Bad carry choice

[singlestacksig]

Not to get off track but Serpa holsters are wildly popular with the military.
I have never heard of an issue with one guess that's what I get from being isolated from civilian life.
I do know of two situations where a glock went bang after being shoved in a waist band.

https://www.fletc.gov/sites/default...g-room/training-information/holisterStudy.pdf

 

[rhino]

Do you guys ever use an IWB holster to open carry? Or is this generally received as lazy or in bad taste? I want to carry similarly to this, but dont want to be percieved negatively because of improper holster application.

Yes. And I decide what is the proper application of my holster.

In fact, some IWB holsters offer pretty good retention in that it's tough to remove the gun unless you pull at the right angle. The forward cant of some makes it hard to pull the gun out from the rear, which is a good thing.

 

[seagullplayer]

Yes. And I decide what is the proper application of my holster.

In fact, some IWB holsters offer pretty good retention in that it's tough to remove the gun unless you pull at the right angle. The forward cant of some makes it hard to pull the gun out from the rear, which is a good thing.

I'm with Rino, I think it is a safe way to open carry.

I CC most of the time, vast majority in fact. But when I do open carry most of the time its in an outside holster.

I think when John Q Public sees OC in an obvious deliberate fashion for all the world to see. He is less likely to get over excited than if it looks like you stuck a gun in your pants and forgot to hide it. That's just my presentation of the situation.

Legal, yes. Safe, yes. Smart, perhaps not in some places...

 

[Coach]

I would like to see all carry being thought out and proper and safe. Anyone carrying with a holster is the minority of the pistol owning world it seems. Which I fail to understand.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Not to get off track but Serpa holsters are wildly popular with the military.
I have never heard of an issue with one guess that's what I get from being isolated from civilian life.
I do know of two situations where a glock went bang after being shoved in a waist band.

Popular due to being issued, and the fact very few military members actually fight with a pistol.

Dirt and debris can get wedged under it, said Kyle Lamb, a former member of the Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta and president of Viking Tactics, which trains military and law enforcement personnel in shooting skills.

"We have guys roll around in the dirt, and when they get up, they can't transition to their pistol. The pistol is stuck in the holster. I've seen it happen at least five times in my classes," Lamb said.

Military Times article.

 

[Expat]

I was behind a guy at a gas station a month or so ago. It looked like he had an unholstered 1911 stuck in his front jean's pocket. That's all I got.

 

[Coach]

I was behind a guy at a gas station a month or so ago. It looked like he had an unholstered 1911 stuck in his front jean's pocket. That's all I got.

Why would I need a holster is the question usually asked when I get crazy and ask why they don't have one. I mean it is a "hand" gun.

 

[cedartop]

In the vein of the thread, I am really liking this new column from Greg Ellifritz. Don?t #DIGTHERIG- Part 2 | Active Response Training

 

[ACC]

My brother in law carries his Glock 30 with no holster, only one of those attachable clips on it. I tell him all the time I think he is nuts. Uncovered trigger = bad news.

 

[Expat]

Why would I need a holster is the question usually asked when I get crazy and ask why they don't have one. I mean it is a "hand" gun.

By that line of reasoning, shouldn't you carry it around in your hand?

 

[Coach]

By that line of reasoning, shouldn't you carry it around in your hand?

Openly.

 

[Coach]

In the vein of the thread, I am really liking this new column from Greg Ellifritz. Don?t #DIGTHERIG- Part 2 | Active Response Training

But .... it has a lifetime warranty.

That gun company has Jessie Duff and that is about it. On further reflection she may be enough to keep them afloat. If they put out a calendar.

 

[seagullplayer]

Dirt and debris can get wedged under it, said Kyle Lamb, a former member of the Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta and president of Viking Tactics, which trains military and law enforcement personnel in shooting skills.

"We have guys roll around in the dirt, and when they get up, they can't transition to their pistol. The pistol is stuck in the holster. I've seen it happen at least five times in my classes," Lamb said.


I have that style holster, I use it just about everyday. Now I see why I'm not having any trouble with it.
I'm just not testing it under the correct conditions. I can't remember the last time I rolled around in the dirt with my gun on.
Guess I got some work to do tonight after work...

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Dirt and debris can get wedged under it, said Kyle Lamb, a former member of the Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta and president of Viking Tactics, which trains military and law enforcement personnel in shooting skills.

"We have guys roll around in the dirt, and when they get up, they can't transition to their pistol. The pistol is stuck in the holster. I've seen it happen at least five times in my classes," Lamb said.


I have that style holster, I use it just about everyday. Now I see why I'm not having any trouble with it.
I'm just not testing it under the correct conditions. I can't remember the last time I rolled around in the dirt with my gun on.
Guess I got some work to do tonight after work...

And hopefully you never will, but people do get knocked down in altercations. Snow, mud, dirt, etc. can jam the mechanism.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Dirt and debris can get wedged under it, said Kyle Lamb, a former member of the Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta and president of Viking Tactics, which trains military and law enforcement personnel in shooting skills.

"We have guys roll around in the dirt, and when they get up, they can't transition to their pistol. The pistol is stuck in the holster. I've seen it happen at least five times in my classes," Lamb said.


I have that style holster, I use it just about everyday. Now I see why I'm not having any trouble with it.
I'm just not testing it under the correct conditions. I can't remember the last time I rolled around in the dirt with my gun on.
Guess I got some work to do tonight after work...

Unless it is an agency issued holster many top pistol trainers will not let that holster be used in their classes. There is very good reasons why, BBI named #1and there are other problems with the Serpa.

I'm not going to name trainers but I have seen "no Serpa unless issued" on more than 2 well respected trainers gear requiments.

The basic thought is if you are not mandated by your employer to use bad equipment, then don't. Use tools that are proven to work properly.

 

[cmepp18]

I confess. I have walked to the mailbox with IWB holster and pistol in my front pocket, clip on outside.

My favorite open carry was a young man in Meijer a few years ago. He was probably 6'5" tall and weighed about 350lbs. He had a full size M&P holstered in the middle of his chest. I had to admit. I liked it.

I am having a really hard time visualizing this. Was he wearing a chest rig?

 

[VERT]

I am having a really hard time visualizing this. Was he wearing a chest rig?

Probably bibs. More then once I have seen pocket pistols stuck in the chest pocket of bibs.

 

[Jackson]

I haven't read this whole thread. So this might have been said already. If you carry a gun to use in a fight, you need to go test your equipment in the expected conditions. You need to test it across the whole range of conditions in which you might need it to work. You need to be able to access it quickly and consistently. It needs to work dirty. It needs to be stable and repeatable, and durable. It needs to work with a 250lb guy on top of you trying to punch you in the head.

All of these things can be reasonably approximated in a testing environment. If you can't use your method of carry in a uspsa or idpa competition because it takes 4 minutes to access the pistol, it's not good enough. If you can't roll around in the dirt or run across a field and not break the holster or drop the gun, it's not gonna work. If you open carry and you haven't gotten in a wrestling match with a blue gun in your holster to see what its like, you haven't tested your assumptions.

All the words on the Internet aren't worth the experience you get from actually spending a few hours testing your gear, your skills, and your assumptions in a reasonable approximation of the real world.

 

[rhino]

Also . . . if you wear kydex or similar gear that is held together with screws, CHECK ALL FASTENERS ON A REGULAR BASIS, even if you have the best gear available and you loctited all of the scres.

I just looked down in the bathroom and saw on the floor what looked like one of the screws from my holster. It was.

 

[iChokePeople]

I haven't read this whole thread. So this might have been said already. If you carry a gun to use in a fight, you need to go test your equipment in the expected conditions. You need to test it across the whole range of conditions in which you might need it to work. You need to be able to access it quickly and consistently. It needs to work dirty. It needs to be stable and repeatable, and durable. It needs to work with a 250lb guy on top of you trying to punch you in the head.

All of these things can be reasonably approximated in a testing environment. If you can't use your method of carry in a uspsa or idpa competition because it takes 4 minutes to access the pistol, it's not good enough. If you can't roll around in the dirt or run across a field and not break the holster or drop the gun, it's not gonna work. If you open carry and you haven't gotten in a wrestling match with a blue gun in your holster to see what its like, you haven't tested your assumptions.

All the words on the Internet aren't worth the experience you get from actually spending a few hours testing your gear, your skills, and your assumptions in a reasonable approximation of the real world.

+1. Preach!