Why a Holster is a Piece of Safety Equipment

You wouldn’t think of driving a car without a seatbelt or using a computer without an antivirus. Consequently, you shouldn’t think of carrying a handgun on your body without a holster. But do you know why?

Learn the different ways a holster protects you and others and why it is necessary for any gun owner interested in open or concealed carry.

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Keeps Your Gun Under Control

When carrying a gun holstered, no matter whether you prefer open carry or concealed carry, the primary purpose of a holster is to keep your firearm under control when it’s not in your hands.

A handgun in a holster of good quality, riding on a good gun belt, should not move, wobble, or fall from the shell. It must properly fit your handgun, keeping it in a secure position, with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

Even if you don’t use an  IWB holster or even a belt holster, you must choose a holster capable of fulfilling this essential requirement. If you can’t trust your holster to keep your handgun in place, it’s probably not a good idea to carry a firearm with it.

Protects Your Trigger Guard

The most popular carry handguns today are striker-fired semi-automatic pistols. These handguns generally do not feature manual safeties. Although DA/SA pistols, revolvers, and manual safeties haven’t completely disappeared, they are no longer dominant.

Unless you’re the sort of person who enjoys  the Israeli draw, your holster probably contains a fully-loaded handgun, including a round in the chamber. In other words, your pistol is immediately ready to fire.

The most critical function of a holster is to protect your trigger guard so that foreign objects (or the hands and fingers of unauthorized people) do not find themselves pulling the trigger when you don’t want your gun to fire.

As the well-known  NRA rules of gun safety state: “Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.” A good holster design allows you to respect fundamental firearm safety and reduce the risk of accidental discharges.

Make sure your holster doesn’t deform or collapse, especially when re-holstering your firearm. Hard holster shell materials such as Kydex are designed to avoid this issue, providing you with the highest level of safety.

OWB: Retention Equals Safety

If you  carry OWB for duty or security purposes, you may need a gun holster with additional retention devices. Retention devices include mechanisms such as a trigger guard lock, a thumb break, or a thumb loop. Suitable retention mechanisms protect you from unauthorized people attempting to draw or steal your firearm.

Level 1 retention

Level 1 retention holsters are also known as “passive” holsters. In a Level 1 holster, the only thing retaining your handgun in the holster is friction. The vast majority of concealment holsters are Level 1 and are good enough for most civilian applications. A well-made Level 1 holster should still provide resistance if drawn from an awkward or incorrect angle.

Modern Level 1 holsters may even let you adjust their hold and friction, allowing you to choose how “tightly” your holster grips your handgun.

Level 2 retention

Level 2 holsters feature one active retention device, which the operator must disengage if they wish to draw.

Level 2 holsters are the most common type of holster used by law enforcement officers. This level provides a good balance between active safety and drawing speed.

Level 3 and Level 4 retention

Level 3 and Level 4 holsters are identical to Level 2 holsters except for one detail; they respectively feature 2 and 3 different active retention devices, requiring the operator to disengage all of them before drawing the handgun.

Some law enforcement agencies require their officers to use Level 3 holsters. Level 4 holsters are rare and seldom used but provide the maximum amount of safety at the cost of drawing speed.

IWB: Concealed Means Concealed

If you  carry IWB (such as for concealed carrying or a backup gun), your holster must provide you with an adequate level of concealment. While concealment is primarily a matter of choosing the correct cover garments and keeping a relaxed attitude, the concealing qualities of an IWB holster offer safety protection.

A good concealment holster keeps your gun hidden even when bending, sitting, squatting, and other unusual or awkward positions. In turn, a lousy holster can be a liability, resulting in printing or accidentally revealing your handgun.

If other people see your firearm, there’s a chance they may call the police on you. Even if what you’re doing isn’t illegal, the worst-case scenario is an unpleasant encounter with law enforcement and guns drawn on you because someone called 911 and told the operator that  you’ve got a gun.

Get the Best Holsters for Your Carry Guns

Whether you are a civilian carrying concealed or a law enforcement officer with a duty gun and a suitable retention holster, the point of a holster is to let you carry a firearm in public safely and responsibly.

Incognito Concealment answers the needs of all gun owners with a wide selection of IWB, OWB, and  paddle holsters. Our Kydex holsters are 100% hand-crafted in the United States and are compatible with dozens of different handgun models, providing you with a tight and secure fit.

For any questions or requests regarding our products, please give us a call at  (586) 999-5820.