Navigating the World of Holsters: Unraveling the Pros, Cons, and Recommendations for Securing Your Firearm

Hi, welcome to the Arm Guardian podcast, part of the Blueberry Tactical and Training Network. Today, david and I will be discussing carry options and holsters. So sit back and enjoy and listen to today's podcast. Today we're going to discuss a few carry options for you holsters and things that you might not have seen, might not know that's out there and what the best position or best way to carry with these particular items that we've got. So sit down, relax, enjoy your beverage of choice and hopefully you'll pick up some information. So we'll start off with. There are a lot of options out there for carrying your weapon. Some of the things you might want to consider are do you want to carry inside the waistband, outside the waistband, shoulder off, body? Got any concerns or any questions or any ideas on David? Some other things that we should discuss.

Talking about ways to carry, I mean everybody's different. You've got to find what works best for you and that's kind of what we're hoping and doing. This episode here is showing some of the different options I know for me personally I like carrying kind of more kidney, carry, small with the back. As far as when it comes to inside the pants, if I'm carrying just on my outside the waistband, I like carrying on my strong side. I'm left handed strong side about three o'clock, yeah, I guess carry, or actually nine o'clock for me, but yeah, so that's kind of how I like to carry. But everybody's different and sometimes I may carry differently due to clothing or other things where I'm at, whatever, but that's my preferred. But hopefully this episode will give everybody a chance to see kind of what are some of the options out there. There's a lot more options out there, but it'll get people looking in the right direction and kind of help you get to thinking about ways to carry. You know you may already be familiar with some, you may have your favorite fix or you may be new at this and still kind of trying to figure out what works best for you. So we'll start off with the belt, mr Brian.

Yeah, I want to make sure you have a good, sturdy belt. The typical belts that you find at Walmart and stuff in a pinch would do, but over time they're not going to hold up to the weight of the pistol, they're not going to last long. What I really recommend and what I use is a two ply, double stitched leather belt, and this particular belt that I have is from VersaCarrie, which we are authorized a dealer with, and we recommend this because it's a good, durable, solid belt. This particular belt here is one of my newer ones. It's about two years old. I've got one that's five years old that looks still almost brand new. So just something you want to find, something that's going to support the holster and the weight of the gun and not sag, bow out or anything like that. They do make nylon holsters. I mean nylon belts or other tactical belts. I actually did a podcast recently with a friend of mine that he actually makes everyday carry belts EDC belt company throw him out there makes a great belt he's. And again, it's the nylon, it's not the leather. But each is their own. Some people prefer the nylon, some like leather. So again, there are a lot of options out there, but just find a good quality belt that is durable and will handle the weight of the gear that you're carrying. Once you move from your belt you want to look at your weapon. There are several different holsters that you can get for your weapon. They range from real generic everyday holsters to ones that are a little bit more complex. You've got actually this one right here. Again, this is a Versa Carry. That's one where the pistol slides in here and then it's got a little magazine pouch that you can carry a spare mag all together. These here it's outside the waistband, goes through the belt. It's got a belt loop here and then one on the backside of the magazine and again it's leather. So it's going to be a little bit easier than a kydex on marking and roughing up the finish of your pistol, especially if you have a custom seracode or gun skin or something. It's not going to wear that out as much. Another option and again a Versa Carry is this holster. Here it's just the actual holster. It's tension. You can adjust the tension right here for several different weapons. You can actually change the screw placements here to fit your gun. Specifically. This one you can carry on inside the waistband or outside. This here is set up for inside the waistband, with the clips on the front and the back, or you can remove them and you can use the belt loops for outside the waistband carry. So again, this is a dual purpose one, so it really works well if you're playing around and looking for something to kind of see where you want to carry and how you want to carry.

And we have here a kydex holster. A lot of people now are moving into the kydex. They're very durable, very strong. Just looking at the difference between the kydex and the leather. The kydex is going to hold its form very good. It's whenever you use your firearm, coming in and out of the holster. It's going to maintain its form good. It's easy to find. It maintains the form well of the firearm. A lot of people like the kydex. I would say one of the cons to the kydex is that it does tend to scuff your firearm up. I mean, if it's your everyday carry gun, you're probably not worried about that and that's great. If you're using an heirloom, let's say a gun you got passed down to you from your grandfather or father or something like that, maybe it's a collector gun Kydex is probably not going to be the best option because they're probably not going to want to scuff that gun up. I'll let Mr Bryan explain a little bit more on the kydex. Here's a CNG holster.

CNG holster. We're also an affiliate with them. It's American-made. They actually have some custom molded and then they also have some what they call quickships that are for your basic standard firearms without any attachments. This one is actually for a Block 43X and it's actually cut out for if you used a red dot sight, it's cut out for that as well. That's something else too. If you're looking for a holster, making sure that it meets what your gun is carrying whether you've got one that's capable for red dot, like with these right here these are just standard holsters, so it's not cut out for the red dot. You just need to pay attention to that. They make the holsters, for if you have a light attachment or laser attachment, they make those holsters. But a lot of times those are custom holsters. You have to get those specialty made. So, yeah, this kydex is great for inside the waistband because it keeps the void open to where you can reholster without digging into your waistband and causing injury or an accidental discharge. You're going to say something, david.

I don't know, I was just going to move on to the other. We also have a hybrid holster, kydex and leather. I might let Mr Brown explain that.

Yeah, this one is outside the waistband and it's got a can to it. That's something else too, depending on how you're carrying. A lot of times if you're carrying on your side, you want that forward, can't? Where it's easy to draw the pistol instead of having to come high up, you're able to come forward a little bit and not have to worry about coming up so high underneath your armpit or anything for your carry. This would also even work for your eight or four o'clock carry position Just off your hip. That's what I carry with this one sometimes. If I'm not carrying it at the three o'clock I'm right-handed, I'll carry it. Use it at the four o'clock position where it's just a little bit behind. Your body shape is also going to determine your carry position and how you carry. Some people love appendix carry. It's not one of my favorite carry positions but I understand why people like it. My particular body style. It makes it a little bit difficult. I could carry appendix. I would just probably have to get a wedge or something to add to my holster to keep it from flopping out forward and printing that's something else. When you're looking, especially if you're doing inside the WasteBank concealed carry you don't want your gun to print or people to be able to see that you're carrying a pistol. Again, this one's a VersaCary. It's got a tension screw here where you can tighten and loosen the tension as needed for your particular gun. This one's for block 43, but got the custom opening where it's not going to collapse on you. A great little holster in this one, even with red dot, it's red dot accessible for the block 43. Another inside the waistband is again another VersaCarrie. This is a custom mold, not a custom, but it's a hybrid. You've got a padded back area on the holster which is leather and foam, and then you've got the kydex outer shell, then the steel belt clip that holds the gun or holds the holster on the belt. But this one is a dual. Like I said, it's kydex and leather. Great Kydex helps keep that opening there for the gun holds going in and out very easily. It's got a little clip. Whenever you put your gun in you'll feel it snap in place and it holds it in place and all you do is just a little light twist and pull up and it releases it. So again VersaCarrie, we carry these and another good holster. I really like the VersaCarrie products. I'm a leather person I'm getting more accustomed to some kydex products, but I've just always enjoyed the feel and the smell of the leather Old timer here.

And then along with holsters and these are very similar so we're not going to spend a lot of time on them because the materials are similar Spare mag pouches. You can get them in single, like this one here, or double. You can get them in leather or the kydex or nylon. I prefer kydex. This right here is some molded plastic Pitbull tactical. It's actually expands. So I'm using a double stack mag here. It slides right in to expand out, but it also, when I pull it out, I can use it for single stack like a 1911 mag. So it's a multiple mag as well. It's just a single carrier, so all I got to do is just slide it in there and it snaps on my belt. I can use it outside the waistband or inside the waistband. This is my go-to mag pouch right here, because whatever I'm carrying, it takes, like I said, multiple mags or multiple types of mags. So whatever gun I'm carrying, I can just slide the mag in there, clip it on my belt and I'm ready to go.

And again, we're a dealer. We have these in stock in our store. We get them in the Desert Tan, the military green and black color. So if you're looking for one of those, feel free to go to our website, blueberrytacticalcom. We've got the link for VersaCarrie where you can order directly through them through our link, our company store. We have these listed in there. You can order those and either arrange, if you're local, pick up here or we can ship for a small fee to ship it. But we do have these in stock. So another holster concern or another holster is a paddle holster. This one's a kydex. You've got the where it will fit over the belt. You've got these little bridges right here where it will keep the gun or the holster on the belt and not pull out whenever you're trying to draw the holster. There are some issues some people have with the trigger release. I mean the release for this particular holster, this level one holster. Some people don't like this little thing here because whenever you draw your pistol, your finger you have to keep it on. You can't let your finger drop down, because if you're pulling it and your finger drops down, your finger will end up right over the trigger open trigger guard area and if you're not aware of paying attention to it, your finger could inadvertently go on to the trigger, which could lead to a negligent discharge. But if you have good trigger discipline, finger discipline whenever you draw with this holster, it's going to come right out on the slide. I personally like these. This is my only time I really wear these, or for class or for range, because I don't want to mess up my leather gear. But this is a good, durable holster for my training at the range. Got anything?

David. Yes, mr Brian, as we're talking about holsters here, I'd like to move before we get to off-body carry Talk about you mentioned. This is a level one holster Talk about some of the safety concerns, some of the safety features on some holsters, the safety of carrying in a proper holster, even using good holsters. There are many holsters out there and some are one size fits all and some of them are good, some of them are, I mean, and they're all. All of them have their purpose, but some are better than others for certain purposes. I guess is what I'm trying to say. You could mention the level one what are some of the different levels of the holsters? And maybe in a level one and I know these are multiple questions I would like to flesh out a little bit. In a level one, you know this one has the trigger finger, at least for the firearm, which I have several like that and I like them. They're good. You just have, like you said, you have to be careful when drawing not to have that finger presses there, not to let it press on into the trigger, to the trigger guard, to the trigger. But also, I know some make the thumb ones. I've seen some where you come underneath and there's a little thing underneath that allows you to pull, but what is the different levels? And we can talk about this other stuff as we go.

So some of the different levels. You start out with the levels zero, which is basically a tension. That would be this right here. This with the screw it's a tension screw. You tighten it down and I actually can this. When I carry my 43X and have it in there, I can actually turn it upside down and shake it. If I violently shook it then, yeah, the gun could come flying out, but there's enough tension that it's not going to fly out if I was to fall down or something. But it's not so tied in there that it hampers me. If I need it to draw, I can still smoothly draw the weapon. You've got this one right here. This is again a level zero tension. It uses the gun fits in there and as you tighten your belt it'll tighten down on the gun and it's just the tension of the belt against your body tightens and secures the gun, not if you're active, doing a lot of running or stuff. You may want to opt for something that has a tension screw or either a level one, which, as David mentioned, you got your thumb brakes, you got the little slide lever here and other options, or other types of level one holsters. Basically, it just means you got to perform one release to get the weapon. To draw the typical law enforcement holster back when I was in is a level three. It took three different releases to get the gun out of the holster. I think now they even have a level four holster, I believe.

They very well, may I know they're coming out with new stuff every day. I know for and I'll say this, I think for everyday carry, I think I wouldn't want to carry anything more than a level one. I don't mind the level zero, it just depends on how I'm carrying. If I'm carrying, if I'm open carrying for some reason, then I like to have a level one for retention purposes. That's not all the time, but a lot of times if I'm carrying concealed, a level zero with the tension may be okay. So inside the pants or something like that, it just depends. It just depends. It's something that I think you've got to find what works best for you, what's the most comfortable for you. None of this is one size fits all. There's a lot of prudence, discretion and individual opinion. I guess that goes into how we carry. Even for me, I carry different ways at different times depending on clothing, style I'm wearing, where I'm going, the weather, the climate. There's a lot of things to take into account. This Once again just make sure you're carrying safely. And then I can't stress out enough and practice the way you're carrying. So if you're carrying the level one with the trigger, practice carrying that so you're not inadvertently, as you're drawing, as you're coming out, after you press the release, that finger's not slipping into the trigger. Well, just make sure you practice with the way you carry Also, so that way you can be smooth and proficient drawing your weapon and slow as smooth, as smooth, as fast. You want to be as smooth as possible, that's what?

Well, something that I teach in my concealed carry classes that I make a point to tell people is whenever you are looking to find your carry position, once you determine this is where I like to carry, this is where I'm going to start carrying practice, make sure your firearm is clear, it's unloaded, there's nothing in the chamber and put your gun in the holster and then, just 10 times every day, slowly reach for your gun, pull it out, present the gun on target and then go back to the holster. What you're looking to try to do is to not look down at your holster, either coming out or going back in. You want to keep your eyes focused on what you perceive as a threat, because if you take your eyes off of that threat, they see it. They may be able to react and attack you before you realize they have moved. So start doing 10 times a day a practice draw slowly coming out. Each time you come out, work a little bit faster and reholster faster. It'll build what we call that muscle memory that you build up to where you instinctively do something without even having to think about it. Your brain says draw a weapon. You're not standing there, okay, I need to pull or clear my garment, grab the pistol and it becomes second nature to you. So just again on that note practice how you're going to carry and practice drawing and reholstering that weapon Now.

I think we can move on to off-body carry. Yeah, mr Bryan, if you want to explain off-body carry and show some of the products that we have, okay.

Yeah, this here is for ladies. They make the standard purses. They make cross-draw purses, cross-body purses. These are designed to where you can carry, got your pockets for your everyday stuff that you put in. But depending on your left or right-handed, this one's amphidextrous. You got access on both sides. But if you hey or to ever need to draw your pistol, you just pull the zipper down, reach in and if you look inside you'll see a holster in there. Your gun fits in that holster and it secures it where it's not flopping around in there and anything getting into that trigger area. So whenever you're carrying it, all you've got to do is reach in, pull it out and present your weapon on your thread and then it also just discreetly keeps it in there where it's not in your main parts of your purse, where you're digging in for change keys, wallet or something and inadvertently putting your finger on a trigger of a gun that's just laying around in there. Really recommend finding a purse, that or cross-body purse that you really like different styles, colors, just find what you like and make sure it just securely holsters your gun as well as you're able to get it and it works with your lifestyle. Don't ever just put a gun inside the bag and just throw it in there, because that could be a disaster if something got into the trigger area. So that's different styles, different websites. I could list several here, but if you have any questions on purses for the off-body carry for the ladies, let us know. I can recommend a few that I've seen, that I like their quality and stuff and hook you up with that.

And other off-body carry options. You have your backpack. You have holsters in the backpack. You have fanny pack holsters. We actually have one right here. We've got one right here.

We've got one right here. The old days, a lot of people back in my time in the 80s, when I was in law enforcement this was the new niche. People really liked carrying these. You could go jogging, not have to worry about putting an outside or inside the waistband holster. Just put your gun in the holster in here, zip it up and do whatever. You got extra pockets and stuff for first aid kit, keys, wallet, whatever. This particular one. You actually got a magazine holder right here. You put a attach of a holster over here to put your gun in and zip it up and then you've got it accessible because you could wear it where it's in the front, on the side, or you could spin it around in the back. I wouldn't spin it around in the back, unless it's just going to be for a short time, because you don't want to. You don't have eyes in the back of your head so you can't see somebody coming up. But it's a good alternative body carry for when you don't have a belt or you're wearing gym shorts or something you can still be safely armed and works real good for certain aspects, especially for the hot weather, when you're wearing shorts and you don't want to carry a t-shirt or a nose. It's a little bit harder to carry concealed whenever you're wearing light or not a lot of clothing, so this makes a good off-body carry option. They make briefcases, vehicles, several different things you can do for holsters and vehicles or gun securement. So just look through. Find something that's quality, made, durable and that is not just some knockoff or cheaply made. Make sure you look at the reviews. Ask around your friends for recommendations your local gun store, your local firearms trainer, even law enforcement, and sometimes they'll recommend what works for them.

Anything else, david, and make sure it's comfortable and that's not always easy to do as you're buying and looking, because you can only tell so much about that from reviews or other things. But as you use it and it may take you several times don't get discouraged if you get something and after wearing it for a week or two you realize, hey, this is uncomfortable. Listen, don't let it discourage you from not carrying or wearing a file First off. If you do choose to conceal carry, it's not comfortable and you're not going to find the perfect comfortable setup I haven't yet, and I'm sure Mr Brian can probably say that he hasn't yet either, and probably anybody else you talk to. But there are some that are more comfortable and others. A lot of it depends on you and it's going to take a little time to find what works for you. And then you're going to probably find, as I have, that there are several different ways that work for you, some topics that we didn't cover or that we didn't look at yet, but I want to if these weren't ways that I know that I carry often times, and Mr Brian probably the same way, but these are some options that are out there that you could look into and if Mr Brian wants to have anything he would not say on these, then that will be fine. But ankle carry is another option. A lot of people like to ankle carry. I have an ankle holster. I personally don't ankle carry that often, but it is an option that I have in my toolbox. You have thigh holsters, like inside the thigh. That's an option. You have leg drop holsters, although I would say that leg drop are probably not the best for concealed carry, most definitely Probably not for everyday carry, unless you're in the military or law enforcement. Yeah, but they're great for range or training. It's an option that you have out there. It's something you have. Also, you have cross draw holsters that fit over your shoulders.

So there are options for the ladies you got for a small caliber pistol. You got bra holsters that actually conceal a weapon. Just some options for you to have out there. Be prepared in your journey as you're trying to find your comfortable or your carry location. It's a journey and it can be expensive. Don't let the cost overwhelm you because you want to get a good quality holster but you don't want to spend a whole lot. So do your research and be prepared to have a shoe box or a small tote filled with holsters that you've tried, that you don't really care for. Save them and hand them out to other people that are beginning their journey to let them. Maybe that didn't work for you but it works for somebody else. So pay it forward with your spare holsters as you go along in your journey.

Anything else, David? Well, Mr Brown, I think that about covers at least what I have to say about holsters.

Yeah, I think we kind of made a big chunk into this right here with the holster carries. So, as always, we thank you for listening and for taking of the podcast and if you have any questions, feel free to email us at podcast at blueberrytacticalcom for topic recommendations, clarifications. Need some more advice. Looking for training? Maybe you're not in our area in South Georgia and you're looking to find an instructor that is reputable, that is recommended in your area. Contact me and I will try to help you find that instructor for you wherever you're at. So, with that being said, again thank you for your time. Review us. Share the podcast. Tell your friends about it. And as always learn, train and survive. Thank you. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the podcast publisher. Its affiliates are any other entity. The information contained in this podcast for entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as medical, legal or financial advice. The podcast publisher and its affiliates assume no responsibility for any liability, loss or damage caused by the use of information contained in this podcast. Listeners are advised to consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions based on the information contained in this podcast.