you are standing out on a football field at your kids football game and you are the only person wearing a jacket and it’s 70F out, you are going to be out of place, and may invite problems from a smart ass anti-gun person that knows you may be in a grey area by carrying a gun on school property.

I have stated several times that some of the toughest people I know don’t always carry firearms, and many of the best trained shooters are carrying j-frame revolvers.   This has slightly changed in the last few years since there are some reliable .380 pocket guns coming into the market.   I really don’t have much experience with these, but since many of them are new, it’s sometimes a good idea to just sit back and see how well the products hold up and what their reputations are.   There is not always a real need to get too exotic with gun holsters.   A good pocket carry gun could have 6 or 7 rounds of .380 or 9mm and depending on your body size, you may even be able to get a .40 S&W gun in there.  Pocket carry is probable one of the most comfortable ways to conceal a firearm and won’t restrict much of your movement.

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Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t good CCW

Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t a good way of concealing a firearm, but I’d have to say that I think it’s the most comfortable way to carry a medium size auto.   There are considerable differences in the fit of each should rig, but I have actually found that Bulldog and Uncle Mike’s have made some really nice holsters that are very inexpensive.   If you are wearing a good gun belt you won’t have any bunching up where the straps latch on and if you are carrying a firearm in the winter, this can help free up the room around your belt line and give you some other jacket options that aren’t full length.

Galco gun holsters are still making the popular Miami should rig, but I’m not a big fan of the horizontal holsters.   These are banned at most of my CCW courses because it’s hard to actually use the holster and not sweep someone behind you if you are on the firing line.   I prefer to carry large size Sig Sauer pistols when I know I will be wearing a jacket full time and I like to carry them in something other than inside the pants gun holsters. I have recently picked up a Sig 229 in .357 Sig that I hope to get some good practice time in.  I don’t think it’ll be much of a big change from going from a Sig 228 9mm to a Sig 229.   There is a noticeable amount of weight but a whole bunch more punch.

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Concealed carry holter or tactical?

I have to admit that I do read a lot of gun magazines, I guess it’s primarily to educate myself on what is out there as far as firearms and gear and see if there is anything ground breaking.   I remember when I could name about 5 or 6 good gun manufacturers, but now there are so many people making AR15 guns that I don’t think I could really say that I have a very good point of reference if I was going to give my critisism because not all of the direct impingement guns are the same.   There have been some productions with Springfield Armory XD guns when they first came out as well as a few others, but eventually the gun company gets it right.  I have never seen so many holster modifications done in the last 2yrs as I have before.   If you had a Sig 229 6yrs ago and get one now, and put a light on it, time for another gun holsters.

I guess the real question that we need to ask ourselves is do we want a tactical gun or a concealed carry gun?   Even that can become complicated if we start putting lasers on them which many are doing for small frame revolvers and semi-autos.   I took a training course using lasers and gun holsters and learned in the first 5 minutes that a laser has an extreme advantage over non laser guns with shooting around corners.   Anyone that has taken a defensive firearms course has learned to use cover, and limit the exposure when shooting around a corner, keep your feet behind cover and try to only move the barrel and your eyes around the corner.  With a laser, you can learn to keep your gun at one firing point and your head at another which gives your threat 2 things to think about if they want to return fire.

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CCW and gray areas

When an individual decides that they are going to be carrying a firearm, they must first understand that even though they are permitted to carry a firearm, there are some places that they cannot carry.   Most areas that you can not carry are obvious, like government buildings, court rooms ect, but each State has some areas you may not.    Even though it may be legal to carry a concealed firearm into a bank in your State, a bank that has had a previous history of robberies may have a metal detector that you will have to walk through, and since it’s guaranteed that you’ll set it off, it may be a good idea to leave your firearm in the car.

There are many gray areas for CCWing.   When selecting a gun holsters, it may be wise to think about the what ifs, and how much of a headache it’s going to be to have to take your holster off during the day.   I have personally seen a few clip on holsters fail during CCW where the student comically points the gun with the holster on it at the target.   Even though this has occured numerous times, I still have to state that the belts that were being used were not ideal.   It is extremely important to select a good gun belt that securely holds your clip on holster.

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Summer carry options

gun holstersThere have been many changes in the materials being used in modern sidearms.   Many of the polymer firearms have a huge advantage over their previous counterparts primarily due to their corrosion resistance.    Along with corrosion resistance, many of these firearms also depend on lubrication far less.  Gun holsters have progessed as far as being made in materials that can handle sweat and dirt resistance.   I’ve heard plenty of stories about people ruining the finish on various blued firearms just from one or two harsh weather environments and people not getting around to cleaning them in time.   I’ve personally seen a few revolvers end up being horrible pitted after an operator sweat up a storm and never bothered to clean the sidearm.

Many of the revolvers that I saw end up with this corrosion would have survived if used in a non-leather holster.   People have to realize that even though the gun may be off their body, some holster materials will actually absorb sweat and transfer that through the  holster and on the sidearm.   There are plenty of gun holsters out there being made for your Smith & Wesson, Taurus or Ruger revolvers, so don’t think that just because you mostly see Glocks and M&Ps in kydex type holsters doesn’t mean you  get get one for your six shooter.  I have a nice Fobus holster for an SP101 and it holds up very well whenever I am expecting to sweat a lot.

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