Thoughts on Shoulder Holsters?

[Kentucky Rifle]

I have a cheap Uncle Mike's shoulder holster, but I'm thinking pretty seriously about upgrading to a Galco "Miami Classic". I wear a shoulder holster sometimes when I fly. I usually wear a jacket. In a lot of light planes, your feet feel like they're on fire, but your upper body feels like it's frozen. Thus, winter flying = a jacket. A shoulder holster is pretty easy to hide. I also just got a Coronado Leather concealment vest. Works even better & is non-flamable leather. (A BIG plus.)

Will

 

[dav]

Shoulder holster eye candy...

Dual holster w/mags

Vertical

Going Overboard?

 

[BluesBear]

Don't forget the one with the BUG.

 

[BerettaNut92]

Is horizontal better than vertical? Sternum to spine in a straight line I can't be more than 8"; I think my Beretta is longer than me

 

[cratz2]

I carried a Smith 659 in one for one day. Just to have the experience. For carrying a heavy gun, they make a lot of sense. I primarily carry a Kahr P9 and can conceal it quite well in casual dress or in slacks and a dress shirt and with no over garment. For a Dirty Harry wannabe (definately not wanting to offend fans of the shoulder rigs) that wants to carry a 6" or longer 357, 41 or 44 Magnum or something that can't realistically be concealed by a considerable segment of the population, then I've all for shoulder holsters that point down.

As was mentioned in a recent thread, the though of folks carrying cocked and locked in a horizontal shoulder holster would give me slight pause.

 

[P95Carry]

Chris, that is a nice VINTAGE X-15 !

haha ''Vintage'' ... yep like me Bear!!

I lucked out some while back and got four rigs off GunBroker .. one was pretty useless but the other three are all useable - the Bianchi was one of these. Whole deal I think I got for about $25!! Managed to pick up another too this year, used ... exact same but a medium ..... suits Mak and Bersa.

Have had to replace the elastic on the original ... which has a good and a bad point. Good is that there is no ''X'' of leather strap cross-over in middle of back .. either to print or, be available for someone to grab. Bad (well, irksome) is that the elastic crosses base of neck such that it tends to ride up a bit .. needs adjustment periodically if wearing t-shirt under garment.

Oh yeah and as I mentioned b4 ... it creaks!! But excellent concealment.

 

[BerettaNut92]

As was mentioned in a recent thread, the though of folks carrying cocked and locked in a horizontal shoulder holster would give me slight pause.

A buddy of mine does. I was helping him fix his computer and he was seated and leaning over. Watching that .45 flop back and forth was....confidence inspiring.

Much moreso than my Beretta's dinky little pipe

 

[MN_Strelok]

I use a Galco "Jackass" holster with my Glock 22. It works best for long road trips where IWB (my preferred carry method) gets uncomfortable.

one other thing nobody else has mentioned. everytime you draw your weapon, you are crossing your opposite arm with a loaded gun!!! can you say ".45hp in the elbow??? OUCH

I was taught to draw so that the muzzle drops as soon as it's clear of the holster, then I rotate the pistol using my wrist as it nears low ready. It's hard to explain without demonstrating, but if it's done properly no part of me gets swept. (And I don't end up sweeping half of the room. ) With practice, it's fairly quick too. Because of the need to rotate the gun - and do so with one hand before the other can be used to grip - my biggest concern when drawing from a shoulder rig is retention.

As was mentioned in a recent thread, the though of folks carrying cocked and locked in a horizontal shoulder holster would give me slight pause.

I haven't worried too much about this because, as mentioned, I almost exclusively use this holster in the car, and there has never been anyone seated behind me. At a restaurant the other day, however, a LEO with a similiar rig gave me a close up opportunity to inspect the bore of her Glock while she was putting her coat on. To say I was uncomfortable is a generous understatement.

 

[Logistar]

I like 'em. Especially when getting in and out of a car (or even driving) I think they are hard to beat.

Of course, it works best when it's light jacket weather I suppose. It has it's problems regarding a cover garment I guess and occasionally I have to switch methods.

Originally I wanted a vertical shoulder holster BUT I got an opportunity to get a horizontal first - and I really like the draw from the horizontal.

I know about the "don't point at anything you don't intend to destroy" and at first it bothered me a little but.... I use ONLY DA guns with a long first pull. If that gun is holstered and the trigger guard is covered... how it is going to discharge in the holster?

Anyway, horizontal shoulder holster is my favorite method of carry. I use it whenever I can.

Logistar

 

[Monkeyleg]

"...the though of folks carrying cocked and locked in a horizontal shoulder holster would give me slight pause."

The Galco Miami Classic's thumb break strap goes between the hammer and the slide in Condition 1 on 1911's. No way that gun is going to fire.

When it's cool enough to wear a jacket, I use the shoulder rig. It's the most comfortable way to carry when sitting or driving for any length of time.

When it warms up, it's back to the IWB.

 

[Jammer Six]

I have worn my shoulder holster under just a button down shirt. It does not require a jacket.

Actually, just to be clear, (or to muddy things up, depending on your point of view,) I've always thought of a "button down shirt" not as a shirt with buttons down the front, but rather as a shirt that is designed to be worn with a tie, with little buttons on the tips of the collars. These shirts are always dress shirts, and are always cut with long shirt tails.

They do indeed look sloppy and bad when worn untucked.

From that point of view, I would say that button down shirts do require another cover garment over them.

A casual shirt, on the other hand, whether or not it buttons down the front, won't have buttons on the collar, and can be cut with short, square shirt tails. These are designed to be worn tucked in or hanging out, and will cover just fine without a jacket.

 

[Jammer Six]

No one seems to have touched on the issue of having the gun carried horizontaly, if that is the case with your particular shoulder holster.
Do you consider it a big issue or an issue at all?

I carry a government 1911 in a Galco jackass shoulder holster.

The Galco Miami Classic is a horizontal shoulder rig, and the Jackass is the same rig, but the butt of the weapon hangs down, diagonally, and I think it conceals better.

The only issues with horizontal or diagonal draws, in my opinion, are that it takes a great deal of concentration not to sweep some part of your body during a draw, and because re-holstering requires returning a weapon to a position 180 degrees from down range, no public range here in Seattle will allow drawing from a shoulder rig.

Another issue is that without a belt to "brace" against during re-holstering, it takes two hands to return a weapon to a shoulder rig.

 

[oldolds442]

all i know is that when i was shooting IPSC (master class unlimited) if you must know, if you sweep any part of your body with the muzzle of your gun, you are out of there.....the BIG DQ. go home, have a nice day. everybody can have a brain fart, and i dont want the muzzle of my gun pointing at any part of my body if it happens. that is why i wont use one. too much can, and does go wrong. too many other viable ways to carry.

 

[Monkeyleg]

oldolds442, I have no idea why I'm participating in this debate. Perhaps it's because I have no life.

During the mid-1980's, I shot IPSC a lot. Everyone used souped-up wondernines that I would never have trusted my life to. They were good for scoring, but they malfunctioned regularly. Fortunately, the shooter got to adjust his racegun and come back next week.

My 6" S&W 586 in a shoulder rig made a lot of people nervous, and I had to start at the far left area of the range, for obvious reasons.

The reason I carried and competed with that 586 was that it was the gun I carried. Didn't matter if I won the match. For me, it was defensive practice.

Fast forward to 2004. My 1911 horizontally-carried muzzle may "sweep" hundreds of people a day, but the likelihood of the hammer being able to push through the leather thumb-break tab and hit the firing pin is absolutely zero. It won't happen.

If I find myself in a situation where I have to draw, "sweeping" someone is not an issue high on my list. Chances are that in that situation, every innocent is already being "swept " by the bad guy. Besides, I've already trained to keep finger off trigger until the gun is near or on target.

 

[Tupperware]

Some things for shoulder carry proponents to think about:
Most self-defense scenarios have you engaging the bad guy at very close distance, frequently contact distance. With a shoulder rig, should you instinctively quarter to the bad guy while striking him with your weak side arm (to gain distance) you are offering him your firearm unprotected. Furthermore it is already pointed in YOUR difection. Strong-side hip carry allows retention and a protected draw while your other arm is otherwise occupied.
Second point is that most public ranges prohibit practicing draws from any location other than strong-side hip due to concerns about sweeping yourself and others.
My vote is against shoulder carry, however comfortable or convenient.
Monkeyleg,
I haven't read the rulebook too closely regarding shoulder holsters but I think they, along with crossdraw, are prohibited these days.

 

[Monkeyleg]

"Monkeyleg,
I haven't read the rulebook too closely regarding shoulder holsters but I think they, along with crossdraw, are prohibited these days."

Doesn't surprise me. Notice I said "when I shot IPSC in the mid-80's."

Other posts here mention range rules regarding shoulder holsters. Most public ranges here don't allow holsters at all. Too many people shooting themselves while practicing their draw. That's why I practice my draw with an unloaded pistol at home. The draw from an IWB holster is much faster, and even faster yet when factoring in the cover garments I need for a shoulder rig.

But I spend the majority of my time either sitting in front of a monitor or sitting in a car. There's the advantage for me with the SH.