Choosing the Best Holster for You

Spencer Rands
Jan 6, 2011

Picking the right holster is key to carrying a firearm safely and comfortably

The most important quality in a holster is safety. The holster must safely store the firearms until it is ready for use. A safe holster covers the entire trigger guard and will not allow anything into the trigger guard while it is holsters. Also the holster needs to hold the firearms securely in place so it can not wiggle free through the course of holding the gun. How tight the firearm is held is personal preference as long as it does not come out of the holster unintentionally.

There are many styles of holsters on the market and not all of them are made equally. In other words when it comes to holsters you get what you pay for. So don’t go cheap on the holster, expect to pay at least $40. Shop well know brands like BlackHawk, Galco, Crossbreed, etc.

If you want to carry concealed then there are several standard types of holsters. There are Inside The Waistband (IWB), On The Belt, Ankle, and Pocket holsters. The big factors in deciding which type to pick is going to be the size of your firearm, how well it needs to be concealed, and ultimately where on your body you want to conceal it. The Inside The Waistband holsters are very concealable and with a little time very comfortable. Also some of them allow you to tuck in your shirt while keeping the gun concealed. The On The Belt Outside The Waistband holsters are very comfortable but not as concealable as other holsters. They work with larger guns but to be used as a concealment holster you need to wear a shirt baggy enough to cover it without everyone seeing the gun underneath. The Ankle holster is great because it is extremely concealable, people generally spend little time looking at your ankles and most pants aren’t tight enough for the guns to be visible. They biggest disadvantage to the the ankle holster is the time it takes to draw your firearm from the holster. The Pocket holsters are great in that they are comfortable and very concealable. The biggest disadvantage to Pocket holsters is that you need a small firearms for them to work well and often times those guns are not easy to shoot and the calibers are small.


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