CCW Holsters

earthquake

Amateur
Who makes really good quality ccw holsters? I just picked me up a new pistola, a subcompact, and am getting my license this week. Have never carried before, so I'm not sure how I want to either. IWB? OWB?
Advice/tips welcome. Will be carrying a G42 mostly, but may occasionally carry my USP9c too.
 

Matt

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Not that it helps you with your G42, but my chosen way to carry is a Raven Concealment Vanguard 2 at one o'clock. I bet you could find a kydex shop that would make something similar for the G42 if you ask.
 

PM07

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Holster preference is like the blondes vs. brunettes thing, so much personal preferences come into play. I use a Raven OWB and a Peters IWB for my Glock 19 w/X300. I use Bladetech Eclipse for my 9mm Shield. Big bonus with the Raven and BT Eclipse is that you can buy the hardware and use them both as a IWB or OWB holster.
 

Presscheck Consulting

Gunslinger
Staff member
Moderator
WARLORD
My G42 is not a real gun it's a BUG so I carry it in DeSantis ankle holster. I also mounted a gun clip on it to enable me to carry it in the summer when wearing running shorts or swim trunks.

For my real guns, I carry a mix of Raven holsters. Phantom, vanguard 1, vanguard 2, or vanguard 3 (don't ask, the VG3 is unobtanium).

My duty rigs are blade tech dropped with offset cant.
 

Matt

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
So I took at look and apparently you can get a VG1 for a G42. If I was going to carry a G42, I would get a VG1 and put a soft loop or strut+soft loop into that rivet at the bottom.
 

earthquake

Amateur
Thanks. I understand it's personal preference...am just looking for places (names) to start looking at, and those to avoid. I'm afraid I don't understand the VG holster. It looks like a "banana-hammock" for a gun! Guess I'll have to check it out in person.
 

Grayman

Established
If you are just starting to carry I would buy something fairly inexpensive (But not an uncle mikes POS that will fall apart or eject your gun the first time you sit down!) that allows you to try AIWB and regular IWB in a few different places around your waistline.
Put the gun in a spot then wear the thing around for a day and write down your thoughts, what annoys you, what you like and what hurts like hell.
Try DRY draws from each spot and make notes about how your draw is affected.
After a week of tweaking the location around your belt and making some notes you ought to have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't for your body type.
From there look at what changes might facilitate greater comfort for extended wear and start looking at the huge multitude of products on the market.

Just my .02 on how I would get started...
 

JPourciau

Newbie
I've been carrying concealed for the better part of two decades now, so I have some thoughts on this matter... First of all, I like holsters from Dale Fricke and Blade-Tech. WOTG (Frank Proctor) also has a new holster out now that looks interesting. When you invest in the holster, invest in a good gun belt. I usually wear a Wilderness Tactical 5-Stitch Instructor belt, but I also own nice leather gun belts. Expect the belt to cost as much as the holster.

As far as where and how to carry, I am a big fan of appendix IWB carry. As long as you utilize a holster that securely covers the trigger guard, the gun is not going to go off. Re-holstering concerns can be mitigated by looking at the holster as your re-holster and doing so slowly. No need to speed re-holster... With those common safety concerns out of the way, I would posit that AIWB is one of the most concealable methods of carry that also arguably offers the fastest draw. Regardless of whether you are sitting in your car, on your back on the ground in a fight, or need to access the pistol with your off hand, you can draw your gun. You draw your gun covertly if needed, as the motion telegraphs far less than if you carry behind the hip. You can more easily retain your gun in the holster in a fight, and you can brush up against people in crowded places without them bumping into your pistol. If somebody feels your pistol when you are carrying AIWB, then you should probably know them pretty well! You can bend over to get something on the bottom shelf in the grocery store without printing or exposing your holster and freaking out the soccer moms that demand action! For me, there are just too many reasons to carry AIWB and too few to not. The caveat is of course that you must wear an untucked shirt, unless of course you choose to use a tuckable holster... Also, it helps to not have a gut hanging over the belt line. These days, most holster manufacturers offer an AIWB specific holster, or one that will work. I usually choose a full holster and reserve the minimalist holsters such as the Vanguard mentioned above for more discreet NPE settings. In that regard, I suspect that you will find that your G42 virtually disappears carried AIWB in a minimalist holster.

Hope this helps...
 
I'd second what Grayman says. Try out a couple of inexpensive options to at least know if you'll be comfortable with IWB/OWB and which one you'll prefer. Then start looking at higher end stuff that will last. I ran a $30 Alien Gear holster for about 6 months for T&E, that's not a bad place to start. It's not a great place to end up though.

My daily carry now is a custom job from Art of War Industries (http://www.artofwar-industries.com/).
 

Dan_Kemp

Amateur
Barry, I hadn't heard of Art of War, but that three-gun mag carrier of theirs looks pretty damned cool. Thanks.

CCW holsters for my 1911s were easy. I have everything from Comp-Tac kydex to a bullhide one Andy Langolais did for me. But lately my daily carry "small gun" is a 3" Smith and Wesson 60-15 .357, and finding a holster for it was frustrating enough I was starting to regret buying the thing no matter how much I liked it.

I found a very temporary OWB solution with a nice nearly-new holster out of That Box at the LGS that I think was meant for a Judge or similar, but on the recommendation of some Texas friends who still regularly carry wheelguns, I am saving up for an IWB from Tucker Gun Leather of Houston. Usually using my Galco belt.
 
Funny you should mention their 3 gun rig, I actually just picked mine up from them Wednesday evening. I'll be running it in a 3 gun match tomorrow. I've got pretty high expectations for it.

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