Fall is here, wearing my shoulder holster

D

Doug.38PR

Moderator
well, Fall has finally arrived (at least things have cooled off quite a bit here in Texas) and I am now able to wear my shoulder holster again. It sure is a lot easier to keep concealed as you don't have to constantly worry about your coat blowing open or someone seeing a buldge on your hip when you bend over or sit wrong as you do with a hip holster. HOWEVER, the only downside of this is that, as a petroleum landman, I go into county courthouses a lot to do title work which means I can't wear my gun. A shoulder holster is fairly easy to snapp off the straps and lower it down the back of your coat and store it in the car, however it is extremely difficult to get it back on once you leave the courthouse. To do this, I have to crawl in the back of my car, take out the shoulder hoster, snap everything back into place, take off my coat, put on the shoulder holster with arms up and holster and all exposed (hoping nobody walks by close enough to the car to see what I am putting on :eek: The back windows are tinted but the front is not and even with the tint you can see a little if you walk right past the window), take my belt 3/4ths of the way off, hurry and put my windbreaker or sportcoat back on, put the belt through the holster loops, climb back into the front seat, and leave. :o

Often, I can just take the gun out of the holster and walk into the courthouse with the shoulder holster still on under my coat (no law against wearing an empty holster or even carrying around ammo except in an airport). However, when I go to the more urban "sophisticated" :rolleyes: courthouses with metal detectors and guards the shoulder holster would still be legal but I'd just rather not have to explain myself to the deputies and have everyone around see that that guy normally wears a gun (and probably has one for someone to steal down in his car :eek: ). Even without the metal detectors, I sometimes want to takeoff my coat and can't because of the problem stated above.

Any thoughts on how to make this easier?
 
For the above of hassle that you have to deal with, it might be easier to go with an IWB holster on days that you work.
 
Yeah, if you get down to your boxer shorts in the back seat, struggling with all these leather straps, someone might call 911 and then you would have some explaining to do.:D :D :D
 
Take your coat off, snap the empty holster back onto the straps, put on coat, get in car, insert gun in holster. At all times the weapon was concealed.
 
Don't they have lockers for you to put your gun in while in the courthouse? That is what I do if I have to do business in the Courthouse, or do you want to keep your carrying a complete secret?
 
If I was in your position, I would probably already have a real good paddle holster. Galco makes a couple and they are great, . . . I have one.

Galco also makes a shoulder holster setup, . . . my shoulder rig is a knockoff of the Galco design. I does not have any belt loops to do anything with, . . . and if I am careful, . . . I can take off the coat & holster at the same time and no one knows the difference.

I can put it back on the same way, . . . just have to reach inside and make an adjustment or two, . . . trick is to make sure you lay them down together, and pick them up together.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
Never like the shoulder holster, honestly, never got the hang of it.

But I'm glad that you've found something that works for you. I can't and won't disount those that have found what they like or use.

Wayne
 
You have another holster, right? Take it with you. Take the gun out of your shoulder holster and put it in the other holster in your car. Reverse the process when you return. I'm assuming that you now do all the unsnapping in order to have the protection offered by keeping the pistol in the holster. Otherwise, just take the pistol out of the shoulder holster and leave it in the car.

I don't care for the paddle holsters. I have a tendency to take them off while in the car. The one time I needed my pistol while in my car, my fingers hit the butt of the pistol and pushed it further away from me. Since then, I use holsters that prevent me from falling into bad habits. In my view, the ease of taking them off is not desirable.
 
Don't they have lockers for you to put your gun in while in the courthouse? That is what I do if I have to do business in the Courthouse, or do you want to keep your carrying a complete secret?
Click to expand...

You can do that? :confused: I always assumed that if I even walked in the door of the courthouse and they knew I had a gun on me from that moment on I would be in cuffs and in trouble. I didn't think any weapon of any kind was supposed to enter those doors?

You man (maybe not in Texas though) you can walk into a courthouse, walk up to the deputies and say "hey I've got a CHL and a gun on me, do you fellows have a locker you can store this in while I'm here?"
 
Shoulder holsters have their place - on display in the shop or strapped onto someone on TV.

In real life when your blood is pumping with adrenalin; what happens when you have trained and trained with a holster on your belt, so that you develop muscle memory and can get the weapon out without concious thought - then you change where it is!

Scenario: the situation arises where you have to draw your weapon in a hurry and you go for your hip; unfortunately your pistol is in your shoulder holster and the opponent is laughing long and hard as he pumps bullets into you! You were stressed because of a fight or flight reflex situation and you do what you have been trained to do [because that's why we train!!!].

Keep it in the same place all the time and sell the shoulder rig on e-bay. You should only need one holster, so make it a good one.
 
I would go with the paddle holster also, that is what I use when I am running around town and go in and out of the courthouse for different reasons. Also when I am taking my daughter back and forth to school or school fuctions. Just slip it off and put under the seat, return to the car and slip it back on. No fuss No hassle.

I also use a Galco, but as long as it is a good one, other brands will work. Get a high rise and wear it as a crossdraw then you will be about the same place as your shoulder holster.
 
Yeah there, British Soldier, . . . me thinks you've been standing out in your rain a wee bit too long. Your typical British condescending attitude is showing.

I have been carrying on and off for 40 years now, . . military and civilian, . . and I have yet to disremember where my weapon is.

Perhaps if you had the full freedoms we enjoy on the right side of the Atlantic, . . .

May God bless,
Dwight
 
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