I am relatively new to the whole concept of carrying a weapon while cruising around town. As a military type the options are plentiful yet limited in some ways. Your holster will either be on a web belt, a shoulder holster, affixed in some fashion to your body armor or drop leg type. As a civilian the options are much more plentiful. I like the idea of concealed however the weapon of choice does not "conceal" well on account of it size.
I have worked so far with three different arrangements;
London Bridge shoulder holster,
Blackhawk CQC paddle and most recently a
Galco model CM248. All have their inherent advantages and disadvantages.
The shoulder holster is some sense in my personal favorite. I can balance the weapon out with a couple of extra magazines or a mag and a light and the gear all but disappears. A disadvantage is access, the holster is usually under a shirt or a jacket and getting to it causes a little bit of an issue. Additionally, the cross member on the neck rides a little funny from time to time. However when on the bike, hunting or doing active things the shoulder holster is the perfect fit.
The CQC holster is by far the quickest access of the three different types. Lift push the retaining lever and pull and you are ready for action. However this holster is a little harder to conceal and does not "ride" well when driving or sitting for long periods.
My most recent purchase, the Galco holster, fits snugly to my hip, conceals well and "rides" well. I wore this the other day out shopping, hauling kids in and out of cars, loading groceries and my wife did not even notice that I was carrying. A disadvantage is the removal of the weapon from the holster. Not the quickest or cleanest of the three.
1 comment:
I open carry a lot in the Ocean View area (Mainly in the area around the Pretlow library and the strip mall next to it) in the summer and I've never had a problem with it.
I carry concealed in the winter just because I throw a coat on over my gun that would be otherwise out in the open.
I do carry concealed when the situation calls for it, but one of the tradeoffs you have to make to be discreet is comfort.
When I'm open carrying, I carry a full sized 1911 in a Blackhawk Serpa paddle holster. I've not noticed the discomfort when sitting or in a car...but it's got to be positioned just right. It takes some playing around to get the cant angle location on the hop just so, but once you find it, it doesn't take long to master getting it there the same way every time. Oh...I'm left handed too which may make a difference when in a car...I don't know.
Of course, I've been carrying either concealed or openly for going on ten years now so I suppose I've just had more time to get used to it.
When concealed, I carry a smaller gun (CZ-82) typically IWB in a Crossbreed Supertuck. Although not exactly "comfortable", that seems to offer the best compromise between comfort and discretion.
I've never had any luck with shoulder rigs. Maybe I've just never tried one well made enough, but I have a hard time convincing myself to spend a lot of money on a style of holster that I've never been comfortable in. If I don't like the expensive one either, I just wasted a bunch of money on a holster that I won't wear.
Anyway, good post on some of the pros and cons. Everyone's different and has different preferences, but hearing how one person came to their decisions about carry rigs might give a newbie some ideas they hadn't thought of and help them find the right setup for themselves.
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