Leather Holsters and Striker Fired Pistols

[Mablung]

I've carried and shot all three major actions in semi-auto pistols (1911, striker, DA/SA). My usual carry for the last number of months has been my DA/SA CZ 75 P01 Omega, which I adore. My other carry gun is a souped-up Glock 19. The manual of arms differences mean one must do some "muscle memory" reps to revive the appropriate reflexes, when switching from one to the other, but that's easy. 

The same rules for holstering safely and holster design and maintenance are the same no matter what, though. 

We wanna really get the gun people going, we can always debate the virtues versus vices of appendix carry. 

[chiefjason]

You are overthinking it.  The main issue with striker fired guns is that the USER needs to be familiar with the operation and what to pay attention to.  Oddly, you should pay attention to a lot of those details with a gun that has a safety, but the safety can just let you get away with some mistakes if it's engaged.  How you holster.  How you draw.  Where the trigger finger goes.  All that is important.  Just more so with a striker fired gun.  

 

As to trigger pull, you have just not shot enough guns.  My SA CZ 75b trigger pull is about half, or less what my Glock 19 is.  Reset is nearly non existent.  And take up is incredibly short.  You can actually do more work to a SA trigger than you can a striker fired gun.  I've got about $120 in parts in the trigger and it is SWEEEEEET!!!  

Also, with revolvers it is nearly impossible to fire one in a holster.  The cylinder would be very difficult to impossible to rotate to get it to fire while holstered.  

 

To some of your thoughts above.  Stiff leather, yes.  Covered, yes to the trigger.  You can have some of the trigger guard rear of the trigger exposed and it's sometimes necessary to clear a good grip on the gun.  Strap?  Unnecessary for CC IMO.  I lovingly refer to thumb breaks as suicide straps.  A well fitted holster will not allow the gun to come out.  The holster that's made its way around the net, I bet it was treated with too much oil and got soft.  But I have seen makers use leather that is thin enough to make me nervous.  I use at least 8 oz veg tan on all but my pocket holsters.  

[chuck123wapati]

I agree with the chief your over thinking triggers. But there are things to think about.

On triggers, there are many many triggers better than an off the shelf Glock but that is unimportant. The important part is keeping your finger off of it until you intend to shoot and practicing that during your training sessions.  The type of action doesn't mean much you pull the trigger the weapon fires the round bottom line. I have a Colt 44 magnum revolver  that has about half or less the trigger pull of a Glock in double action it so scary smooth that I don't even keep it loaded unless shooting it or hunting(its not a home defense weapon its to dangerous). But the quality of your weapon or trigger again isn't the key. Matching your weapon to the job its intended for and practice until you can use for that job are the critical factors.

On safeties, they can fail don't rely on them. The trigger safety on a Glock and most pistols with this feature for example is a tiny piece of plastic that hangs up on the trigger guard you can see it behind the trigger if you put on your bifocals and i imagine you could squeeze the trigger hard enough to break it and fire the weapon. If you do intend to carry a firearm cocked and loaded with the safety on then you must practice with the weapon until you can without thinking to disengage the safety while pulling out your firearm. I will offer this insight that is very hard to do. My personal opinion is if you need a gun cocked and ready to shoot then you don't need or want the safety at that time, if you don't need the gun in ready to fire mode then unload the thing. Common sense and thinking about your environment plays out a bit here, do you live in a place where you need your weapon cocked and loaded all the time? Or just when you go to the bank or walk to work? That is what you train to.

On holsters. Remember the fbi agent who lost his cocked and ready to fire pistol while dancing in a disco? He probably could have used a suicide strap at that moment. That's an example of how environment plays a  roll on how you carry your firearm and where, and what holster type. My environment for example is mostly out of doors and very active so i build and use a strap on my holsters so I don't lose my pistol in some muddy ditch which is much more likely than being attacked by a crack head unexpectedly while fishing. On the occasion I go to a store or the bank or somewhere my hackles raise i simply unsnap my strap and cock my weapon before hand. If i were to live on 2nd street in Denver I would probably carry my pistol hidden cocked and ready in my hand in my coat pocket lol but you get my drift, iwb , owb, cc, shoulder holster strap no strap, kydex or leather each has its pros and cons in any given set of variables. Your body type also plays a roll, you may love an appendix carry or iwb because everyone on the net says its the bees knees but if your 5'6" and 350 lbs then you probably couldn't find your Glock micro under your belly roll or love handles in time to save you fat lil butt from danger. Common sense!! Build and or buy what you need and works for you in the environment you intend to use it, not what some youtube expert says you need. Then the bottom line is, especially as a new gun owner, always practice at least an hour a day with what you have the way you intend to use it in the holster you intend to use. Creating muscle memory for such life saving situations only happens one way you cant throw in a safety once in a while or a different carry option on Sundays and expect to differentiate that without thinking under the stress of a life altering drama.  K.I.S.S. and practice!!!! 

Off my soap box now lol good luck and enjoy your endeavor.

[JLSleather]

you didn't mention WHICH glock, but I had a guy send me a pic of teh G43 holster I made him like 6 years ago, still carries it every day.  

[Gosut]

8 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Off my soap box now lol good luck and enjoy your endeavor.

Not really a soap box and all good info. FWIW, grew up keeping the finger outside the trigger guard until ready to fire. Walking around with the finger inside the trigger guard is an accident waiting to happen.

[Gosut]

31 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

you didn't mention WHICH glock, but I had a guy send me a pic of teh G43 holster I made him like 6 years ago, still carries it every day.  

I don't remember the model, if I even noticed. Only know that it was a Glock and had the type of safety that runs down the middle of the trigger.

[Mablung]

18 hours ago, Gosut said:

I don't remember the model, if I even noticed. Only know that it was a Glock and had the type of safety that runs down the middle of the trigger.

If it's the same story I've seen, it was a Glock 19 (Gen 3, if I recall correctly); arguably the most prolific double-stack carry gun.

The main thing about handling firearms is to not be stupid.  Or, as I like to say and a law school friend of mine turned into a favorite aphorism through our frequent use: "Be thou not a dipstick."  The same thing goes for holster design and maintenance.

On 12/10/2023 at 9:26 AM, chuck123wapati said:

Your body type also plays a roll, you may love an appendix carry or iwb because everyone on the net says its the bees knees but if your 5'6" and 350 lbs then you probably couldn't find your Glock micro under your belly roll or love handles in time to save you fat lil butt from danger. Common sense!! Build and or buy what you need and works for you in the environment you intend to use it, not what some youtube expert says you need.

Imagining someone with that build trying to carry AIWB is painful...

[RickHodges]

Stiff leather will not help the situation when the cause is clothing getting into the trigger guard and depressing the trigger when holstering.  The user has to be aware of the potential and take great pains to make sure a shirt tail or jacket hem doesn't enter the trigger guard.  With the clothing inside the guard the firearm will discharge as it is seated into the holster.  It is a real problem with Inside Waistband holsters.

Edited December 14, 2023 by RickHodges

[Mablung]

42 minutes ago, RickHodges said:

Stiff leather will not help the situation when the cause is clothing getting into the trigger guard and depressing the trigger when holstering.  The user has to be aware of the potential and take great pains to make sure a shirt tail or jacket hem doesn't enter the trigger guard.  With the clothing inside the guard the firearm will discharge as it is seated into the holster.  It is a real problem with Inside Waistband holsters.

That's a risk of using an IWB holster generally.  The specific concern here, however, is with ensuring the leather retains its structural integrity so that the holster itself does not collapse and cause an accidental discharge.  One should always look while holstering with an IWB holster of any material, but using insufficiently-rigid leather can cause additional problems.

[Red Bear Haraldsson]

https://www.itstactical.com/warcom/firearms/safety-warning-worn-leather-holsters-can-cause-accidental-discharges/

This is the 'story' if memory serves... it has made the rounds on the internet so many times that it is the first SIX pictures if you search for 'leather holster accidental discharge.'

Glad to see familiar faces still here!