Continuing my series of poor man's products is the poor man's holster! It is also know as the OSS holster. It was used in WWII by the OSS as a way to carry a handgun without a real holster. It is simply a loop of twine or string or shoelace of varying length.
The way it works is, you thread one end of the loop under your belt and one end over it. Now you have two smaller loops that should be on top of the belt with one end being a smaller loop than the other. You then place the bbl of your gun in the smaller loop and the larger end of the loop holds the frame area of the gun. The you just put the gun inside your wasteband like "Mexican carry" but it is prevented from falling down your pants by the loops attached to your belt.
The reason that the OSS used this was that they could ditch the gun if they were being trailed and the "holster" could be kept in the pocket. If caught, the holster would not give away the operative. This was before the advent of the clip on holster or the paddle holster.
I have used this holster on several guns when I wanted to carry "Mexican" style but also wanted to prevent the gun from slipping down my pants. It works O.K. but not on guns that have a front sight that will snag on the loop. If it snags, it will still draw but the loop will be hanging around the bbl. On guns like the 1911 or the BHP it works fine. On my Ruger MK II, it snagged. I carried the MK II this way because I wanted to keep a .22 pistol on me when hunting or just hiking but I didn't have a holster that fit.
The good thing about this holster is that it is free and it can be made to fit any size handgun with just adjusting the size of the loop. What you don't want to do is make a single loop with it attached to your belt, if you do this, when the gun snags, it will not pull loose.
I am not recomending this holster but I thought it was an interesting idea. If it works for you, great. If you don't like this idea, don't blame me, I didn't invent it. Also I have heard it may not be legal in some states.
The way it works is, you thread one end of the loop under your belt and one end over it. Now you have two smaller loops that should be on top of the belt with one end being a smaller loop than the other. You then place the bbl of your gun in the smaller loop and the larger end of the loop holds the frame area of the gun. The you just put the gun inside your wasteband like "Mexican carry" but it is prevented from falling down your pants by the loops attached to your belt.
The reason that the OSS used this was that they could ditch the gun if they were being trailed and the "holster" could be kept in the pocket. If caught, the holster would not give away the operative. This was before the advent of the clip on holster or the paddle holster.
I have used this holster on several guns when I wanted to carry "Mexican" style but also wanted to prevent the gun from slipping down my pants. It works O.K. but not on guns that have a front sight that will snag on the loop. If it snags, it will still draw but the loop will be hanging around the bbl. On guns like the 1911 or the BHP it works fine. On my Ruger MK II, it snagged. I carried the MK II this way because I wanted to keep a .22 pistol on me when hunting or just hiking but I didn't have a holster that fit.
The good thing about this holster is that it is free and it can be made to fit any size handgun with just adjusting the size of the loop. What you don't want to do is make a single loop with it attached to your belt, if you do this, when the gun snags, it will not pull loose.
I am not recomending this holster but I thought it was an interesting idea. If it works for you, great. If you don't like this idea, don't blame me, I didn't invent it. Also I have heard it may not be legal in some states.
Thanks for sharing the OSS loop info. It works very well.
