1911 - OWB - Thumb Break or No Thumb Break?

[Thunder71]

I'm torn on what to get, but have narrowed it down to two holsters - one has a thumb break, the other does not.

For this poll:

1911
Cocked and locked
Outside the waistband
Primarily concealed, but occasionally open carried

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Phillep Harding]

The way my hand falls for a palm-to-body draw just automatically puts my thumb where it would break the holster open.

Now, the Uncle Mike's holsters tend to have a horrible design on their thumb breaks. (Sometimes you got to go with what a local shop has on hand long enough to get a replacement.)

(If you have to go with a UM, replace it ASAP.)

[Thunder71]

Haha, good point and I agree... I'm waiting, and the two holsters I'm looking at are Galco's - Concealment and Fletch I think they are called.

[mlr1m]

Personally I prefer without, but that is with a holster properly fitted to the gun. One thats fit holds the gun snugly. I carry concealed though.
My holster of choice is the Milt Sparks SSII.

Michael

[OD*]

Never lost a 1911 in 34 years of carry, and never had a thumb break on a holster.

[Thunder71]

I have to say, that speaks volumes.

[OD*]

I have to say, that speaks volumes.

Just buy the best fitting holster you can (and can afford), you'll be good to go.

For nearly ten of those 34 years, I carried mexican.

[sensei2]

if you're going to be a, "one gun, one holster" guy, then i don't think it makes much difference which way you go, although i would personally prefer a thumbbreak if i ever open carried.

if you will use different holsters, then i would recommend that all of your holsters be the same: either all have TB's, or none. i think mixing types here would not be a good idea.

none of my OWB belt holsters have TB's, but then i only carry concealed.

for me, the one situation in which i have to be careful is seating myself in a chair with horizontal 'rungs' in the seatback. because i carry in the 4:00 position, behind the right hip, if i'm not careful, the gunbutt can snag on one of the 'rungs', even through my cover garment, and get pulled out of the holster.

other than that, i have never come close to having my gun come out accidentally.

[Thunder71]

That's a good point... and currently my other holsters do not have one.

[rmoberly]

Good thread. Thanks. I have trained with TB and my current holster, much like the one pictured above is TB. Still looking at tactical applications for the near future.

[BkCo1]

Get a holster custom made for your gun and that has a forward cant then you won't need a thumb break. Any smart person can defeat a thumb break. With a holster as described the gun is being drawn only one way and that the way YOU are supposed to draw from it.

[smolck]

I just got this one and it is a Kimber logo'd Galco. It looks and feels like a concealable and is an amazing holster. The best part is the forward molded design Galco speaks of on it's website. It isn't marketing hype, it is really a worthwhile design. Makes it VERY comfy and very concealable. Anyways, for dedicated OC I would personally choose a thumb break holster, but for CC this one I have is exceptional. Also the amount of forward cant would make it hard to grab from behind me. Hides easily under a normal golf shirt.

IMG_0007[1].jpg

[Fredmertz51]

I wear a thumb-break OWB under a t-shirt while running, and a non thumb-break IWB every day concealed for a 642.

[rednichols]

Though I can appreciate the desireability of a strapless holster, as I've pointed out they require no skill from the designer.

More importantly, for those of you carrying S/A autos, an important function of a well-designed thumbreak (and it's not anything like as easy as it looks, because the thumb safety and the rear sight are right there, as well) is to block the hammer in case of a sear failure. Especially those of you with good trigger jobs; 1911 safeties don't lift the hammer from the sear, as some later derivatives do.

bianchi conceal (8).jpg

Many P.D.s absolutely require thumbreaks, which were first used and patented in the 1950s by the now-defunct Bucheimer company.

[Thunder71]

If I recall correctly, my grip safety would have to be depressed in order for the hammer to fall all the way on my Kimber Ultra Carry, correct?