Carry without a holster

[lawnboy]

Some of the cheaper holsters really arent any better than nothing at all, and in some cases worse, especially when it comes to reholstering, and even carrying with them.

Opinions clearly can differ here but I don't think any holster manufactured and sold in stores is worse than nothing at all. A $12 Uncle Mikes is better than stuffing the gun in the waistband. An Uncle Mikes will cover the trigger and keep the gun from sliding out of position too badly (or falling down your pants). It will also protect somewhat against sweat and moisture. The chief drawback to a cheap holster is that they don't last. I'd give an Uncle Mikes a month of daily carry at best before it falls apart. But it IS better than nothing.

Even a decent holster, like the Bianchi model 100 IWB I use will allow a gun to shift once in a while (especially on those of us with body by cheeseburger). It will also wear out. But in years, not weeks. You can get that Bianchi for $50 or so on cheaperthandirt.com (I paid about $70 for mine because I bought it in a gun store. My bad) There are more expensive IWB holsters but that one is a good one for reasonable dough.

[AK103K]

and I have a hard time imagining an event that could flip off the safety while its in place.

I used to find the safety off on my 1911's all the time, and they were "in" a holster with a sweat guard.

If youre active in what you do, its not all that hard or uncommon.

[C0untZer0]

Twenty years ago my wife would carry a Colt Mustang .380 Auto. She didn't have a holster but she had a pocket in her purse that fit it perfectly. She carried it loaded, cocked with the safety on. I remember checking it one day before she left, it was loaded, cocked and the safety was on. I checked it the next day and the safety was off. It was still loaded and cocked, and she had never touched it or even opened the pocket it was tucked into.

I thought "Whoa, if she is gonna carry this thing she needs to get a holster specifically designed to carry it"



~ A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. ~

[C0untZer0]

Plaxico - Oh man.

[Mr.357Sig]

IMO, pocket carry without a properly-fitted holster is dangerous and ignorant. Some of you guys do it all the time apparently. I pray I'm never near you when that little pocket puppy barks. You are a danger to yourself and others.

Not only does pocket carry without a holster increase the risk of a unintentional discharge, it can foul up your weapon much quicker than pocket carry with a holster. So, maybe you've carried for "years" in your pocket sans holster. Then one day, the SHTF, you pull out your piece and it misfires because of years and years of being carried in your pocket along with dirt, grime, lint, sand, etc.

A pocket holster keeps the firearm much cleaner and in a much safer position than carrying without one. Period.

[Deja vu]

IMO, pocket carry without a properly-fitted holster is dangerous and ignorant. Some of you guys do it all the time apparently. I pray I'm never near you when that little pocket puppy barks. You are a danger to yourself and others.

Not only does pocket carry without a holster increase the risk of a unintentional discharge, it can foul up your weapon much quicker than pocket carry with a holster. So, maybe you've carried for "years" in your pocket sans holster. Then one day, the SHTF, you pull out your piece and it misfires because of years and years of being carried in your pocket along with dirt, grime, lint, sand, etc.

A pocket holster keeps the firearm much cleaner and in a much safer position than carrying without one. Period.

I take my CCW to the range every Friday and shoot a box of ammo through it then clean it that night... I don't think Dirt, Grime, lint, Sand are a problem. I really enjoy cleaning it so It does get cleaned very well.

I do own a pocket holster but to be honest it is uncomfortable and does not fit in some of my blue jeans. May be getting a different one would help. I will agree that it may be slightly more dangerous to carry in the pocket with out a holster but if you are shooting and cleaning your gun frequently I doubt that your second point of getting grit in the gun really applies.

I am not against pocket holsters I just have never found one I like (I have not looked super hard but have looked some). With the attire I have to wear at work and the amount of sitting and driving I have to do a IWB or a ankle holster are out of the question.

[Bill DeShivs]

Carrying without a holster is not ignorant.
Carrying a Glock or SA auto without a holster is ignorant.
There are quite a few guns that are perfectly safe sans holster. Not knowing this is ignorant.

[AK103K]

Carrying without a holster is not ignorant.
Carrying a Glock or SA auto without a holster is ignorant.
There are quite a few guns that are perfectly safe sans holster. Not knowing this is ignorant.

Not bothering to actually find out for yourself is ignorant too.

The assumption that carrying a Glock or other SA without a holster is based on what?

[Terry A]

Carrying a Glock or SA auto without a holster is ignorant.

How come Bill? I been carrying Glocks w/out a holster for years. Never had any issue at all. What problem(s) have you encountered?
And why do you mention only Glock by name? Just kinda curious.

[tirod]

I read lots of cautions from folks against no holster carry.

Dirt and lint is one. Crap maintenance is the cause, revolvers in ankle holsters never cleaned have jammed up from wool lint from the padding.

A holster is nothing more than a dedicated pocket. In the day, a simple piece of leather folded over and stitched. Still that way today, and if it's cotton material sewed into the pants, it's no different. It's a holster.

People who want to carry change and a chapstick don't put them inside a gun holster, nobody here said it was a good idea with pocket carry. And ANY holster has been shown to still be a problem with safeties getting swiped off or hooking a trigger and discharging. Holsters aren't perfect, ask the guy attempting to remove a service auto from his Serpa jammed with mud. Button wouldn't depress. So much for fail safe.

Murphy will get anyone, assess YOUR risk and live with the decision YOU make. Me, a gun with a safety is a gun with a part that can and will fail. For pocket carry I use DA only, and make sure the trigger isn't capable of being activated except by my finger. Whether I put it in a pocket holster for my pocket depends on how redundant I feel that day. It really depends on the cut of the pants and how active I might be.

There are hundreds of thousands of businessmen who drop a small gun in their pocket every day, for over a hundred years. Doesn't seem to be a major problem compared to traffic accidents.

[Deja vu]

There are hundreds of thousands of businessmen who drop a small gun in their pocket every day, for over a hundred years. Doesn't seem to be a major problem compared to traffic accidents.

I agree. These forums tell me that it is dangerous to carry my S&W 640 in my pocket with out a holster but I have done so for 13 years. I think the odds of pulling that heavy trigger are extremely slim on an empty pocket... much less pulling it twice to get to an actual round. I have never had it even go to the next round and I carry the first chamber with a snap cap just to be safe. Sure its only 4 rounds but I do carry a reload. The only problems with this I personally have ever heard of are with automatics.

[Bill DeShivs]

Glocks should have that silly trigger covered. People shoot themselves quite often with Glocks.
S/A autos? You figure it out......

[AK103K]

People shoot themselves quite often with Glocks.

The key word in that sentence is "people". The Glocks didnt shoot them without their help.

The guns themselves are actually quite safe, its the people running them that tend to be the problem.

You figure it out......

Ive actually made the effort to do so (for my own benefit), and so far, the Glocks, and the other SA's Ive used/tried, have yet to go off, unless the triggers were intentionally pulled.

If you use a little common sense, and youre reasonable in how you handle the gun, not having a holster isnt that big a deal.

Even when you mistreat them and do things contrary to the above, it still takes work to get that trigger to drop.

[Bill DeShivs]

I agree that people are the problem.
Some guns are more prone to ND than others.

[MashieNiblick]

large dogs like to jump up and punch front pocket guns with their front paws

no, not all dogs, just some

and don't ask me how they know it is there and it is a gun

just intuitively something harmless that they shouldn't do sometimes

that's why i always use one of these and don't carry Mexican:

http://www.blackhawk.com/product/Poc...ster,82,34.htm

[Terry A]

Glocks should have that silly trigger covered. People shoot themselves quite often with Glocks.
S/A autos? You figure it out......

Bill, please.
I politely asked you a question because I don't understand where you're coming from on this.

1. Glocks have one of, if not THE, safest triggers in the industry. What is "silly" about it that is so dangerous in your mind? Shouldn't you notify the engineers at Glock so they can be made aware of this problem that you've discovered?

2. Can you cite ANY source for us that shows or backs up your "People shoot themselves quite often with Glocks" claim? What info do you have on this? More people will shoot themselves with a Glock than any other brand? Or is it just a rash of people just shooting themselvs because they are holding a Glock? The pocket carriers shoot themselves "quite often"? Where did you read the statistical break-down of Glock mishaps vs other pistol mishaps? Is Glock facing a class-action law suit because of all these self-inflicted shootings?

3. The "you figure it out" part.....classy. Please, let's keep this civil.

As I've mentioned earlier in this thread, many people have been carrying handguns in their pockets SAFLEY for years with no mishaps. Whenever I carry a pistol in my pocket, the pocket is always deep and with a nice snug fit. The gun doesn't move around a lot. Very extensive training has also helped the guys I know carry their pistols this way for years & years without any problem. The ones who do carry handguns in a pocket all know never to have their finger on the trigger when removing the handgun from a pocket, a holster or a drawer. That's just basic gun handling 101.

And how did this get turned into another Glock bash anyway? A Glock will not fire off a round unless the trigger is depressed thru three saftey steps. Unless the trigger is squeezed, its impossible to shoot it. So if "people" are shooting themselves, it's not the pistols fault.

[9mm]

Carry without a holster? none in the tube sure...

[Bill DeShivs]

Glocks have a very short trigger travel. The neat little pivoting "safety" is easily overcome when anything gets in the trigger guard.
Plaxico Burris comes to mind.....
Single action guns are easily discharged if the safety gets moved.
That said, I have carried single action guns in my pocket. I currently carry a D/A gun in my pocket.
I have never carried a Glock, but am pretty familiar with the firing mechanism.

[MashieNiblick]

new thought:

- safe for fat bellies to carry hammered revolvers Mexican front and center
- fat of belly ensures hammer will not be cocked. . . .

[jimbob86]

Carry without a holster

Sure you can ..... Right, Plaxico?

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/vid...VR5&FORM=LKVR1

[rodfac]

I do carry without a holster, but only for informal shooting here on our farm. See pic below of a N. Vaquero in .45 LC...I do like that 4-5/8" barrel for just that reason...I also carry a 4-1/4" Colt Combat Commander in the same manner and for the same purpose...informal shooting on our farm.

For CC, I use a close to the body holster of my own make; a copy of the old Tom Threepersons open top for my S&W M-36 with 3" barrel, or my wife's 1-7/8" S&W M-637.

Here's a cpl of pics. Rodfac

[markj]

[QUOTE][The key word in that sentence is "people". The Glocks didnt shoot them without their help.
/QUOTE]

lets not forget the cartriges..... without em that glock wont shoot you....


Glocks are not for everyone, takes a bit more care to be safe like nothing in the chamber..... Why I read 3 news articles here in Omaha tell about glocks going off shooting the person had it. One was in a store parking lot with a baby inside the car....

Not bashing the gun, but it isnt for me. I avoid those that carry them too.

[Straightshooter629]

I am not a fan of pocket carry, and would advise against ever carrying with out a holster, but I only carry full size guns.

[AK103K]

Glocks are not for everyone, takes a bit more care to be safe like nothing in the chamber....

It takes nothing more to be safe, than to handle it "safely", just like anything else.

With any of them, if you dont have familiarity, experience and training with them, then the gun has nothing to do with the result, other than just being there to get blamed.

Why I read 3 news articles here in Omaha tell about glocks going off shooting the person had it. One was in a store parking lot with a baby inside the car....

I know people personally who have had, and I have personally seen more mishaps and unintended discharges with 1911's than Ive seen with Glocks (Ive actually yet to see one with a Glock and I know a number of people who carry them).

Ive watched a buddy put a .38 from his S&W 36 through the wall unit, across the hall, and into the fridge. He swore it was empty, and swore he checked it, and pulled the trigger to prove it. He was sober too. We all know how safe revolvers are supposed to be.


If youre afraid of the gun, then dont get one. Get something youre comfortable with, are willing to take the time to learn, and be proficient with. If you have no experience with one to make a valid statement, then please dont just pass on more "I heards". They just seem to get a life of their own and before you know it, things like Glocks will be running in packs attacking every idjit in the area without warning and anyone even handling them, and.....oh.... wait, never mind.

[markj]

If youre afraid of the gun, then dont get one.

I am not afraid of the gun. It just isnt for me. Dont take it personally. I have shot them, they shoot just fine. Just not my cup of tea.

I know the family of the baby was in that car, it was a glock, he did shoot himself wit hit, you can read about it in the Omaha World Herald it isnt I heard, it is I know, as I said I stay away from glock owners, they are like beemer folks. Crazy and get angry if you dont fall down and worship the glock or BMW they prefer.

I been shooting way before glocks ever came on teh scene. I shoot my cousins (LEO) just fine. I dont like the trigger safety thingy and why should I learn it when I learned the 1911 just fine? Use what you want, dont go telling others what they need to use or learn.

I doubt they will "pack up" and go after anything, you have a vivid imagination.

Takes a bit more care to carry one in the chamber, therefore I belive that type of gun isnt for everyone. You dont agree?

The guy shot himself in the video was nervous and did it wrong. Not cause he was not familiar with it, first time in front of a camera and class of kids.

Guy in sweat pants grabbed the gun by the trigger and it went off, wont happen with my 1911s.