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Old May 6th, 2009, 07:48 PM   #10
TN_Mike
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Join Date: May 2006
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TN_Mike
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAC View Post
Oh, it works great, until you're under stress. It isn't that the system is unsafe, it's that it's potentially unsafe when it matters. Draw against the timer, draw while trying to move onto/away from a threat, draw while running, draw while fending off someone already close-in, or someone about to be close-in... The hand naturally wants to clench, and that's a very hard instinct to overcome. Since at least part of your hand is required to in order for the Blackhawk holster to work, you've already given the O.K. for that instinct, hence the NDs associated with the system.

It's not an accident some of the more experienced folks in the training world speak poorly about the SERPA. Training can mitigate some of the risks involved, but what advantage does the SERPA have over other retention holsters that don't share the same sort of "finger-uncomfortably-close-to-the-trigger-to-draw" risk? I see cons, but can't see any pros.


-B
Perhaps you fsiled to read my entire post BAC. As I stated I have had to draw TWICE this year under stress, for real, and one of these times the scum bag was uncomfortably close to me when I did so. No ND. No "clenching". I'm sorry but, if someone can't overcome what you call an instinct with training, then they shouldn't be carrying at all.

As for the advantage that the SERPA has over a holster with a conventional safety strap, everyone knows how to operate that, and there isn't a bad guy out there who can figure it out in about one second if he didn't already know. The SERPA isn't instinctual to operate so it is more resistant to a gun grab. And it is much harder for someone to operate the retention system if they are not the person wearing the holster making a gun grab that much more difficult and unlikely.

And one more thing, no matter if you are using a SERPA or a holster with a strap or just an open topped holster, by your reasoning BAC, anyone who draws under stress will have an ND because no matter what type of holster you use, your trigger finger should be EXACTLY where mine is in the photos demonstrating the proper draw technique from my SERPA. I think a lot of people like ot bad mouth the SERPA because a few big name trainers have said some very stupid things about them.
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