Holster recomendation - Law Enforcement

[ADT knights]

Soon I will be participating in a 40 hour pre basic course which includes an 8 hour day at the range to work on general shooting skills and to become a "qualified" shooter. It is suggested that students bring a duty belt if they have one, but since I don't have one what would be my next best option? I currently only have a Crossbreed supertuck for my guns since up until now I have had no need for any other type of holster. My question is... should I use my supertuck, order a Raven Concealment Phanton holster (or similar), or try and borrow an old duty belt/holster from someone? With that in mind my instructor said the following: "It doesn't really matter, as long as you can easily pull your handgun and also easily re-holster it. If they arent't easily re-holstered (without having to look down every time) it would be better to borrow someone's old duty belt.


I don't know if it's out of habbit that I look or if I actually need to look but I always look down at my supertuck (IWB) when re-holstering. I can't honestly say a different holster (OWB) will keep my from looking down when re-holstering but could it help?

Again, based on your experience what would your recomendation be to me regarding this "situation"?

Thanks for the help INGO!

 

[Jackson]

I am not a police officer and I don't know what the qualification is like. I have taken a fair bit of pistol instruction. So I have a good idea whhat you can get through in 8 hours with a group of people of unknown skill level. If you are comfortable carrying, drawing, and reholstering with your holster, I would use it. Are they letting you use your own gun? If not, will your holsterr fit whatever they give you? It sure seems like they would be providing the equipment.

 

[ADT knights]

Yes, we are using our own gun and providing our own ammo.

 

[Jackson]

So run it like you would in any other class.

 

[TenZero]

You really should break the habit of looking down and at your holster when reholstering. Seems to me this class would be a perfect opportunity for you to get some muscle memory ingrained to break the habit. I would use what you carry regularly.

What they do not want to see are ankle holsters and such

 

[Gabriel]

Take what you usually use. If someone wanted you to use something specific, I'm sure you would have been told by now. Don't spend money on something else when you don't exactly know what you want or need. There is no need to waste the money just to find out you bought something you didn't need when what you have would have worked, or simply bought the wrong thing.

Your biggest problem with pre-basic will be staying awake.

 

[Davis0023]

You should A. ask the instructor or B. get at least a Fobus type paddle holster. As an LEO instructor I would not let a pre basic class use a iwb holster.

Just my informed two cents worth

 

[USMC-Johnson]

If your going to a pre work up for a shoot for shooting like a leo look around next time your out and ask yourself how many officers you see with an IWB holster for their primary weapon.

My holster of choice would be a blackhawk serpa or similar on a duty belt (my favorite is thigh rig but civilians dont do that really). If you are looking for an inexpensive duty belt or similar check out some of the Marine Corps MCMAP riggers belts. I had to use one when i carried my M9 for two months in afghanistan when my thigh rig took a dump on me.

This link is to show you what i wore that worked extremely well but most of the belts like that have always served me well with my serpa and m9 except the super cheap ones.

Rigger's Belt from SPEC.-OPS

 

[ADT knights]

Davis0023 - I did ask the instructor. As posted in my orginal post this was his response. "It doesn't really matter, as long as you can easily pull your handgun and also easily re-holster it. If they arent't easily re-holstered (without having to look down every time) it would be better to borrow someone's old duty belt."

TenZero - I agree that looking down when reholstering is a habbit that needs broken. This would probably be a non issue or easier to break with an owb holster or duty belt since I wouldn't have to make sure my shirt isn't keeping me from reholstering like with an iwb holster.


Jackson - I feel that because this class and firearms training is LEO specific I would wear something more geared toward that than if I was taking a basic "civilian" type self defense type class. Yes, my iwb holster will get the job done but it isn't best for the application.

USMC-Johnson - Thanks for the link.


Thank you all for your input. Much appreciated!

 

[Jackson]

Well, if you get a duty holster, Id look to the Safariland line over most of others. Ii would wait until I knew what I really needed and what the uniform requirements might be.

 

[92ThoStro]

Ask the LEOs what holster they use On patrol?

I'm not am LEO.

I do OWB carry though.

I wear a 5.11 riggers belt. Wide enough to keep the G21 from sagging but small enough to still barely fit the belt loops in my khakis.

I would never wear IWB.

I have two "duty holsters" which claim to be marketed towards LEOs and those are the Blackhawk Serpa Auto lock level 3 and the Mako Front Line kydex

I have never seen an LEO with a level 3 holster though.

I dont think cops wear paddle holsters either. So the galco and CQC are probably not the best with a paddle mount



Don't cops wear duty belts with an inner duty belt and keepers? And the holster is mounted with screws to the belt? You undo the keepers and take the whole belt off with all the gear? Both my holsters are belt mountable, but I don't have a duty.belt, only a riggers belt like posted above by Johnson. Duty.belts are.really.big and.buckle outside of your belt loops. They go over your inner belt.

I would for sure OWB carry in a plastic holster. You don't.have to look down to check and make sure your trigger doesn't get caught on your shirt or pants or the leather thumb strap or anything. And you hear the audible.click when it is seated. Quicker to.draw too.

I think the Blackhawk was 80 for the level 3 and 40 something for the level 2 and the mako was 45. Plastic holsters are not that expensive. Compared to the nice leather ones. I would go for one before range day.

 

[netsecurity]

Ditch the Supertuck, it is an IWB holster. Of course you need to look down to reholster it. Police OC, so get an OWB holster that sticks out from your waste, and it sounds like you're golden.

 

[Jackson]

Ditch the Supertuck, it is an IWB holster. Of course you need to look down to reholster it. Police OC, so get an OWB holster that sticks out from your waste, and it sounds like you're golden.

With some practice, you can reholster an IWB without looking.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Uniformed patrol does wear a duty belt and a regular belt of some type, with belt keepers holding them together. Safariland is the dominant brand around here.

Plain clothes have a bit more leeway. I use either a paddle holster or a pancake holster, depending on how I want to dress. The paddle holster is more comfortable and I can easily take the whole holster off and secure it when going into no-weapons zones (lockup, etc). The pancake holster fits tighter against the body and makes it easier to button my suit jacket, so if I have to make a court appearance I'll go with that.

For the record, the paddle is a Galco Speed Paddle and the pancake is a Bianchi Shadow 7. Either would be fine for a pre-basic as they allow easy reholstering without looking, but if you're going to be rolling around and whatnot the Bianchi will stay in place easier and has a thumb break retention strap. The Speed Paddle has no retention devices.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

With some practice, you can reholster an IWB without looking.

Some you can, some you can't. Collapsible IWB aren't easy to reholster even when you are looking.

 

[Jackson]

Some you can, some you can't. Collapsible IWB aren't easy to reholster even when you are looking.

I guess I should have said "good IWB holster". The supertuck is kydex on one side. It shouldnt collapse.

 

[Bull1315]

What kind of weapon are you going to carry? I think i still have an extra duty holster left over from a training class with the Federal Protective Service. This is a basket weave holster for a Smith M&P.

 

[netsecurity]

I guess I should have said "good IWB holster". The supertuck is kydex on one side. It shouldnt collapse.

I have essentially the same thing, the King Tuc, and it doesn't collapse, but I sure wouldn't want to slip my pistol in it without looking all day. My point is that it would not only be easier and faster to use a duty holster, but also much safer, since the gun is further away from the body, and less likely to have clothing interfere. I wouldn't want to point a gun blindly at a holster that close to my kidneys, which is always in direct contact with my clothing (a tucked in shirt always bunches up around the belt).

I'm speaking from experience because I wear IWB every day for the last few years. It is perfectly safe for CC, but I think people don't currently respect the safety issues that go along with it. I've determined never to holster my IWB without looking, for example. Some will say I'm overly paranoid, but I'm not taking any chances.

 

[ADT knights]

What kind of weapon are you going to carry? I think i still have an extra duty holster left over from a training class with the Federal Protective Service. This is a basket weave holster for a Smith M&P.

I carry a Glock 23 and that will also be what I take for the range day.

 

[Bull1315]

I carry a Glock 23 and that will also be what I take for the range day.

Sorry i dont have any holsters for a Glock. I would recommend a good OWB holster though with a decent belt. Depending on how they run your particular range you may be doing a lot of drawing to fire and a good holster and belt makes that so much easier. If they dont provide any equipment at your department, I would look into the belt/holster before your actually on duty. And get familiar with the holster. Nothing worse then trying to qualify with a new holster. lol
Good Luck to you