All posts tagged Springfield XD holsters

Don Hume holster why do we sell so many?

Don Hume HolstersThe simple answer is they are well made and inexpensive holster that gets the job done.   If you work in our store for very a full day I can guarantee that you will hear from atleast one customer a day walk in the door and ask for a holster for a specific gun but have absolutely no idea what type of holster they are looking for.   My first response is always this, “do you want leather or kydex? “A nylon holster or retention?” and most of the time the customer doesn’t have a clue as to what I’m asking about.  Price ranges of holsters can vary dramatically and usually that’s a follow up answer to the above mention questions.  Don Hume holsters aren’t the prettiest but for under $40 they are very stiff holsters that do  a very good job.

I personally moved away from leather holsters but depending on the time of the year I would never push someone away from them.   We are a stocking dealer for the Don Hume holsters and we offer a pretty good selection of Glock, Sig Sauer and J-frame holsters  in our store.   The Don Hume jit holsters a very fast holster but I recommend them for medium or small frame guns.  The largest gun I use in a Don Hume Jit holster is a Sig 228 because I’ve found larger frame guns to stick too far out the bottom and in my opinion can cause a safety issue because they can be pushed upward and out of the holster in some situations.   I highly recommend the holsters for IWB carry.

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Fobus holsters vs other paddle holsters, some thoughts from a retailer

fobus holstersI have several product lines that I have brought in for myself just because I knew I would probable end up buying several items from it for my own personal use.   One of those product lines is the Fobus  one and I can’t say it was because I was a huge fan of the entire product line, it’s just that they make an  extremely practical holster for a very low price.  I’ve been testing out a Safariland 6378 paddle holster and after a long break in, i do like it but there were some issues originally.  I have to say that as far as securing to my belt, I don’t find the Safariland holster to be more secure even though it’s a little more difficult for me to get off.  It may sound like a contradiction, but I had some issues with the gun pulling the holster off my belt when i was 90% sure the gun was secure.   It hasn’t happened since the holster was broken in, but when the gun was tight, it did happen.

The things people have told me they don’t like about the Fobus paddle holsters is they aren’t that strong, well, for most holsters, if you pull on certain parts of them, yeah, they can break and Fobus holsters aren’t exactly built like a tank.   I do think that they Fobus holsters that are the paddle design are very good for IDPA, winter carry, or even for your first 2 day training course.   Paddle holsters always seem to be more comfortable than IWB , but they aren’t always as secure.   Some of these holsters can be had with a belt loop design, but I’m not a huge fan of those.  If you know people are complaining about the lack of retention or adjustable tension, check out the Fobus E2 holsters, the bad thing about those is they aren’t making them for too many guns.

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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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Blackhawk Drop Leg holsters easier to deploy

Blackhawk Serpa HolstersBlackhawk serpa holstersThe Blackhawk Serpa holsters became our most popular level II holster due to its easy use and reliability.   There are plenty of reasons to not use thumb breaks and locking mechanisms on holsters, but for those carrying openly or using a sidearm as a secondary weapon, having a easy to release locking holster is comforting.  For hard use and physical work, holster, gear and magazines can come loose.   The Blackhawk magazine holders for double stack and single stack magazines is probable the best made magazine for concealed carry because there are no flaps or covers over them, but they still retain the gun magazine with tension.   The design of the Blackhawk holsters works right with your basic firearm safety procedures and will easily be released by the trigger finger while it is in the safe position away from the trigger when be retrieved.  The Blackhawk tactical leg holsters are also big sellers for those carrying full size autos like the Beretta 92 or Glock 17.

Angles make a big difference in the easy in which you can deploy your firearm.  If you look at some of the Desantis leather holsters there are numerous belt holsters that have different angles, the Blackhawk Serpa holsters that are drop leg holsters are at a lower angle and in my personal opinion less likely to have an operator slide their finger off the holster release button that on the waist.  There are always body types and situations where this can cause an issue but for me I like the drop leg holsters more than the belt.  There are some attachment devices that you can use to make your Serpa holster a molle compatible device and we are stocking more and more of these adaptives.

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Inventory Availability for Don Hume holsters

We got in a very large shipment of the much sought after Don Hume holsters.  I just had a customer come in here and ask what the big deal is with them and I told him that the big deal is that these are the best price leather holsters out there.  They definitely are not the nicest looking holster which Desantis and Galco will show you but if you are on a budget.  You can get a good holster for under $25.   Now that so many people are packing, not everyone really knows what it’s like to carry and how comfortable certain types of holsters are.  There are many of our customers that don’t want to carry IWB because it’s not very comfortable but from a defensive standpoint it probable is the most recommended method of carry.

I do like the Don Hume Jit holsters and if you compare these $20 holsters to the Desantis Scabbard you are going to spend 2x’s as much for a similar holsters but they are not as nice looking but they get the job done to some degree.  Most of the Don Hume holsters that I use are for small or single stack magazines.  I have noticed that the j-frame and Sig 239 holsters work very well but the Sig 228 holsters seem to flop a little and in my opinion aren’t as secure.   Some of the flopping can be avoided with a paddle holster or an IWB holster.  Do your research on the size of the gun you are using and see what other people are saying.

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When do you need a retention holster?

There are so many guns out there and holsters that it is very common for people to waste money buying things that they don’t need and then it sits in a gun safe or a box in the closet.   Training is more important than firearm selection and many of my friends got in the habit of thinking that if they needed a self defense firearm they should buy something expensive.  There is nothing wrong with carrying a j-frame revolver and all the craze about .380’s in recent years is really just marketing.   Ballistics of a .380 are very low and this is  not a very powerful round although there has been some improvement lately.

When it comes to holsters, you don’t need to spend $100 on a holster for it to give you some stealth advantage over your enemies.   We sell a lot of Blackhawk Serpa holsters to law enforcement but I shy away from pushing these for CCW.   There have been many times that I have had customer walk into my store and have a firearm with a light  on it and none of the holsters that they originally came in looking for worked for them.   There have been many times that they picked up an Elite Survival Systems holster because there was more adaptability with their designs for lights and lasers.

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Official Safariland Holster Dealer

It’s official, Rogue Elite is now an authorized Safariland and Bianchi dealer here in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  Our Broomall showroom and the demand from local law enforcement has given us a strong and stable foothold in this area after 7yrs of drop shipping various products for years.  There are many products that our Law Enforcement Community have asked for and many of them can only be had by direct dealers and not through drop shipping distributors.   The Safariland product line is vast and the variations in firearms, light and lasers that are available to them can great complicate the holster selections.

Many tactical teams need thigh or drop leg holsters and many are using the TLR-1 or TLR-3 gun lights.  Not everyone chooses to use the same gear and many have used the Safariland holsters with the Surefire X300 flashlights.  The change in flashlights can cause many to use a different holster and at $140 per holster that really can get expensive.  There is usually a very thorough testing period before a department chooses a sidearm and flashlights take just as much time to test out.   Normally it’s Surefire or Streamlight but we have seen quite a few of the Viridian laser flashlight combos.

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You get what you pay for with holsters, but sometimes you can pay too much!

I have several very nice leather holsters from brands like Galco and Desantis and they really, really, really look nice.   Most of them get used on rare occasions but there was a time that I thought I need to spend money like  that for a good holster.  When you spend a $1000 on a firearm sometimes it’s hard to complain about spending $75 on a holster rather than wonder if you are a cheap skate for spending only $25 on one.   One of our most popular holsters right now are the Don Hume holsters and although they are not as nice as the Desantis, they are very well priced.

When it comes to carrying open carry or in the winter, I personally prefer to carry large frame autos.   One of my favorite holsters for the winter are the Fobus holsters namely the newer E2 models.  These have a level of retention that you can adjust unlike the original fobus paddle holster design and this will give you some tolerance for safety and security.   If you want something a little bit more secure then probable the level 2 retention holsters are for  you, but these tend to be over played for concealed carry.  I’m not a big fan of locking up firearms unless i’m on duty.

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Crossbreed holsters vs Galco Kingtuk and the Desantis holsters

I am always looking to carry a larger firearm but in a more comfortable manor.   Several years ago I found  out about the Crossbreed holsters and at first, they seemed very large and I didn’t understand how they could be more comfortable.   Like I always do, I ask around amongst my friends to find out if you they ever heard of something before I spend a dime on it.   Asking questions at a gun club or asking someone if you can try their firearm out is always the best way to get the feel of something.  I heard about Trijicon ACOGS for years before I ever looked through one and my first impression was that I didn’t think a 4x optic was worth $800.  They cost even more than that now.

I’ve tested a few of the Desantis and the Galco versions of these holsters and I have some  pretty consistent feedback.  I started out with the Desantis holsters that we stock so much of an I’ve known for years.  We tested out the Desantis Scorpions and the Galco Kingtuk holsters for the Glock 19 and this is what happened.   After about 3 months the Desantis Scorpion belt straps which are made of kydex broke.  The following week a customer walked back in the door and told me they broke in his XD holster.   We noticed that the Galco Kingtuk holsters all have metal clips and not  one of them has broken.  Desantis was nice enough to send us replacements but the replacements were all kydex.  It’s time for a redesign.

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Fobus holsters are the best starting point for buying holsters

There are as many gun holsters out there to choose from but it’s always a good idea to have a few different style of holsters to give  you more diversity in the way you can carry a firearm.   Fobus holsters are designed for primary or secondary carry, they are our number one selling Competition shooting holsters and often get sold with concealment vests.  Glock Fobus holsters, Sig Fobus holsters, Beretta Fobus holsters and Springfield XD holsters.   The 1911 Fobus holsters  have no retention devices to disengage and make a great companion to the 1911.

Recently we held a Utah CCW course in our store and several of the people showing up were very new to firearm ownership.  They were completely oblivious to what type of holsters to use and we recommended starting off with the Fobus holsters like their paddle holsters.  These guns are very inexpensive and are often used in our new competition or defensive training.   For many medium or large frame firearms, if you are not sure if you want a customer kydex holster that costs $50 and up or you you don’t know if you want a leather holster, this is the best starting point.

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