Holstering for Professionals: How to Choose and Maintain a Holster That Meets Your Duty Requirements

You've been there before. You buy a holster at a great price only to realize that you got what you paid for. The thing is impossible to mount and unmount to your pants, and re-holstering is out of the question. The holster gets chucked and you buy something else 3-4 times the cost.

We've already covered this in the first blog post to the Making It Work series, but you can adapt and apply a bit of finesse to make the holster work for you. Something to note: our family will always recommend buying higher quality holsters with features to meet your needs- never settle! However, this post is made for those who want their current holster to work, despite its shortcomings. The shortcoming we will focus on here is re-holstering when a holster that has lots of flex and bend to it.

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The Predator is an OWB pancake style belt slide holster meant to hold tightly to your body. This pancake holster is extremely low profile and slim for easy concealment. It holds very tightly to the body by design and is incredibly comfortable. In fact, it is our favorite leather holster. It features a stiffening strap across the front of the holster to keep the mouth of the holster open for holstering. The Predator features 1-3/4" belt slots that are punched so the holster rides at a 15 cant. It tilts forward but not too much, making it a perfect draw. Like all of our holsters, it also features a custom cut body shield that fits your specified gun and will not interfere with your draw.

In our experience so far, no, holstering does not have any major advantages or disadvantages in gameplay. The only change you will find while holstering your weapon is that NPC's around Halcyon will no longer make mention of your lack of holstering when entering certain areas.

It is the act of re-holstering, however, that proves the most dangerous task a gun carrier will perform with a handgun, and this is why many refuse to try AIWB. The reality is that re-holstering in any position can be hazardous if done incorrectly. But, if done correctly, re-holstering into an appendix holster is just as safe as anywhere else. In fact, if done correctly, I argue that it is safer than re-holstering elsewhere because you can visually inspect the holster opening before inserting the gun and you can control the process better in front of your body than when the gun is strong side or, worse yet, behind the hip.

The new Soma Prime mod from the Entrati Syndicate resets its buff on reloading or "holstering", but there are a number of actions that count as "holstering" that really shouldn't reset the buff, most notably using the Parazon for a Mercy Kill.

Extremely well made holster that makes it easy to carry my full size pistol all day AND compete in club matches, running and gunning.Holster stays put while drawing and holstering.I have recommended this to all my friends who are looking to purchase one.

A majority of self-inflicted gunshot wounds that occur during firearms training or range practice involve the re-holstering of the gun. This is most often the result of poor training, poor gear choices, and a natural human tendency to become distracted during seemingly mundane tasks. While much training effort focuses on the draw, re-holstering is most often glanced over as merely an administrative procedure. The reality is, re-holstering your handgun is potentially the most dangerous thing you will ever do with a gun. The proper technique and mindset concerning this particular aspect of gun handling is in order.

Before delving into the proper approach to re-holstering a handgun, we must discuss some gear and clothing considerations. These directly influence the safety, or lack thereof, of re-holstering. We can attribute many negligent discharges to sub-optimal gear or clothing. When carrying a concealed handgun, you must take all of these things into consideration. To do it right, wearing a gun will influence your clothing choice to some extent.

Even with certain leather holster designs, you need to ensure that the holster stays open after you have withdrawn the gun. Some leather holsters will collapse under the pressure of the belt tension once you remove the gun. This poses a hazard because it demands that you use your second hand to open the holster to re-holster the gun. Usually, this will involve muzzling your hand while re-holstering. Muzzling yourself is unacceptable, and it is an accident waiting to happen. A good holster design will facilitate re-holstering safely with one hand.

Beyond just the drawstring issue, consider all of your clothing choices. For example, do some garments snag when drawing the gun or, pertinent to this discussion, obstruct the holster when re-holstering? Garments with long tails that may drape into the holster can pose an issue. Likewise, buttons placed in bad locations can cause a problem, and the full consideration of these possibilities is in order for every garment that you wear when armed.

The second significant consideration for safely re-holstering is to avoid pointing the gun at your body parts. This is an easier mistake to make than most realize. Any carry mode poses the opportunity to flag your own body when re-holstering. Appendix carry falls under heavy scrutiny due to the perception that the gun is pointing to a more vital area of the body. This is true to some extent. A negligent discharge in the appendix position can cause a wound to the genitals or the femoral artery. This can easily be lethal. Still, strong-side hip carry can result in bad wounds as well. Many shooters tend to tilt the gun inwards when re-holstering, thus pointing the gun down through their hips.

Follow these principles to ensure that you re-holster your gun safely. While a fast draw is important, there are no awards for re-holstering quickly. Do it deliberately, safely, and be sure that you are using optimal gear and clothing for your concealed carry needs.

The metal re-enforced mouth allows for easy one-handed re-holstering. The belt slots accommodate up to a 1.75" belt. This combination allows the shooter to use one holster for daily carry, training classes, and defensive style competition.

This design is double stitched, features full barrel length coverage & an open muzzle, a high back providing a shield between your body & the sharp edges of the gun as well as a 25-degree forward cant for effortless holstering.

This product has the following fits:CZ P-10 CCanik TP9 V2Canik TP9SACanik TP9DACanik TP9SFCanik TP9SFxGrand Power K100-MK12 9mmGrand Power P11-MK12 9mmGrand Power PK1-MK12 9mmGrand Power Q100Grand Power X-caliber 9mmH&K USP .45H&K USP Compact .45H&K USP Tactical .45 (without high vis sights)H&K VP9H&K VP9SKTaurus 24-7 OSS .45Taurus 24-7 OSS 9mm & .40Taurus G2C 9mmTaurus PT111 G2Taurus TX22Walther PPQ Classic 9mmWalther PPQ M2 9mm & .40The Evolution Series is a passive retention holster that includes a retention adjustment screw. The tension screw is not pre-set and allows for retention pressure to be adjusted based upon personal preference. When un-holstering, do so in a deliberate and rapid upward motion. Passive retention is automatically engaged upon re-holstering.

ShastaDefense.com classes,provide instruction in the proper drawing and holstering of a firearm. In the full course, the rangelive fire exercises incorporate drawing and holstering.Also, potential dangers of holstering are addressed.

Trigger finger is still straight and is indexed on the frame of the gun. Support hand is still indexed flat on abdomen. STEP 3: Gun hand elbow is lowered (drops) to orient the gun muzzle directly towards the target. 1911 Safety is still ON (i.e., 1911 is "locked"). Trigger finger is still straight and is indexed on the frame of the gun. Support hand is still indexed flat on abdomen. STEP 4: The gun hand and the support hand meet together and form proper grip. This may be approximately at the center of your body so when gun is driven forward, the dominant eye, sights and target naturally are in line. You will have to find your index point. The gun is driven towards the target. Note: The gun's muzzle does not cover or sweep any part of your body during the drawing or holstering process. 1911 Safety is now turned OFF (disengaged) once both hands come together. Trigger finger is still straight and is indexed on the frame of the gun. Both hands drive the gun straight out towards the target. STEP 5: Gun is at eye level. DO NOT place your finger on the Trigger until you have decided to actually fire the gun at that exact moment, then PRESS the trigger and focus on front sight. When you have decided to stop firing, your trigger finger must immediately be taken off the trigger, and indexed on the frame of the gun. STEP 6: Gun is brought back to a high compressed retention ready position. Trigger finger is still OFF trigger and indexed on the frame of the gun. Scan and assess (turn head left and right) - situational awareness for threats and other good guys to avoid mistaken identity shooting, break tunnel vision, etc... . Safety is now turned back on to "safe" (i.e., 1911 is "locked"). If your gun has a decock, you would do such procedure at this stage (making sure your gun is pointed in a safe direction.). STEP 7: Support hand is indexed flat on abdomen.

Trigger finger is still OFF trigger Trigger finger is indexed on frame of gun, and as gun is holstered, trigger finger will become indexed on outside of holster. Do not allow trigger finger to enter holster. Maintain full firing grip as you holster. Use one-handed holstering. Trigger finger is OFF trigger. Thumb is over hammer as you holster. WARNING: BE CERTAIN HOLSTER IS CLEAR OF ANY OBSTRUCTIONS BEFORE HOLSTERING (e.g., loose shirt, jacket, etc...). Also see: Holster training 2ff7e9595c