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In prior installments of this series, I’ve touched on ammunition selection and the firearm itself. I’m honestly not sure how many parts this series will have or where I’m going after this one.
Today I’m going to touch on holsters. I normally try not to tell people what to do, but please don’t carry a gun without one. It’s just not safe.
There are a lot of people with a lot of criteria for their holsters. I have three main ones.
- Protect the trigger. Goes without saying, doesn’t it?
- Conceal the gun. If the gun conceals but the holster is sticking out like a sort thumb, well…
- Be comfortable. There are those who disagree with me on this, but I’m holding to it. A gun/holster combo that is comfortable will be worn more consistently. That is important. The gun you don’t have is useless.
I’m going to base this on the guns I mentioned in Part II, then link to my review of the holsters in question.
Table of Contents
Carry positions.
There are a lot of ways to carry a firearm, and I’m not going to go over them all. I will mention the three that I normally use.
- IWB, strong side. When I leave the house, this is the one. I’m normally in the 3:30 – 4:00 position. It clears my car seat, seat belt, etc., and is very comfortable with a good holster. Printing is minimal unless I wear a tight shirt.
- Pocket carry. I’ve seen some amazingly funny comments about this on social media. “What if your keys pull the trigger?” I don’t know; maybe don’t put your friggin’ keys in the same pocket as your gun. When I have a gun in a pocket that’s all that’s in the pocket. And it’s in a holster that protects the trigger. It’s not that hard. This is my primary method of carrying around the house, as well.
- Ankle carry. I use this one so I’m adding it. Fact is, I don’t do it often. I find it useful if I’m driving a lot, but I live in Arizona and wear shorts most of the year. That sort of precludes ankle carry for concealment.
I didn’t mention appendix. That’s because I don’t normally use it. This is not “concealed carry for skinny or normal guys.” I have major printing issues when I’m doing anything other than standing up straight with this one. I’ve been experimenting with a couple holsters that may make it workable for me, but for now, I’m not using this method.
The NAA revolver.
And we’ll start with the exception. I didn’t actually do a review of the holster I carry this in because it’s a simple little DeSantis pocket holster. There are other options I’ve looked at, but the pocket one is the only one I’ve actually used. This is, for me, exclusively a pocket carry gun. There are some other options that I thought looked interesting, but not enough to buy. You can see them in my review of the revolver.
Beretta Pico.
I use two different holsters for this one. My go-to is another DeSantis pocket holster: the Superfly. This is where I carry this gun the vast majority of the time.
I occasionally use an ankle holster: I like this one from CrossBreed. The main reason I don’t use that more often is the whole AZ climate thing I mentioned above.
The S&W 360PD.
I have two different holsters I use for this one. They’re both mentioned in this article. They’re a Barsony pocket holster and a Relentless Tactical IWB holster. The pocket holster is the one I use almost all the time, including right now, as I’m writing this.
The Sig P365.
I have two different holsters for this one, and they’re both from AlienGear. One IWB and one OWB. I almost exclusively use the IWB, but I got these when they first came out so I got a great deal; the OWB was only $10 extra. You can’t get that anymore. Still good holsters, though.
The S&W M&P Shield.
As I mention in this article, I carried an original Shield for years. I don’t much anymore, but there’s nothing wrong with it. I have it, a Hellcat and the P365. The Hellcat and Sig are better guns in almost every respect, except that I shoot the Shield better.
The original Shields were considered to have bad triggers, but I’m still better with it than I am the more modern guns. Maybe it’s the thousands of rounds I’ve sent downrange through it. Maybe I like crappy triggers. Whatever. The difference is small, but it’s there.
The DeSantis SofTuck is a solid choice. It’s inexpensive and the Holy Grail of Kydex, but I used it for years without problem.
I have an older version of this holster that I have used for quite some time. I recently picked up the latest version and should have an actual review in the next couple weeks.
I’ve used Tommy’s Pistol Pack and the Lightningwear holster.
Conclusion
This is an overview. I have a tendency to buy new holsters for testing from time to time. I have at least two here that I’ve not mentioned before, and the AlienGear that I did “first look” for. I’d never really done that sort of thing before, but I may continue it.
Even in the three different methods I use, there is a wide variety of holsters. All the ones I linked to above I have used and do use. I have had a few crappy ones; normally impulse buys at a gun show or some such. I try them and toss them if I find issues.
If I have any actual advice, just make sure you buy a decent holster to go with your gun. There are a number of quality holsters that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
