Jump to content

Pistol position


Charly Driver

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

The shoulder is good and everything, but the leg or belt are better for me normally. If I'm wearing an assault vest or something then I go for my leg holster. It just means that you can draw more easily than you could if you were using a belt holster, and I find that a good quality (safariland etc.) holster keeps your pistol much more steady than the same make of holster would if on your belt which always seem to shake around more...

 

On the other hand, when using a leg holster I find that using a bad quality one is worse than using a bad quality belt holster. They always seem to have more movement, swing all over the place, knock on your leg when jogging, or throw the pistol out altogether (happened to my poor 1911- which subsequently landed on a rather large rock :( )

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, the hand hangs down normally next to the leg. But when exactly do you hang your hands down in a combat situation?

 

If you're in a game and the pistol is in the holster, you're most likely using a long arm of some kind. Making a transition to the pistol would require bringing your strong arm to the pistol. In that case a belt holster is closer to the hand, which means it's faster to draw.

 

Also, try running and drawing from a leg holster. It'll make your buddies laugh if nothing else. :D The leg holster is good though, when you have a vest or coat that covers the belt, preventing you from wearing the handgun on the belt.

 

-Sale

Link to post
Share on other sites

Belt. You're not at a terrible disadvantage in a vehicle and it offers the quickest draw available.

 

After that it's belt, weakside, which is easier to draw from within a vehicle, but at a cost of speed.

 

Third is shoulder, again, good for vehicles, good if all your kit is on a belt. And it just looks plain awesome.

 

Forth is leg, this is only if you're wearing body armor and are on foot in an urban environment. Otherwise, the belt and shoulder offer better, more comfortable positions.

 

Last is chest: How are you supposed to belly-crawl on your pistol without fouling it, exactly? If you are wearing armor, are in an urban environment, and leg holsters are unavailable or you're operating primarily from a vehicle, it would be acceptable. I guess.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The only thing I like about the shoulder hoslter is it's easy to draw if lying on your front - or if you're in a suit, I suppose.

 

Belt is much faster to draw from when moving, as Sale points out, and in general is much faster to draw from anyway - look at IPSC shooters.

 

They all use belt holsters.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Another thing is that in a fight-or-flight situation, the hands naturally end up somewhere between the belt and the shoulder... this is along with your feet being shoulder-width (or slightly wider) apart and knees bending. Far faster to grab a gun carried on the belt than one carried on the thigh.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I voted leg, but I want to qualify that you need a good drop leg platform to do it. After trying every inexpensive drop-leg I could, I finally bought a Serpa holster and platform some months back and I'll never go back.

 

It's secure, comfortable, and dead sexy.

 

I found that belt holsters got in the way of my vest load-outs so for me I can draw the pistol from my leg faster than I can navigate it out of the holster and around the vest pouches when it's on my belt. (That says more about my vest arrangement than anything.)

 

I might like to keep it on the vest itself but I have my gear arranged such that for a pistol-only game I can drop the bulky vest and be ready to go.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Last is chest: How are you supposed to belly-crawl on your pistol without fouling it, exactly? If you are wearing armor, are in an urban environment, and leg holsters are unavailable or you're operating primarily from a vehicle, it would be acceptable. I guess.

 

 

I've now got my M190 in a belt holster and my MP7 in a drop-leg, but to be honest I preferred it when I carried my pistol in a chest holster. Used one of the Blackhawk Omega cross-draw vests and found it very comfortable, and could draw from that position surprisingly quickly after a while. Although true enough, it's flippin awkward to draw from the prone position...

Link to post
Share on other sites
Belt is much faster to draw from when moving, as Sale points out, and in general is much faster to draw from anyway - look at IPSC shooters.

I have to point out that the IPSC rules have a bearing on the holster position as well. Thigh holsters are specifically ruled out by the fact that the backstrap of the grip has to be above the top line of the belt. Shoulder holsters and cross draws are also against the rules because the muzzle sweeps an unsafe sector behind you as you draw. A lot of shoulder holsters also point the muzzle backwards too much. When holstered, the muzzle may not point further than 2 meters away from your feet.

 

But yeah, belt is faster than dropleg.

 

-Sale

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think thigh holsters look very snazzy but they're uncomfortable to wear and they are clumsy when you're moving around.

 

I now use a MOLLE pistol holster which I fit to a convenient free space on my vest, usually somewhere on my left side so I can use it as a crossdraw.

 

Can't recall the last time I belly-crawled in airsoft and I'm pretty sure I never will. Even so, a pistol on a vest will be no more of a problem that the mags, radio, pyro's and spare batteries already in pouches on my front.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and the use of session cookies.