DefensiveCarry Concealed Carry Forum - View Single Post

LVLabs · December 2nd, 2007, 12:42 AM

First and foremost ccw is a compromise and many more times than not it has to be dressed around such as slightly larger shirts and pant's. Sometimes you might need the extra inch to wear an IWB holster.

I prefer leather holsters myself but the "hybrids" (leather and kydex) such as the Crossbreed Super tuck or other models they offer as well as Tucker "the answer" and Comp-Tac MTAC are all good choices too. If you don't have a holster now, I suggest you choose one that you can get ASAP. Many if not all the custom holster makers are 2-24months + wait time so IMO you are going to have to choose something (At least to tide you over) that you can get within a week or two or even less if possible.

Also, you are going to have the need to have a few different holster types to adapt to what you are wearing. IWB is the best concealable holster type other than a "not so smart carry" or something like that.

Touching on what I call a not so smart carry holster a bit. The smart carry IMO is for the need of deep concealment when there is not really another option or you might not have all the perfect holsters for every situation. The smart carry is slow, IMO hard to get to, has the potential to snag on the way out (especially under stress) and the big one is, at least for me, I carry how I train and leave it there. There are some exceptions of course but 99% of the time my gun/holster is right where it belongs, exactly where I train.

For example, If you choose a smart carry design and then go to the range and train with an OWB at 3:00 strong side you are not doing yourself any good. If you really need your weapon someday you 9 times out of 10 are going to draw from where you have trained, your muscle memory will be set in to that position.

But, like I said, there are situations that will arise that you could use a fanny pack even (I recommend one designed for ccw use), so the old, you will have a drawer full of holsters mostly means that we have several that adapt to the dress situation. The other issue of the holster drawer, is some really have a drawer full of junk holsters trying to get around the idea of buying a quality holster whether it is due to the wait, price or both and end up spending more and wasting even more time and discomfort in the long run.

With that, the bottom line is none of us can tell you what the right holster is for you, you just have to dig in and find what works for you your situation and mode of dress the best. There is no way IMO to buy (1) holster for all occasions. Life just doesn't work that way and buying holsters is no different.

I have a over a couple thousand invested into holsters just because I like buying them from the top makers and want 3-4 choices for each gun I have. I do use them but a few get used much more than others and with a change of season comes change of dress so a carry change to OWB is now an option where as it might not have been in the summer time.

Buying and changing holsters is no different than the evolution of the gun. I started out with a high end 1911 over $2,000 still making changes with the gun to fit me or what I thought I wanted and I love to carry a 1911, due to it being so thin and easily concealed but I also found that it wasn't my best fighting weapon while training. After some time training and taking several classes, I found I didn't like the skinny mag's as much when having to quicky insert a mag and get back on target. That I didn't like how the thumb safety chewed the base of my thumb up by the end of the class racking the slide after inserting a mag quickly. found that even though a 1911 is an awesome weapon, it wasn't, at least for me the best choice. I actually went to Glock's and find they fit everything I want in a ccw, so go figure!

So, in a nut shell, you have to crawl before you walk kinda deal. Meaning, you have to do some exploring with holsters testing what will work for you the best. With IWB, look for the wide separation between the loops for stability such as a VM-II or similar. OWB, look for how close it fits or wraps the body for concealment, etc.

The main thing I want to convey though, is really consider wearing your holster where you train and/or train where ever you wear your holster. Don't train strong side @ the 3:00 position and then stuff your HK in your pants to ride in a smart carry, I have seen this untold amount of times when a class is over, the training holster goes in the range bag and a smart carry or another type holster comes out in a total different position then where they were training from. If things get ugly and you need your ccw, you are going to need it fast and if it is in your pants in a flimsy holster thing called a smart carry, is that really giving yourself the best opportunity to win? Buy holsters around how you want to train and carry, not what others think you should buy just because they hove one. Everybody thinks that there VM-II or MTAC or Crossbreed is the best thing ever cause they have them, this might not be the case for you.

Good luck in your holster exploring, just try and choose the highest quality holsters you can that are likely to work for you the best.

Didn't mean to be so winded about the subject but I apparently had a lot to say about holser buying.

December 2nd, 2007, 12:42 AM	#3
LVLabs Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 47	First and foremost ccw is a compromise and many more times than not it has to be dressed around such as slightly larger shirts and pant's. Sometimes you might need the extra inch to wear an IWB holster. I prefer leather holsters myself but the "hybrids" (leather and kydex) such as the Crossbreed Super tuck or other models they offer as well as Tucker "the answer" and Comp-Tac MTAC are all good choices too. If you don't have a holster now, I suggest you choose one that you can get ASAP. Many if not all the custom holster makers are 2-24months + wait time so IMO you are going to have to choose something (At least to tide you over) that you can get within a week or two or even less if possible. Also, you are going to have the need to have a few different holster types to adapt to what you are wearing. IWB is the best concealable holster type other than a "not so smart carry" or something like that. Touching on what I call a not so smart carry holster a bit. The smart carry IMO is for the need of deep concealment when there is not really another option or you might not have all the perfect holsters for every situation. The smart carry is slow, IMO hard to get to, has the potential to snag on the way out (especially under stress) and the big one is, at least for me, I carry how I train and leave it there. There are some exceptions of course but 99% of the time my gun/holster is right where it belongs, exactly where I train. For example, If you choose a smart carry design and then go to the range and train with an OWB at 3:00 strong side you are not doing yourself any good. If you really need your weapon someday you 9 times out of 10 are going to draw from where you have trained, your muscle memory will be set in to that position. But, like I said, there are situations that will arise that you could use a fanny pack even (I recommend one designed for ccw use), so the old, you will have a drawer full of holsters mostly means that we have several that adapt to the dress situation. The other issue of the holster drawer, is some really have a drawer full of junk holsters trying to get around the idea of buying a quality holster whether it is due to the wait, price or both and end up spending more and wasting even more time and discomfort in the long run. With that, the bottom line is none of us can tell you what the right holster is for you, you just have to dig in and find what works for you your situation and mode of dress the best. There is no way IMO to buy (1) holster for all occasions. Life just doesn't work that way and buying holsters is no different. I have a over a couple thousand invested into holsters just because I like buying them from the top makers and want 3-4 choices for each gun I have. I do use them but a few get used much more than others and with a change of season comes change of dress so a carry change to OWB is now an option where as it might not have been in the summer time. Buying and changing holsters is no different than the evolution of the gun. I started out with a high end 1911 over $2,000 still making changes with the gun to fit me or what I thought I wanted and I love to carry a 1911, due to it being so thin and easily concealed but I also found that it wasn't my best fighting weapon while training. After some time training and taking several classes, I found I didn't like the skinny mag's as much when having to quicky insert a mag and get back on target. That I didn't like how the thumb safety chewed the base of my thumb up by the end of the class racking the slide after inserting a mag quickly. found that even though a 1911 is an awesome weapon, it wasn't, at least for me the best choice. I actually went to Glock's and find they fit everything I want in a ccw, so go figure! So, in a nut shell, you have to crawl before you walk kinda deal. Meaning, you have to do some exploring with holsters testing what will work for you the best. With IWB, look for the wide separation between the loops for stability such as a VM-II or similar. OWB, look for how close it fits or wraps the body for concealment, etc. The main thing I want to convey though, is really consider wearing your holster where you train and/or train where ever you wear your holster. Don't train strong side @ the 3:00 position and then stuff your HK in your pants to ride in a smart carry, I have seen this untold amount of times when a class is over, the training holster goes in the range bag and a smart carry or another type holster comes out in a total different position then where they were training from. If things get ugly and you need your ccw, you are going to need it fast and if it is in your pants in a flimsy holster thing called a smart carry, is that really giving yourself the best opportunity to win? Buy holsters around how you want to train and carry, not what others think you should buy just because they hove one. Everybody thinks that there VM-II or MTAC or Crossbreed is the best thing ever cause they have them, this might not be the case for you. Good luck in your holster exploring, just try and choose the highest quality holsters you can that are likely to work for you the best. Didn't mean to be so winded about the subject but I apparently had a lot to say about holser buying.