The Holster Wardrobe
Different Holsters Help One
Handgun Fulfill Multiple Roles
We don’t wear the same clothes every day, in every season, for every occasion. For the law-abiding armed citizen, the same is often true of firearms. I’ve been guilty of having the cold weather gun, the summer gun, and the spring/fall gun. But I’m also into firearms and old enough to have accumulated a bunch of them. However, many of the people you advise about guns will find it a whole lot more practical — and economical — to have a wardrobe of holsters instead of a wardrobe of handguns.
Tough Times
As a young cop who became department firearms instructor early, I was working with folks who were underpaid, expected to be armed off-duty and issued a 4″ barrel K-Frame Smith & Wesson service revolver. As much as I encouraged them to get a backup gun, I knew a lot of them couldn’t afford it. It wouldn’t be until later I could get them issue backups that would also be convenient for off-duty carry.
I showed them what I had already discovered for myself — a good concealment holster, ideally one carried inside the waistband, would conceal their full size service handgun as discreetly as a snub-nose .38 carried outside the belt. The longer barrel bearing on the hip actually tucked the butt into the body better. And, if they were on their own time acting in self-defense, they were fighting with the gun they carried most at work and were most thoroughly trained and qualified with.
The concept worked just as well with the full-size Colt .45 auto I preferred to cary on duty, and did until the Chief From Hell was hired and brought us all back to revolvers — but that’s another “1970s story” for another time.
All of this was, and is, true for lawfully armed citizens, by the way. Holsters, after all, are cheaper than guns. The bigger guns send out more power and are easier to shoot. Why do we carry guns? We might need power that is easy to accurately deliver under stress.
And In Modern Times
None of this has really changed. You may not be a cop, but you might go to one of the shooting schools where a tactical rig puts you more at parity with the other students than concealment gear. I’m told some schools, unlike mine, don’t allow inside the waistband (IWB) holsters.
Whether you carry behind the hip or in the currently popular appendix position, IWB gives you better concealment. The drape of the trousers hides the bulk of the holstered gun. But you might not want to tailor all your pants 2″ wider in the waistband to accommodate IWB comfortably, in which case some OWB stuff belongs in your holster wardrobe. It won’t work for appendix carry, but a cover garment draping down from the latissimus dorsi will conceal it nicely.
Shoulder Rig
Hiding a big handgun under heavy clothing? Consider the shoulder holster. Leaving the upper zipper a bit down or the top buttons unfastened, the weight of a heavy winter coat will still keep the chest area closed against hypothermia induced by freezing wind, yet allow your gun hand to knife through the opening to access your life-saving emergency rescue equipment.
And, speaking of shoulder holsters … consider the “Orthopedic Holster.”
Arthritis started hitting me in my late 20s and I’ve had lumbar spine issues for a long time. If you need to take weight off your hips, a shoulder rig is one answer. I’ve acquired several shoulder holsters including a few that carry a gun on each side, guaranteeing equal weight balance (with identical handguns). If you’ve ever suffered from a slipped disc, spinal stenosis, or sciatica, this can be an effective palliative if not an actual cure.
In 1980 I was on my way to Ray Chapman’s Advanced Pistol Course in Columbia, Missouri when a freak accident left me with a crushing comminuted fracture of the trigger finger of my dominant right hand. I wound up shooting the whole thing “weak hand only.” In the six months or so recovery period, I carried southpaw with left-handed holsters for my most frequently carried handguns back then — the 1911 .45 auto, the K-Frame S&W .357, and the snub .38. As any lefty can tell you, it takes a while to get an ambidextrous safety fitted to your Government Model or a southpaw holster of your choice for anything. Ever since, when traveling I’ve packed along a left-handed holster for my primary carry gun du jour just in case. These days, with lumbar issues, the other “just in case” holster in the suitcase is a shoulder rig.
For most of my life I’ve shot competition, and if I can hit a match while I’m on a teaching trip, I’m down for it. I carry holsters I’m comfortable competing with, but back in the day when I was a more serious competitor, a match quick-draw holster sometimes found its way into the luggage, too.
The wardrobe of guns is great but the decades taught me a wardrobe of holsters for a single versatile handgun was more economical and in many ways, more practical.