All posts in Blackhawk Serpa Holsters

Blackhawk Serpa’s, Glocks and training…

If I think about the handguns I own, the last handgun I have picked up in recent years was a Glock 19.  From my experience with firearms, it’s mostly about preference because so many handguns are far more reliable than they were 20yrs ago.  Lubricants like Slip 2000 and M-Pro7 have gone a long ways form where CLP started from and that was enough to get a firearm to last several hundred if not thousands of rounds longer.  When people get into these debates about handguns and how many rounds they will shoot before jamming up, you really have to be realistic, nobody carries hundreds of rounds of handgun ammunition around with them even in combat.  It’s mostly officers that have sidearms and the  majority will have an M16 with them.

Glocks will run longer but there is also something to be said about a device being easy to use and user friendly.   Thumb breaks have been around for a long time but there is something to be said for Blackhawk Serpa holsters  since they seem to be a perfect match.   I have never had fit issues with the Serpa unlike what I have had with some of my older model Fobus holsters.    It is easy to train someone who has their basic firearm safety down, to use the Blackhawk Serpa retention holster.   We are a stocking dealer and have most of the Glock holsters for left hand and right handed gun owners.

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When do you need a retention holster?

There are so many guns out there and holsters that it is very common for people to waste money buying things that they don’t need and then it sits in a gun safe or a box in the closet.   Training is more important than firearm selection and many of my friends got in the habit of thinking that if they needed a self defense firearm they should buy something expensive.  There is nothing wrong with carrying a j-frame revolver and all the craze about .380’s in recent years is really just marketing.   Ballistics of a .380 are very low and this is  not a very powerful round although there has been some improvement lately.

When it comes to holsters, you don’t need to spend $100 on a holster for it to give you some stealth advantage over your enemies.   We sell a lot of Blackhawk Serpa holsters to law enforcement but I shy away from pushing these for CCW.   There have been many times that I have had customer walk into my store and have a firearm with a light  on it and none of the holsters that they originally came in looking for worked for them.   There have been many times that they picked up an Elite Survival Systems holster because there was more adaptability with their designs for lights and lasers.

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Local Police using Safariland holsters and Blackhawk Holsters

We get so many phone calls and walk in customers with the new handgun that they purchased and they are completely stumped on what type of holster they should be using.  I tend to recommend everyone use a IWB holsters, preferable Kydex although leather holsters are very comfortable and sometimes just a preference.   We still a large amount of the nylon holsters, both leg holsters and belt holsters.  Sometimes it’s just easier to find a holster that holds your gun rather than a customer kydex or perfect leather holsters.  Now that so many people modify their firearms, and there’s nothing wrong with doing that, they can make it difficult to find a holster that functions the way they want it to.

I have a Fobus holsters for all of my medium and large frame semi-autos because i’m a big believer in having a holster for everyone gun I own.   Sometimes it’s easier to just spend $20 on a paddle holster rather than spend $35+ dollars on the Blackhawk Serpa holsters especially if you are not going need a retention holster.   The Blackhawk Serpa holsters are very popular with a local PD that are using the Glock 21 and the Glock 30 handguns.   It’s actually nice to see police departments carrying the 45acp round and yes even the 1911 is still being used and Blackhawk has a  holster for you.

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Retetion holsters, open carry and concealed carry

There are many areas of this industry where it is all about preference and it’s not really a problem using holster A, holster B or holster C in a situation.   I realize that not everyone is going to be handcuffing a suspect and needs to worry about a bad guy grabbing his gun while stopping someone during a frisk, but there is more than that reason to have a locking holster of some sort.   There are plenty of youtube videos out there showing you the difference between the level 2 and level 3 holsters from Blackhawk and Safariland land and every one of them is for a different level of Law Enforcement or tactical applications.   Retention holsters like the Blackhawk Serpa are now military issued because in the middle of combat things can and will go flying if they are not locked down.

I know the Blackhawk Serpa holsters advertise that they are for concealment but I really have to put my foot down and suggest to any civilian that is carrying a firearm, that these are not the best holsters for hiding under a garment.  I personally suggest that the Blackhawk Serpa holsters be used for open carry or law enforcement because going under cover means the concern of snagging, and putting in another potential slow down like a locking holster in the mix is more of a liability.  There are plenty of holsters from Desantis or from Safariland that give you some level of retention that can be adjusted with a screw that don’t need to have a button release to get them out.

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Blackhawk Serpa holsters for sidearms

I have taken several courses with my Carbine and I still am sticking with my Blackhawk Serpa holsters even with all of this brewha that has been going on.  I’ve seen it so many times at the range that ceratain holsters or gear is more likely to cause accidents with shooters that are not as disciplined.  It’s not the gears fault its the shooter and everyone knows that even though so many instructors have banned the holster.  They get tired of the “new guys” always doing the same mistakes.   The thigh rig for my sidearm is a great way to carry because i do not like having a sidearm on my vest or on the belt line if I am toting my LWRC M6A2.

Keeping as much gear off your belt is a good  thing and new shooters will find that out after the first hour on a firing line.   With a full range of holsters for medium and large frame sidearms the Blackhawk Serpa holsters are still the hottest selling thigh rigs for students heading off to the range.  They are about $50 less than the Safariland holsters and I really can’t argue one being any better for the chore at hand.  We stock a large supply of these holsters for the most popular Sig Sauer, Glock, Beretta and 1911 firearms.  Even the XD45 is one of the most common we see carried in this type of holster.

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More info from walk in customers about guns and gear….

I have been told I’m an old soul because I’m far more mature than most my age and I’ve been that way for probable most of my life.   Many of the good things I remember about growing up was getting all the info I wanted from my Grandfather and all of my Uncle’s.  I only had a couple of Aunt’s so it was not very balanced in having sources of information.   When it came to Astronomy, Science, Politics and Religion, I got input from so many different views that I was forced to pick  one or think about it and come to a conclusion.  The same goes now for all of our customers that tell us about the gear and gadgets they use.

One of the best things I got from both of my Grandfather’s was the ability to always ask questions.   I always ask customers about the fiasco over the Blackhawk Serpa holsters and the recent bans that are taking place all over.  My own thoughts on it are that a less trained shooter is more likely to happen with a Serpa holsters than a Safariland holster but I still use the Blackhawk Serpa holsters, and I have them for all of my combat sidearms.   Those debates about what can happen to a Serpa holster are true, but try jamming the same dirt and snow in your AR15 bolt and tell me if that locks up the same way.  Yep, it does.

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Is your gun holster going to get you killed?

I remember hearing all of the stories about how AR15 rifle jam and that they need to be cleaned.  Well all of this is true but the complaining seems to be exaggerated.   All firearms will eventually go down if they are not cleaned or maintained which in my opinion is a better term, but some may last longer than others.    I have seem ammunition malfunctions occur in rifles where just the slightest burr on the bullet can cause a feeding problem and taking your gun apart or clearing the malfunction can be difficult.   The same type of thing can occur with any mechanical device, ever get your shoe on your foot all wrong and have trouble getting your socks pulled up?  Mechanical parts will eventually cease up or jam up at some point.

Gun holsters have become far more complicated anymore and with everyone and their dog putting on sights, laser or just night sights, you can end up needing a different holster unless you’re brave enough to tweak the holster yourself.  Recently we had a tactical team show up at our store and pick up some of the Blackhawk Serpa holsters we sell and asked them what they were seeing in the Law Enforcement Community after all of the recent  hoopla.  I already knew the answer to this but I sometimes like to test out the customers we have and find  out what their opinions were of this mechanical device.  The answer was, it’s a mechanical device and it can fail.

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Training with new gear and being consistent

There is no debate about firearms safety, you either follow the rules or you will have an accident.   The problem with fireams training is everyone has an off day, not everyone wakes up in the morning and is at 100% mentally there.  Everyone trips or falls at some point, every slips on the ice they didn’t see and not everyone can think straight until they’ve had their cup of joe. I’ve seen more accidents with Glocks than any other sidearm, but I would say that Glocks are the most reliable firearm I’ve seen at training courses.

One thing that I have seen happen with gun owners, is they juggle firearms around too much.  It really is not a good idea to switch up your holsters and firearms too often because mental lapses can occur.  This seems to be the problem people are having with the Blackhawk Serpa holsters that are getting on the news.  If you don’t use this holster all the time, you may have a problem keeping your hand in the same spot and you’re more prone to curling your finger and causing an ND.  I very much like the retention design and the strength of the holsters, but I would not let a novice shooter start out with  one.

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Gun holtsters for the M9 firearm

Every time we get an order for a Beretta 92 holster we pretty much know it’s a Military customer.   Since we deal with so many soldiers deployed over seas and have been an established business for 7yrs people are finding out about us.   There are some new finishes for the Blackhawk Serpa holsters but most people still stick with the Black versions.  One reason I believe the Beretta 92FS has survived all of these  years is that it for the most part is easy to  use for left handed shooters.   I don’t know what the percentage of left handed shooters are in the Country but it’s a fairly high number to market to.

We’ve been getting more and more traffic at our retail location and a shocking number of our customers are left handed.   We were not sure which gun holsters we should be bringing in, but we did order many of the left handed Blackhawk Serpa holsters for the more popular firearms.  Having ambidextrous magazin releases and charging bolts is very important because a left handed individual is really forced to re-learn mechanical movements that his body doesn’t want to learn.  With defensive shooting training, it is important to practice things that you find uncomfortable but starting out with gear that isn’t up to your primary hand movements just royally sucks.

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A good holster that protects and retains a firearms

There has been so much bad mouthing of the Blackhawk Serpa holsters, but there seems to be some sense getting to people’s heads that its now becoming an accepted reality.   There is always a certain amount of training one most achieve before they carry a firearm. There are plenty of things that one can avoid if they are taught to avoid them and it’s something that always is the result of ND.   I have seen too many people pushed off to firing ranges that had very little training before they started doing defense shooting and dumb things like trigger control meant making an ass out of themselves by touching off a round while holstering.  The one statistic I will have to state is that with everyone of those it was with a Glock.

The differences between having a few extra pounds of trigger pull on a firearm can also reduce this, but if one  has trigger control it’s a none issue.  I have been using Blackhawk Serpa holsters for years now and they are still one of my favorites.  Yes they can fail if they roll in the dirt or snow but all firearms can fail for the same reason.  I have recently been using the Safariland holsters that many LEO have recommended and I understand the differences.  The reality for those that are carrying a firearm is this, if you want firearm retention with a holster, the Blackhawk Serpa holster is still  one of the best  holsters to protect and retain a firearm.

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