I feel they are safe, however some people are accidents waiting to happen. You can preach safety too them all day and they will still mess up. Just like there is people that don't need to be on the road driving. All that said they are a good retention holster for OC however I think you could possibly miss the button to release the pistol in a stress situation as with any of these retention holsters not just serpa. If people are going to open carry I feel they need to learn gun retention skills in case of a possible gun grab. That's a very real possibility that can get you killed fast by your own pistol.
Myself I just don't open carry around the public if at all possible. If you want to that is ur decision.
I have one for every full-size handgun I own. Used them on deployment. I have nothing but praise for Blackhawk Serpa holsters. I've used both paddle and belt backing.
I have a BlackHawk Serpa holster - it's on my hip right now, as a matter of fact. It works for me as a CC holster if I'm wearing the right shirt. When I lose enough weight, I'll be switching maybe to a raven concealment or something similar. I have drawn hundreds of times with it since May, both with live and dry fire practice. It's the first holster I've owned (that POS Uncle Mike's doesn't count). If I do ever switch to another holster, I may take this one out of the rotation entirely, as I don't want two types of drawing to practice. Until then, this is what I'm sticking with.
I prefer the paddle style for the extra support and balance.
I see there is a lot of pro and cons on the Blackhawk Serpa. I am some what confused about what the problem with this rig is. I have carried my Glock 36 in this holster as EDC. I am not sure what the talk is about a release button. My holster has a Phillips head retention adjustment screw that I keep just tight enough so that the gun will not fall out if the holster is turned up side down and there is no release button at all. The other thing I am not sure how a trigger finger can be put on the trigger on a draw
I use a paddle Serpa regularly with my full size Px4. No problems. With an adequate belt, it fits close to the body and is quite concealable under an un-tucked shirt or suit jacket.
As with any equipment you carry, you need to practice, practice, practice. Know your grip, sight picture, trigger pull, safety manipulation, jam clearing, as well as safe draw techniques.
Neglect any of these and you will be less safe.
I see there is a lot of pro and cons on the Blackhawk Serpa. I am some what confused about what the problem with this rig is. I have carried my Glock 36 in this holster as EDC. I am not sure what the talk is about a release button. My holster has a Phillips head retention adjustment screw that I keep just tight enough so that the gun will not fall out if the holster is turned up side down and there is no release button at all. The other thing I am not sure how a trigger finger can be put on the trigger on a draw /////Sorry folks got knocked off and only half what I was writing got saved////// I have found that the right clothing goes a long way to prevent noticeable printing. Most of the time where I live I am in Tee's or polo shirts worn OWB. I am lucky the with of my shoulder width allows me to wear very wide shirt side. I have to admit as of late that my body is slowly filling that void. For our 5 cooler days I have found that Wrangler's Utility shirts allow me to wear a Tee IWB with the shirt acting as light jacket and easy access to the gun. I have heavy shirts of this type for late night walks when it is cool. I have one modified jacket also for cool weather for over ISW shirts. I wear the holster at 3 o'clock but when entering my car or a restaurant booth I slide the rig to a 2 o'clock position using my fore arm in what readily passes as a normal act. I prefer to wear my Tees to about 2 inches below the bottom of the holster. When going to draw the gun I hook my trigger finger under the seam of the tee and as I lift the shirt my other three fingers will grasp the handle of the gun and then as the gun clears the holster my trigger finger is on the side of the slide by the way is where it should be. Another advantage here is my left hand and arm is left to do something else like a left hook to a thugs kisser. Would I recommend this approach or holster absolutely NOT. There are more holsters and draw actions out there than what Carter has little liver pills. Bottom line the choice is your only do it yourself and take advice from others as a reference point only. Semper Fi. Stay safe out there J.
I like the CQC SERPA holsters, but not the Sportster version from Walmart. Big difference in quality. The vast majority of plain clothes LEO I see around here use CQC Serpas, so that's good enough for me.
Blackhawk came out with a holster that had a level of retention other then tension. The Serpa holster for this time was a clever design and very fast! I had 2 sent to me in Iraq a paddle for on the FOB and a thigh rig for off. Very secure and rolling around in the dirt had no negative effects on reliability. That being said with the negative press along with unknown abilities of students I would be reluctant to run a line full of students with Serpa rigs. Seems to me blaming that holster is like blaming the weapon for the neg discharge! What part of indexing means put your finger on the trigger before your on target? "But hay I was excited" I did not hear of any N discharges while in country 06/07 due to this holster .To many tactical fashion show operators out there for my taste, you know the ones, a lot of talk then have a hard time putting holes in that threatening paper target under time .
The whole mess of finger on the trigger on the draw with the BH Serpa is a load of BS.........if you put your finger on the retention release and draw your finger ends up un the grip frame of the firearm not on the trigger guard.
If you put your finger on the part of the retention release that houses the trigger guard and try to draw......you will NOT be able to draw the weapon.
Pretty simple.
I used a serpa on an armed job for three years and I have been using them on my own and watching others use them since 2004,i have never seen an ND where a serpa was involved.
I wish I could say you're correct, but I can't. I'll never understand many folks loyalty to sub-standard gear. To each their own, I believe my stance on the Serpa is plain enough. Best wishes to any that decide to use them.
I use 'um. They're OK. I think I like the Safariland, 'GLS' better, though. I prefer the SERPA paddle; it always stays on the belt during the draw.
Only thing I don't like about SERPA holsters is that they don't conceal all that well, and carry the pistol's butt well out from your body.
The SERPA is a holster that you need to practice drawing with, too. I usually don't carry in C-1; so this hasn't been a big problem for me. I do, however, tend to keep my index finger nice 'n straight on the draw; so this helps. SERPA's are inexpensive - but not cheap - holsters.
When I first heard of these issues as I stated in my previous post I did some experimentation with the serpa.This also was cause for me to take a look at all my leather holsters that I use for concealment.
I have mainly Galco and Don Hume leather with and without thumb break ,as I was examining each holster the realization hit me that none of them had a place in the design for defined trigger finger placement...........yet people use and draw from holsters like these every day in training and defense situations. The vast majority do so without having ND's.It would also be possible for someone to have an ND with any of these holsters.This lead me to the conclusion that it was within the realm of possibility to have an ND with ANY holster in a given situation.
I don't like them because they are plastic and they hold the butt of my gun far away from my body printing very badly. My leather pancake style holsters are much more comfortable for me to carry a 5" 1911 all day and don't print nearly as bad.
That is a legitimate gripe LimaCharlie, and I respect that.
It's all this "dangerous to draw", "you're gonna shoot yourself in the foot/leg", "crud, debris, rocks, boulder build-up in the mechanism", "all respectable trainers and instructors reject them", "defective", "second rate", and all the other ridiculous statements thrown out there by people representing themselves as some sort of "ninja expert", that we should all accept at face value, that I can't stomach.
From lack of maintenance, or even normal use Glocks, Smiths, SA's, and Rugers have been "witnessed" to "lock up". Following your logic, I guess we shouldn't use them either. I'm done here Skip, I can't take it anymore, I'm getting a headache.
This. Todd has brought together some of the best in the business on his site and together there are probably a few centuries of experienced high-level trainers and practitioners there. When they develop a consensus I tend to give it quite a bit of weight. When you get all these places, public and private, that do see problems that are bad enough to create a dangerous situation one might want to consider there are problems.
I'm thinking it's best if I not invest anymore of my time in this thread. If anyone isn't clear on my position on Serpa holsters please feel free to PM me.
I use them for the range. As far as CCW, I use a De Santis. As far as NDs, Never seen it due to a serpa, down range with M9 or on range with Glock.
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