High Capacity Magazines: The Complete Carry Solution
By Todd Burgreen
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The importance of holster selection is often overlooked, especially in terms of effective concealed carry. If you are a full-time member of the gun culture you probably have boxes full of holsters collected over the years. This variety is spawned by different moods, changing handguns or imagined needs and tasks to be fulfilled. This whimsical attitude changes when someone commits to being a serious practitioner of full-time carry.
Holsters cannot be chosen lackadaisically or thought of as merely expendable accessories when judged in the application of concealed carry. A holster is part of the carry system that includes weapon, sights, ammunition, training and shooter mindset. Any deficiency in one part of the system impacts efficiency of the whole. The adaptability and relative ease of changing/alternating holsters leads many to minimize the importance of their relevance. Unlike handgun, sights and ammunition, holster choice can vary based on weather, clothing and carry environment. In terms of concealed carry, holster selection warrants the same seriousness of thought as weapon selection itself.
Holsters are obviously important for carrying one’s handgun. Any holster selected for concealed carry use should have as much thought put into it as the weapon itself. If a holster is not comfortable, then the user will find reasons not to carry his or her weapon on some fateful day. Another important holster consideration is how well it conceals the handgun. After all, effective carry is what we are focused on here. Presentation (a fancy way of saying drawing the weapon) also hinges largely on one’s holster of choice. A proper holster allows for a good firing grip on the weapon and quick, efficient clearing of the holster when it matters the most. When deciding on a carry holster, ease of re-holstering a drawn weapon should not be overlooked either. Different holster styles have different strengths and weaknesses based on design intent. For example, a deep cover maximizes concealment but is detrimental to presentation. Most have numerous holsters in inventory to support their main carry weapons. The versatility of changing holsters...
This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V22N9 (November 2018) |
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