How do you carry your sidearm? :)

[Unrustle_Thine_Jimmies]

I should post this in DIY, but Whatever.

This is some unknown Soviet,Ukrainian,East German,maybe even Czech leather holster. I have no Idea,too big for a Makarov,too wide for a TT33. Only really hold M9s and Hicapas well.

The leather on it is really nice,bit soft and floppy but stiffer in the lower sections. Plan to boil it later.

Originally the leather clip to retain the piston was pretty crappy. So I got rid of it. It had another strap and clip which was pretty useless hanging from the bottom so I cut that off and stuck it on the main body,currently temporarily glued on.

It had the usually sh*tty belt loop which sat too high and got weaker from age. When a pistol was placed in the whole holster sagged and flopped around. So I got rid of that,punched four holes in,and use paracord to secure it to ALICE webbing holes. Sits nice and low so the weight does not make it sag to the side and does not wobble.

Also bent the lower piece seen in pic 1 so that it catches the trigger guard,if it goes in fully into the holster the pistol usually flops around inside a bit,especially thinner guns like 1911s. So I bent it to add some tension and hold better.

Yet to use in a skrim but I'm confident it will be a big improvement over the original.

Rig is a little scant at the moment since I'm waiting on some pouches along with the rest of my kit from Ukraine.

I sort of have an idea in my head to carve out the basic shape of a hicapa(My planned next gun) and stick it in when the holster is being boiled to make it a medieval Serpa or something. Right now it's grand though.

 

[Gen.Ryzomadman]

out all the holsters I've purchased ,I keep going back to my first leather Bianchi 82 CarryLok Hip Holster fits my glock with a little bit of tlc , fitted the 1911 right away, fits the walther ppq m2 perfect , and my colt45 combat thingmy lol..

 

[Ian_Gere]

I use the fabric drop leg holsters everyone hates lol! I have modified my OD and DPM ones with additional straps though, to stop the famous "flapping about".

The one running up beside my packet is linked to the leg strap by a tube of 50mm elastic - it is there to stop the leg strap from slipping down my thigh and becoming loose. As Ed said of his, it is like it's welded in place. Both are excellent for quick draw, but getting the studs which lock the retaining straps done up again is a bit fiddly - that's why I use a lanyard, because under pressure i would not be able to do it. These are for my USP which weighs 790g including a CO2 bulb. A loaded spare mag weighs 280g. So yeah, without this additional strappage it would be a right mare...

I have a black fabric drop leg also but this has an original strap higher up than most and neither of its straps are elastic - I really should make a crotch strap for it also, but I rarely wear my black kit so i never get around to it. Now that I have a spare mag for my USP this is something I really should do soon.

I recently bought some 50mm OD webbing to make a drop leg set up with a serpa for my USP, to overcome the secure reholstering issue. I have tried the serpa on my waist belts, right hip, above left buttock, and left front cross draw, but it is not as comfortable for me to reach for as from my right thigh - my arms are too long. I spose I could go with a drop leg platform, but to get one with 2 straps so it is immobile means quite a lot of additional weight, just for something which can be attached by one fat and one thin strap.

I have yet to try the serpa on my chest, molle'd to my RICAS. What I'd really like to try is to have it fixed to my left shoulder, at 45° so the grip is at the same angle as my arm when I draw it. To do this needs an additional panel of molle above that on the chest of my RICAS, but that said, I don't wear it often - it makes me too hot.

I carry my Vz61 Skorpion as a sidearm too, in a modified Czech Police holster:

That goes on my Soviet portupeya (faux leather webbing) right hip but it moves about a bit - I have a small leather strap which came off an East German AK sling which fits around the portupeya waist belt and sorta stops this massive leather holster from slipping forward, but I need a better solution. It's not much good for quick draw.

You can also see my PM holster there, which I wear left of my belt buckle in the cross draw position. That said the only pistols I have which fit in it are either poxy or too hot for most sites, so it's decoration really. Which is just as well because it's really bad for quick draw...

I also have a massive black drop leg which is intended for MP7's which fits my skorpion nicely. Trouble is it suffers really badly from drop-leg-flap. There isn't anywhere on it that immediately lends itself to having an additional strap attached, so I think the way forward with that will be to remove the top elasticated strap and replace with 50mm polypropylene webbing. I do like the look of that Stealth Weapons Catch though, which would allow me to carry the skorpion with a suppressor attached.

 

[airsoftwarrior147]

Can anyone recomend a holster, that doesn't sit on your belt as these make my trousers sag, even when wearing a belt, and if a drop leg it must sit right onto my leg, as I've got a fabric one but it pulls the pistol away from my leg

 

[Lozart]

Can anyone recomend a holster, that doesn't sit on your belt as these make my trousers sag, even when wearing a belt, and if a drop leg it must sit right onto my leg, as I've got a fabric one but it pulls the pistol away from my leg

Use two belts. A bdu one to hold your trousers up and a decent duty belt to hang your holster from.
Also - difficult to recommend a holster without knowing what pistol it's for.

 

[airsoftwarrior147]

Sorry absolutely forgot that, it's a Kwa sig 226, the problem is I don't have any duty belts, just use random leather ones or my large green canvas one.

 

[cavninja]

I think one thing that comes out from reading and following this thread is that if you want your pistol to be ready to draw, sit securely and comfortably and to be able to run around with it, you've got to get yourself at least a half decent holster or more likely shell out on something decent.

I'm in the process, (as a result of this thread Damn you all!!!! lol) of updrading my rig.

I've gone from HFC Glock 17 sitting in a fobus paddle type, hard plastic friction holster on my belt (to be honest, it could be slightly awkward to draw while wearing my PC) to a new IMI level 2 rigid holster, with an IMI adapter so it sits lower on my belt. I'm also trying to source a suitable and reasonably priced light/laser that will fit the holster, as my current one doesnt.

And somehow i upgraded my HFC to a Marui Glock 17, Yes!!! I know! I'm weak and a slave to the mistress of airsoft!

and, i'm not even in the country to use them at the mo!!! Doh!!!

 

[Lozart]

Sorry absolutely forgot that, it's a Kwa sig 226, the problem is I don't have any duty belts, just use random leather ones or my large green canvas one.

Soooo....get a duty belt.

Simples.

 

[airsoftwarrior147]

Stop spending all my monies first ? now that's a hard job

 

[Ian_Gere]

Can anyone recomend a holster, that doesn't sit on your belt as these make my trousers sag, even when wearing a belt, and if a drop leg it must sit right onto my leg, as I've got a fabric one but it pulls the pistol away from my leg

Sorry absolutely forgot that, it's a Kwa sig 226, the problem is I don't have any duty belts, just use random leather ones or my large green canvas one.

Well yeah, first things first, you really do need a duty belt. Get a Viper one = cheap as chips, work very well, very comfortable, very robust. I don't think that any of the commercially available cloth drop legs really address the issue of flapping about. Which is a shame because the thigh position is certainly the best for quick draw, unless you have short arms, in which case on the belt, or just below with one of those adapters.

The problem is because the straps are usually too low on the body of the holster, below the centre of gravity of a pistol with the mag in. My answer was not to spend more money in the hope that a brand name would produce better results, it was to look at why the problem exists and what I could do to prevent it.

Apart from the position of the straps, another major problem is that, because the thigh is basically an upside down cone, the straps will always tend to slip down and become loose. The reason I went with the crotch strap addition is because the 20mm strap addition had been the simplest way I had available to keep the holster flat against my leg. But I reckon the absolute best solution would be a top strap made from 50mm webbing, without elastic, attached so that it is right at the top of the holster body. The strap could only slip down by bending width-ways, so If you set the side release buckle on the inside of the thigh, so it could not bend, the strap would not be able to move far at all. I don't think it's necessary to have a second strap on the body of the holster at all, but a slim strap around the webbing that the holster hangs from would probably help loads.

It's not easy to stitch through layers of Cordura though. I've found the best way, obviously apart from an industrial stylee sewing machine, is to use a thick needle held in pliers as an awl to poke a hole before stitching normally.

I've yet to try one of these...

...but if they are flexible enough to do up tightly​

I suspect they could be excellent. Trouble is it's £25 and then you need a SERPA as well. Helmetworld have them on sale for £21.16 but i'm in the skint phase of the month at the mo so i'm not forking out that much to find out. Can anybody tell us how tightly they fit?

 

[Gungeorge]

Drop leg that that's been sewn and has hardly any movement now fits me perfectly before it practically flew around

 

[Ian_Gere]

Here's one for the brandname snobs amongst us...

...note the position of the top strap in relation to the centre of gravity of any pistol it might hold​

and the lack of elastic. Made by your friend and mine, Web-tex :lol: available here for £21.49 posted, but probably cheaper elsewhere. Worth checking alibaba.com for the platform type and this type also. I bought a USP SERPA from there for about £8 and it's great.

 

[Ian_Gere]

Drop leg that that's been sewn and has hardly any movement now fits me perfectly before it practically flew around

How did you stitch it? Got any pics?

 

[NickM]

Two custom kydex holsters (made by me using the vac bag technique) one each for my Mk23 Socom and Glock 18C AEP, they are attached either to a Blackhawk clone molle adapter on my chest (just the glock) at 45 degrees. Or the Mk23 mostly goes on the IMI drop belt loop which drops it about 10 to 15 cm from my belt where it is too high slightly down my leg. This mounts the pistol with the sights vertical.

 

[Nutster]

made by me using the vac bag technique

The what now?

Sounds easier than using a press

 

[NH Shooter]

I'm not sure what's hard about the press version. lol

Took me all of 30 minutes to knock up the press, works excellently. You can even get b and q to cut the wood for you...

 

[NickM]

Mainly it was what I had to hand at the time, the holster isn't as defined as the press ones but it holds the gun really well so I really couldn't care too much that is doesn't look as pro as some out there. It was also the first two I made. I needed the holsters quick, and didn't have time to make a press. I didn't have a diy place close to me and no materials to make the press. excuses I know but I will probably make a press in the future for a second attempt.

The method is really easy, take one of those large vacuum bags they sell in Wilko's for like £10 a pair, make sure it is big enough to hold the gun kydex and a couple of tea towels. Treat the gun and kydex exactly like you would for the press, wrap in a couple of tea towels then place in vac bag, seal and suck out air. Its a crude vacuum forming technique. If you are careful the bag will last ages, I've since used it to move house and it now stores my skiing kit.