All posts tagged Blackhawk Serpa Holsters For Sale

The Importance of and liabilities of certain retention holsters

Blackhawk Serpa HolstersThere are so many modes of carrying a firearm and not everyone is going to like carrying in a certain manor.   We have guys that stop in here that can’t complain about the Blackhawk level 2 retention holsters and then there are others that hate them.  I’ve watched all of the holster videos on Youtube that talk about all  of the bad things that can happen when using your Glock 19, Glock 21 or Sig 229 handgun in one of them.   The military has adopted these for their M9 pistols and some hate this because now and dirt can cause the holster to not function.   Safariland holsters have a very popular history with Law Enforcement but some guys still don’t like that thumb/ flip carry style.  Level 3 holsters are gaining ground and Safariland and Blackhawk have them.

Carrying a flashlight can cause you to have limited choices for your standard sidearm but there are some new Level II and Level II holsters from Blackhawk this year.   We have primarily Glock 21 and Glock 22 handguns being issues by local police departments but many detectives are using the Blackhawk Serpa holsters because it’s a little lighter and not as hard on your wallet.    Recently we had a few detectives turn in their Fobus holsters and switch to Blackhawk Serpa holsters just for the ease of mind of knowing that if you are in the middle of struggle and trying to handcuff a suspect you get an extra second or more to react to them if they reach for your firearm.  Recently here in Pennsylvania a police officer was attacked by a mob that

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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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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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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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Do you own that gun that’s hard to find a holsters for?

In a recent conversation about some of the new pocket guns from Ruger like the LCP and the LC9, many people are calling us up asking us if we have ANY type of holster for their guns.   Gun holsters have just gotten far more complicated in recent  years and even the guys  in the military have to go through some research to buy a holster.   Guns are sold with rails, without rails, some handguns have lasers on them and others want to keep a light on them.    You literally could have 3 or 4 of the almost identical holsters with just slight variations depending on how it is configured.   There are always customer holsters for those with the money to fork out, but not everyone wants to spend $80 on a holster.

One reason to stick with a handgun for CCW that has been out for awhile is getting replacement parts, gun grips, gun holsters and even ammunition might be a good idea.   Blackhawk holsters are probable our biggest selling holster, but they don’t have the versatility as a nylon holster maker like Elite Survival does.   Elite Survival has Made in the USA on their products but might be a little bit above Uncle Mike’s gun holsters and Blackhawk nylon holsters   or even the Blackhawk Omega holsters.   If you are looking for IDPA or a duty holster, the USMC has now adopted the Blackhawk Serpa Holsters as their primary retention holster.   I believe it replaced the M12.

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Some talk about the USMC adopting the Blackhawk Serpa Holsters

I just got done reading several news articles, gun blogs and yapping on facebook about the USMC adopting the Blackhawk Serpa holsters.   Many of them were fact and experience driven but I still see a lot of over reacting.  There are several videos floating around of the holsters being jammed up from dirt or snow and guns being locked into place inside the holster and the release button not working.   Well, try doing that same thing with your AR15 and you’ll probable end up with a jammed firearm.    I think the argument is definitely there and there may be a slight modification to the gun release button, but I think the Blackhawk Serpa holster is a good holster.

Your cell phone and firearm can jam or even explode if  you don’t treat them right and anyone knows that getting dirt down your barrel and obstructing a bullet means a doomed barrel.   Every mechanical device whether  Blackhawk Serpa holsters or a Galco leather holster can malfunction.   Even Fobus holsters were the recipients of some pretty harsh internet durability and reliability video.   This argument can go all the way back to wood rifle stocks vs plastic ones.   I would expect that the military may ask for a slightly improved version of the holster, but I wouldn’t worry about the ones you have on  you right now.

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