Cross Draw Holsters

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fmcdave

Inactive
My dad wants a cross draw holster for his Kimber Pro Carry (4 " barrel 1911 style). I've been looking around quite a bit and found some fairly nasty reviews of some of them.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

I'm going to the Washington Arms Collectors show next month (July 10th) so any feedback would be helpful. I really hate to buy a holster without the gun there to test it.

Thanks.
 
Cross-draw holsters are easier to access if you're wearing a long coat or are sitting down (as in driving your car). I have one I bought years ago for a Series 70 Colt pistol and used briefly. Its main disadvantage was that, for it to remain concealed, I had to wear a long coat buttoned.
Mostly nowadays, I carry on my strong side behind my hipbone. It's easier to keep my piece unseen and generally handy, unless I'm sitting - as in driving my car.
 
gun grab

I've always felt a crossdraw offers the gun up in a struggle for an easy gun grab. A local PD had just such an incident and now forbids crossdraw for concealment.

They do seem useful seated in a vehicle or behind a desk. I have seen ranges that forbid them due to muzzle sweep of adjacent shooters.

I have several flap crossdraws for revolvers longer than 4'5/8", that are carried on a ctg belt.
 
I decided to try a crossdraw this summer since I'm doing more driving. I'm thin and bony and found that moving the holster back far enough to be concealable with light vest caused it to painfully crowd my hipbone. A person with more middle might not have this problem. The downside of strong side behind the hipbone carry is vehicle seat damage. I've trashed a couple of seat covers due to the constant rubbing of the butt and magazine. I don't usually wear my cover garment while driving putting the pistol in direct contact with the seat.
 
1911OWB_3.jpg

I second the Sidearmor.com idea. The holster can be easily converted from cross-draw to strong-side by loosening and then retightening the Allen screws holding the plate tight. This also allows the wearer to get the cant just right.

See: http://www.sidearmor.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=10

(Someone took a photo with the 1911's safety off!)
 
WES's list crossdraw models..

Wes's list is good for most popular US models. www.blackhawk.com has the SERPA models that are not to costly and can be converted for angle/draw. ;)
The secure design can help prevent your handgun from falling out. Like my Ruger GPNY in a kydex Blade-tech model while I was pumping gas. :(
 
thanks for the input

I really appreciate the input. I talked to my dad and mentioned the downsides which were posted. He really only wanted it for car driving. He had previously been using a strong side Kramer when he was using his motor home. It worked great for him.

Now he is 85, sold the motor home, and does most of his driving in a Toyota Avalon. He gets out of the car more often and does need concealment. So I offered up this solution:

Put the Kimber in the large center console when he is driving. Wear his strong side Kramer and transfer it when he needs to get out. He liked that a lot. I just mentioned that he should make sure his car registration is in the glove box so if he ever got stopped he wouldn't have to show the gun.

One of my friends got stopped and had to tell the policeman that when he opened the glove box to get the registration there would be a gun (which he is licensed to carry). The policeman didn't like it much but dealt with it.

When I drive my Smart car, I put a gun in the glove box (if I don't have it in a holster), but I never keep the registration there.

But anyway, thanks for the input!
Dave
 
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