All posts in Blackhawk gun holsters

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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Blackhawk Drop Leg holsters easier to deploy

Blackhawk Serpa HolstersBlackhawk serpa holstersThe Blackhawk Serpa holsters became our most popular level II holster due to its easy use and reliability.   There are plenty of reasons to not use thumb breaks and locking mechanisms on holsters, but for those carrying openly or using a sidearm as a secondary weapon, having a easy to release locking holster is comforting.  For hard use and physical work, holster, gear and magazines can come loose.   The Blackhawk magazine holders for double stack and single stack magazines is probable the best made magazine for concealed carry because there are no flaps or covers over them, but they still retain the gun magazine with tension.   The design of the Blackhawk holsters works right with your basic firearm safety procedures and will easily be released by the trigger finger while it is in the safe position away from the trigger when be retrieved.  The Blackhawk tactical leg holsters are also big sellers for those carrying full size autos like the Beretta 92 or Glock 17.

Angles make a big difference in the easy in which you can deploy your firearm.  If you look at some of the Desantis leather holsters there are numerous belt holsters that have different angles, the Blackhawk Serpa holsters that are drop leg holsters are at a lower angle and in my personal opinion less likely to have an operator slide their finger off the holster release button that on the waist.  There are always body types and situations where this can cause an issue but for me I like the drop leg holsters more than the belt.  There are some attachment devices that you can use to make your Serpa holster a molle compatible device and we are stocking more and more of these adaptives.

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Kydex holsters options without going to a custom company?

Blackhawk Serpa holstersI’ve got a pile of gun  holsters in my closet and more than 80% of them never see the light of the day.  Some of the holsters we have have are made from Galco, Desantis, Elite Survival, Glock, and several more that I can’t name at the moment.   Today I  had a customer walk in the door and ask me if I Had a holsters for an H&K gun that I never heard of, and when I asked him if he wanted Kydex or leather?  IWB or OWB?  He started to seem annoyed, I told him it’s his job to tell what holster he wants and my job to find it for him.  Not to bash our customers, but we’ve got enough experience to know that we have to direct those questions back to the customer because we’ve had people blame us for suggesting certain options if they didn’t like it and try and see they won’t pay for the return shipping.

Another thing people don’t seem to realize is that if a gun holster says it will work for a gun, that they somehow need to try it on.   When I ask the customer if they want a retention, paddle holster i usually reference the diffferences between the Blackhawk Serpa holsters we sell and the Fobus gun holsters.   There is a 50% price difference between each product and you gotta know what you want and look for it instead of it finding you.  I think people carry the Serpa for the wrong reasons and it is primarly a secondary firearm holster or a Law Enforcement holster, not really a good civilian CCW holster because if you don’t need a reason for retention, don’t use it.

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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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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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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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