Shoulder Holsters

[robert1811]

Do you guys carry? If so what type of handgun and length do you carry? What about double shoulder holsters. Ive been thinking of getting a shoulder mount and have gone back and forth between a double and a single. What do you guys think?

[bamaranger]

I've got a repro GI sholder/Chest holster, the type witn a single strap that you simply duck into. It is not a concealment rig, as the strap circles the neck and shoulders and is visible from the front. Look at about any WWII Pacific Theatre aviator and you'll see one.

It can carry my 4-5/8" Blackhawk, my M28, or my Hi-Power (not intended, but you can wedge it). Keeps the pistol clean and dry, away from other gear or a pack belly band. You can draw from seated/and buckled in a vehicle or on an ATV without a hassle. And you don't need a belt to use it. Hang it on your bedpost or tent pole, slip it on in your BVD's right out of the sack.

[PSP]

A shoulder hoster is not as practical for many situations, but when my back is aching, I sometimes use a Galco Half Harness or Miami Classic for a Sig P232. I have a Cobra Convertable for any Kahr 9mm model. IMHO, small, lightweight guns are more suited to shoulder carry. Most rigs are designed to have the weight offset by reload mags under the other arm but another firearm would work. I find that tie-downs help in keeping the rig stable more concealable. Quality and a good fit are important. That usually translates to expensive.

[Vireye]

I conceal a SIG Sauer P228R in a Galco Miami Classic II.

It's comfortable, but doesn't come with the tie-downs...you need to buy them seperately

I use them when I'm in the car for long periods, or stuck behind the desk. Easier to draw in those scenarios (IMO) than from a standard holster.

Looking to pick up a standard Miami Classic or a Galco Executive for my PPK/S in the near future...

[Mike Irwin]

I've carried using a shoulder holster for years.

I prefer it over most other types of hoslters.

Search on my name and the term sholder holster and you'll see a lot of my thoughts over the years.

[BGutzman]

Galco Miami Classic II

I use the same holster for my Sig P220 Carry... Its proven to be a workhorse and a comfortable way to carry.

[rodfac]

Not sure what you mean by a "double shoulder holster"...for concealed carry?

Son #2 uses a shoulder rig in Afghanistan for his M9, with a triple mag holder on the off side, but it's far from "concealed" and would probably be fairly obvious in civilian garb, "mufti" if you will, except under a jacket of some sort.

For hunting, a good shoulder rig makes a lot of sense: good protection for the gun, ability to carry a long barreled revolver comfortably and still have it readily available, and easier on the hips etc than a conventional belt holster. Plus, it's out of the way of your rifle or shotgun, back pack, and other hunting paraphernalia

Here's a pic...my son is in the middle with a more or less standard armpit rig...the guy on the left has a "Tanker" type. Both of these were made there in-country, by my son. If you look closely, you can see his survival knife attached to the mag pouches. The thought being that if the airplane goes in, they'll probably only have what they're wearing if successful in getting out. Hence the equipment on their persons. The leather to build these rigs comes from Tandy, here in Louisville, who ship to them over there at cost, knowing it's going to the guys on the front lines.

HTH's Rod

[Grant D]

I use a Bianchi X15, I can carry my 5" 4" or 3" 1911's in it, works good for me.

[Rifleman1776]

Uncle Mike's for my 7 1/2" barrel Ruger Redhawk in .44 mag.
I'm not very tall and it needed some modification but very comfortable and I like.

[kraigwy]

There are times with shoulder holsters beat anything out there. They can be quite comfortable when you're into phyical activities.

Get one and make sure it fits, make sure its adjusted right, and you'll never know its there, even carrying a heavy revolver such as my Model 28 in the bottom picture.

I carried the same set up with my Model 29 when fishing in bear country. Easy to get to, and out of the elements.

A belt holster is hard on the hips when traveling on skis or snowshoes carrying a pack.



If you're playing army (as in the National Guard) and have to carry a weapon this shoulder holster is hard to beat. Again you never know its there.

[JimDandy]

I also have a Miami Classic II. Galco makes at least four main shoulder holsters, the Classic I, Classic II, Jackass, and the Vertical Holster System. The Jackass and Classic I are fairly similar, and I can't at first glance distinguish a difference.. Most of them are basically the same but then vary on the angle the magazine pouches or holsters themselves are worn... i.e. vertical or horizontal.

Galco is probably one of the main production holster makes for shoulder rigs.. First, because they're even more expensive than a good IWB wiht more leather and what not, and because they got a lot more than their foot in the door on the free press when their rigs were on the Miami Vice TV show.

A shoulder holster is nice if you don't want the weight on your belt, but it you're a larger guy, the reach can be tedious. Additionally, for most of them, you'll be continuously pointing your barrel at anyone standing behind you. Not something that prevents me from wearing my rig from time to time, but it's definitely something I keep in mind when I do.

[9mm]

I got a Blackhawk shoulder holster for a Glock 17 but fits 19/26. I been carrying in the shoulder holster now when I go out for errands. I really like it, has double magazine pouch on right side to off set weight. I wore my holster for 5+ hours and it works great. Paid like $20 on ebay.' This is my model.

[Mystro]

I love shoulder holsters. I have custom leather models and nylon models for different. Great for cold weather under coats and hunting.

[Charlie Fox]

Shoulder holsters certainly have thier places, however it's been my experience that they are niche holsters; usually for over clothing or under clothing. In warmer climates they don't work so well (I don't know how Sonny Crockett did it without suffering heat stroke). I gave my last one away a few years ago and haven't replaced it.

[PSP]

Looking to pick up a standard Miami Classic or a Galco Executive for my PPK/S in the near future...

The Executive is a really outstanding holster. I use the Half Harness for guns the Executive isn't made for, (very limited choices), but the executive is my favorite, Unique design and very well made.



The similar Half Harness.


Miami with only a tie down. Very light weight.

[Jammer Six]

The only time I use a shoulder holster is when I know I'm going to be driving for more than four hours or so.

Most ranges won't let you train with a shoulder holster, (for good reason) and training matters.

[robert1811]

Good stuf guys thank you all for the post and pics, I really enjoyed reading them! Anyone have any experience with "Ready Holsters"?

[MLeake]

Ranges often won't let you do a lot of stuff.

Find a better range; or find a friend who has land in the country; or, buy your own.

I can do pretty much whatever I want in my west pasture. This includes training with a shoulder holster, if I choose.

[Jammer Six]

As I said, there's good reasons why it's not allowed on most ranges.

You can train all you want, and as long as you're in your west pasture, it won't matter.

[MLeake]

Jammer Six, your "good reasons" could pose problems for a fair number of plain clothes LEOs.

Safety and safe practices are good things, but they can be taken to such extremes that instead of promoting safety, they cause unintended unsafe conditions.

Looked at another way, people blame training issues on equipment, and then fix the problem by forbidding training on the equipment.

It can get almost moronic.

[Jammer Six]

LEOs?

Saw another instructor putting on a vest. Since that's sort of against what we teach, and really, really unusual at our range, I said "worried?" She answered "cops." And I said "oh."

Cops and young men in their twenties in front of their girlfriends are by far the two most dangerous groups I teach.

The one group because they're idiots, think they were born with a gun gene and need to demonstrate to their girl that they know more than I do, and cops because they spend a lot more time pointing guns at people than my students do. Cops don't have a lot of the built-in reflexes that one learns at a range; and it's my opinion that they can't. It would make them do the wrong thing at precisely the wrong moment. Look at that old story about the cop who emptied his weapon and then looked for the ten-tin to dump his brass.

So the gun habits cops develop are wrong in one place or the other-- they're wrong at the range or they're wrong in the street.

So (and remember, all this is nothing more than my opinion, and I'm not a cop) any sane cop has bad gun habits, from a range-officer, instructor, range nazi point of view. Right out the gate, a normal, sane cop is perfectly willing to point a gun at you. Or me. Or anyone. This makes range officers light up go ding, right off the bat.

The variation I object to most (speaking of looking at things another way) is when folks try to fix a training problem with equipment. So if you have some weird requirement that really needs a shoulder holster, okay, but if you're looking for an easy way out, or you think a shoulder holster is more gooder and safer than a VM-II, I don't have much sympathy for you.

I'm the first to admit that I don't know anything about cops, cop work, flying helicopters, P-51s or stealth bombers, but for carrying a concealed weapon, I haven't run into a genuine need for a shoulder holster yet.

But it's early.

[egor20]

For the few times I have to wear a suit.



S&W 469
Triple K shoulder holster

[Deja vu]

This is my Coonan Classic Shoulder holster from Black Hills Leather. He does really good work. http://www.bhlstore.com/shop/category.asp?catid=208 It holds 4 extra mags (which help balance out the gun) I had the Initals "357" engraved on the holster as well to match the Coonan.

I wear this holster a great deal. Not every day but more than a few times a week. In addition I have a 357 magnum J-frame and a NAA mini revolver on me at all times.

The picture Quality is poor because I have a cheep flip phone and the angle makes the mags look odd but you get the idea.

[scsov509]

I suffered a back injury several years back, and over those next few years I underwent several surgical procedures and came to appreciate the shoulder holster as the only way I could still carry a serious firearm each day. So I am a believer that they have great value, especially in some of those niche situations where any other form of carry is not viable.

As for the double-carry question, my own opinion is that you'll get more value out of a double or triple magazine pouch than a second firearm. This is the same reason I don't carry a spare handgun on my weak hip now that I'm back to belt carry, because multiple extra reloads are more valuable than a second gun IMO. YMMV...

[MLeake]

Jammer Six, I have lost count of the people I've met or talked to over the years who imply the thought process of, "If I don't have a use for it, there is no legitimate use for it." Not sure if you intend to, but you are edging that way...

For people who spend a lot of time, by necessity, seated, a shoulder holster can be useful. For those with lower back issues, who find any imbalance in pressure at the waistline level to cause excruciating pain, a shoulder holster can be useful. For those who wear jackets, a shoulder holster can allow easier access than can a belt holster.

All that said, I very rarely use shoulder holsters. I prefer strongside IWB. If cold weather means I wear a zipped up coat, I keep a secondary handgun in my weakside front coat pocket. But I recognize there are legitimate needs and uses for shoulder holsters.

As far as range safety goes, training methods can offset risks. The local range I use, when I don't use my own property, has three bays. Each bay has steel lined walls and ceiling. During IDPA matches, all three bays are active, and we don't have to worry about shooting the guys in the adjacent bays. Some of the shooting we do is at targets to the side as we move; guns are to be kept greater than 90 degrees away from the back area, where the other shooters wait.

IDPA doesn't allow shoulder holsters, so we don't have to work around them during matches.

If training were to involve shoulder holsters, I imagine we'd invoke similar safety procedures as we use for "El Presidente" type drills. Determine which way the gun is likely to sweep during the draw phase (for a righty with a shoulder rig, this would be his left side; right side for a lefty; for El Presidente shooters, we ask which way the shooter intends to turn). Place the RO/SO and watchers to the side away from where the gun will sweep.

It ain't rocket science.

I'd argue that it's much more dangerous to have shooters out there who are barred from practicing using their carry method, than it is to come up with training procedures that allow them to train in a safe manner.