Handguns That Stay In The Holster

Status
Not open for further replies.

WrongHanded

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
Messages
4,771
This is a spin-off from my thread on swapping out carry ammo. Where some stated they don't take their EDC gun out of the holster, and try to manipulate the gun as little as possible, which means they don't unchamber and rechamber ammo.

My question is, how long do you leave the gun without doing a function check, cleaning and lubricating, etc? Are you ever concerned that the gun may get bound up and not function when you need it?
 
I don't store my gun/guns in a holster, I'm concerned about rust, but I frequently go several weeks between cycling the action, and probably months between adding lube.

In the deeper recesses of my brain there is a thought that it may not function, but I have confidence in these guns and don't obsess over the thought, because they have proven themselves over multiple years, decades actually.
 
My EDC goes in and out of the holster several times a day. My DeSantis Speed Scabbard won't come off without undoing my belt, and I work in a non-permissive environment. So pistol is secured in the car while I'm at work. (Yes, I'm aware of the risks, but it is what it is. I drive to work before dawn and don't care to be disarmed every day.) When I head home, it goes back in the holster. It's also my nightstand gun, so it comes out of the holster again when I get home.

(And for whatever it's worth, which is about as much as y'all paid for it, I have to say that the finish on my Shield is still danged-near-perfect after about 4 years of this treatment.)
 
Mine usually comes out of the holster once a day, for daily dryfire practice. It goes into a spare holster I use for just that purpose and I use a second gun for practice. The spare holster is just a safety measure and loaded gun indicator.

I don't normally unload the gun I carry, other than to blow the dust bunnies out once a week or so, or shoot it once a month or so. If Im not wearing it (its on if Im not in bed), its in its holster, in my pants, next to the bed, fireman style, ready to go.
 
I take my pistol out of the holster at least once every day, and I cycle cartridge in the chamber at least once a week.

I would no more pick up a firearm and not check to see if it's loaded than I would leave on a trip in my truck without checking the fuel gauge, first, even if it's just been setting on the nightstand where I put it last night. (the pistol, not the pickup truck... ;) )

I don't understand this reluctance to not manipulate a firearm... that somehow the more you do it, the greater the odds of an accidental discharge or something.
 
I double check and blow the lint out of my carry gun at least once a month, usually after I shoot it.

I'll take it out of the holster at night to put it in the bedtime safe, sometimes I put the whole holster in but most often I don't.

If I decide my dry fire practice (I use a different gun to dry fire and for most of my range work) needs to be holster work (not every day), I'll put my loaded gun on my loading bench before taking the dry fire gun out of the safe. Always dry fire with a snap cap or laser bullet and have specially marked dry fire mags as well.
 
This is a spin-off from my thread on swapping out carry ammo. Where some stated they don't take their EDC gun out of the holster, and try to manipulate the gun as little as possible, which means they don't unchamber and rechamber ammo.

My question is, how long do you leave the gun without doing a function check, cleaning and lubricating, etc? Are you ever concerned that the gun may get bound up and not function when you need it?
Whenever I take a pistol to the range, I shoot the installed magazine first- no manipulation of the gun whatsoever. In other words, I'm checking to determine that the pistol would have functioned properly if I had fired it in self defense.

At some more organized ranges this might take some subterfuge to accomplish, as they want your pistol empty when you initially step up to the firing line.
 
When I could legally carry my gun came out of its holster daily. It was fired with SD ammo at least once a month sometimes once a week. It was cleaned and lubed often. For a time I carried 2 guns. They both received the same treatment.
 
At the end of the day I place my EDC into a kydex holster on my night table. Protects the trigger and maintains consistency of access if needed at night. I inspect, clean and lightly oil once a month or so. I pay very close attention to what I am doing whenever I do these things. In my early days I would speak the words 'going hot' when loading the pistol and placing it in the holster. Now it's more of a mental switch that clicks automatically.
 
It pays to have a copy of one's carry gun.

Take time to shake down one's carry gun after purchase with different ammunition, paying special attention to run rounds of what carry ammo you will be using to make sure good reliable function. Then put training rounds through the copy of the carry gun at the range to stay proficient.

Carry weapon gets lubricated, cleaned and ready for service and gets placed into 'Condition 0' (a Glock in this instance) and put into carry holster.

Administrative handling of carry weapon consist of removing holster with gun inserted from nightstand safe, and placed on person inside the holster (trigger covered). At end of day, holster is removed from person (leaving firearm inserted in holster), occasionally I pull the firearm and blow out any lint that has accumulated on the firearm while maintaining good finger discipline, in these cases reholster the loaded firearm and place into nightstand safe.

Maybe every month or so I would take the carried firearm apart for detailed cleaning. My climate is dry, and I don't feel the necessity to detail strip my carry weapon ever day or even every week like some do (nothing wrong with it but it's not for me and I feel is completely unnecessary for my situation at least). I've taken my carry gun out to dispatch some rodent or such and it has never had an issue with a little lint on the slide.

Now if I lived in a humid environment or other type of harsh environment I would still keep the same regiment but would increase my cleaning and lubricating policy on my carry copy.

Personally, I arrived at this way of handling my carry firearm because of the following below:

1. Administrative handling on a day to day basis doesn't involve an open trigger, and eliminates unchambering and chambering a round
2. A second copy of the carry firearm allows me to keep my reliability tested carry copy in good condition and prevents the need to unchamber and chamber rounds to practice with.
3. A second copy of the carry firearm allows me to have redundancy if either needs work.
4. No unchambering and rechambering of my carry gun prevents the whole bullet setback issue that was cause for the other thread of yours.

The carry copy still gets fired from time to time to make sure function stays good, but it is very diminished.
 
I like this Tim Thurner holster as it is easy to remove from the belt, yet very secure. I don't leave the CQB in the holster when not being carried, but even if I did, the Armor Tuff finish will handle it fine. I routinely function check or dry fire this 1911.
49863547103_4f875feebd_o.jpg


I also have an NP3 finish on my Combat Commander that does not concern me regarding the holster, but this too is routinely removed like th CQB above. It normally rides in a Milt Sparks VM2, but this is a shark holster from International Handgun Leather (now defunct).
49908957326_bb9dda8fdd_o.jpg
 
My wife's pea shooter only comes out when I take it to the range. Which nowadays isnt often. $1 a round for 380? No thanks!!! The clip is full thats it. Thinking bout trading or selling it.
 
So am I the only one blowing lint off their gun every single day? I haven’t cycled the round out of the chamber of the Auto Ordinance 1911A1 I carry in probably a month or more, however if I don’t constantly blow the lint out of it there gets to be a considerable amount of build up. I’m not worried about it causing functional issues in most ways, but the way the lint seems to want to travel between the cocked hammer and the frame (and into the fire control parts) is enough to have me checking it every day.
 
This is a spin-off from my thread on swapping out carry ammo. Where some stated they don't take their EDC gun out of the holster, and try to manipulate the gun as little as possible, which means they don't unchamber and rechamber ammo.

My question is, how long do you leave the gun without doing a function check, cleaning and lubricating, etc? Are you ever concerned that the gun may get bound up and not function when you need it?
These three spend months - sometimes many months - un-molestered in their respective holsters. Every now and again one will come out just to look-over but I don't see any sense in a *function check* as it will not have been played with since last shot.
4zhx62.jpg
The rounds stay in the chamber unless I HAVE to manually render them ultra-safe for one reason or another.

Each has the capacity to identify a loaded chamber without cycling partially and each only EVER has the same respective load in it for carrying. So no *checking* that either.

Should one be carried in rain, I keep them out to the rain. Arizona is a marvelous environment for rust-relaxation.:thumbup:

Now, when I lived in San Diego.... holsters and soft-cases were nothing but brine-magnets!:cuss:

Todd.
 
For the past decade or so I have been carrying my daily duty gun in Kydex. It will come out once a week for an exam and wipe down/lube if needed.

I don’t use leather much anymore. I had a Bianchi Miami Classic take the factory bluing off the muzzle of my 2.5” Model 19 because it was left holstered for too long between cleanings. I learned the lesson that leather tanning solutions can sometimes damage firearm finishes the hard way. :(

The duty gun gets a daily remove and wipe down when it’s raining or if I’m sweating all over it when the mercury tops 100.

My off duties are in my closet in a lock box. When I use one it gets a wipe down after I take it out of the holster at night.

Stay safe.
 
Unless you're subject to a heavy dust or lint problem the main issue with guns is lubrication.

Most oils will dry out or evaporate, run off, or wick out. This is why you'll see well used holsters with the bottom oil soaked from the oil that's run out.
People check their gun after some time and are shocked to see them dry of lube.

I solved this long ago by using grease in key areas and a thicker oil in all others.
I use Synco Super Lube. This is a clear-white Teflon bearing synthetic lubricant.
The grease is a stiff type, and the oil is more a "thin grease-thick oil".
Both stay right where you put them and never dry out or run out.

I've opened up customer guns that I'd serviced as much as 10 years earlier and found the Super Lube was still there and working.
Since I use Super Lube and don't have a dust or lint problem since I carry my Kahr K9 in a Blackhawk fanny pack, I don't have to worry about whether it's clean, lubricated and ready to go.

ullcSG9.jpg
 
These three spend months - sometimes many months - un-molestered in their respective holsters. Every now and again one will come out just to look-over but I don't see any sense in a *function check* as it will not have been played with since last shot.
View attachment 980575
The rounds stay in the chamber unless I HAVE to manually render them ultra-safe for one reason or another.

Each has the capacity to identify a loaded chamber without cycling partially and each only EVER has the same respective load in it for carrying. So no *checking* that either.

Should one be carried in rain, I keep them out to the rain. Arizona is a marvelous environment for rust-relaxation.:thumbup:

Now, when I lived in San Diego.... holsters and soft-cases were nothing but brine-magnets!:cuss:

Todd.

Interesting. So three different guns in three different holster, that don't come out for months? So you don't practice your draw stroke or shooting those guns from those holsters very often?
 
This is a spin-off from my thread on swapping out carry ammo. Where some stated they don't take their EDC gun out of the holster, and try to manipulate the gun as little as possible, which means they don't unchamber and rechamber ammo.

My question is, how long do you leave the gun without doing a function check, cleaning and lubricating, etc? Are you ever concerned that the gun may get bound up and not function when you need it?

I suppose I could cycle the action.
Why?
411549126.jpg
I pull it out the holster and unload it when at camp or home because its a belt gun in Alaska.
I give it light wipe w oil and cycle it then to check that something like sand didnt get in it while wearing the holster then reload it for the night.
 
I suppose I could cycle the action.
Why?

I do it to ensure the gun is still functioning correctly. Especially if it's for field carry out in the wilderness where dirty and debris can find it's way into the action.
 
My LCP stays in it's pocket holster pretty much full time. I take it out about every 3 months and field strip, clean and relube to remove pocket lint.

Many years ago I had tried shooting it after about 9 months of daily carry and it jammed on the 2nd shot due to quite a bit of lint buildup.
 
My EDC stays loaded and in the holster. Once a week I strip it down, get rid of and dust and lint, run a bore snake thru it, add lube where needed, function test it, reload it and return it to duty.

Once a month I'll install the laser trainer and do some drills. Prefer live fire when ammo is readily available.
 
I shoot enough to take my EDC(each) to the range, shoot a magazine of carry ammo..then shoot it with FMJ..take home and clean/lube. Otherwise they say in the holster/loaded. I keep all my magazines loaded. If the weather is OK, probably shoot each 1-2 times per month(outside range)...
A week from today..Glock 48, Beretta Thunderer and Mossberg MVP...

Next time, Glock 42, Wrangler, 10/22
 
My Glock 26 is carried daily, for months on end without being un holstered.

Only after it looks like a bio toxic hazard does it get removed, wiped down, shot for a few hundred rounds, cleaned, lubed, and then re holstered.

At this point I’d bet hard money that my Glock can function bone dry, wrapped in belly button lint, and covered in 5 layers of cat hair for at least 400 rounds. Maybe even more.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top