Holster Q

I carry IWB, always up front (just to the right side of my belly-button) (I'm skinny and it's the only way that works (concealed)). I've always used holsters with the metal belt clip and a thumb break.

Just bought a glock 26 and have my eye on the bianchi IWB. It has the metal clip but no thumb break. I'm leery of that. Just how securely will it hold my gun?

Thx in advance.

[Karys]

Originally Posted by Pinhead

I carry IWB, always up front (just to the right side of my belly-button) (I'm skinny and it's the only way that works (concealed)). I've always used holsters with the metal belt clip and a thumb break.

Just bought a glock 26 and have my eye on the bianchi IWB. It has the metal clip but no thumb break. I'm leery of that. Just how securely will it hold my gun?

Thx in advance.

I have no experience with the Bianchi IWB, but I will always carry in a holster with a thumb break or some type of retention. I had an incident where I lost my brand new Glock 29 at the bottom of a creek three days after I bought it. I ended up diving 10' into the bottom of the pool I was fishing in and retrieving my pistol.

I really like the Ted Blocker ST-17 IWB. It has a wide belt clip that will keep the holster where you put it. I've tried some other IWB holsters with a narrower belt clip and I've had them pop out on me. Not good when you're sitting at a restaurant eating dinner and your gun and holster fall out onto the floor.

[aubie515]

It all boils down to personal preference. I personally do not like thumb breaks on my holsters. It gets in the way of a fast draw and I don't find thumb breaks to be useful. Most of my holsters are custom fit for my pistols, so I don't worry about them falling out. I have yet to have a pistol slide out of the holster while I was carrying the weapon.

I use a Bianchi IWB for my 1911 and it does not have the thumb break. The holster fits and feels nice when I carry that pistol.

[Karys]

Originally Posted by aubie515

It all boils down to personal preference...

I agree. There seems to be a lot of people out there that don't like thumb breaks on their holsters. I just don't happen to be one of them. Personally, if it doesn't have a thumb break I prefer some type of retention built into the holster.

Does the Bianchi you use for your 1911 have any type of retention system?

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by Pinhead

I carry IWB, always up front (just to the right side of my belly-button) (I'm skinny and it's the only way that works (concealed)). I've always used holsters with the metal belt clip and a thumb break.

Just bought a glock 26 and have my eye on the bianchi IWB. It has the metal clip but no thumb break. I'm leery of that. Just how securely will it hold my gun?

Thx in advance.

I would think since you hide in front, that it would be virtually impossible for it to "fall" out, I mean how often do you do a back flip? Most people bend forward and drop out the back or side where as how could it possibly fall out the front when you’re bent over it?

I have a Don Hume holster for my mod. 66 S&W and carried quite often while at the GPGC in my back, I raked, shot, bent over to clean up junk, and never felt it would fall out Although I have it pretty well softened up, there is certainly nothing much holding it in. If I hold the holster upside down, the gun won’t quite fall out, but would not take a big shake to let it fall.
If you have the "proper" holster for your gun, the retention is usually made by molding on to the surface of the gun and the trigger guard. Some models have a retention screw you can tighten to make retention harder; some have a spot you need to push on to release the gun from the holster. But of al the people I have seen carry, I have never seen where a gun would fall out except people who actually had a thumb break and did not realize it was open. Generally, thumb break holsters are made so the gun has no retention or very little once the break is unfastened. I say generally, because I remember a safari land holster that had thumb break and trigger guard hold. That holster was made so you could only pull the gun out with a forward motion eliminating the worry of some one pulling your gun out from behind you. The holster had spring retention in the leather and could only be broken out the front of the holster, not straight up or backwards.

There was a thread for a holster I seem to remember where the holster sat deep inside your pants and came out when you pulled on a glass case or cell phone, I don’t remember the specific thread, but some one here might remember it. Basically, the holster would ride deep inside your pants and a leather strap that came out had a second case that could hold cell phone or glasses… Pull up the cell case and up came the holster with the gun.

If you carry in front and still conceal, I imagine you wear mainly sweaters or shirts not tucked in. You should be able to “feel” if the gun was riding higher then usual. Some how I cant imagine carrying with my holster in front unless I placed it so I had to cross draw, this was once suggested some where I read for people who drive a lot…

Ahh I knew if i looked, I would find it, http://www.pagerpal.com/ Just remember, Holsters are like pants, Just because one pair of pants fit me best, does not mean they will fit you at all. In my 20's I wore low rider jeans with a boot cut, today, I hear high riders straight leg... Go figure, belly shows more on a low rider like Lee jeans... So just because I could carry one way with one holster does not mean othes can, you have to fit your holsters just the way you would fit your jeans, Try it on, see if its comfy for you, dont go by what "others" say fits best.

[dgg9]

Originally Posted by Pinhead

I carry IWB, always up front (just to the right side of my belly-button)

That's called "appendix draw" IIRC.

A good holster should not need retention to keep the gun in, unless you're doing SWAT-like levels of activity (running flat out, climbing fences). Thumb snaps and other retention are mostly for security against gun grabs, which should be mostly N/A for CCW (unlike police who open carry).

Personally, I think you might be able to do better than the "one metal clip" type of IWB. There are other types out there. For appendix carry, you don't have much room, so you probably need a non-canted holster with the belt clip right on top of the holster.

Try a minimal-cant (5 degrees) one-piece Sidearmor IWB -- you can get them used on gun boards, like glocktalk or thehighroad. I think it might work for you; they seem well suited to mini-Glocks:

http://www.sidearmor.com/cart/catalo...d_Holster.html

I can see if I see any holsters explicitly intended for appendix draw.

ETA:

This looks promising: http://www.threatsolutions.com/Appendixpage.html

Some people recommend the High Noon Hideaway for Appendix IWB ("A-IWB") carry:

http://www.highnoonholsters.com/

Wow! Lots of good input here. Guess I'll go store hopping and see if they'll let me actually try them on (should be able to use a display gun, huh?) to check out form-fit-function.

Thanks again.

[ar15jules]

I have seen a few pistols slide across the floor because of the lack of a retention device. An attacker may tackle you. You may end up in a ground fight. I PERSONALLY would not carry without one. I was wearing a cheap DiSantis belt loop holster with a thumb break during a training session. The instructor had just taught us how to "cover down" on the pistol in the event of a gun grab attempt. This meant cupping your gun side hand toward your body and covering the rear of the slide while squeezing the thumb break with your fingers on the holster nearest your body and the palm of your hand on the outside of the holster. After doing this, the instuctor chose me, and asked me to do the same thing, but only use my thumb and middle finger. I did this and he grabbed the grip of the training weapon and lifted me off the ground. After holding me there, he asked the class if they thought the thumb break was a good retention device. The belt loops on my pants eventually ripped. Anyway, a thumb break is an excellent retention device. With the proper practice, the draw will be effortless. I would rather keep my weapon than be shot with it.
Jules

[dgg9]

Originally Posted by ar15jules

I have seen a few pistols slide across the floor because of the lack of a retention device.

In training classes? Sure, but that doesn't reflect normal reality. Retention skills are good to learn, but CCW holders getting in retention battles is extremely rare.

So IMO we have to weigh vanishingly rare risks vs other, more commonplace considerations, namely that a lot of really good holsters don't come with retention, and also vs other rare risks such as having to access the holstered gun with the weak hand.

[ar15jules]

No, in scuffles, not in training classes. Is it that rare that a ground fight may happen prior to using deadly force. If I do get jumped from behind, and said bad guy goes for a gun grab, getting jumped just turned into a deadly force scenario. And EVERYONE should be able to draw with their nondominant hand.
Jules