Retention Holsters and Open Carry
I have to agree with this, despite the fact that I almost never open carry, but when I have open carried the holsters I’ve used had positive retention…as in this:
Not a widget like this:
OK that was intentionally biased, but he does have a good point. Something can go wrong with your holster, from an accidental finger on a trigger, or dust, dirt, or this time of year, snow getting into the works of your retention system turning your gun into an effective paperweight.
I generally thought of retention holsters as a good idea but not necessary, but this is giving me more to think about.
What are your thoughts?
I don’t know any stats that would support or disprove the “somebody will take your gun and shoot you with it” meme, and therefore strive to have no strong opinion on the subject.
However, in my holster drawer there is a Blackhawk CQC holster of the “I just F’ing shot myself” variety and it failed the very first time I ever wore it, with a foreign object inserting itself and making it impossible to push the little button and draw the pistol. Soured my attitude on that particular positive retention holster, fer shure.
He lost me when he said “it happens with police officers, but police officers aren’t concealed carriers.” Open carriers are by definition not concealed carrier either.
Also if retention holsters were as likely to get people killed as he states, cops wouldn’t use them. Instead they use them all the time.
That said not all retention holsters are created equal. I have a serpa holster and dislike it, but I don’t mind carrying a single action with at least a thumb break. If nothing else using the break puts my thumb right where I want it to work the manual safety.
Silly mistake, but I get his meaning vis-a-vis police officers: They end up, you know, wrestling with people at times, getting up in peoples grills, maybe having to focus on various people at once, such that an extra safety thing on their firearm might be worthwhile. Not that I think all police equipment policies are necessarily great ideas, but I can see where retention holsters might be an OK idea for the popo, but a relatively more crummy mixed-bag of benefits and hassles for the non-commercial pistolero.
Would you tell us what holster you have in your picture?
http://www.weerdworld.com/2010/i-can-has-mail/
https://www.dlwtn.com/custom/flatjack
Thanks! Enjoy listening to you on Sean’s podcast.
Thanks man!
I use the Safariland 6378 ALS holster and it works perfectly. I have no intention of ever using a non-retention holster again. I OC daily and plan on continuing that.
I’m going to link that video every time some jackass says “you need a retention holster” on an open carry story.
Let’s break down what they mean when they say that “someone will steal your gun.”
1. There exists a category of people who aren’t currently doing anything wrong.
2. Who, upon seeing your gun, will be motivated to take it and try to murder you.
3. Who aren’t already carrying a gun or some other weapon.
4. And don’t have the common sense to improvise a stick or a rock to use on you that would allow them to take your gun off your unconscious body.
Yeah, I can think of exactly one person who fits that description. Ladd Everitt.
What about those super tactical operator dudes like Gecko45?
I use a retention holster when I Open Carry. It’s actually a thumbreak style holster, made of heavy leather, that I made for myself. There were a couple major concerns for me when I designed and built this holster, and none of them were ‘ZOMG someone will steal it and shoot me with it!’
First off, this is a holster design that I had used before, and its great for getting out and hiking, being out and about and active. The thumbreak covers a pretty decent portion of the gun and keeps it very secure when I am doing things like climbing up ledges or pushing through brush.
Next up, I have a child with very inquisitive fingers, and the thumbreak covers ALL of the controls, as well as positively securing the firearm in its holster. The idea of some random weirdo jumping me at Target and stealing my gun because it is eeeevil and it forced him to do it is pretty far-fetched; placing an additional level of security around the firearm while I play with my little boy is not very far-fetched, and I’m sure Weer’d will agree with that one.
Third, and most on-topic, it is my personal impression that the covered gun is less visually impactful than the partially exposed pancake hoster. I also have one of those (not quite so pretty) that I use for OWB conceal work, and the gun is very much ‘out there’, not so much in a ‘Grab me!’ sort of way, but the gun itself is what is seen when I wear it open. My thumbreak, OTOH, covers nearly everything except the actual grip of the gun. Most of what you see is leather. Since a non-zero part of why I OC has to do with the idea that gun-owners are not an object threat, I go with the holster that is the least threatening to observers.
That is what led me to the choice I made. I certainly, however, have never put much stock in people saying, ‘but you hafta (X)!’, and I try to avoid that when I can.