IDPA holster rule question

[coloradokevin]

Okay, so I've shot a few USPSA matches, and I have a lot of shooting experience from a law enforcement perspective... But, I was thinking of trying out IDPA just for another flavor of shooting. I normally carry my Glock 37 duty weapon in a Blackhawk Serpa holster while off-duty, and was considering the use of this setup for IDPA.

Anyway, I was reading through the IDPA rule book, which seems to be a bit complex when compared with the IPSC/USPSA rules (could just be that it isn't something I'm used to either). In particular, I noticed that there were a few pages talking about holsters, and this section mentioned that holsters with "offset back pieces" were not allowed (they described this as being determined by observing whether light was visible between the belt and the back of the holster, so far as I could understand it).

Like many holsters, my Blackhawk holster consists of a plastic holster piece that is attached to the belt piece by three screws. This is certainly not a competition specific holster, but the design of this holster still naturally leaves a slight amount of space between the holster and belt (many of my other belt holsters are no different in this regard). As far as I can tell, the IDPA rules seem to be geared towards ensuring that the shooters are using practical gear that is normally carried for CCW purposes. I can personally vouche for the fact that my setup works well for that purpose (it is a Level II holster after all), but I think it might technically violate the rules, if I've read them correctly, due to the space that is created by the screw attachment points!

So, do any of you regular IDPA shooters know if a Blackhawk Serpa holster would be considered "legal" or "illegal" for IDPA matches? I come from a combat handgunning background, and can't quite interpret the specifics of some of these rules (in the past the biggest concern for me was whether or not the system worked to the extent that it needed to).

Any help that you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated; I'm very confident that someone around here is intimately familiar with IDPA!


(by the way, my information came from the 2005 rule book, which I found on IDPA.com. Since I'm not familiar with this organization yet, I don't actually know if this is the most current rule book or not!)

 

[glockgod]

Your holster should be fine. What you DON'T want to have for IDPA is a holster that places the grip of the gun out away from your body like the old west. I can't imagine anyone calling you on that holster. Are there better ones for IDPA or CCW? Personally, I say yes.

 

[DT Guy]

If you're worried, you could always bring your duty belt. IDPA allows uniformed officers to shoot from their duty rig, IIRC.

Larry

 

[Jim Watson]

I see a lot of Blackhawk holsters, you are OK.
The SO will not squat and shine a flashlight through your holster belt attachment, if it does not show a gap in normal observation, it is fine.

 

[coloradokevin]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I was hoping that this would be the case, particularly with as common as these holsters are these days. I currently use this holster for both USPSA shooting and CCW carry when off-duty, so it would be my prefered rig for other competitions as well (I like the "keep it simple" philosophy)

 

[Hk Dan]

Kevin,

The Serpa is legal according to IDPA.

If it's your duty holster, you can use it anyway, but you have to carry all of your duty gear on it when you do--cuffs, baton, etc. They don't require the radio or anything that you have to sign out.

You don't need your uniform or vest.

If the holster holds the gun within 3/4" of your body AND keeps the ejection port at or above the center of the belt. There can't be any space between the belt and the belt tunnel, or between the belt mount and the holster. They want it tight against your body, basically.

The Serpa does that.