Holster Guide

When most people buy a gun, it’s for home protection. Personally, though, I like to carry my protection with me. Wow, that sounds…umm…mental note: re-word that line before I publish this. Anyway, that means having my firearm safely within reach at all times. This leaves me with 2 options: duct tape it to myself or get a holster. No, tucking a gun into your waistband is not a viable option. I said, “safely within reach”. Key word: safely. The root word being “safe”. I don’t care that Hollywood shows everyone in the world sticking a gun into their pants, it’s a bad idea that will end in pain and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself (and Hollywood, of course).

For someone just starting out, trying to pick out that one perfect holster can be a bit overwhelming. Gun Noob is here to save you a lot of time and frustration and I’ll start right off the bat with this helpful tip: there is no “Goldilocks” holster. You will ultimately wind up buying numerous holsters for various uses. I’ll explain why in a moment.

Why would you want one anyway? First and foremost, a holster makes things a lot safer. They keep the gun from dropping and more importantly, they usually cover the trigger. Both things help prevent accidental discharge and accidental discharge is never a good thing (right, ladies?). They also make sure that the gun is going to be in the same position every time, which removes the need to fumble with your gun when you need it most.

So what’s with all these different styles?

The first thing you probably think of when you hear “holster” is an Outside the Waistband (OWB) holster. This is the one that hangs from your belt against your leg and leaves the gun out for all to see. Think cowboys and police officers. That’s all well and good if you’re in a state that allows open carry or on private property.  But for the most part, the general gun public just doesn’t use these much for day to day carry anymore.

Outside of military and law enforcement, the majority of people using these are going to be hunters, pro-shooting competitors, cowboy action shooters and those lucky people who happen to live in an open carry state.

The next style could possibly be the most popular. That’s hard to tell, though, because the name of the game here is “concealment”. I’m talking about the Inside the Waistband (IWB) holster. This style of holster hooks to your waistband and then the part that actually holds the gun goes inside your pants. This lets you tuck in your shirt or let your shirt hang over the gun.

Now, you’re probably not going to be using an IWB holster to carry your Desert Eagle or Glock 21. (While it’s possible, it’s just not practical). Most people have either a compact or subcompact pistol that they use as their daily carry weapon. You have to be mindful with an IWB holster because you could accidentally show your gun if you were to do something like reach for an item on the top shelf at the grocery store..

Although if you want to make it REALLY hard to accidentally show….

With the skyrocketing popularity of “pocket pistols” like the Ruger LCP and the S&W Bodyguard, pocket holsters have also seen a rise in popularity. “Why do I need a pocket holster?”, you ask, “My pocket will hold the gun just fine!”. Let me give you a personal anecdote…

I carried a Ruger LCR revolver for a very long time and I carried it sans-holster for a couple months. You can tell which pants I carried that gun in because every one of them has a significant hole worn into the pocket thanks to the front sight rubbing against it as I walked. I also had to constantly adjust the gun to make sure it was sitting correctly.

A good pocket holster stops these problems. It has good padding to preserve your pockets, keeps the gun in the same spot, and, best of all, it masks the shape of the gun. Look for a pocket holster that has non-slip padding on its outer layer. This will ensure that the holster stays in the pocket when you draw the gun.

One type of holster that just doesn’t seem popular any more is the shoulder holster. This is the kind you see the undercover police officers using in the older cop movies. It is worn kind of like a vest and the gun is carried just under the arm pit. Concealment is provided courtesy of a jacket or overshirt. They’re great if you never take off your jacket, but for those of us who live in warmer climates, the shoulder holster is just not used much.

While not the most practical or accessible, the ankle holster still has its use. Some people carry a second, really tiny gun with them as an “oh crap” backup. One of the most convenient places for a last resort gun is in an ankle holster. Many women like to use the ankle holster because the fit of a lot of women’s pants doesn’t allow for IWB, or even pocket carry. Heck, a lot of women’s pants don’t even have pockets that could hold a cell phone, much less a tiny pistol.  However, the commonly found flare at the leg opening lends itself nicely to easily concealed ankle holster carry.

There are some other creative holsters that have been around for a while and new styles are showing up as of late. One undershirt, made by 5.11 Tactical, has a special holster sewn into the shirt itself. There are also belly bands, thigh holsters, and more. All of them are very situational. Also, as some of these specialty style holsters are new, there’s not much data as to how effective/useful they are. Others, I just haven’t been able to find much info on at all. Expect updates to this guide as I get more personal experience with them…

There is one kind of OWB holster that I feel the need to talk about and that is the SERPA holster. There is a lot of controversy online over these and it’s difficult to separate fact from fiction. Regardless, there are some very strong opinions about them on each side of the argument. This is one of those “stir the pudding” forum topics. A SERPA holster is a plastic holster that has a mechanism that locks the gun in place. Once you’ve put the gun in, it won’t be moving at all until you press the release button with your index finger as you draw. The button is just above where the trigger would be (in older models, it was literally right on top of the trigger).

In a perfect world, you push the button and draw and your trigger finger will be safely away from the trigger.  And that, fellow noobs, is exactly where the controversy kicks in.

It boils down to this: in stressful situations, some people aren’t maintaining their trigger discipline and wind up shooting themselves in the leg. It’s also happened quite a few times at gun ranges and during drawing practice. Blackhawk, the largest manufacturer of SERPA holsters, has updated the design a bit to make the button in the same place you should be holding your finger to maintain trigger discipline (aka on the slide, not the trigger) and that has alleviated some of the problems.

The PR damage seems to have been done, though, and it is widely believed to be a matter of “blame the device not the user” in most cases. The military, which was the largest consumer of SERPAs, is moving away from them. A lot of ranges and instructors won’t allow them and they have been banned by a lot of competition organizers as well.

I admit, I own a (newer design) SERPA holster and I do like it. I would never recommend one as a first holster for anyone. I also recommend doing a lot of drawing practice (with an unloaded gun) if you choose to get one. Remember, it takes quite a few repetitions before an action becomes muscle memory. Even then, it takes a lot of diligence beyond that to be safe.

There is an optional type of holster you can get and that is a magazine holster. Most of your typical carry guns are designed for concealment and convenience, not magazine capacity. The Ruger LCP, for example, holds 6 bullets. Chance favors the prepared mind, so a lot of people like to carry an extra magazine with them via a magazine holster.

Like I said earlier, don’t expect to buy one holster and be done with it…unless, of course, you only own one pair of pants and one gun. Personally, I have 2 or three holsters for just one gun.

• A Pocket holster for when I’m wearing my cargo pants/shorts
• An IWB holster for when I’m wearing my cargo pant/shorts that have freakishly small pockets which will barely hold my keys, much less a pistol.
• Finally, another IWB holster for when I’m wearing my older shorts that, for some odd reason, just don’t seem to work well with my other IWB holster.

I should also mention that I’m getting ready to buy a different IWB holster because with half my pants, the safety on my gun tends to rub me uncomfortably on my side.

If you ask anyone with a carry permit, they’re most likely going to tell you the same thing. The nice thing is that holsters are relatively cheap.

A little thing I’ve learned from experience: No matter how well you have that gun concealed, something in the back of your head will always be screaming, “They can see it! Everyone can see it! They’re all staring at it!”. That’s normal. It’s actually a good thing. It keeps you aware of your firearm and makes you think twice before doing something that would otherwise show the gun to the world. Trust me though, they most likely can’t see it. Even if they get a glance at the shape of it, they’ll probably think it’s a cell phone or something. Look at it this way, how often do you stare at people’s waistbands? Did you do it before you started carrying? I know people who have walked around with their gun inadvertently displayed to the world and no one ever noticed. Not saying that no one will ever notice. I’m just saying not to stress over it. The more you try to hide it, the more you’re going to draw attention to it.

Regardless of what style of holster(s) you wind up with, you will need to practice drawing your gun from it. You need to do it over and over again until you are having dreams about it. The transition between the holster and pointing at the target is a critical time — it’s where most accidents happen. You need to maintain trigger discipline throughout the entire movement. You need to become automatic at switching off the safety if your gun has one. When you practice, you need to make sure you’re doing it the same way each time. Start slowly and then build up speed. Your life, and the lives of others depend on you doing this well.

Images used are Copyright © Uncle Mike’s Law Enforcement, Crossbreed Holsters and Blackhawk!