[Skan21]

Actually, I was military "on foot". I spent 5 years in the Army Infantry. 1 year as straight leg, and 3 years as Stryker. Stryker just meant that I got to ride onto the battlefield. Then we would dismount to patrol. So I was fancy straight leg. 16 months in Iraq, first 12 months in Mosul, then extended for 4 months in Baghdad.

Most Infantry doesn't carry the M-9. We mostly just had a primary ( M-4, M-4 with 203, M-14, M249), but sometimes we would dismount the M240B, so someone had to carry it. Nobody wants to carry a 240B AND an M-4, so they would carry an M-9 for anything that popped up close quarters. For that, the Safariland drop legs were the most common, in my experience. Also mixed in were a few Blackhawk Serpa's, and even a few guys that wore shoulder holsters. Nobody wore OWB holsters cause they chafe something fierce when you wear armor.

The M-9 was actually issued to the platoon leader ( in my case 2nd Lt.) but we would borrow it if we dismounted the 240B for overwatch. We were only issued 3 for the platoon, of 30 or so, and 2 were for soldiers that rarely dismounted. So the only one available was Lt's. That's why i don't have tons of experience with an M-9 in armor. I rarely carried it. Besides, the only reason anyone ever WANTED the thing was to go to the chow hall, because the chow hall was far away, and it's lighter and more easily carried than an M-4 or M249.

Safariland is great for a pistol you don't give a crap about, because Kydex really not that good for the finish. It's also not as quiet. But it IS cheap. Well, relatively anyway. That's why we used it. No sense in babying a 15 year old beat up M-9. That brings me to my point. If you have a $50 pistol, get a cheap holster. If you have a $1500 pistol, don't put it in a cheap holster. I actually figure my holster in when I buy my gun. If I only have $1000, I buy an $800 gun, and spend the rest on a good holster that protects my investment.