All posts in Safariland

A very successful year in Delaware County

philadelphia police supply storesThis year was a very successful year for us in the Delaware County area in launching our tactical store and we double the size of our business in the first 6 months.  People are still finding out about us via word of mouth whenever they need a new holster, police boots or even just Ambulance companies hiring and people  needing to get a pair of pants.  Much of the product line we stock in our store is for people to checkout instead of buying it online.  Duty gear like handcuff keys and various police belts are things that people in the Law Enforcement industry lose or wear out over time and are always in need of.    Police vests, tactical pants, uniform pants, belts, hydration unites, SWAT team bags are things that are always wearing out and need to be replaced.

We’ve learned there are so many types of handcuffs, swivel and hinged doesn’t always narrow it down, some are different weights and types of metal.  The items we have brought in this year are the Safariland lightweight handcuffs and in our region there are no Philadelphia Police Supplies shops around here and many of our Law Enforcement Officers are very happy to see a business like this open up.   Tactical vests, body armor are all things people need to be sized up on and this is something that has to be done right so that there are fewer returns.   We stock a large number of Blackhawk serpa holsters, safariland products, pepper spray, mace, tasers, batons, police badge holders and more and more duty gear.

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What to train with and how much money do you want to drop on a holster?

gun holstersI have a large number of guys that are detectives or just got hired for a job, and sometimes even first time concealed carry holders that don’t have the slightest idea of what they want.   People come in here and ask me “do you have anything for a Glock 26” and point to the holsters I have thinking I’m going to point them to a holster.   I then bombard them with “inside the waist” or “outside the waist” “do you want a leather or kydex?” “Righted or left handed?”   It not until i start talking about which hand holster they want do they give me any sense of knowing what to say.  I don’t think you can compare holster shopping to anything else because it’s not like shopping for tactical pants or gloves.   With crime like home invasions and a slow economy people that have money think more about protecting their homes and assets.

I  think Kydex probable outsells leather now but with so many people putting lights on their guns it made shopping even harder.   Our quick fix or go to problem solvers are the Elite Survival Systems holsters but gun holsters like Fobus are the starting point for the majority of our new gun or concealed carry permit holder.  They are very easy to put on and work well with most belts.  I do highly recommend people get a good gun belt like a Desantis leather belt, Blackhawk pistol belt or a Wilderness belt.   They are much easier to use than putting on a belt through or snap on holster.   Getting into retention holsters is another level but sometimes people have to have the right starting point and only an experienced shooter will be the source for good  info.

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Duty holsters, can you deviate from Safariland?

safariland holstersThe short answer is YES but many people stick with the Safariland products because even though sinking $100 into a holster is expensive you get something that unless you break it in some wild adventure, it might last most of your 20yr career in Law Enforcement.   There are so many products listed in the Safariland catalog that many dealers of the Safariland product line don’t even list all of it.  Recently we actually had an issue with some of the technical info not being up to date and we had some incorrect holsters come in.  We didn’t  know that there was no difference between the M6 flashlight and the TLR-1S light.  Everyone and their dog is using the TLR lights now so we are stocking them for the local departments.

Blackhawk Serpa holsters are still very popular and a quick fix for anyone looking for a retention holsters but I don’t even have to ask why when a cop walks in our store on why he wants retention.   You gotta have retention and Safariland holsters like the ALS are the way to go because when you have to holster your weapon and cuff someone you don’t want them pulling your own firearm and using against you.  The Stats are there for cops being killed with their own weapons and  even for swat teams that are primarily using AR15 or M16, you need retention on your handguns to prevent them from flying out when you are moving around.

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More Blackhawk vs Safariland

We have a very long and growing list of Law Enforcement officers coming into our store with broken or worn out parts, and 95% of the time it means going back to our Safariland product book and flipping through the pages to find the right part.  There are so many variations of guns out there and slight contour differences that mean you need a new holster.   With many products this takes research and patience to get it right the first time.  There have been changes to guns, holsters and even Streamlight flashlights but it’s almost impossible to keep up to date with it. In fact one of our distributors even acknowledged that they don’t have the man power to keep their website up to date with all of the correct product info.

This year we are breaking from the drop shipping policies and moving more toward stocking the parts and accessories that we know people are going to need.  Some of the Blackhawk and Safariland holsters that we carry are the products that are the most demanded.  For instance, most departments around here use the Glock 17 and the Glock 21 so we usually stock the duty and drop leg holsters that they need.   Some of these holsters can cost over $140 so stocking the correct items and not getting stuck with a dead product they collects dust for years is something we try to avoid.

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Official Safariland Holster Dealer

It’s official, Rogue Elite is now an authorized Safariland and Bianchi dealer here in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  Our Broomall showroom and the demand from local law enforcement has given us a strong and stable foothold in this area after 7yrs of drop shipping various products for years.  There are many products that our Law Enforcement Community have asked for and many of them can only be had by direct dealers and not through drop shipping distributors.   The Safariland product line is vast and the variations in firearms, light and lasers that are available to them can great complicate the holster selections.

Many tactical teams need thigh or drop leg holsters and many are using the TLR-1 or TLR-3 gun lights.  Not everyone chooses to use the same gear and many have used the Safariland holsters with the Surefire X300 flashlights.  The change in flashlights can cause many to use a different holster and at $140 per holster that really can get expensive.  There is usually a very thorough testing period before a department chooses a sidearm and flashlights take just as much time to test out.   Normally it’s Surefire or Streamlight but we have seen quite a few of the Viridian laser flashlight combos.

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Safariland retention and thigh holsters

For those that work in the industry you see new products and supposedly new accessories that people want to pump you up about.  Marketing and advertising products are going to try and get you to believe that you need to buy it, but there are many things that are all about preference and styles.   Some products like the Safariland ALS are tried and tested and we’ve sold so many of them that it’s not something we’re expecting to see improved upon.

While the Beretta 92 or more commonly known as the M9, is still military issued, most in the Special Forces prefer to use something else. Most of our customer base use Glock firearms because the low maintenance firearm and the time tested Safariland holsters have the most reliable locking mechanism for Law Enforcement and Military applications. Every Police Officer that walks in our store prefers Safariland. The Glock 17  is still the most popular firearm we sell holsters for.

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Holsters vs. Holsters

There are so many variations of holsters and certain holsters are a must for certain environments.  I never understood people that take a firearm or a holster and don’t use it the way it was intended or try and cut around corners.  For instance, I have a friend that carries a Safariland holster around with the ALS system but he doesn’t keep the hood up to lock the gun in.    The locking system design is actually being skipped over.  The real problem with this line of thinking is under stress, the locking system can get knocked back and then the person with the firearm will get a surprise when he or she pulls the firearm and it does not release.  Practice with the guns and gear the way they were suppose to be otherwise unintended issues will arise.

The same thing goes for people that carry 1911s and keep the thumb safety off.  I have seen thumb safeties on 1911s come back on and this is the same issue that can occur on Safariland holsters with the ALS design.   The one thing I do like about kydex holsters over the leather holsters that we sell is that re holstering in a kydex holster is easy and there is hardly the need to wiggle the gun around or adjust the holster before re-holstering.  Some leather holsters can start to flop over time and that can be an issue under stress.   Choose your holster and firearm and be careful your short cuts don’t end up becoming a liability.

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Paddle holsters and the differences between them

When i think of paddle holsters the first thing I think about are Fobus holsters.  I see many people bitch about them online but I have not had any bad experiences with them.   The only complaint I have about paddle holsters is they are very uncomfortable to use when shooting from prone.  I wore one to the range during a glass and switched to my Elite Survival drop leg holsters to free up my waist.  Fobus holsters are really nice to use in the winter or for open carry because they are so easy to get on and off and they only cost about $20.  For someoone that is taking a defensive training course we always sell them a Fobus paddle holster and then a Woolrich Elite lightweight vest.   I would say that I am not a fan of the Fobus magazine holders because they are just too bulky, the Blackhawk magazine holders are better contoured.

The simple answer for which paddle holster you should use would be to ask  yourself if you want retention or not.  Blackhawk Serpa holsters are very big with Glock guys and the Safariland holsters for Glocks are very very popular because of the retention.  If you don’t want any type of firearm retention you have many other options out there. There are Desantis holsters, Galco holsters, Fobus and many more that make decent paddle holsters but there are huge price differences.   I usually stick with Fobus and Blackhawk to make it simple but I have had some reasons to acquire the Safariland holsters, too.

 

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New guns vs the old guns

We got a lot of weird questions about firearms and clothing and some things just aren’t worth our time pursuing.   There are new products  coming out every couple months and there are always new guns after SHOT Show or the NRA Convention that we basically have no interest in buying up holsters or gear with.   We normally wait for our customer to give us feedback on products and if there is enough interest in them, then we’ll bring in holsters, tactical lights or keep standard capacity magazines around.   Tactical lights are becoming a major headache for some manufacturers because there are fit differences between each tactical light.

Lately there seems to be a trend from local police departments to go back to Glocks just because some of the products have become so complicated it’s just not worth the hassle being the first to pick up a new handgun.   One thing that seems to be true is everyone goes back to Safariland holsters for their Sigs and Glock pistols.  Today a local police department asked us to look into getting them holsters for the Sig 220 handguns that are issued to them.  It was odd to hear that that gun is still in service locally, but it is.   There are polymer Sig pistols and even if they have an advantage, in the market place, there just aren’t as many options for them.

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Observing who uses the best stuff

There are so many things in this industry that are well made, but all have their good and bad points.   Some things are all about preference and not really better than the other.  For instance, there is a certain point that a discussion about 9mm firearms being better than one another is and dumb conversation because as long as the gun is reliable  for the first 5 rounds, in the real world the hits are all that counts and most shootings for even law enforcement are in the single digits.  The Sig 228 is a good firearm but will need more lubrication to run properly than a Glock.   If you are going on long deployment the Glock is an obvious lower maintenance firearm.

One thing we do see though is military personal mostly Special Ops that stop in our shop all buy the Safariland holsters.   I personally have no problem with the drop rig Blackhawk holsters but the Safariland holsters are the ones that the pros use and that is something to pay attention to.   I’ve always liked my Beretta 92 pistols and even though they are still being used in the military as a primary sidearm the guys that have the option to carry something else, do.

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