Reholstering Safely

[bigredxlt]

What are the basics to reholstering your weapon safely?

I dont mean to be paranoid but I have read and heard of quite a few instances where people end up shooting themselves while reholstering their loaded weapon. Seeing as I usually carry my p226 at about 3 or 4 oclock IWB in a white hat holster (similar to cross breed) I cant see the gun or trigger when I reholster to make sure there is nothing in the trigger guard. Anything I should be keeping in mind?

[350CI]

What are the basics to reholstering your weapon safely?

I dont mean to be paranoid but I have read and heard of quite a few instances where people end up shooting themselves while reholstering their loaded weapon. Seeing as I usually carry my p226 at about 3 or 4 oclock IWB in a white hat holster (similar to cross breed) I cant see the gun or trigger when I reholster to make sure there is nothing in the trigger guard. Anything I should be keeping in mind?

practice, practice, practice

[JustinM]

Reholster SLOWLY. It's not a race to get the gun back in the holster. If you're having trouble finding the opening on the holster just flag your thumb on your dominant hand an find it that way. That way you're not fishing around with the muzzle of your gun and sweeping yourself.

[bigredxlt]

practice, practice, practice

haha umm thanks for the insight?

[Genin]

Reholster SLOWLY. It's not a race to get the gun back in the holster. If you're having trouble finding the opening on the holster just flag your thumb on your dominant hand an find it that way. That way you're not fishing around with the muzzle of your gun and sweeping yourself.

This gentleman knows what he's talking about. Please do not rush to reholster. If you practice to be tactically proficient, you won't be holstering unless there are no other threats present therefore you don't need to rush to reholster. Take your time and by all means look with your eyes to ensure there is nothing in your holster that could get snagged in the trigger guard. Remember if you are reholstering there is no threat present so you can take your time and do it safely, don't become your own threat with slamming it in there quickly and recklessly.

[Signmaker]

I get a little nutty about some safety things, and holstering up is one of them because it's something I do multiple times per day, and can easily get lazy on.

As said before, I go slowly. I pick up the firearm, and visually confirm my finger is on the frame. I check for the chambered round, and make sure the mag is seated. I then look again to be sure my finger is on the frame, check to make sure the holster is clear, and insert it, making sure my index finger ends up indexed to the frame, on top of the holster.

Doing this, I formed the habit of doing things slowly and methodically. It's how I holster whether first thing on a lazy Sunday morning, or middle of the day Tuesday when I'm in a hot rush to get back to work.

[photoshooter]

Reholster SLOWLY. It's not a race to get the gun back in the holster. If you're having trouble finding the opening on the holster just flag your thumb on your dominant hand an find it that way. That way you're not fishing around with the muzzle of your gun and sweeping yourself.

+1

I practice my drawstroke frequently. After my drawstroke in three counts reholstering is exactly the same in reverse. Drawstroke fast, reholster slow. Flagged thumb used to find holster if needed. Even if I pick up a gun from the table I try to go through the same range of motions to reholster it. I feel that consistency is king.

[john doe]

With external hammer firearms, you can also place a finger between hammer and firing pin for an added safety measure.

[bigredxlt]

With external hammer firearms, you can also place a finger between hammer and firing pin for an added safety measure.

Great call, I dont know why I didnt think of that. This should do the trick for me as all my handguns are hammer fired.

[Signmaker]

Add to that, when holstering revolvers with exposed hammers, or DA guns carried with the hammer down, you can place your thumb behind the hammer while holstering, as an extra layer against a trigger snag.

Havent done revos in a while, so my brain is wired around bottom feeders.