thigh holsters?

The place for general talk about gun, shooting, loading, camping, survival, and preparedness related tools and gear, as well as gear technology discussion, gear reviews, and gear specific "range reports" (all other types of gear should be on the back porch).
User avatar
Yogimus
Posts: 4922
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:32 am

Re: thigh holsters?

Post by Yogimus »

Thigh holsters always want to move to the front of the thigh. Always. The tighter and firmer you tie them, the more yaw and twist they experience on their journey, to end up on TOP of your thigh, and the harder it becomes to run.

Thigh holsters are great for:

Range time (fucking awesome)
Patrol car driving (Plain old awesome)

OK for:

Walking around (minor adjustments required)
Any work not gun related (fuck, this thing keep[s torquing)

HORRIBLE FOR:

O FUCK HE WENT THATAWAY!!!! (the fuck is my gun doing there???)
Aesop
Posts: 6149
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:17 am

Re: thigh holsters?

Post by Aesop »

The fix on that last is relatively simple:

Get a stick on set of Velcro hook & loop about the same size as flight suit nametag patches (2"x4").
Stick one of them to the inside of the holster, trimming to fit if necessary.
Affix the mate to the matching complementary region of the outside of the trousers in question.

Sewing on the clothes side and Shoe-goo or equivalent for the holster side seems to work best. YMMV.

The downside there is the use of the same pants (or similarly prepping several pairs). Not a problem for field-use military playclothes, and probably not for hunting clothes.
But a little goofy looking on your favorite pair of jeans or what have you.

But it does avoid the problem of the sudden transition to crotch-carry thigh holsters follow, in blind obedience to physics.
"There are four types of homicide: felonious, accidental, justifiable, and praiseworthy." -Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
Precision
Posts: 5268
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:01 pm

Re: thigh holsters?

Post by Precision »

Aesop wrote:The fix on that last is relatively simple:

Get a stick on set of Velcro hook & loop about the same size as flight suit nametag patches (2"x4").
Stick one of them to the inside of the holster, trimming to fit if necessary.
Affix the mate to the matching complementary region of the outside of the trousers in question.

Sewing on the clothes side and Shoe-goo or equivalent for the holster side seems to work best. YMMV.

The downside there is the use of the same pants (or similarly prepping several pairs). Not a problem for field-use military playclothes, and probably not for hunting clothes.
But a little goofy looking on your favorite pair of jeans or what have you.

But it does avoid the problem of the sudden transition to crotch-carry thigh holsters follow, in blind obedience to physics.
excellent info. my typical situation where I would need this set up would have a slow walk of less than 1/2 mile.
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson
My little part of the blogosphere. http://blogletitburn.wordpress.com/
User avatar
D5CAV
Posts: 2428
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:48 am

Re: thigh holsters?

Post by D5CAV »

I carried this rig (in black) for quite a few years: http://www.armynavysales.com/products/u ... er-holster

It is painful if you ever have to run with it, but keeps the weapon secure. Forget any fast draw, but I figure that's not a big consideration if you're in a tree stand.

I tried a thigh holster on a shooting class day, and decided I didn't like it for many of the reasons described above. It is still in my holster drawer (along with many other failed holster experiments).

I use a climbing harness in a tree stand since I have a number of climbing harnesses that I used when I was younger and stupider. I'm not sure if I would still trust them on a technical rock climb, if I ever got that urge again, but they are more than adequate for a tree stand. I've never tried putting a holster on it, since I never saw the need for a handgun when I had a rifle in my hands, but I think it would hold one fine.
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
User avatar
workinwifdakids
Posts: 3594
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 3:57 am

Re: thigh holsters?

Post by workinwifdakids »

I was going to do up a separate post on this, as a review. I still might, but here's what I decided on when I was dealing with your issue. I wanted a holster for competition and open carry at the range, as well as a thigh rig for my 1st line belt... but two or three holsters? That could get expensive real fast.

So, I bought a Safariland holster for my M&P9; I think it was a 6395, but in large part the model doesn't matter. The brand did.

Once I had the holster, I bought a QLS 1 kit from Safariland for $25. It's got a male "fork" and two female "forks" (I see a joke in there somewhere). You take the male fork and attach it to the holster, and attach the female fork to the belt portion of the holster. Attach the two, and it looks just like a standard holster - no movement, no play, and no extra width.
Image
Then I bought a Safariland 6004DFA Drop Flex Adaptor on Single Strap Leg Shroud w/QLS 22. Remember the extra female fork we have left? I attach that to the Leg Shroud, and now we have one holster with multiple attachment points: one on a thigh holster permanently affixed to my war belt, and another is the belt loop portion of the holster that I use whenever I want. Another cool feature? Buy another QLS 1 kit for $25, and you have another two points of attachment: toss a female adapter to the bedside table facing your bed, and your holster is there. Attach another one to your driver's compartment of your car, and there's another one. Buy one holster, and make that travel to wherever you want. If you buy... what is it, a QLS 2? Anyway, they have a MOLLE attachment for carry at an angle on a chest rig, too.

Oh, and Yogi is right: thigh rigs tend to flap around when you move and they drop just a touch too far. Not so with this one, because they essentially removed one strap and brought the whole rig up a bit, so that one strap sits between your boys and your thigh. It's going nowhere, as much because of that as because the leg strap is sort of coarse and has a little adhesion to it.
Image
Image

Here's a video of Travis Haley talking about thigh rigs in general, and he's wearing the Safariland DFA I bought, that I'd like you to consider (YouTube, video, noise).

Let me know if you have any questions!

EDIT: Also, I ordered the holster for an M&P9 w/ TLR-1 attached. I wanted to see if the firearm fit the holster without the TLR-1; I tried, it did. In both configurations, it locked in tight. This worked in my case, but I can't determine of course if this would be the case with all of Safariland's holsters, and for all firearms with all light configurations.
And may I say, from a moral point of view, I think there can be no justification for shoving snack cakes up your action.
--Weetabix
Precision
Posts: 5268
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:01 pm

Re: thigh holsters?

Post by Precision »

I will have to look into that. I am at work right now and the boss is a hoplophobe and I have a meeting with him that he is 40 minutes late for, but I digress.

Might be some interesting reading for me tonight.
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson
My little part of the blogosphere. http://blogletitburn.wordpress.com/
User avatar
PawPaw
Posts: 4493
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:19 pm

Re: thigh holsters?

Post by PawPaw »

Yogimus wrote:...where did I put my camera...
Last time I saw it, it was hanging over the stove. :lol:
Dennis Dezendorf
PawPaw's House
Post Reply