Thread: Holster Types
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Old January 11, 2010, 02:59 AM   #3
Jim March
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Join Date: February 14, 1999
Location: Pittsburg, CA, USA
Posts: 7,417
I've been making my own holsters of late, with some of my most recent for two very different guns shown at:

http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=415375 (scroll further down for the setup for a friend's Ruger 9mm autoloader).

Holsters can be classified as "low and loose" or "high and tight" or any combination in between. A tactical thigh rig would be what I'd call "low and tight". Most authenting western period stuff is "low and loose" with a few glaring exceptions (Wild Bill Hickok for starters).

I like "high and tight" for anything "outside waist band" ("OWB"). This lets you conceal with a shorter jacket, and in some cases helps with weapons retention. In crossdraw as I've started to focus on, I've gone so high I can casually rest my elbow on the gun's butt, locking it in hard with my left arm yet not look threatening at all. In case of a grab attempt, my right hand is totally free and I keep a good Spyderco 4" folding knife in my back right pocket I can get to quickly.

I think crossdraw has been under-rated because too many of the rigs are too low-slung. The advantages are interesting: fully ambidextrous gun access, fast access and strong retention.

When I started to build holsters that went THIS high, I found that strongside started to fall apart. It was just too high for that role. It would work only if I did an extreme forward cant and then ran it behind my hip, but then if I'm open carrying weapons retention is a really bad joke. But going this high and crossdraw, it all fell into place.

When I say "high", notice how on the wheelgun the whole cylinder is above the belt - and on the autoloader, the whole triggerguard is above the belt. That's pretty damn high. I've seen a few holsters that almost match it for similar size guns, but still...this is getting extreme.

Nobody else I'm aware of is doing this "belt grab" type of strap arrangement. That's the secret.

Other stuff: I don't like thumb-break snap-straps on any holster used with DA triggers. Too easy for the strap itself to get into the triggerguard on re-holstering and send a round skimming down the outer edge of your leg. Thankfully such accidents don't tend to be "too bad" as far as gunshot wounds go but...why go there?

You might note that my rig for my SA revolver doesn't cover the triggerguard at all. That's because as long as the hammer is down, pressure on the trigger won't do squat. The two other rigs I've made this way are both for DA guns owned by friends, a sweet little 3" S&W 66-3 and the Ruger DA/SA 9mm shown in that thread. Both of those rigs cover the triggerguard.
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