Wearing it on the leg/thigh...

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johnelmore

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I saw a National Guardsman wear his pistol on the leg. Ive always wondered the effectiveness and safety of this rig. Lets say I have to make a run for it. What if the momentum and pumping action of the legs flings the pistol out of the holster. Of course, the pistol should be strapped in but sometimes that doesnt happen ...
 
Yes, I’ve always thought the same thing that it just didn’t seem like the best carry style. Then a friend told me this was designed for easy access to the handgun while wearing body armor and other gear. He said it also makes accessing the weapon easier while seated in a vehicle. I’m not sure if this was the initial reasoning or not, but it does seem to make sense.

Now, why the ex-Navy SEAL/CIA Operative/Battlefield Surgeon working at the local Pawn Shop needs one while wearing a tee-shirt and jeans I don’t know.
 
The guy an armoured type? That's how some cavalry carry their pistols to keep 'em out of the way. An NG guy is probably doing it just because a higher up said it was ok.
Mind you, that type of holster also puts the pistol below the bottom of a combat parka. RSM of the Regm't I was affiliated with did that.
You'll see SWAT types wearing the same style of holster. With all the rest of the kit cops carry these days, there's no room left on a belt for a pistol. The iron is strapped in so it cannot come out unless you undo the strap.
 
It is much better if running.
It is at the correct height to most easily draw.
I don't think it is that much easier to draw seated in a vehicle. Shoulder and cross-draw are the only comfortable way to do that IMO.

Gunfighters have been wearing them there since a time long before body armor as you know it. It moved away from the thigh as a fashion compromise to allow a single belt, or at least the appearance of a single belt.

If you wear a flap holster or some sort of click-in type positive retention holster it isn't falling out.
 
"pumping action of the legs flings the pistol out of the holster."

I saw this happen on one of the "cop shows". Cop is chasing a suspect w/o the safety strap snapped and zing goes his pistol. If the bad guy had been quicker, he could have caught the gun as it clattered across the pavement.
 
Last link didn't work. Hickock and "black Outlaw" wore crossdraw. Horseback and reaching across eliminates the benefits of the thigh height. I wear my crossdraw on the hip when I know I will be in a vehicle.

Billy the Kid, well there is one.

Evidence? This is an internet forum, not the defense of my dissertation.
You spend your time proving a low western holster is a hollywood anachronism go for it.
There are benefits. It works. Anyone who has worn it that way knows it. There are also negatives. Like everything.
 
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johnwilliamson062 said:
Last link didn't work....
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It just worked for me. The photo is about halfway down the page on the left.

johnwilliamson062 said:
...Evidence? This is an internet forum, not the defense of my dissertation....
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I see you're continuing your efforts to promote ignorance and stupidity in cyberspace. Why is it that people think that factual accuracy is unimportant on Internet forums?

If you claim that something is true it is never inappropriate for people to expect you to be able to support your statements. And it you can't, folks have every reason to conclude that you're making stuff up and/or don't know what you're talking about.

johnwilliamson062 said:
...There are benefits. It works. Anyone who has worn it that way knows it....
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Yet in the hundreds of hours of training I've had at places like Gunsite, no one has carried his gun that way, nor suggested doing so except when necessary to accommodate a gear laden vest.
 
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Most people wear them entirely too low. While standing straight up you should be able to extend your arm and curl your fingers around the bottom of the holster. If you can't, you'll be dipping your whole body during the draw, causing you to slow down, put your body in an awkward position, and worst of all, look stupid.
 
Now, why the ex-Navy SEAL/CIA Operative/Battlefield Surgeon working at the local Pawn Shop needs one while wearing a tee-shirt and jeans I don’t know
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If you don't have the occasion to wear cumbersome gear/armor, I would consider its use to be counterintuitive. The low ride rigs were the most immediate answer to a specific problem caused by bulkly gear and armor. It likely has nothing to do with cowboys, gunfighters of lore or action movies.

They certainly do not lend themselves to agility, running, ground movement or tight spaces.
 
Gunfighters have been wearing them there since a time long before body armor as you know it. It moved away from the thigh as a fashion compromise to allow a single belt, or at least the appearance of a single belt.
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Perhaps you would be kind enough to show us an illustration or to provide some other documentation.

Leg or thigh holsters are suspended from a wait-high belt and held by straps that encircle a single leg. They are available commercially. I have never seen one.

I am aware of no old time "gunfighters" who ever wore such a thing.

Perhaps in stating that "gunfighters" have been wearing them, you are confusing them with the low-slung belt holsters worn by most actors in screen fiction.

Alan Ladd, of course, wore his holster up high in Shane (1953).
 
A persons thigh is about 15 to 20 inches long. Mine is 16.5". I can reach about ten inches down my thigh while standing upright. Wearing a holstered gun on the upper part of the thigh is quite comfortable and accessible while standing and walking. My 9mm is easily drawn from a drop holster that puts the grip at mid-pocket level.
I guess it all depends on how far down your thigh it is worn.
 
So its really about having too much stuff so they put the pistol on the leg??? I guess to each his own. If you feel this is the most effective way more power to you. For myself, it would be awkward and I dont feel like I have tight control with it swinging around on the leg. Just my personal opinion.
 
ShootistPRS said:
...Wearing a holstered gun on the upper part of the thigh is quite comfortable and accessible while standing and walking. My 9mm is easily drawn from a drop holster that puts the grip at mid-pocket level. ...
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The closer your gun is to your hand when your hand is hanging down the further the gun will need to be moved to see your sights and confirm you're on target. You should be able to move your empty hand faster than you can move your hand with a gun in it, and there is no law of nature that says that when you need your gun your shooting hand will be hanging straight down.

So are you suggesting that if you're scratching your chin with your shooting hand when your immediate need for your gun becomes apparent you won't be able to instantly find your gun if it's in a holster at your waist? Well maybe you can't, but I know that I can. I also know a bunch of people who can as well. It doesn't appear to be that difficult with a modicum of training and practice.

In all the training I've done the preferred, general purpose method of carrying a gun has been in a holster at one's waist on one's shooting side. That is the position from which a carried gun can most effectively and efficiently be brought to bear on target under the widest range of conditions.

Other methods of carry (shoulder holster, belly band, crossdraw, thigh holster, etc.) are primarily for special purposes under special conditions such as deep concealment, extended periods seated in a vehicle, wearing certain gear, etc.

There are a lot of ways to carry a gun. But it looks like most instructors, absent a special need, will carry their guns in a shooting side holster at the waist.
 
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A point that is being overlooked is tied into the body armor aspect. When I did direct action work, everyone in my platoon was carrying their secondary weapon in a thigh rig that connected to a pistol belt, typically held up with suspenders underneath body armor, with the belt itself holding 2-3 magazines. When flying over water it is nice to know that if the helo ditches you can shed the body armor and still have a pistol. It may not be in the most advantageous position for a fight, but it is still on your body. As I mentioned before, it needs to right very high on your leg to be practical. I am in a far less exciting line of work these days, but I still cringe every time I drive through the gate and see an MP wearing a thigh rig with the grip of his/her pistol by his/her knee.

If someone is wearing a thigh rig and it is not in conjunction with bulky body armor they may need to spend more on training than on 5.11 pants.
 
I don't have any direct evidence, but in many of the Louis L'Amour books I read all the real "gun slingers" wore their six shooters low on the hip, with a tie on the bottom of the holster around the thigh. As a matter of fact if Tye Sackett hadn't tied down his holster there probably would have been 20 less books.
 
WyMark said:
I don't have any direct evidence, but in many of the Louis L'Amour books I read all the real "gun slingers" wore their six shooters low on the hip,....
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I'm sure you're aware that Louis L'Amour wrote fiction. He was born in 1908, and his first stories were published in the late 1930s.

I mention that so folks won't think you were being serious.
 
Well the first time I saw a thigh rig was as a kid. I was very curious about it as I hadn't seen another . One of my sets of lead soldiers was IIRC was a Indian unit with British officer .The officer carried his side arm in a thigh holster. This was sometime in late '40s and there were lots of photos of military but can't remember seeing such a holster .
There must be a photo [s ] of the holster somewhere !
 
The one problem I see with a thigh holster, the gun bangs on everything!

The quickest draw to front sight view, in my opinion, is an outside belt holster, 3-30 position, on shooters dominant side. Also hides gun best, undercover of jacket, or shirt.
 
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