Concealment Holster

Choosing A concealed Holster

When purchasing your first concealment holster you need to evaluate carefully your needs.  Consider how you will be dressed when wearing the holster, the way you will be carrying the handgun, even lifestyle needs to be addressed.  You also need to realize that there really is not such a thing as a universal holster.  A holster that will take care of the needs of everyone all the time.  There have been several holsters that have come into the market claiming to be muti-functional. However they have turned out to be a bit of everything and not much anything, and definitely not worth wasting money on.

You are eventually going to have to purchase two or three different holsters, but to start with just a high ride, side carry to the strong side with a rear muzzle rake will usually fit the bill.  You can then invest in additional holsters as they are needed.  A small back concealment or shoulder holster may be good additional options.

Concealment holsters are available in many sizes and shapes.  They all are specific to certain tasks at lease to some extent.  For example if you spend most of your time in a motor vehicle then a back holster would not be a the best choice.  Or if you live in a climate that is colder and requires extra layers of clothes buttoned up for warmth, then a side carry would not be the right option.  All tend to be task specific to some extinct. 

Just as important as your holster choice is the handgun that you decide to carry.  I may be stating the obvious when I state that it is just as important when choosing the weapon to keep in mind your physical characteristics.  If you slight of build but carry a large caliber or wide bodied handgun there are going to be some issues that will not be solved by the holster choice that you make. 

People with larger waists will find similar difficulties in the choice of weapon and holster.  A larger waistline will tend to highlight or push out any carries on a belt.  I have seen ads stating that their holster will make even the largest weapon disappear.  I however have yet to actually see this work in real life situations.  If you find one that can does provide for this please feel free to let me know.

Weapon manufacturers are aware of these issues and have been very efficient in providing a good selection of more compact, slimmer choices of handguns in most calibers.  It is worth considering a smaller firearm that pacts a similar weapons load.

After you have decided on you primary weapon, you now can consider the holsters that are available for you chosen firearm.  You can probably break the options in to three basic categories.  You have the small of the back holster, a cross draw week side holster, and the strong side directional.  Each group will include several different styles.

A strong side holster will commonly be a belt slide pancake style holster such as the ML/MLS or l 30/30S holster models.  The full-size wraparound design 28/28S model or maybe a combination of these two styles with the22H/22HS. The crossover style category model 28X/28XS, which includes shoulder-holsters HAK or HAK/MM. IWB holsters offer all three categories as they may be worn strong side, cross-draw or small-of-back for a palm-out draw  as in 62L and 62C series. Some of these will come fitted with a paddle PD/PDS or a spring-clip 62C/62CS. This variety of styles and models will apply to every single one of the basic options, so there are more than a couple choices available.

Small wonder, then, that asking a hundred different shooters to stipulate their favorite modes of carry will probably get you a hundred different answers! Each will swear by his or her own particular preference. But what suits Jim or Fred or Betty or Ralph is not forced to suit you. Narrowing the choice down to match your own particular set of needs is not always easy, so you shouldn't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first time. Very few people ever do!

No wonder when you ask a 100 different shooters their choice you may get a 100 different answers  Your first step is to try out all the basic options. You can start by experimenting with the holsters of colleagues or friends at work or at your regular gun-club. Remember -- it is only by simple hands-on trial-and-error that you can discover the mode of carry best suited to your own physical characteristics and personal needs.

 It is also important that we consider Rake. Rake is the angle at which a firearm positioned in a holster is tilted laterally from the vertical. This can be muzzle rear/butt forward, illustrated at left (also known as the FBI tilt) which facilitates a strong side draw, or muzzle forward, illustrated at right, which is ideal for cross draw. A neutral rake (not illustrated) is where the weapon is vertical and would, in theory, allow it to be used on either side.

With most handguns, the hardest part to conceal is the butt or grip. This is where Rake plays an important part. Tilting the weapon forward from the vertical for a strong side draw will produce a muzzle rear rake which not only facilitates the draw, but aids concealment by absorbing the grip into the band of flesh just above the waist. With either a muzzle forward or neutral rake, however, the grip may have a tendency to protrude, which can compromise successful concealment.