orangehole

No thumb straps for me. I see them delaying my speed on drawing. Since I carry concealed, I have no fear of my weapon being snatched but if I were a LEO, It would be mandatory.

LTPhoon

I like 'em just fine..

Harold Green

I used to use a thumb-break holster until I started practicing defensive shooting simulations. Once I started doing this I gave them up for a number of reasons.

The first is a safety issue. Almost everyone I've watched re-holster in a thumb-break holster muzzle sweeps their support hand with a loaded weapon. There is a technique that avoids this, but it's not very natural or quick.

They make doing a one-handed re-holster more difficult. This isn't a big deal unless your support hand is occupied and your attention focused on taking care of other important issues.

They're fast on the draw if you're composed and focused on drawing your weapon. If you're in a high-stress situation, fumbling with a thumb snap tends to quickly become exponentially more problematic.

A good quality holster with a friction retention feature (especially the Kydex ones) will not release your weapon unless you intentionally pull the weapon out of the holster. I use a Kydex IWB holster with a tension adjustment. I've done somersaults with mine to test its ability to securely hold the weapon and have never lost the weapon. I've ridden ATVs and motorcycles over rough terrain at a good clip as well as engaged in other vigorous physical activity without loosing my weapon.

Over several years time, I've watched a good number of individuals use thumb-break holsters in the shoots I run, and fumble with them on a fairly regular basis. It's been my experience the straps just tend to get in the way at the most inconvenient times.

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"A gentleman will seldom, if ever, need a pistol. However, if he does, he needs it very badly!" -- Sir Winston Churchill

"He who goes unarmed in paradise had better be sure that is where he is." -- James Thurber

Ben Hennessy

For a belt holster, never. Just one more thing you have to think about if you have to draw your weapon.

TonyW

I'm no expert, but I've never seen the need for one. A well made holster, made for your particular gun, with a good gun belt and worn correctly should retain you gun just fine. I have purposely worn my Glock 23 in my K&D holster while rough housing with the son and the dog and have never had a problem.

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There can be no proper relationship between one who is armed and one who is not; nor is it reasonable to expect that one who is armed will voluntarily obey one who is not, or that the latter will feel secure among servants who are armed. The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli

glock21guy

I had a thumb break on my holster till I took my first class at Gunsite. When we started doing the 1.5 sec shooting drills it just got in the way. The Cop 3 Slot use has a retention screw at the trigger guard level so I just cut the strap off.

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Aaron

If you don't protect your self, who will?

Joshua M. Smith

It just depends for me. Most of the time, yes, I use one. Is it vital? Probably not. I had one gungrab attempt. It was fairly innocent: The person was in my house, a good friend, but not to much upstairs. They said "I want to see your gun" and tried to grab it. I immediately leaned down with all my weight on both the gun and their fingers. The break retention came in handy as a measure to slow the person down. (While I was redoing the thumb break, another friend who did CCW got in this person's face and began a very... ummm... stern... lecture about how you NEVER, EVER do that.)

When I drew in defense I never even thought about the break. It breaks when my thumb is naturally positioned to disengage the safety, or make sure the safety is disengaged, depending on the mode it's in, SA or DA.

Josh <><

__________________
Is it better to live by a corrupt society's standards rather than face persecution for not doing the same? This is the dilemma we now face. We must hold fast to our convictions as we confront this dilemma. Knowing one's self goes a long way in the crisis. - Me

H&A Firearms Board

Tangle

I have found the very same thing. While the concept is simple, execution is problematic under stress.

I discovered this in Gunsite's Advanced Tactics Pistol course. I did fine with a thumb snap until the pressure went up; then fumbles started showing up.

QKShooter

No thumb breaks or retention straps for me but, I won't get mad at anybody that feels the need to have one.
It's a personal preference thing but, practice drawing from your holster often...especially after switching back to a retention style holster from a sans-thumb-break style.

The reason should be obvious.

686

Always with OWB.Also,i use crossdraw.Left hand on thumbreak,right hand on gun.Practice,practice,practice!