Legal Issues Selling Holsters

[WillGhormley]

Hey Boomstickholsters,

You are absolutely right. There's dishonest folks aplenty in all walks of life. That's one of the reasons I have a carry permit. But, I refuse to build my life around the bad things other people might do. Now, that may not be the smart way to look at it. That may not be the practical way to go about it. That may not be the safest way to do it. But, if I was smart, practical and played it safe, I wouldn't have spent twelve years in the infantry or be a small business man.

Will

[katsass]

Hey Boomstickholsters,

You are absolutely right. There's dishonest folks aplenty in all walks of life. That's one of the reasons I have a carry permit. But, I refuse to build my life around the bad things other people might do. Now, that may not be the smart way to look at it. That may not be the practical way to go about it. That may not be the safest way to do it. But, if I was smart, practical and played it safe, I wouldn't have spent twelve years in the infantry or be a small business man.

Will

Mr Ghormley, you don't know me from Adam, while I only know of you by reputation but, damn well said. Your statement mimicked my thoughts as I read many of these replies, but I refused to become embroiled in it.

I spent five years in the Navy as a helicopter air crewman.....1961 to 1966. Subsequent to that I spent 35 years as a LEO, then retired when it became evident that I was just not quick enough to possibly keep my partner from harm...or possibly myself.....while on the street.

I had an experience while still a rookie that made forget any worry about liability. I had made a friend and co-worker (Deputy Sheriff) an off duty holster for his (personal) duty weapon, a 6" Colt Python. Louie was a big guy. Less than a week later I arrived at work to find the graveyard shift still in uniform and deeply involved in serious hushed conversation. Upon asking the normal question, "what the hell is going on?", the duty Sgt. walked over to me, looked me in the eye and, VERY seriously stated, " Louie was shot last night, he's in the hospital and because of your damned holster".......he stopped, looked at the look on my dead white face, and started to laugh! He finished......" because of that holster he's alive and asking the nurses for sponge baths! Louie had always carried his pet Python to and from work in an old leather zippered folder, and he would just toss it on the passenger seat of his car when he headed home. He had stopped at a local stop and rob for gas and, while outside the car, a local bad guy drove up and popped him with one shot from a 12 ga. sawed off shotgun...loaded with #6 bird shot. The bad guy was quickly caught and admitted that when Louie grabbed a gun from under his jacket and shot back at him, it scared him so bad he wet his pants. Louie had fired blind because his sunglasses stopped some pellets but he couldn't see through them. He didn't hit the bad guy, just the car. My wife took a number of orders from other deputies wives for off duty holsters shortly after that. Mike

[Jim March]

Mr Ghormley,

I didn't mean to link to your website in order to critique you or your gear. Far from it. We agree completely that the Prairie Twist is a serious benefit of crossdraw rigs in general and it is known to have been used in the Old West.

My problem (and I do mean MY problem, for ME not you) is that I'm in the design stages of making a holster meant for "street carry" - meaning daily CCW or open carry - that can be adjusted as a crossdraw rig. Three days ago I finished a proof-of-concept working prototype:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=24417

As you can see, it can be set up much like yours is.

People who carry "on the street" daily are spending a lot more time with their rigs than the cowboy action crowd. Worse, we might have to execute a draw "for real" against a real threat, not a timer. I feel that it's important to inform any potential customer (once I get to that point) about the risks of the Prairie Twist draw and risks associated with other "unconventional carry methods" such as appendix carry (which can point a barrel at your femoral artery on the strongside draw if you're sitting down).

I don't think such warnings are near as critical in the world of cowboy action and stage leather because safety issues in both venues are monitored much more closely to say the least.

[horsewreck]

I just happened across this topic and thought I would reply to the question. I have been building and selling holsters for over 30 years, though my main product is saddlery. In those years I have not carried any special holster liability insurance. I have built for CHL holders, mounted action shooters, collectors, ranchers, law enforcement, and so on. each holster is custom made to the buyers wishes, so I am contracting to build what they ask for. That having been said I do inform them of any potential safety issues in what they are asking me to build. Most of this discussion concerns retention of the firearm, safety of the basic design, comfort, and practicality of the carrying location and position of the weapon. We will point out any safety issue we see in what they want and will try to direct them toward a design they can carry happily for many years. If a person requests us to build an unsafe holster we will decline the job. We even remind even the "experienced" of the basics like put the holster on the belt then put the gun in the holster. If as the original author stated a holster needs to be broken in that is best done with an empty gun. The problem with liability insurance is how much is enough if you carry a half million dollars what keeps the damaged person from seeking a million? Disclaimers are something that can be used and often are used in the saddlery buisness, where you state in writing that the activity is inheritly dangerous and the user is responsible for checking and maintaining their equipment. Anyone wanting to use a disclaimer should consult a lawyer. I hope this is of some value...........